The House Witch 3 by Delemhach – Review

Published: February 28, 2023

Publisher: Podium Publishing

Series: The House Witch #3

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 375 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.25 Stars

Synopsis:
House witch Finlay Ashowan is pulled out of the kitchen—and into the fire—as war, family, and love collide in the third book of this fantasy romance series.

Having somehow convinced Lady Annika Jenoure to marry him, all Finlay Ashowan wants to do is settle down, cook some good meals, and enjoy a quiet life in Daxaria. But fate has different plans.

Fin’s father, Aidan Helmer, fire witch and servant of King Matthias of Troivack, has arrived in the kingdom with devastating news: Annika’s brother Charles has been taken prisoner, and the only way his life will be spared is if Annika or Fin goes to plead his case. Given that an attack from Troivack is imminent, there’s no way some trickery isn’t involved in this plot.

Now it’s up to Fin, with the help of his family, friends, and wily kitten familiar, Kraken, to attempt a daring mission of rescue and espionage. But he’ll need to move quickly—because if he can’t find a way to fend off his father and keep Daxaria safe, all his dreams might go up in flames.

With twists and turns around every corner, The House Witch 3 brilliantly continues this irresistible new series, replete with romance, magic, courtly intrigue, mystery, and humor.

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Once again, I got really excited and didn’t take any notes while reading this and I had a bunch of other reviews to catch up on so I forgot some things. But here it goes anyway! 

This installment was very entertaining and literally made me cry because of course it can’t have a totally happy ending. I feel like that should be stated, just in case you need to mentally prepare for that eventuality. It’s a very good and satisfying ending with a very hopeful, positive tone, but there is a note of bittersweet. Also, the ending leaves things open for additional books set in the world and the next one is out in June 2023!! So exciting!

I love how this entire series just completely hooked me – I had such a great time reading all three books and had a ton of emotional investment because the characters are so easy to root for and love! While this installment was all about the war with Troivack, it didn’t lose the small things that make the series such a delight. We get more chapters featuring Kraken’s cunning plans to foil the Troivackians on Fin’s behalf, including a particularly funny scene where the cats ally themselves with the city’s rat population. Fin and Annika’s relationship isn’t entirely what hooked me on this series, but I absolutely love it and how it continues to blossom.

The focus on food, family, and protecting what’s dear to you are themes that I can totally get behind. It’s refreshing to read a book where everything isn’t all blood, betrayal, and chosen one tropes and while the stakes aren’t small, at least the characters aren’t saving the entire world all the time. I suppose it has reasonable conflict escalation. I am totally struggling with this review, so I’ll cut things off here and just say that I loved the entire trilogy and I’m anxiously awaiting the new book out in June.