The Factory Witches of Lowell - Review

Author: C.S. Malerich

Genre: Novella

Format: Paperback

Pages: 127

This was one of those I saw at the library and added it to my already towering stack of books, finds. Novellas have been a great way to pull me out of my reading slumps this year, and The Factory Witches of Lowell didn't let me down.

This was a fast-paced story that kept you turning pages and made it hard to put down. It was also very well researched. Even though this was a novella we did get a quick history of the town and how the mills became to be. We even got a quick rundown on how the factors girls did and the dangers involved with those jobs. All of these things were told in a way that fits well into the story and didn't leave me lost or confused, or felt like an information dump. These facts blended in with the story to explain the magic or the demands of the striking factory girls.

I liked the magic system that Malerich introduced in this story. It was one familiar that I'd seen before in other mediums, so it didn't need to be explained away more than their spell was going to work. In my opinion, this allowed the story to flow without stopping to explain the way the system works, pulling away from the story itself. 

Judith and Hannah were also amazing main characters. Both of them were very different, but in a way that made it easy for them to work together to lead this strike. More so than just with Hannah's sight. I felt the two complemented each other nicely. It also meant their slow-burning relationship wasn't that much of a leap. It was clear that Judith cared for Hannah from the start of the book, and that was the base theme that carried across the whole novella. Their ending made the slow burn worth it in the end.

My favorite bit about this book is that it left me torn. Apart from I really liked how short the story was and how open the end of the story was. While it ended on a happy note, you left questioning how long that happiness would last. Because something was coming. On the other hand, I also wish the book would have been a little longer to see more of what led up to the strike, maybe learn more about Judith's past, and get to know the rest of the cast of characters.

Because one issue with this book was that so many characters were introduced so quickly that I kept getting the side characters flipped around. I would have to stop and remember which character was which, and how they tied into the story. 

All-in-all this was a fun book and I'm glad I added it to my library TBR pile.

HAPPY READING!!