Light novels are a new concept for me, something I’m not quite familiar with as I’ve only recently discovered what they were. I’ve often got the comment that my own books reminded people of an anime style story, the Japanese storytelling style of Kishōtenketsu which is a four act structure as opposed to the traditional three act structure. Light novels, as explained to me, are lighter and easier to read books. But while these books aren’t nearly as dense when it comes to exposition or details, as Secrets of the Silent Witch by Matsuri Isorahas shown me, they can still tell fun and dramatic stories full of depth and reflection.
Character Development
9/10
Something I thought was rather interesting was how different Monica Everitt is from the anime adaptation to the light novel original series. Truth be told I had watched the anime series before reading the light novel and, while I absolutely adore both versions of Monica, I find the light novel version showcases a lot more of her critical thinking and analytical skills. Scenes that felt quick and comical in the anime were more dramatic and tense for Monica which really emphasized her anxious and shy nature. It makes her growing courage that more admirable as her internal dialogue is almost like a debate with herself and talk herself into being brave. It’s quite touching as it shows just how challenging it is for her reading her thoughts and how she views the world.
Plot
9/10
While the characters are quite interesting and Monica makes for a great and complex protagonist, the story itself in the first book of the series is rather simple. Simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it can make the story more approachable and focus on how endearing the characters are. The greater overarching plot of the series is quite interesting and quite good at capturing my attention while the plot in this book worked quite well to establish all of the main characters and side characters. It sets up for a very interesting and dramatic series.
Worldbuilding
9/10
The soft magic system in Secrets of the Silent Witch works really well as the magic is, surprisingly, not the main focus of the story. Monica, despite her self-deprecating mentality towards her own talent, is a magic savant and the way she approaches magic and how well educated she is in all things magic makes it very quick and easy to explain how things work. But while Monica is a genius when it comes to magic, she knows almost nothing about society or the intricacies of the nobility and their politics. It really helps that her inquisitive nature mixed with her friends being more educated on everything Monica isn’t helps keep the exposition feeling natural for the characters as opposed to for the reader solely.
Writing Style
9/10
I think this is where it becomes a bit more evident what a light novel actually is. From my understanding, light novels are meant to be simple and easy to read and approach. The previous one I had read, Once Upon a Witch’s Death, felt like it fit that description being light on exposition and word density. But the way that Secrets of the Silent Witch is written feels akin to many of the YA fantasy novels I’ve read. I’m not sure if it’s something that varies author to author, but it made me uncertain about the difference between light novels and “regular” novels. Silent Witch was easy to read and flowed really well without sacrificing depth or expressive writing. It has made me rethink what my initial impressions were about light novels and the implications associated with them.
Score
9/10
P.S: I apologize for the missing post last week! I thought this posted last week! I’m still getting used to setting times for blog posts as opposed to manually posting them.
Raph's Cozy Musings 