Dominate or be dominated. Those are your choices. 
 Elloren Gardner is the granddaughter of The Black Witch, a powerful mage who once restored peace to the country of Gardneria in a vicious war. For reasons she doesn't understand, Elloren's uncle whisks her and her brothers away to grow up in the countryside, isolated from the rest of Garderian society. 
 Gardnerian prophecy foretells the birth of another Black Witch - one who will battle with a Great Winged Demon and save the land from utter destruction. Elloren, as her descendent, seems the most obvious replacement. Yet, this isn't the case. While Elloren looks exactly like her grandmother, she possesses none of her powers, as evidenced by a wand-testing ceremony by her uncle when Elloren was very young. 
 When she's seventeen, Elloren is granted her life-long wish of joining her brothers at university and becoming an apothecary. 
 Strange things begin happening afterwards. An old acquaintance of Elloren's appears out of the blue one night, carrying a demon child and a white wand. While Elloren's aunt wants her wandfasted (engaged) to a powerful Level Five Mage, Elloren's uncle and guardian warns her to avoid wandfasting at all costs, until she has completed her studies. 
 The novel follows Elloren's journey from being a naive, sheltered girl of privilege to one who must open her eyes and fight the injustice she sees around her. 
 Laurie Forest writes in a way that is completely immersive and incredibly easy to read. I was so captivated by this world (Erthria) and its various races, politics and prejudices that the time (and pages) just flew by. I am so glad this is only the first book of THE BLACK WITCH series because even though I just finished, I am dying to dive right back into Laurie Forest's richly imagined world. 
 Highly recommended for fans of JK Rowling and Sarah J Maas!