Tag: witches

— Adult, book review —

Salt & Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher (Review)

February 29, 2024

A gifted healer unravels the mysteries of a cursed estate―and its enigmatic owner―in a witchy retelling of Jane Eyre . Salt and broom, make this room Safe and tight, against the night. Trunks packed with potions and cures, Jane Aire sets out on a crisp, clear morning in October to face the greatest challenge of her sheltered girls’-school existence. A shadow lies over Thornfield Hall and its reclusive master, Edward Rochester. And he’s hired her only as a last resort. Jane stumbles again and again as she tries to establish a rapport with her prickly new employer, but he becomes the least of her worries as a mysterious force seems to work against her. The threats mount around both Jane and Rochester―who’s becoming more intriguing and appealing to her by the day. Jane begins to fear her herb healing and protective charms may not be enough to save the man she’s growing to love from a threat darker and more dangerous than either of them imagined.… Read More Salt & Broom by Sharon Lynn Fisher (Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

The Witchery by S. Isabelle (ARC Review)

January 5, 2023

Haelsford, Florida is a hellmouth. Or at least, that’s what Logan, a baby witch struggling to control her powers, thinks as she arrives to the witchtown to begin the new school year at Mesmortes Coven Academy. She is immediately taken under the wing of the infamous Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch who wants nothing more than to break the town’s curse; Jailah is one of the most powerful witches at the academy but her thirst for power may lead her down a dark path; and Thalia, the talented greenwitch, is on the run from her religious family and a past that still haunts her.

Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two Hammersmitt boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection. But as they become involved with the Mesmortes witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait.

The cost to break the curse may be greater than any witch or human could ever know… Read More The Witchery by S. Isabelle (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

Mark of the Wicked by Georgia Bowers (ARC Review)

April 19, 2022

A young witch tries to unravel the mystery of who is framing her for dark magic in Georgia Bowers’ creepy YA debut fantasy, Mark of the Wicked. Magic always leaves its mark. All her life, Matilda has been told one thing about her magic: You use only when necessary. But Matilda isn’t interested in being a good witch. She wants revenge and popularity, and to live her life free of consequences, free of the scars that dark magic leaves on her face as a reminder of her misdeeds. When a spell goes awry and the new boy at school catches her in the act, Matilda thinks her secret might be out. But far from being afraid, Oliver already knows about her magic – and he wants to learn more… Read More Mark of the Wicked by Georgia Bowers (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

The Ravens by Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige (ARC Review)

March 24, 2021

Kappa Rho Nu isn’t your average sorority. Their parties are notorious. Their fundraisers are known for being Westerly College’s most elaborate affairs. But beneath the veil of Greek life and prestige, the sisters of Kappu Rho Nu share a secret: they’re a coven of witches. For Vivi Deveraux, being one of Kappa Rho Nu’s Ravens means getting a chance to redefine herself. For Scarlett Winters, a bonafide Raven and daughter of a legacy Raven, pledge this year means living up to her mother’s impossible expectations of becoming Kappa Rho Nu’s next president. Scarlett knows she’d be the perfect candidate — that is, if she didn’t have one human-sized skeleton in her closet…. When Vivi and Scarlett are paired as big and little for initiation, they find themselves sinking into the sinister world of blood oaths and betrayals… Read More The Ravens by Kass Morgan & Danielle Paige (ARC Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska (ARC Review)

November 14, 2020

Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking. Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice. Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city… Read More The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska (ARC Review)

— book review, young adult —

Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer (Review)

June 27, 2020

Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent. But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch-plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death. Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader… Read More Witches of Ash and Ruin by E. Latimer (Review)

— book review, indigo book box, indigo teen staff pick, young adult —

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (Review)

September 5, 2019

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn. Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned. Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.… Read More Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (Review)

— calendar girls —

Calendar Girls (April 2019): April Fools: Favourite Book with a Surprise Ending

April 1, 2019

It’s time for another Calendar Girls Books post, and this month our prompt is April Foos: Favourite Book with a Surprise Ending. Once I started looking for my pick of the month, I realized that I read fewer books with surprise endings than I’d thought! So, it took me a bit to actually find one… Read More Calendar Girls (April 2019): April Fools: Favourite Book with a Surprise Ending

— Adult, ARC review, book review —

In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt (ARC Review)

January 3, 2019

In this horror story set in colonial New England, a law-abiding Puritan woman goes missing. Or perhaps she has fled or abandoned her family. Or perhaps she’s been kidnapped, and set loose to wander in the dense woods of the north. Alone and possibly lost, she meets another woman in the forest. Then everything changes.… Read More In the House in the Dark of the Woods by Laird Hunt (ARC Review)