The Binding Witch and the Fortune Taker

The Kate Roark Magic Series, Book 1

By: Laura Rich

Narrated by: Sara Pauley

The Binding Witch and the Fortune Taker

Growing up homeschooled on the Renaissance Festival circuit is weird enough, but when you’re the daughter of a powerful binding witch who makes a living as a fortune teller, and your best friend is a middle-aged sari vendor, weird is relative.

Fifteen-year-old Kate Roark desperately wants to be a witch but isn't - yet. It’s not likely at her age until she meets the Fortune Taker and gets a taste of unimaginable power - but at what cost?

Forced to choose between keeping stolen power or making her magic dreams come true, her ultimate decision throws her entire world into question.

Described as "book candy" and "compulsively readable," The Binding with and the Fortune Taker is the first in the Kate Roark Magic series from emerging YA fantasy writer Laura Rich.

©2017 Laura Rich (P)2019 Laura Rich

Great story

I received this book for free at my request but the opinion is of my own. Kate is the daughter of a very powerful witch that binds powers of others. One day she runs into another fortune teller and suddenly feels something she’s never felt before. Is she really just a hedge witch or something more? Very quick enjoyable read.

I had to grab this...

I had to grab this short after listening to the very cliffhangery (is that a word?) snippet, I just had to know what happens next, and of course what happened before, as well! 😊
Surprisingly, after enjoying that snippet, I felt Sara Pauley's narration to be the weakest component of an otherwise good, audio book. She has a pleasant enough voice, but her pacing was off... it felt rather rushed to me, and that tended to pull me out of the story a little bit. Maybe slowing the audio playback would help...
So go ahead. Pick up the book and get a view of Kate Roark's magical world. It's worth it!

Great short story

A quick listen. A magical short story story. Will listen to Book 2.
Narration was good.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Wonderful

I do not much care much for high fantasy novels, and I don’t often run across fantasy novels that I like because of it. I do like fantasy novels when they slowly build the fantasy world and add to it rather than suddenly immersing you in something completely foreign. That is just what The Binding Witch and the Fortune Taker does.

The story is set in our world with the assumption that there really are witches and they have been persecuted since the witch trials. Ms. Rich does a wonderful job of immersing you into that world and explaining the necessary elements without too much detail at a time. It is a perfect combination of the world we know and the world we don’t so that readers like me are not overwhelmed by the fantasy side of the novel. The story is a great tale with unique characters taking place at a renaissance festival. The narrator does a wonderful job giving each character their own voice and nuances. I would recommend this book and the series for both young and old alike. My only regret is that the novel was short, but it is likely a mixture of being such a great read and easy to listen to and being a young adult novel.

I was provided with a free copy of this audiobook for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.

A Great New Series

This is a great start to a new YA series. The author did a really good job setting up a new world for readers and listeners to enjoy. This is an enjoyable story about a witch finding her way and figuring out who and what she really is. The narration was done well. I would have liked a bit more difference in voices and thought the main character, who's suppose to be fifteen, sounded a bit older than she should have but overall the performance was well done and did help the story come to life.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.