The Tale of the Young Witch in Review / Write / Read Club (Indie & Self-Published)

May 18, 2023 Kat rated it really liked it

THE TALE OF THE YOUNG WITCH follows the story of teenager Amelia Twigg, a young girl living in a village in 1901, who learns she not only has the potential for powerful magic, but also a special destiny connected to an ancient witchcraft relic when evil forces within the wizarding world descend on her town, destroying it and killing her father.

The world building is exceptionally detailed. Joseph Minart has done an outstanding job of crafting a world that you can imagine and see coming alive on ...more

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May 25, 2023 Seth Hobbs rated it really liked it

A lot to like here! The world building is pretty nice, but not overly extensive to the point of losing readers. There is also a helpful index of some characters, places, holidays, etc. in the back of the book to remind folks of all of the different components. Amelia is a young girl living in the early 1900s and though many think that magic and occult powers are gone from the world, she knows otherwise. However, we learn that she is not the only one that knows about the hidden secrets. Others wi ...more

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Apr 25, 2024 Sotto Voce rated it really liked it

A tale of a young witch is a very ambitious fantasy. However, I am not sure why it’s divided into three parts because all three happen continuously and in the same timeline, involving the same characters.

The book has a simple but interesting beginning. We follow the story of Amelia as some origin story because she is the titular character who starts as someone ordinary enough with ordinary life, but it doesn’t stay that way for long. From there, the journey goes to common fantasy routes with a t A tale of a young witch is a very ambitious fantasy. However, I am not sure why it’s divided into three parts because all three happen continuously and in the same timeline, involving the same characters.

The book has a simple but interesting beginning. We follow the story of Amelia as some origin story because she is the titular character who starts as someone ordinary enough with ordinary life, but it doesn’t stay that way for long. From there, the journey goes to common fantasy routes with a twist ending. More on these later.

This goes throughout the book, but it’s more jarring in the beginning; it is the way the story is told as ‘Amelia this,’ ‘Amelia that’ even though the scenes only involve one character or the other character is a male. It becomes very distracting because of the number of times the name is thrown instead of using she or her. I believe it would average at least three times per page. I am also distracted by the description of Jack earlier as lanky and when he is mentioned later in the book as lean. It would be fine as the two definitions are close enough if it’s not mentioned too often. Other terms that bother me are between ‘puppet’ and ‘clone.’ I love Sci-Fi, and the way these terms are used as if they are the same confuses me. In the earlier scenes with Scarlet, I’m sorry, but I have to repeat the word ‘distracting’ to read things like ‘angelic’ voice and ‘gorgeous’ eyes while they are in dire situations and not some observations of someone about the character. But these are nitpicking, and they most likely don’t distract others as much.

I prefer realistic fantasy, if that’s a thing. I wish there were a genre for it. It’s like fantasy, but the plot, the problems that the characters face, and the characters themselves are very much in line with reality. I devour The Song of Ice and Fire with great interest and have no problem with big-sized books, but this book makes me recall my experience watching the first Transformer movie. I’d categorize it as pure fantasy, so maybe I am biased in my reading experience because, as mentioned, I prefer the other kind of fantasy, nevermind they both have a similar magical creature. It starts well, and everything is intriguing enough. Still, unfortunately, I can’t wait for it to end after the final fights that stretch over one hundred pages, more or less, with repetitive dialogues. The fights are great and well-written, but it takes one-fifth of the book, and I have to admit I don’t care anymore since the outcome is obvious to me anyway. And there is a plethora of action scenes before these final fights that already exhaust me.

Having said all that, pure fantasy readers might enjoy this book. The author put a lot of effort into this, and there are a lot of unique and great scenes for the theme that is probably quite saturated. The characters are done well; we are introduced to plenty of them, and although some have fewer scenes than they deserve, they are distinguishable enough. The fight scenes are creative and well-written, and although I am not really taken by the ending, it has the potential for more stories.

3.5 rounded up.

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Aug 30, 2025 Ann Birdgenaw rated it it was amazing

Excellent read for fans of high fantasy!

Joseph Minart has written an evocative fairy tale for grown ups. Teenager, Amelia Twigg is starting to suspect that she has magical powers. But it can't be, because witchcraft has not existed for 450 years! And what of the visions she keeps having of a beautiful necklace called the Jewel of Celestria. But something foul is happening in the Kingdom of Daimitria, their little town of Coalfell is under attack and Amelia's father is killed by a wizard. Amelia ...more

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Apr 02, 2023 Michael Ferguson rated it it was amazing

It started out like a Harry Potter novel, but had more depth and reality. Young Amelia has lots of challenges, and grows up over the course of the story. She experiences loss early on, but her good heart and desire to do good triumphs out. There are lots of twists and turns, with magical characters and a bad mom, some allies and equal villain's. Not to spoil the plot, but her main adversary is heartless, and fits the part of an evil foil. If you want an adventure, with plot twists, multitude of ...more

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Jun 15, 2023 Terry Birdgenaw rated it liked it

Amelia Twigg is a young woman who discovers she is a witch not long after reaching adulthood. But before she acquires any witchcraft, she discovers the Cursed Sorcerers are after her because she has the Witch’s Calling. She has the unique ability to find the Jewel of Celestria, an anti-magical necklace created to suppress the extensive use of witchcraft in Amelia’s world. The Cursed Sorcerers are a group of witches and wizards that want to destroy the jewel to release the full power of witchcraf Amelia Twigg is a young woman who discovers she is a witch not long after reaching adulthood. But before she acquires any witchcraft, she discovers the Cursed Sorcerers are after her because she has the Witch’s Calling. She has the unique ability to find the Jewel of Celestria, an anti-magical necklace created to suppress the extensive use of witchcraft in Amelia’s world. The Cursed Sorcerers are a group of witches and wizards that want to destroy the jewel to release the full power of witchcraft and use it to control all those in the Kingdom of Daimitria.

Joseph Minart has used impressively creative world-building to fashion a fantastical empire with devious witches and wizards, warring kingdoms with power-hungry leaders, and a core of protagonists that wish to thwart the use of witchcraft for evil purposes. Much of the early parts of the book are captivating and keep the reader turning the pages for the next imaginative and often explosive scene. The later parts of the story are simply brimming with ingeniously magical narratives, and finding a more fantastical tale isn’t easy.

But alas, sometimes too much of a good thing can just be too much. As the story progressed, I found that the scenes became protracted and tiresome. With so many battles, treacherous obstacles, and novel solutions to insurmountable predicaments, the plot began to seem more ridiculous than creative, as if the author seemed to try to outdo himself repeatedly. Also, the tight editing of the prose that impressed me early on began to slip, and the writing became repetitive, with clunky dialogue seeming more aimed at informing the reader than conversing with other characters. Scores of run-on sentences and occasional grammar or cut-and-paste errors also pull the reader out of the story. The book was far too long, and the author could have easily broken it into at least two novels. There were also a few plot holes, the most obvious being why her captors would allow Amelia to hold on to her wand-like sword after taking her into custody.

Despite my reservations, this was an enthralling book I couldn’t put down. Its highly original storyline will appeal to lovers of high fantasy and could be far more appealing with additional editing.
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May 16, 2024 James Joseph rated it really liked it

‘The Tale of the Young Witch’ by Joseph Minart is a highly creative fantasy novel with impressive world-building. The story revolves around Amelia Twigg, a young woman who, shortly after discovering she is a witch, is pursued by a group of witches and wizards known as the Cursed Sorcerers. Since she has the Witch’s Calling, they want to force Amelia to find and release the Jewel of Celestria that suppresses the full use of witchcraft throughout their world. Amelia and her young friend Jack escap ...more

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May 15, 2024 P.L. Tavormina rated it it was amazing

This is actually pretty good for a first novel, and I really like that the author has listened to reviewers to additionally improve it from where it started (it looks like he did additional proofing and editing in response to early reviews.) I like that he acknowledges the commercial programs he uses for the work, too, like Inkarnate.

The story is whimsical more that hard-hitting fantasy, and that's nice to encounter. Like, a lot of indie fantasy gets so dark and heavy straight out of the gate . ...more

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Jul 14, 2023 Marco Santucci rated it liked it

This story takes place in the fifteenth century with many characters, some good and some not so good, as far as people go. The absolute main character is Amelia, a teen-age girl who discovers early on she is a witch, but doesn't want to be, though she is destined. Turns out she's a descendant of one of the Three Noble Wizards. 'The witches' calling's (same as visions) were interesting, and relatable.

This type of book is not one I'm drawn to, tales of fanciful dread coupled with trails leading i ...more

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Mar 25, 2023 Jenny Graves rated it liked it

This story is an entertaining one and the main character, Amelia Twigg, along with her companions, was engaging and sympathetic. The antiheroes are well fleshed out and totally evil. There are lots of twists and turns, and just when you think you know what’s going to happen everything changes.

On the downside, I found the book, at 453 Kindle pages long, much too long for a fiction book. I was surprised that the author didn’t make it into a series. The last 100 pages or so, which were the final do ...more

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Aug 09, 2024 Gene Kendall rated it really liked it

A young adult fantasy novel with ties to previous generations -- so much of a throwback, it opens with detailed maps and concludes with a glossary of pronunciations, locales, and magic systems. The star is Amelia Twigg, who discovers in the early chapters that she's a witch in a world that long believed witchcraft dead. A mystery cabal targets her for nefarious reasons, she develops a love interest that her father disapproves of, and many locations and supporting players are introduced. There's ...more

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Sep 06, 2025 Morgan Scarborough rated it really liked it

A Very Deep Dive Into Magic Fantasy

Be prepared, this is a massive 550 page, very detailed work, which I probably would have titled: ‘The Reluctant Witch’. The writing can only be described as ‘dense’ and doesn’t exactly flow smoothly. It obviously was a huge amount of work and includes detailed color maps, an index, and a list of characters. It reads sort of like it was written by a scientist or engineer, which could certainly turn some people off.

It took me a while to get through it, not only ...more

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May 09, 2024 Loralee rated it liked it

The author's imagination is very clever, but while the story has a lot of potential, there is too much telling rather than showing. And there's a lot of awkward wording, and exposition. The author info-dumps a great deal of information rather than letting readers absorb it organically.
Amelia is the main character, and has the potential to be likeable, but things move far too quickly for readers to get to know her, and she doesn't react to what goes on around her in a plausible way.
The story abou ...more

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Aug 11, 2023 Gary Stringer rated it liked it

The Tale of a Young Witch does exactly what it says in the tin. It follows young Amelia Twigg as she is forced into a life-or-death struggle where she discovers her innate gifts.

The author thrust me into the action almost from page 1, with little or no background or explanation, which I loved. Amelia’s initial wonder and disbelief at the possibility that magic might still exist quickly morphed into something else as she witnessed its destructive capabilities, and for me, that momentum carried me ...more

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Mar 20, 2023 Juliette Godot rated it liked it

The Tale of the Young Witch is a fantasy about a teenager named Amelia who is a witch but doesn't know it. She is forced to learn to use her powers when three evil sorcerers follow a diabolical master into to town, kill her father, and threaten to destroy everyone and everything to achieve his goal.

I found this book entertaining but too long. The author lists several editors at the end, but none of them corrected the POV head-hopping. It's not omniscient and tends to get confusing at times, how ...more

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May 05, 2023 B.J. Sikes marked it as to-read

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Oct 02, 2024 Brittany A Tilley rated it really liked it

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Feb 15, 2025 Soph rated it it was amazing

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