The Hangman's Daughter

While I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down during the last half, I didn't enjoy the fact that its time-period allowed for the driving force of the story. The ignorance of the town council throughout the entirety of the book is frustrating. Without it, however, the idea of witches killing children with their spells and alchemy would be a completely unneeded plot point, and that's what drew me to this book in the first place. I didn't get what I wanted from that aspect of the plot, but what I did get was an intriguing true-to-life character in Jakob Kuisl, a relatable forward-thinking doctor in Simon, and the spunky, defiant and strong-willed Magdalena.

I wish there was a bit more of the fantastical, but because of the strong characters, I will gladly read The Dark Monk (the second book in the series).