Book: The Useless Witch: A Dark Romantasy Standalone by Bree Harlow
Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy
Rating: 1/5
๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข
โ๏ธ๐ป๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐- The useless witch
๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ซ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ฐ, ๐ข๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค.
โ๏ธโ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค-
(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โญ๏ธ / 5
๐ก๏ธ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ ๐ซ / 5 -๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐
Which books have I also given this same rating? (๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ค๐)
5โญ๏ธ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5โญ๏ธ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4โญ๏ธ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3โญ๏ธWe Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex
โ๏ธ๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ :
Genre- Fantasy Romance
๐ 413 ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐
Solo ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ- 5 may 2026
๐ฃ๐น๐ผ๐ or ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ driven? ๐ โณ๐พ๐
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ & ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ป๐ผ- standalone
๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ on ๐๐จ? โ ๐ดโฏ๐.
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ- ๐๐ ๐ถ๐๐น ๐นโด๐๐
๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ? โ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐๐, ๐โด.
๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)โ mental health/ self harm
โณโดโด๐น๐; ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐บ๐๐ , ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ป๐๐๐๐, ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐พ๐น ๐พ โฏ๐๐ฟโด๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐? ermโฆ. I wanted toโฆ
๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ ๐พ ๐โฏ๐ถ๐น ๐๐ฝโฏ ๐โฏ๐๐ ๐ทโดโด๐ ๐พ๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐ ๐โฏ๐๐พโฏ๐?โ
๐ฒโด๐๐๐น ๐พ ๐โฏ๐ถ๐น ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฝ๐พ๐๐ โฏ๐๐โฏ ๐ท๐ ๐๐ฝ๐พ๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฝโด๐? Iโm not sure, this may have been a case of poor editing team and support groups.
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐? If I had to Iโd say People new to the genre who like a more vanilla spice and lots going on
Trigger- self harm and physical abuse (not by love interest)
โ๏ธ๐โ๐ผโ๐๐ผ๐ ๐โ ๐๐๐โ๐:
๐งโโ๏ธ๐ฝ๐๐
๐ฆดSาโ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐
๐งโโ๏ธ แฐOแีTแดแแ
โ๏ธ Gods
โ๏ธ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง
๐ซฆOแดแดแดsษชแดแดs Aแดแดสแดแดแด
๐ฆVanilla
โ๏ธ๐โ๐โ๐ผ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค & ๐น๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ค
๐งญโ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ค
๐๐ก๐ธ๐๐ช๐ต ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฝ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐พ๐ฎ
โฏ๏ธโ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐/๐ป๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค
๐งฉ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โWสแด แด
ษชแด
แดสษชs แดแด สแดแด?!
๐ถ Underdog
โณ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ
๐ช๐๐๐
๐ฝ๐ถ โโฏ๐โด
My favourite part of this book was the cover! I expected sooo much from just that alone, then I opened it and it all went downhill. My advice to the author- pull this off the shelves NOW! And take another go with it, get it proof read and put some more time into it!
This was one confusing book, the tense kept swapping around, the pov changed a couple of times and the grammatical errors were shocking! the story was all over the place with people dropping hints that alluded to one thing and then characters appearing one place when they should have been elsewhere or things happening that came out of nowhereโฆ I had to go back and re read so much to try to understand what was going on but still got lost. And where was the editing team? Beta readers? The amount of phrases that were repeated only a line apart was rediculous, then there was the same adjectives re used over and over again, and finally, we get it- the shard was pulsing and reacting- shut up about it!
The plot itself was interesting, but it layered or very detailed. I kept expecting more to be revealed. I read on but I got scraps along the way. This book should have been the first draft, given to a team of people that donโt know the author and will tell them the truth and inspire them so it could be added too and developed, letting the characters grow and the pot unfold gently. The characters were your typical fantasy bunch, underdog princess whose been cast aside for the younger and better model of her sister, shadow wielding bad guy villain/ anti villain, evil king and queen, monsters in the forests and a history of gods fking up the world.
There was teasers that perhaps the history taught to the locals was fabricated but then it was never spoken about again, there was warnings that someone is actually a bad guy but they were lovely- until they werenโt- but there was no real reason behind why they were in fact bad.. we were told, rather than shown that they want power, but the story was open to many alternative options to getting what they wantedโฆ it just made no sense and I couldnโt get behind it or believe it. Oh, and of course there was a ๐ist piece of ๐ฉ guard, because why not just throw one inโฆ ? Just for a scene and a halfโฆ
The magic system was never explained at all, th world building was so very minimal, even in the one kingdom I got confused!
When the MMC was introduced I perked up, but he had no depth to him at all, no background and no real reason for being in the story. There was 0 chemistry between the love interests and what was clearly meant to be insta lust and mystery was more school girl crush and and withholding / vagueness.
The part I actually enjoyed was the main character, she had depth and trauma, struggles and fight! I loved her relationship with her โadoptiveโ mother, I loved how she found a job and had enough inner strength left to support her sister. The self harm brought her mental health struggles to life and rounded her character nicely. Some of her decisions were a little unbelievable and therefore I couldnโt get into the story as deeply as Iโd like but she was a brilliant character!
โณ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐-๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
No
๐ชง๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
this should have been a first draft, with some love and care, some layers, and some details, it could have been really good. But it had too many errors, repeats, silly mistakes, plot holes and random happenings to make this a story worth reading. No magic system, no world building and no character chemistryโฆ avoid.
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ;
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
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*
๐๐ช โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!
๐ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!
SPICE SCALE:
๐ถ๏ธโ segsual language and a little on-page action
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more