The Henna Witch
When an enchanter begins stealing the souls of animals to haunt the dreams of men, Ashia Verena, one of the ageless Guardians, is drawn into a confrontation that resurrects a dangerous secret of her past. A native girl stows away on Ashia's journey and becomes irrevocably entangled within the nebulous realms of magic and dreams. As the circle tightens, experience and innocence must join in hopes of overcoming the sorcerer's lust for power and revenge.
Reviews
Literary Titan Review
Evil is everywhere. The one place we expect to be free of it is in our dreams, but even those are sometimes not free from the grip of terror and the foreboding sense of impending doom. Men and women are waking in cold sweats and glancing about in a feverish daze trying to convince themselves that it was just that–a dream. The most amazing and terrifying part of it all? These men and women cannot free themselves from these larger-than-life nightmares–and they are having identical experiences. Their sleep is no longer safe and their dreams are certainly not their own.
The Henna Witch, by G.J. Scherzinger, is the enthralling account of Ashia Verena’s mission to defeat a sorceress invading dreams and creating a long path of terror among mortals. Ashia, with a massive task in front of her, sets out to do what no other Guardian can. She isn’t alone on her mission, however, and finds herself facing the task of hosting a young girl on a mission all her own.
Scherzinger writes beautifully with vivid imagery and creates details that lead the reader on a fantastic visual journey. What we, as readers, are not able to conjure, Scherzinger lays out masterfully before us. Where some authors of this genre lean toward flowery language, Scherzinger manages to keep his narrative straightforward and simultaneously descriptive and elegant.
As a reader who is more interested in the relationships between characters, I am pleased with Scherzinger’s approach to writing. The Henna Witch is filled with rich dialogue between characters. The author includes dialects that give his characters an added appeal and make it even more likely readers will become lost in the plot.
I have to note that there were times throughout the book that Hansel and Gretel came to mind. For some reason, the imagery conjured by Scherzinger brings about the dark feel of the age old fairy tale–definitely not a bad thing at all for this fan of grim tales.
Yet another plus to The Henna Witch is the length of chapters. Scherzinger keeps his chapters concise and brings each one to a fitting end that urges the reader on to the next. The book is overall a quick read and difficult to put down.
The budding friendship between Ashia and O’la is a precious thing. As their travel ensues, Ashia attempts to be both a mentor and a protector. The two grow closer and Ashia shows O’la how to live off the land and become more in tune with the animals. I enjoyed being able to see Ashia’s thoughts as she observes the fruits of her labor with O’la. Her own desire to not mother her too much is relatable.
The Henna Witch is easily one of the most engaging books in the witchcraft/fantasy genre I have encountered. With a surprisingly relatable cast of characters and an engaging and fascinating plot surrounding the phenomenon of dreams, it will appeal to readers across genres.
Good Reads Reviews
The Henna Witch is an adventure novel about a women name Ashia. She is one of the seven women guardians of the Esme Verena. Each woman has a sacred charge among the real of which they assemble within the astral plan in order to exchange their thoughts. Ashia is in charge of the animals. She can sense a host animal and cohabit it or even communicate with it.
Henna Witch is Ashia and her complexity, looks; personality is what made the tribe name her that. Things are calm until Kapornic arrives stealing the souls of the animals and infecting the dreams of the folks. Ashia is then forced to find the source of the problem and to protect the sanctuary.
I found the story to be very interesting. The literature was descriptive, and the world was detailed oriented. I particularly appreciated the female character lead. The Sanctuary was a portal between worlds, and this created an excellent addition of scenes and scenarios which the author could potentially invest time in expanding.
The diverse array of women in strong roles is a trend for this author, and I admired that he did not shy away from that. The story definitely appeals to the younger generations as well as, the older. In this book, magic embraces the ability for many things to occur, including animals, trees talking, water having a life of its own. Altogether, the book was entertaining to read.
I recommend this book to fantasy readers and adventure novel fans.
~ Happy Booker - 4 Stars
This was incredible in a way that it not only brought human and "beast" into light, but dove deeper into who, why, how they connect and how our world and many tribes in history also came about. GJ, just.. wow. Great work. I wish I could say more, maybe I will add more when I've digested he story a little while longer.
Kelsey
Amazon Reviews
​
​
​
16 January 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
​
I found this book both intriguing and engaging on many levels. It exceeds the usual narrative of the genre, discovering relationships with man, beast and nature alike. GJ Scherzinger takes you on an exciting journey of discovery, which had me anxious to read on to its fantastic conclusion. I found his characters both engaging and interesting, the female and animal characters in particular. This is a magical work that transports you to a lush green world where anything is possible.
This book is his fourth in this series and equal, if not better than the others I’ve read and I’m already looking forward to the next one! I happily recommend Henna Witch to readers of all ages and tastes.
​
Susanne