Witchy Eye

I’ll admit, I was skeptical about a 22-hour audiobook centered on a teenage girl in a flintlock fantasy—until Courtney Patterson’s narration pulled me in within the first chapter. She nails Sarah’s voice: a mix of frontier toughness and adolescent uncertainty, with a dry wit that keeps the character from feeling like a cliché ‘chosen one.’ The real magic, though, is how Butler weaves Appalachian folklore into the political machinations of this alternate America. The world feels *earned*, from the eerie ‘witchy eye’ curses to the cutthroat maneuvering of the electors. I particularly loved the scenes where Sarah bargains with haints (ghosts) and outsmarts seasoned soldiers—it’s a masterclass in writing a young protagonist who’s clever, not just lucky. That said, the audiobook isn’t without flaws. The middle act drags slightly as Butler indulges in *too* much political exposition—listen at 1.25x if you’re impatient. And while Patterson’s character voices are strong, her male characters occasionally blur together, lacking the distinctness of her female roles. Still, the payoff is worth it: the final act delivers a climactic battle that’s both visually stunning (thanks to Butler’s prose) and emotionally brutal. This isn’t a cozy fantasy; it’s a story about power, sacrifice, and the kind of magic that leaves scars. If you’re craving something fresh in the epic fantasy space—less medieval, more *frontier gothic*—this is a gamble that pays off.