I wanted to start this review off by sharing something exciting.

This is my 500th book review since I started reviewing every book I read beginning in 2020! I know all my reviews are not on this website, since I only started it last year in 2023, but they are all on my Goodreads if you’d really like to check them all out.

My goal is to review everything I read for at least a decade. And seeing myself hit 500 is a bit surreal. Only 700 more reviews to go 🙂

Island Witch
By: Amanda Jayatissa
Genre: Horror, New Adult
Number of Pages: 384
Published: February 20, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Dates Read: February 18, 2024 - February 22, 2024
Format: ARC / eBook

In nineteenth century Sri Lanka, daughter of the village Capuwa (demon priest), Amara, tries to solve the mysterious attacks that have been happening around her village. Most of the villagers around the island have been influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, but that doesn’t stop them from still calling on Amara’s dad whenever supernatural occurrences happen. But now, someone (or something), is viciously attacking the men and instead of asking for Amara’s father’s help, the villagers begin accusing him for it.

Amma is used to keeping to herself – the relentless bullying and accusations of witchcraft are never ending. She sets out to try and clear her father’s name herself, but begins being haunted by dreams that predict dark forces, that also leave her waking up in random places throughout the island as she sleepwalks. She can’t shake the feeling that all of this is connected to the night weeks ago – when she was recovering from a strange illness and woke up scared and confused, to her mother frantically saying, “No one can find out what happened”.

I don’t read horror that often, but after reading the marketing promos for it and seeing it was both based on Sri Lankan folklore and had “female rage finally being unleashed” as a highlight point, I was sold. And this didn’t disappoint.

The storyline of watching Amara from an innocent young girl turned to a rage filled woman was impressive and believable. It made the ending of the story a bit complicated because you both saw where she was coming from and kind of had to take a step back and go, “Whoa”. I haven’t read anything from Amanda Jayatissa before, but I will be adding her other two to my ever growing TBR list.

As I said before, horror isn’t my forte, but I think those who are looking for a unique and page turning, historical Sri Lanka horror, will greatly appreciate this one. There are some gory moments, but nothing that I thought was super crazy or intense, especially for a horror novel.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review