Search Results for: witches

— ARC review, audiobook, book review, young adult —

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (ARC & Audiobook Review)

July 25, 2021
Blog post header for Flavia the Bibliophile's review of Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart

Divided by their order. United by their vengeance. Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom – and vengeance. Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power. Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain – except the lengths they will go to win this game. This Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut about two enemy witches who must enter into a deadly alliance to take down a common enemy has the twisted cat-and-mouse of Killing Eve with the richly imagined fantasy world of Furyborn and Ember in the Ashes… Read More Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart (ARC & Audiobook 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, nonfiction —

Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven by Jaya Saxena, and Jess Zimmerman (Review)

September 16, 2017

Title: Basic Witches Authors: Jaya Saxena, and Jess Zimmerman Type: Nonfiction Sub-type: Self Help Publisher: Quirk Books Date published: August 29, 2017 Source: Publisher A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Capitalizing on the rising trend of hipster witchcraft, BASIC WITCHES is a lighthearted and empowering book… Read More Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven by Jaya Saxena, and Jess Zimmerman (Review)

— ARC review, book review, young adult —

The Grimmer by Naben Ruthnum (ARC Review)

March 23, 2024

The small-town mysteries of John Bellairs are made modern with a dash of Stranger Things in this spine-tingling supernatural horror-thriller.

After his father returns from treatment for addiction, highschooler Vish ― lover of metal music and literature ― is uncertain what the future holds. It doesn’t help that everyone seems to know about the family’s troubles, and they stand out doubly as one of the only brown families in town. When Vish is mistaken for a relative of the weird local bookseller and attacked by an unsettling pale man who seems to be decaying, he is pulled into the world of the occult, where witches live in television sets, undead creatures can burn with a touch, and magic is mathematical. Vish must work with the bookstore owner and his mysterious teenage employee, Gisela, to stop an interdimensional invasion that would destroy their peaceful town. Bringing together scares, suspense, and body horror, The Grimmer is award-winning author Naben Ruthnum’s first foray into the young adult genre. This gripping ride through the supernatural is loaded with vivid characters, frightening imagery, and astonishing twists, while tackling complex issues such as grief, racism, and addiction… Read More The Grimmer by Naben Ruthnum (ARC Review)

— Adult, ARC review, book review —

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian (ARC Review)

February 22, 2024

A folk horror epic about a ragtag posse that must track down a witch through a wild west beset by demons and ghosts―and where death is always just around the bend.

Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including bona fide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward, Rabbit.

On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure – but no sense of purpose – and a recently widowed school teacher with nothing left to lose. As their posse grows, so too does the danger.

Racing along the drought-stricken plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they encounter monsters more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. But the crew is determined to get that bounty, or die trying.

Written with the devilish cadence of Stephen Graham Jones and the pulse-pounding brutality of Nick Cutter, Red Rabbit is a supernatural adventure of luck and misfortune… Read More Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian (ARC Review)

— book review, children's —

I Will Read To You by Gideon Sterer and Charles Santoso (Review)

September 14, 2023

A gentle blend of spooky and sweet, I Will Read to You is a unique rhyming bedtime tale about empathy, storytime…and monsters.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who loved stories—scary ones about skeletons and witches, giants and ghosts, vampires, dragons, mummies and goblins. But he wondered…do monsters have anyone to read to them ? Armed with only a book and a flashlight (and with his bemused mother in tow), he travels through the night, calling together every monster he can think of to make sure they get the bedtime story they need.

Delightfully spooky and surprisingly tender, I Will Read to You celebrates monsters, stories, and the way a good book can bring us together… Read More I Will Read To You by Gideon Sterer and Charles Santoso (Review)

— Adult, ARC review, book review —

The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke (ARC Review)

May 10, 2023

In the midst of the woods stands a house called Lichen Hall.

This place is shrouded in folklore—old stories of ghosts, of witches, of a child who was not quite a child.

Now the woods are creeping closer, and something has been unleashed.

Pearl Gorham arrives in 1965, one of a string of young women sent to Lichen Hall to give birth. And she soon suspects the proprietors are hiding something.

Then she meets the mysterious mother and young boy who live in the grounds—and together they begin to unpick the secrets of this place.

As the truth comes to the surface and the darkness moves in, Pearl must rethink everything she knew—and risk what she holds most dear… Read More The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke (ARC Review)