I struggled with this unfortunately it had lots of issues, I couldn’t connect with it, the characters were flat as was the world building and the writing I think needs some work. It was an interesting idea and premise which ch with some work could be really good, but unfortunately not as it is

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion2 s Kaye7,178 68

ONE ZIPPING ROLLERCOASTER!!!
Holy hell! Rowan delivers one action packed, hard hitting, pulse racing, heart pounding, nerve racking, nailbiting bombshell that hooks you from the start and reels you in for the duration. Anarchy, escapades and havoc run amuck, kicking this gem into a tempest, blasting it into a frenzy with a mind-blowing culmination. A raging vortex of fervent events and baffling circumstances, blow this bad boy wide open. The dynamics and presentation in layer upon layer that you peel back with each page your drawn into this web so deep until everything else ceases to exist. Forging through the trials and tribulations, noting the astonishing twists and wicked turns, testing our characters in ways they could have never imagined. The realism and authenticity of the characters as their on point personalities blend and connect along with the graphically detailed scenes that really pull this baby together smoothly. Fantastic job Rowan, thanks for sharing this bad boy with us.1 Etienne6,522 72

Reading this book made me realize a lot of things that made the difference between a good self-publish/indi book and a good or even great novel. This book has some potential, it is well enough written, has good action, and a story worth your time. But that was the little things, but the accumulation of them, that make me loose interest in it. The writing is good but here and there there was bad word choice of idea (at some point the characters say the armor of someone he see «is» solid, how can he knows, it can «look» solid, but he can know if it is...). Same thing for the overall plot, not bad at all, but the lack of originality and being easy to see coming from start to finish make it loose some points... The characters and world building was, again, good, but the lack of details, of depth and morality issues make it... So I finish it thinking the author have potential but need more experience and maybe a better/harder editing staff behind him to see those littles things here and there and correct them before publishing.1 Alina903 7

I wanted to this more than I did. I was pulled in by the premise as it seemed pretty awesome. The plot was solid, but what lost me was the writing. Switching between present and past inexplicably at points with no warning, dry sex scenes that seemed more cringe than sensual. The sentences were short and contrite; everything felt mechanical. There seemed to be a lot of unnecessary writing that felt fluff. This book could have been a lot shorter than it was. What saved it was the actual story. If you managed to get around the writing style, and looked past all that (you shouldn't have to, but if you did, Good for you!) you actually got a creative, original story.
If the author could make some corrections to the story and improve a bit on their writing, this would be a killer novel.1 Lene Blackthorn 1,613 5

This was unfortunately a fight for me. I do not to DNF a book, as then it is automatically a 1-star for me, but it took me really long to finish it. The idea behind the story was actually good, also the many aspects of the world building, and with an improved execution this would have been a great book. However, there were too many small things and issues that piled up which impacted the reading experience in a more negative way. To mention some:
- details in descriptions. Sometimes too much, overwhelming me with details when the story was calling for action and it slowed down the pace. In other places where I wished for a few more details to paint the scene in my head they were missing.
-repetitive scenes. Especially the middle/ second part felt a loop. Slight variations of the same scenario, but at some point it became one too many, and I did not feel all of them had relevant contribution to the story itself.
-dialogues. Many times they sounded weird, unnatural, something I cannot imagine a normal person saying the way it was written.
- compactness in world building. This was a complex fantasy world, with great ideas, yet I felt gaps and holes in the world which gave impression it is not compact and therefore did not feel realistic.
-flat characters. As much as I was trying, I could not establish any connection to the characters. I could not feel their feelings, understand them, there were several cases of abrupt changes in character without prior development that would lead to the change or at least explain it (best example is Hana). As a result I did not care what happens with them.
-jumping in timeline. Can work well in some cases, here for me it did not. Occasionally I got even confused when the story jumped to another time.
-"show rather than tell" is alpha and omega of a good book, engaging reader's imagination and sucking their focus into the story. Unfortunately here there were too many cases when we were just told the object or person has some trait ( this thing is strong but no action proved it actually is)
The issues I myself have with the story do not mean I do not admire the author for being able to put this whole book together in a foreign language. There are really many good ideas, and important messages, within the story that if written a bit differently could have a strong impact on the reader. As is, I see a lot of room for improvement. A_MOTUS330 46

Original and interesting concept but... too much twists on repeat (find allies, fight small fries, fight big bad guy, lose allies, repeat) a timeline that get messy and maybe not exactly plausible. And for me the characters lacked in stability. I can understand some changes and growing or very strong reaction when confronted to unusual situations, but I felt all the characters were lunatics blowing hot and cold depending on the page.
I know I read an ARC, but there were so many mistakes (typos, grammar, order of events, repetition of the exact same phrasing with different characters) that I feel there were no proof-reading.
After half the book I was debating if I should go straight to the end and skip the long adventures that felt a variation of the first ones. And when I finally reached the end it was dragged out with new characters and new big decisions.
Well I'm going to be honest and say I did the world of witches that are a different race with their interesting features (especially the black eyes). I also found some descriptions very vivid and loved to picture the scenery in my head.
So, this book and this world have potential, but I just did not the result. Rachel RoyAuthor 18 books35

I just read The Black Eyed Witch by Rowan Staeffler. This book is excellent! Immediately I could picture the town meeting with the people’s hysteria rising in fear and the stoic guard’s frustration with the fearmongering.

I would have preferred to read this in one weekend, but unfortunately I had to squeeze it in during the week in my spare moments of free time. It’s so good that I seriously considered staying up late just to read. Even when not reading, this book is in your mind, the foreshadowing teasing your thoughts.

I absolutely recommend this book to any public library or school classroom. I can think of several middle-schoolers that would enjoy this, although it might be more popular with a high school-aged reader. There is fighting with some description, but it is not heavily violent or grossly descriptive. The language is appropriate to all ages, and religion is fairly non-existent. In our world of racial inequalities making the daily news, it could be an interesting parallel to compare this world’s cultural views of black-eyed witches versus their reality. Kari Marie279 6

The Black Eyed Witch by Rowan Staeffler had an interesting premise and had some really cool proponents. Sadly there needed to be a little bit of work. First off I read this book about 2 months ago so the review is going to be simple. This book did not stick with me which says a lot. When I saw the title I knew I had read the book but beyond that I could not tell you details. To be fair once I read the first sentence in the description I remembered quite a bit. There was a twist that was a little obvious. I think this could be a really awesome book and world but there needs to be some workshops. I think if Staeffler were to get a couple books under the belt that some interesting worlds and characters would come from it. I am going to give 2 stars because as is, I would not recommend this book but the potential is there.netgalley-reviewed alex_and_all_her_books337 12

There are witches and monsters in this world... But humans can also be bad and scary. We follow the adventures of a black-eyed witch and her human "friend". I felt a "Witcher" vibe when reading about the monsters, a vibe that I rather d.

I don't usually read dark fantasy but I was intrigued by this story. This book has huge potential and the story is interesting. Nevertheless, the book needs a strong editing ( the author, English is not my mother tongue either but I could still detect many errors and typos etc.). It kind of made my reading more difficult. Some descriptions are a little too vivid (blood and guts everywhere, yuk!) but it didn't bother me that much.
I think there are too many swearwords and it was not always necessary. You don't have to use the F word any other page just to prove you are writing an "adult" book.

That was an enjoyable read but that's it. Sarah Elyse | Retro Girl Reads1,311 78

Ronan is a royal guard, and he works for King Noran, who s to kill witches and dissect them in an attempt to gain their powers. But when he meets Lithia, a strong and sassy black eyed witch, everything changes. Suddenly confused, and forced to flee, Ronan is questioning everything he’s ever believed in. When Lithia convinces Ronan to team up with her against the king, he must learn how to deal with his new feelings.

This book was really fun, and so original! I d Lithia because she was confident and snarky, and she didn’t take attitude from anyone. Ronan was mysterious, and there are things I learned that I didn’t expect, but all in all, I believe he has good intentions. I think Staeffler had a really great idea with this story, and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work. James Batchelor26 11

A promising first attempt by an imaginative author

First off, it's incredibly commendable that the author managed to write such a long an cohesive novel while contending with mild dyslexia and not having English as a first language. This, combined with it being a debut novel, does mean it can be rough reading at parts but if you push through, there's a really decent story here.

I particularly enjoyed the imaginative take on witches as special monster hunters (there's more than a whiff of The Witcher games here, but the author has some original takes on monsters and his fantasy world). Also enjoyed the villain and his overall scheme, and there are plenty of twists to keep you going. Ash Holmquist40 6

The Black Eyed Witch by Rowan Staeffler is the first book in the Black Eyed Witch series. Ronan is a royal guard from Terom who seems to be one of the very few humans that's not afraid of the black-eyed witches. He's been intrigued with them since childhood. Most people are scared of them but not, Ronan since they seem to work for the humans ridding them of monsters in their lands. A black-eyed which named Lithia saves Ronan from being attacked by monsters and the two become friends and go on a journey to figure out who is creating the monsters. The story has two POV's - one in the current day and the other as Lithia's life as a black-eyed witch. The world-building and character development were amazing, I just felt a little could have been shaved off to make it a quicker read. PAR1,594 28

Warning: X-rated language and X rated sex scenes. Not appropriate for younger readers. Interesting story with lots of twist and turns. Witches are seen as evil and killed if they reveal their powers. It reaches a point that the kingdom may be overwhelmed and lost to the enemy. Our protagonist much seek help from the reaches. He learns much about acceptance of those that are different, and is falling in love with one of the witches. All and all an enjoyable novel, that I would recommend for older adults. I received this novel through StoryOrigin. The review is my honest opinion. Eva Kouvari192 5

A fantasy book, full of magic, adventure, action, and twists at every corner.
Tho the action was fast-paced, the characters were a bit off, changing sides for no good reason, just for the twist.
The world-building was pretty good, and it was given when needed.
I loved the story, the idea, and the whole concept of the book.
I had a small issue with the timeline and the flashbacks, but it was overall enjoyable, easy, and quick to read.e-book kindle review BrandyAuthor 8 books33

First, I was given this book for an honest review.

Honestly, I really wanted to it. It has witches and monsters. However, I really couldnt connect with the characters. others have said--the characters were very flat and one-dimensional.

There were some weird editing choices too. Such as present tense and past tense in the same sentence. Also, some of the race names were a little off putting too. Such as Afrans and Ingens. Seemed way to close to Injun which is a racial slur.

The story itself was was pretty predictable. I knew within the first page that the hero would meet a so-called evil witch, she would save him, and they would fall in love while conquering their shared enemy.

I will give the author credit for world building. Its hard to do, but this world has potential to be very interesting. It reminded me a LOT of The Witcher.This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full review Scarolet Ellis7,444 48

The Black Eyed Witch by Rowan Staeffler I loved reading this story very much. I can not get enough of this story and can not wait to see what this wonderful author will write about next. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about magic and witches.


I received a free copy of this book via Story Origin and am voluntarily leaving a review Neil1,519 13

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

This story really throws everything at you with fight scenes, plenty of blood and some sexy scenes thrown in.

It moves at a fast pace drawing you into the life of the characters.

Well worth a read if you a bit of witchcraft in your life.

fantasy netgalley1 K. L. LaettnerAuthor 14 books16

A whirlwind tale

I really enjoyed this witch story, as witches are cool...Lithia was an intriguing character and the trials and tribulations she faces moved this story along at a breathtaking speed. Lots of fight scenes, gore, some sexy scenes, etc, make for a thrill fest I truly enjoyed. Looking forward to the next installment. Kristin35

This is such an amazingly written story. The plot, characters, and trials are very descriptive to give you a clear picture while following Lithia. I had a hard time putting this book down. I can't wait to read the next installation of this series. Kat M3,374 19

This was a fun read with an interesting concept, it was exactly what I was looking for. There are adult themes in the book but it wasn't unnecessary. Nat927 9

It has a rather good story that kept me engaged but it needs better editing. The plotting of the actions of the character is well done. A larger team of editors could have made the book flow better. Jason Brock164 2

Really couldnt get into this book suppose i need book 1 i didnt realize this was second book and so none of the mcs made any sense or the situations going on John Sillasen5 1 follower

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