Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Silver Witch: A Novel
    The Silver Witch: A Novel
    The Silver Witch: A Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Silver Witch: A Novel

    Written by Paula Brackston

    Narrated by Marisa Calin

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A year after her husband's sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat's death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she's near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water.
    On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew.
    In her own time, Tilda's grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake's ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each other's, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren's prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateApr 21, 2015
    ISBN9781427259837
    The Silver Witch: A Novel
    Author

    Paula Brackston

    PAULA BRACKSTON is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter and The Little Shop of Found Things, among others. Paula lives with her family in the historical border city of Hereford in the beautiful Wye valley. When not at her desk in her writing room, she enjoys long walks with the dog in a sublime landscape filled with the imprints of past lives and ancient times.

    More audiobooks from Paula Brackston

    Related to The Silver Witch

    Related audiobooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires

      Mar 25, 2020

      RELEASED 7 APRIL 408 pages | Paperback/ebook/audiobook Author Grady Hendrix Publisher Quirk Books Grady Hendrix writes women beautifully, never more so than in his terrific coming-of-age horror My Best Friend’s Exorcism, so it’s an absolute joy to re

      1 min read

    • Article

      Song Of The Woods

      May 23, 2022

      Song Of The Woods
      7 min read

    • Article

      Into The Wild

      Jul 22, 2019

      Into The Wild
      4 min read

    • Article

      Naked in Death Valley

      May 7, 2018

      Naked in Death Valley
      4 min read

    • Article

      Red Kite Grey Shadow

      Nov 3, 2022

      Red Kite Grey Shadow
      6 min read

    • Article

      All This Blood and Love

      Nov 22, 2017

      All This Blood and Love
      6 min read

    • Article

      Sacred Play

      Feb 27, 2024

      NATURE HAS ALWAYS soaked me in waterfalls of wonder. In a redwood forest, when I crawled into the hollow of an ancient tree and listened to its centuries of stories. By a lake, as I watched thousands of flamingos suddenly take flight. In the ocean, w

      3 min read

    • Article

      Dog Days

      Feb 2, 2022

      Dog Days
      2 min read

    • Article

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson

      Jun 25, 2018

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson
      13 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Jul 1, 2019

      She grazes in a meadow, sulphur blossoms spillingfrom her jaw.At this moment she seems so calm, she could be holyif what that means is something like beingwholly unaware of the good she gives,how even her rooting tills the soiland even her shitting f

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Right Time

      Oct 14, 2019

      The Right Time
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Primeval Comic Book

      Aug 1, 2017

      The Primeval Comic Book
      8 min read

    • Article

      Summer Diary

      Jun 3, 2021

      Every day we are exploring more of the forest park across the road from us, relishing it in small sections, getting to know it like a friend. We have found secret paths among the jays and rooks. We have climbed banks of leaf litter, strayed far off p

      7 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      Jan 1, 2021

      I learned the world through the bottoms of my feet, barein the creeks of summer, stepping on pebbles, the squidgeof moss between my toes. On hot asphalt, the hop and skipover cracks, feet already toughened by bramble, dirt, the pricklyground of pine

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Swan’s Nest

      Jun 8, 2022

      The Swan’s Nest
      2 min read

    • Article

      Getting Started

      Aug 26, 2022

      Getting Started
      3 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Jan 1, 2024

      When the call cameshe ran. Outside, outthe back door, screamingNo No, got to thefence and ran back, droppedto her knees and pawedat the earth, clawingup handfuls of grass.She was howling. Aululation. Something I’d never heardbefore. Likea wild horse

      3 min read

    • Article

      Beyond the Mangrove Trees

      Aug 6, 2020

      No one expects their house to float away. Ethel certainly hadn’t. Our story begins in the sleepy village of Greenwood, where Ethel had spent her entire life. It was an overcast Sunday afternoon and Ethel watched the rain lash against the window from

      7 min read

    • Article

      To Save Arrhinsal

      Sep 1, 2021

      TOLIN CRAWLED FORWARD, staying alert. All around, the dense, wiry thickets of the hedge were strangely silent. That usually meant danger, when the green tangle of thorns should be cheery with the songs of finches, the dusky clucking of hedge hens. On

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Way Back Home

      Apr 30, 2022

      Morning light in Sydney has a quality of powdered gold, spilt celestial talcum. It gets up the nose. The streets seem to have nothing to think about other than parking and shopping, violence a concept from another hemisphere. The calm seems deliberat

      6 min read

    • Article

      Any Given Day

      Mar 29, 2021

      Any Given Day
      11 min read

    • Article

      Hope Springs

      Feb 22, 2021

      The Thin Places in the title of Kerri ní Dochartaigh’s intense memoir-cum-nature book are “places where a veil is lifted away and light streams in”. They are pools of stillness in a “broken, burning and bleeding world”. They are remote havens where t

      2 min read

    • Article

      Fishing a Laurel Hell

      Mar 31, 2022

      Fishing a Laurel Hell
      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Silver Witch

    4/5

    146 ratings20 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      A lovely story that led me back to the past and into the present in a very pleasant way. I adore this author and narrator. I look forward to listening to more from both :)
    • 2/5
      Struggled to get into it, didn’t relate to the main character
    • 4/5
      As a newly widowed bride, Tilda moves into the home she and her husband had bought in Wales set high above an ancient lake. She quickly finds herself trying to deny, then control awakening powers which seem to connect her to a 10th Century Shaman. Powerful, scary and creepy at times.
    • 5/5
      Loved it narrator bought a lot to the story true storyteller.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful story and well read with an authentic mixture of accents. Perhaps some times a little long winded but relaxing and insightful.
    • 5/5
      Such a great story and well rounded, thought out characters. The author does an excellent job of transporting the reader back and from from the past to the present. It’s very easy to fall in love with characters and the stories they tell. I am going to have to buy a hardcopy just to put on my shelf for whenever I feel like reading this story again.
    • 5/5
      A truly enchanting tale ! And so beautifully told. *
    • 5/5
      What a lovely read! The two seemingly unrelated stories fit together with ease and great climactic effect. If you’re a lover of magical phenomenon, old Celtic myths, and new romance, then this is a good pick!
    • 3/5
      Just okay, nothing new. Plus dogs shouldn't eat mince pies...
    • 3/5
      It's been a year since Tilda's husband suddenly died, and she has decided to move into the house that was meant to be their home together. It's secluded in a Welsh forest, and Tilda believes the serenity of the area will be exactly what she needs to refocus and find a way to move forward. While Tilda's visions and nightmares of her husband's death do start to become less common, they are replaced by new visions and feelings that leave Tilda both confused and a bit frightened. There's a new power in her, and she's not entirely sure what it is. And when her paths cross with Seren, a shaman who lived in the area centuries before, she quickly learns that her quaint cottage isn't the safe getaway she imagined it would be...and there's a danger lurking nearer to her than she could ever have imagined.

      The concept here is actually quite interesting. The connection between these two women over hundreds of years and the awakening of old magic provide for an interesting backdrop to the story. The challenge I had, personally, is that there are many little things throughout the book that struck me as irrelevant. It wasn't so much that it completely detracted from the story, but the plot could have been shored up just a bit to keep it even more engaging and focused on the action. That said, I did enjoy this title, and I think it would be of interest to fantasy fans...especially those more interested in the modern or urban fantasy idea.
    • 4/5
      I think this book may be my favorite thing I've read from Paula Brackson so far (perhaps she needed to grow on me as an author?). Anyway, I loved the setting of remote Wales and a thousand-year-old ghost of a witch connecting with a modern-day woman. It was a delightful story, which just the right amounts of intrigue, pacing, and depth to make a satisfying tale. With its winter setting, this book would make for the perfect read on a snowy day with a cup of hot cocoa.
    • 3/5
      A free copy of The Silver Witch was generously provided to me by St. Martin's Press.

      "History is primarily about people. And people are complicated beings, who lead wonderfully complex lives. A belief system, rituals, magic, things beyond rational explanation...these are as much a part of what has gone before us in this mysterious place as any victorious army or change of political allegiance."

      Something about the style of writing of this novel struck me as odd. This is the first of Brackston's books that I've read, so it may simply be unique to her, but the third-person descriptive narrative was awkward to read at times. The Silver Witch was very slow to build with two narratives, one past, one present, that become more and more intertwined as the story progressed.

      Tilda is a widowed ceramicist, struggling to adjust to a much needed fresh start, but life of solitude, in her cottage in the isolated Welsh countryside. Seren is a revered but feared seer and witch acting as her beloved prince's soothsayer and trusted advisor in the same lakeside village, yet over one thousand years prior. Tilda is searching for new direction, but a series of bizarre events involving an archaeological dig and her confusing tendency to cause electrical devices to short out will draw her increasingly closer to an ancient mystery and a dark force struggling to fulfill a vengeful curse.

      The setting is moody and perfect, the infusion of Welsh folklore and medieval history offering satisfying depth. Mystical, a touch of romantic, and ripe with powerful women. The Silver Witch was far from the perfect read, but a diverting tale of witches and Welsh lore.
    • 4/5
      I received this book via netgalley & Little Brown Book in exchange for an honest review The first thing i noticed about this book was its lovely cover.I have never read a book by Paula Brackston so was very happy to have had the opportunity to read this book as I do like History Myths and legends it did not disappoint.I really enjoyed the story. I would have given it 5 stars however with out spoiling the book for others i found the last chapter went on a bit...but that is just my personal opinion and would still highly recommend it!
    • 4/5
      A story told over two time periods, one the present day and one in medieval times. The action centers on a lake in Wales.The heroine, Tilda, begins to have visions of apparitions of people clothed in ancient attire. It so happens that there is an archeological dig unearthing thousand year old grave sites on the other side of the lake. So, could it be that this might be the reason that Tilda is seeing these ghostlike forms? Also, why is Tilda the only person seeing them and no one else? Young readers and most adults will embrace this mystery that spans the centuries.
    • 4/5
      I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press for an honest review.

      Tilda Fordwells is still not used to living in her new house alone. The electricity never seems to stay on and her phobias prevent her from going too far from home, but her pride keeps her from moving back in with her parents. However, as she begins to meet her eclectic neighbors, she finds that she has a lot to learn about the ancient lake that she lives by.

      Woven through the novel is the story of Seren Arianaidd, a witch from the area in 900 AD. Seren is met with much disapproval from her village on the crannog (a man-made island), but she is only interested in serving Prince Brynach. When she has a vision of the crannog under fire, she warns of a betrayal of those closest to Prince Brynach.

      Tilda and Seren’s lives are somehow woven together, but it’s up to Tilda to figure out why strange things are happening around her — before someone gets hurt. “The Silver Witch” is a Celtic paranormal fantasy with twists that will leave you reeling.
    • 4/5
      The story revolves around 2 characters: Tilda, a 21st century woman suffering from grief after her husband is killed on their honeymoon, and Seren, a 10th century shaman in love with the prince. The narrative switches back and forth between the modern and the ancient, with each tale being engaging and of course, how the two women's lives intersect 10 centuries apart. The story moves and is engaging and interesting.
    • 4/5
      Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION'S Pack Alpha - Chelle:--Actual rating 4.5 SkullsThe Silver Witch is a beautifully written Celtic fantasy with dual points of view. At first, the changing POV and tense tripped me up slightly, but as I got into the next two switching chapters I realized how fabulous that storytelling method could be. The book, taking place in both present and far past with interweaving storylines, was - pardon the pun - bewitching and magickal. We get to travel the road of Tilda, a modern-day artist overcoming the trials of her differentness and the weight of her grief at the loss of her husband as she desperately tries to build a new life in this beautiful, remote part of Wales. As well as Seren - witch, seer, and shaman to Prince Brynach, as she loses herself to the love that they come to share despite the problems it causes, and tries to keep him safe from the dangers that abound - both within and without of those closest to them. After we're introduced and immersed in both of their exciting journeys, we get to watch as their paths cross when circumstances bring them together through time and space, providing a tale rife with history (I found out that the setting of the book is one near and dear to the author's heart), growth, rebirth, triumph, love, and intrigue. The Silver Witch was another winner by Ms. Brackston, and I am so very happy that I was given the opportunity to read it. I am coming to absolutely love these stories, and look forward to each new one that she puts out.I highly recommend all of Ms. Brackston's work, but The Silver Witch is perfect for those looking for a fantasy romance steeped in history (though I cannot say one way or the other if the events referenced are actually factual) with two tales of finding love despite adverse circumstances, all tied together with a beautiful magickal bow.*Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review
    • 5/5
      This book is set in Wales and tells the tale of two women. Tilda, a widow of present day and Seren a witch/shaman of Celtic times. The Silver Witch was an excellent read. I was enthralled from the beginning. A story of strong women, love and magic. The past and present, magic and fantasy are weaved together stunningly. Ms. Brackston brings the sweeping landscapes of Wales to life. It is descriptive and beautiful. Makes you feel like you are there with the characters. A must read.
    • 3/5
      In the beginning I struggled with this book. I was not feeling it. Yet, I like this author's writing and wanted to give it another chance. So glad to report that it was my mood and the moment. Sometimes a book strikes you but it has to be the exact right moment and mood or the book will not do anything for you. I really liked Tilda. I thought she was going to be a downer. Just because some of the books I have read where the woman has lost her spouse, until they do some growing again, they are a wallflower. Yet, Tilda was strong, kind, and interesting. Seren's story was on the lacking side in the beginning. It was mainly focused on Tilda. So I was saddened by this lop-sidedness. But the parts I did read with Seren I found captivating. I liked this book.
    • 4/5
      Tilda, a widow of one year, has finally moved into the remote Welsh cottage that she and her husband were going to live in until an accident put an end to their plans. She hopes to work on her pottery and find peace. Once there, however, strange things start happening. Modern things- whether it be the electricity, gasoline engines, or simply mechanical things like a grandfather clock- start refusing to work when she is around them. Then she sees a vision on the lake- three people in a canoe, not dressed in modern attire. Finally, she is seeing a horrific vision of a mutilated woman- a very angry mutilated woman- threatening her. And it all seems to be connected with an archeological dig next to the lake. In the novel’s second point of view, Seren lives in a hut by the same lake, more than a thousand years before Tilda’s time. Seren is a witch and a shaman who prophesizes for the local prince, who lives on a man-made island in the lake. She and the prince are in love, but the prince is married- a marriage made to cement an alliance. As Tilda learns more about the past, she also gains control over the powers she seems to have acquired by coming to the lake. But can she gain control well enough to defeat the very powerful ghost that is rising from the grave the archeologists are excavating? I enjoyed this book a great deal, although it took me a while to get into it. I loved the setting and season; winter in the secluded lake area puts Tilda largely on her own, despite a love interest. The ending managed to surprise me; it was obvious that the grave was very important but who was in it was not who I expected! Great atmosphere and I liked most of the characters, although some were rather flat, there to just serve a function. I’ll be looking for Brackston’s previously published books now.