Half Spent Was the Night - Ami McKay
“In the corners of the world where ancient forests shelter mystical creatures, and sacred springs hold the voices of nymphs, wise women pause Between the Years to honour the one who rules them all, the Queen of Witches.
Some call her the Mistress of Yule, others call her Frau Perchta, or Holle, or Bertha, or Bright One, or the Lady of the Dead. Her name does not matter half as much as her gift, for she alone has the power to lead the Wild Hunt.”
•••••
As a big fan of The Witches of New York by Ami McKay, I was pretty excited to read this companion piece. I had first seen Half Spent Was the Night while Christmas shopping and couldn’t stop thinking about it until I went back and bought it. For me it was the perfect holiday read, very reminiscent of a holiday folktale. Short, sweet, and holiday themed. It was a great Yuletide story and I managed to start and finish it on Christmas Eve day to get into the spirit of the festivities to come. If you enjoyed The Witches of New York, this story was a fun and light little glimpse into the lives of Beatrice, Adelaide, and Eleanor and where they are after the events of the previous book.
I liked that this story felt like a folktale, something to read by the fire during the quiet moments between celebrations. I also liked that I got to read about where these Witches were now that the danger was “over” in their lives and how they had moved on from it. The one thing that left me frustrated was that the plot was too interesting for just a short one-off! Sure, it gave a little more insight to some of the questions I had after having finished The Witches of New York but my questions still weren’t resolved by the end of this book and, because the story was so short (6 chapters), there were a lot of plot holes.
Some of the questions I have after finishing lead me to believe we might get a sequel! For instance:
- How did Eleanor reveal to Beatrice the fortune that Mrs. Stutt had foreseen?
- What was Beatrice’s reaction?
- Why did we learn a little more about Purdue’s curse but not actually see a resolution?
- Why the short appearance of Mr. Wentworth and why was it never explained why he was there or what happened to him?
- What will happen with Adelaide and Dr. Brody?
- Why did Eleanor, such an important character in the first book, have such a short meaningless plot with only minor reference to her new relationship?!
How can these questions be answered in any way but in another book? I for one think that this short novel had enough of a plot to be extended into a full-length novel, but maybe I feel this way because we are being set up for another book!
Something that added a little bit of a homey touch to this Witches Yuletide was the actual recipes printed in between the chapters. Even if you don’t like the story, read it for the recipes! I am DEFINITELY going to try making “Baroness Weisshirsch’s Engelszopf” during my time off this holiday. Little touches like these are what drew me into Ami McKay’s writing in the first place. I can already tell this story might be a yearly read on Christmas Eve.
Yuletide goes until the 1st of January so there’s still time for you to read this during the holiday season!!
••••
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
-Taylor