Reviewed by Jessica Barbosa for Readers' Favorite

The Witch Of Brentwood by Real Carpentier is set in 1684, a time when people’s cries of witches and magic were a common thing. Everyone feared the unexplainable and even the slightest accusation or suspicion of magic could have you hanged. Twins Isabell and Alexander Whitlock experience the shock of their lives when they see a woman, accused of being a witch, hanging from a tree in the nearby woods. Due to this traumatizing incident, nightmares plague Isabell and her health takes a turn for the worse as she grows older. However, one day, her mother tells her a story about her grandfather and a mysterious brooch he kept. She gives this brooch to Isabell who recovers miraculously from her illness. Due to her almost impossible recovery and the circumstances of her family, the people in her town began casting a suspicious light on the Whitlock and Arington families, so they have no choice but to move to a new town to start again. What new adventures and intrigue will they face?

Real Carpentier’s The Witch Of Brentwood opens with an interesting prologue that gives insight into the various false witch accusations in the past because science was still too new to disprove them. If something unusual occurred or deaths became common in an area, most people assumed that was the work of witches. As a result, many innocent people suffered and died prematurely. The first chapter was powerful and tragic. After reading the prologue, the story opens with the point of view of an innocent person accused of being a witch. From the very start, the story left a deep impression on me and I was hooked. I was devastated for the falsely accused woman and I followed Isabell and Alexander’s adventures right to the very end. It was hard putting this book down because of its intriguing and compelling plot and uniquely written narrative. The lives of the Whitlock family were not easy and along the way, they experienced pain and heartaches. The paths they chose were sometimes wrong and to keep the peace they had to make excuses for another’s action. I appreciated Isabell’s righteous fury on her family’s behalf and her determination to do right by her family is what made this story shine. Carpentier took me through an exhilarating adventure filled with interesting plot points and occasionally steep hills. Overall, The Witch Of Brentwood has captured my heart and my thoughts with its spellbinding plot and outstanding characters.