The Book Witch

Finished May 2

The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer

This novel started slow with me, but then became hard to put down. The main character here is Rainy March, who is one of many book witches. Her mother and grandmother were/are as well. Rainy showed early aptitude and has been active since she was fifteen. She is now twenty-five. She lives with her grandfather and their housekeeper, Mrs. Turner, in an old house called Pilcrow House in Fort Meriwether, Oregon. Rainy's mother disappeared for around a year just before she was born, but died shortly after her birth without revealing anything about her father. The only memento she has is an old copy of the first Nancy Drew mystery, The Secret of the Old Clock. 

This novel has an interesting structure. It is split into seven sections: romance, mystery, fantasy, nonfiction, young adult and horror, thriller, and science fiction. These names are suited to the actions in that section. I liked this sentence from the job description of a book witch "Ideal candidate should be willing to jump into and out of books, short stories, and the occasional epic poem." She travels into and out of books using an umbrella, using the phrase "Our revels are now ended" to exit the book, and is accompanied by her familiar, a Russian Blue cat named Koshka. The leader of her cover is Dr. Regina Fanshawe, who is described as a taller, angrier Judy Dench, and she is very critical of Rainy, often holding up Rainy's mother as an ideal to strive for. 

Like many readers of his books, Rainy has a crush on a book character known as the Duke of Chicago, whose noir mystery stories are set between the World Wars in Chicago. He is an actual English Duke, who came to his title after the death of all three of his brothers in World War One, and he fled his home to deal with his trauma and now works as a private detective. The fans call themselves Duckys. When a situation arises in one of Duke's books requiring a witch to enter the book and resolve it, Rainy insists on going. 

There are eight Black and Whites or rules that witches are expected to follow. These rules include include no eating, drinking, or sleeping within the books they enter as these activities can cause them to forget their own identity and purpose. 

As Rainy breaks one of the rules and becomes romantically attached to the Duke, she is discovered and becomes restricted until her grandfather becomes absent for an extended period and she is determined to find him. Her adventures take her into many other books from Through the Looking Glass, to The Great Gatsby, and to closed theme parks, book burnings, and many more interesting situations. 

There is so much fun and quirkiness in this book that it is definitely one of my favourite reads. Other things I love, such as: Plan C in a situation means crying. 

Other quotes I loved: "Pencils down" and "All stories are love stories if you love stories".

The Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping

Finished April 6

The Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

This novel was a 2025 nominee on Goodreads in the Romantasy category. But it is a book with many themes. The main character Sera Swan is one of the most powerful witches in Britain, and she was being supervised by another powerful witch Albert Grey when she broke a rule. She was a teenager living with her great aunt Jasmine who not only looked after her, but also loved and cared for her. Her parents were too much set on their own lives to do so. When Jasmine suddenly died, Sera couldn't bear it, and she used her power impulsively to resurrect her great aunt. The spell was powerful enough it also resurrected the much loved pet rooster that was buried nearby, creating an interesting and absurd member of the household. It also took away much of Sera's powers. Those in charge decided that Sera should be punished beyond this, by getting kicked out of the witch's school. She even lost her best friend. 

Sera and her aunt determined to set up their home as an inn to make ends meet, and Sera's remaining power was put to use making the inn one that only those who needed it found. 

Years have passed and the inn has a couple of long-term tenants: Matilda, a middle-aged woman with her own secrets; and Nicholas, a young man who works as a knight at a local medieval fair, and lives as much as a knight as he can as well, despite his father's expectations. Also living there is Sera's young cousin Theo, who is also a witch, and who, though born in Iceland, has received permission to live in England and whose parents are happy to have Sera and Jasmine look after him. Theo attends the local school and hasn't yet realized that he's a witch, or that Sera is. 

As the story opens Sera is still missing her magic, which represented a star-filled sky for her, and considering ways in which she might be able to get it back to what it had been. 

This is where Luke Larson, historian and assistant to one of the professors at the witches' school comes into the story. Luke has a younger sister Posy, nine years old, who is both autistic and a witch and whose parents found her powers too difficult to explain to their non-magical neighbours. Luke had her at the school with him, but that had its own problems. So the solution has been to have him and Posy stay with Sera and Jasmine and see if they can manage things better there. 

This is a story of power and jealousy, of those who believe they should control the lives of others through their own wishes, and those who really care about the people and other creatures around them, and want them to live their best lives. It is a story of love and how it has its own power, and how love can be strong enough to compel people to make difficult choices. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, from the strong characters, the growth of those characters in the storyline, to the empathy at the heart of it all. 

Witcha Gonna Do?

Finished February 17

Witcha Gonna Do? by Avery Flynn

This is the first book in a series called The Sherwood Witches. There are two points of view in the story, and the main one is Tilda Sherwood. She is the youngest child in her family, and the only one who seems to have no magical ability. Her family is an old and established one and seen as one of the stalwarts of the community. She manages the family's social media accounts.

Tilda is also lonely and longing for a romantic relationship, so she's been trying some online dating platforms, but has now been matched with Gil Connolly for the third time, and is feeling frustrated. She does find Gil attractive, but also somewhat full of himself.

Gil is the other voice and he is from a family who has a power to intensify existing emotions. It's often interpreted as manipulating emotions, and the Council (a group that is thought by many to have been disbanded years ago) has placed his family in exile. Gil is working with the Council to try to get his family allowed back, or at least treated with more empathy and compassion. Gil is also working for a Resistance group against the Council, one of whom is Tilda's great aunt. The matching with Tilda is part of his research for the Council. He's trying to find out if she is indeed without magic. At this most recent meeting, he accidentally uses his magic and he and Tilda become obsessed with each other.

Tilda is part of a group of young people who either have no magic, or have some difficult issues with it. For example, one member is allergic to her own magic. Little does she know that she actually has a kind of magic that is rare and powerful.

When Tilda, while recording a social media post with her sister, accidentally has an influence on a spell, she finds that her whole family, including extended member, has been frozen in limbo.  When Gil shows up at her family home, she enlists his help, and they also rope in a few of her magically challenged friends, and work to steal a spell book that may hold the only solution to undoing the spell binding her family. They are working against time, hoping that the Council doesn't find out about the situation and take advantage of the fact that he family is out of action to stage a takeover. 

I liked the light humour embedded throughout the story and the race against time that really moves the plot along. The attraction between the two main characters feels real, and the magic that amplifies it makes the passionate actions believable. A fun read. 

Crescent Calling

Finished November 17

Crescent Calling by Nicole R. Taylor

This is the first book in The Crescent Witch Chronicles series. The main character is Skye Williams, a young woman from Australia who is dealing with the recent loss of her job and her boyfriend and spending time at her late father's beach house. While there, she is visited by a strange small Irishman who tells her that her estranged mother has died and left her everything she owns, which includes a house and a shop in Ireland. She must go to Ireland to inherit.

In the small town of Derrydun, she finds herself the owner of a successful new age shop with a capable Goth employee and a lovely small house. There is also a cat who seems quite comfortable staying with her every night.

She's still not sure whether she wants to stay or sell up and go back to Australia until she sees the attractive young Irishman who's helpful to all around town change into a fox in front of her. Boone came to town a few years ago and stayed with her aunt until moving into his own place. He gives her some information on her mother and her mother's death and lets her know that she's the last in a line of local witches known as Crescent Witch. He also lets her know about imminent threats to their community and what she might be expected to do to combat them. As she learns how to wield the powers she has inherited, she also finds herself growing roots into the community.

I enjoyed this light fantasy as well as the touch of romance it promises. Skye is strong and open and a woman who is kind at heart. The plot  is a good opener to the fantasy element and promises more in future books. 

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

Finished November 16

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

This novel adds an element of fantasy to our own world. The time is 1983 and Susan Arkshaw, who has lived in the country with her mother has decided to take the time before she starts at art school to look for her father. She doesn't have much to go on. She has a few names, including one who sent holiday cards to her mom and her regularly. She starts with this, a man named Frank Thringley in London. She senses right off that he isn't her father and that things are quite right and determines to leave after staying the night. But during the night she wakes to find that someone has turned Frank to dust by the prick of a silver hairpin. She surprises the man, Merlin and threatens him with the police, but soon finds herself following him out the window as they both flee something else that threatens. 

As she learns of strange creatures such the Shuck, as the two walk through the night, they share their stories. She learns about the booksellers and the differences between the right-handed and the left-handed in skill set, and how they police the interaction between the mythic levels of the Old World and the reality of the human world. They are soon rescued by the police, and Susan is provided with a room in a safe house and finds herself a job. 

As she renews her acquaintance with Merlin, and meets his twin sister, she gradually gets to learn more about the strange elements of the world she hadn't been aware of before and finds herself involved to an extent she didn't expect. 

I really enjoy Garth Nix and his stories, and this one not only has great fantasy elements, but also lots of humour. There is also an attraction between Susan and Merlin and others also notice. I definitely found this novel hard to put down, and I'm interested in reading more of this series. 

Crystal Magic

Finished May 31

Crystal Magic by Madeline Freeman

This teen novel is the first in a series set in a small town called Clearwater. Kristyl Barnette has been living with unusual occurrences that she doesn't understand. When she feels strong emotions, things around break or explode or move. She also sees images and scenes around people she knows. When she first shared these with friends, she found herself ostracized and now is just regarded as weird. 

When a tragedy in her life causes her paternal aunt to come get her and move her back to the house her aunt and father grew up in, in the small town of Clearwater, Michigan, she finds herself with a fresh start. 

She finds new friends quickly, but also makes an enemy, a girl called Crystal who is rumored to be a witch. She finds herself a target of bullying from Crystal's group of friends, but her own friend group is one that stands firm with her, and she finds herself developing feelings for one boy. When a situation at school results in one of her occurrences, she finds herself wondering about her own magical abilities. 

Her aunt tries to help, but Kristyl finds herself drawn to Crystal's group and a need to understand the truth. 

This novel ends with an interesting situation that definitely leads into the next book in the series. This is a teen read set in our reality, with a strong paranormal element and outcomes that are unexpected. 

Witch of Wild Things

Finished November 29

Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

This is the first book in a series called Wild Magic. Sage Flores is the oldest of three sisters and eight years ago she left her hometown of Cranberry, Virginia after the death of her youngest sister, Sky. Middle sister Teal blames her for Sky's death, although they both know that isn't the case. 

The girls grew up in their aunt Nadia's house after their mother left town when they were young. A family legend says that it is a curse that all the women in the family have magic in them, and sometimes it feels that way. Sage's gift is with plants. She can identify plants from the smallest piece of them, and can communicate with them in a way. Sky's gift was with animals, and Teal's with weather. 

Sky fell from a cliff when engaging in risky behaviour, but her body was never found. Her ghost haunts Sage, offering ups cups of flavoured coffee and sometimes, when Sage cries, becoming visible to her. Sky tells her that she can't move on until Sage heals the rift between herself and Teal. 

Sage began working with jewelry and had a job teaching at a college. Budget cuts cost her the position, and she is moving back home as the book begins. Nadia's glad to have her back, but Teal not so much. Sage's best friend Laurel is also looking forward to her return. She lets Sage know that her old crush Tennessee Reyes is also back in town. 

Nadia has contacted some people in town already, and Sage finds that she already has a job offer back with the local garden company. She worked there in high school, where she became known as the 'plant whisperer'. 

Interspersed in the story are online chat conversations between Sage and Reyes from their high school days. Sage knew who she was talking to, but he didn't and never found out. This is something that becomes a part of the plot in the novel. The two are thrown together in a project at their workplace where they are tasked with visiting places in the area to look for local plants that aren't already supplied there. Working together means that they get to know each other, and figure out what drives each other in their lives, but they also find themselves drawn to each other. 

I really enjoyed the magical part of this novel, and the ways in which the different characters related to each other. A satisfying read. 

Miss Mabel's School for Girls

Finished October 31

Miss Mabel's School for Girls by Katie Cross

This is the first book in a teen fantasy series set in another world. As the book opens, Bianca Monroe is running through Letum Wood, having just been accepted into the school. Bianca has a motive for applying to the school, one where young women hone their skills as witches. This motive is revealed relatively early in the book, but then we see how Bianca has to manage her expectations about how her initial goal would work out. She must undergo tests and trials as she tries to get out from under the curse that Miss Mabel has set on her, her mother, and her grandmother. 

I enjoyed the story, particularly the two friends that Bianca found early in her studies, Lida and Camile. Lida's skills in particular were important for Bianca. 

This is a story that grew on me. Miss Mabel is an evil character that is easy to hate, but she is also constantly surprising. The other teachers seem minor characters until the end of this first novel in the series. As Bianca's family situation was gradually revealed, it became more interesting. 

There are four main books in the series, with some that fit before or between them. 

Weyward

Finished May 2

Weyward by Emilia Hart

This book has three timelines. One is in 2019 when Kate flees her controlling boyfriend in London for a neglected cottage she inherited from her great aunt. One is in 1942, when her great-aunt Violet is placed into a difficult position by her family. And one is in 1619 when teenage Altha is put on trial for witchcraft. 

Altha was taught herbal medicine and healing by her mother, who has recently passed away. Other healers have warned them about the growing accusations of witchcraft and Altha's mother has taken care to hide some of the activities that would endanger them. Altha continues to heal those who come to her, and act as a midwife, but it is the request of an old friend that puts her into the situation that she has found herself in. 

Violet's mother died when she was a toddler, and she has only vague memories of her. Her father is strict and has her educated privately, but she longs for the boarding school education her younger brother receives and often borrows his textbooks. Violet is particularly drawn to nature and spends as much time outdoors as she can, although her father frowns on her behaviour. She is warned to be on her best behaviour when a previously unknown cousin comes to visit on a leave from the war. He seems nice and she agrees to spend time with him, but her innocence puts her into a dangerous situation. She must draw on her connection to nature and on hidden information from her mother to find a way forward. 

Kate has been with her boyfriend for a few years, and has gradually lost other connections in her life due to his controlling behaviour. Now he wants her to conform in another way, and she can see that her last chance to escape may be at hand. She takes that chance, running to the neglected cottage, and building a new life there, but she is always under the threat that he might find her again. 

These women's stories are of the way patriarchal society controls women by various means, and of these particular women who find a way to escape that control, even when it means losing something. I really enjoyed all three different stories and how each of them found an inner strength to use the skills they had to make their own way in life. All of them also had someone else in their life, either family or community that helped them in some way. 

A compelling read. 

Her Majesty's Royal Coven

Finished March 8

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

This is the first book in a series by the same title, and is set around a group of women that took their adolescent oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven (HMRC), a longstanding institution, first started by Queen Elizabeth I, at the same time. All of the girls had some early schooling in the magical arts by Elle's grandmother, Annie, who is an oracle. Since then they have gone their separate ways, but still retain some friendships. 

There was a civil war in recent years that has hit many of them hard, and caused two of them to lose their partners. This is a wound for many that hasn't yet healed. 

Helena, the wealthiest of the girls, is now the High Priestess of the coven. Elle, a healing witch, is living a life as a normal housewife, with her partner unaware of her abilities. Niamh, who has multiple abilities, is working as a country vet, still mourning the loss of her partner. Leonie, the only black one of the group, has started her own more inclusive and intersectional coven called Diaspora in which she welcomes witches from all cultural backgrounds as well as lesbians and transgender witches. 

This book begins with a couple of young people. One of them, Elle's daughter Holly, is showing signs of magical abilities, and Elle asks Niamh for help in introducing the whole idea of witches to her, as well as giving her some training. The other is a young man, Theo, who seems to have extraordinary abilities and caused damage to the school he was attending. Helena has retrieved him and imprisoned him, and he is in great distress. She asks Niamh to come and help, even though Niamh is no longer part of the HMRC.

It is obvious from the beginning that Helena is the most traditional and staid of the group, as well as being the one who likes the power she wields. I enjoyed getting to know the way that this imagined world worked, with witches in general more powerful than warlocks, and them having separate administrative structures while still with the witches as the ultimate decision-makers. 

We also learn the mythology of their creation and the creatures, demons, that they, as representatives of Gaia, are supposed to hold the world against. There are different kinds of witches, with certain attributes and some, with more power, who have combined skills. 

I was quite enjoying this book and seeing how the different women lived, but few of them were complex characters, with none of the younger characters in the book having a real voice, despite their importance to the plot. 

I did get frustrated with some of the characters, and with some of the later plot elements, particularly with the note on which the book ended. I realize that it was likely structured this way to encourage the reader to continue with the following book in the series, but it didn't sit well with me. 

The Black Witch

Finished January 29

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

This is the first book in a high fantasy series set in a world similar to our own. The current political situation is only a couple of generations old and unstable. The main character is Elloren Gardner, a 17-year-old who has led a sheltered life. There was a major war going on when she was very young, with her grandmother Clarissa a heroine for the winning side. Gardnerians made a pact with the Elvish people to create a peace, but it came at a cost to many of the other ethnic groups around. Elloren's parents were killed in one of the final battles in the war and she and her brothers Rafe and Trystan were looked after by their uncle Edwin, who brought them up in a remote pastoral part of the country. 

Near the beginning of the story, Elloren is surprised by an announcement from Edwin that she will be joining her brothers at Verpax University, to study to be an apothecary like her mother. Her paternal Aunt Vyvian, at the core of the Gardnerian government is on an unannounced visit and wants to wandfast her to the son of a prominent family.

This is a land of magic, where children are tested for magic at a young age and then classified into ranking based on their magical ability. Many other nations of being have magic as well, magic unique to them. Elloren has been told that she doesn't have magic, but she suspects she might have a different sort of magic. 

As Elloren is immersed into a world of diplomacy, rivalry, and infighting and forced to deal on a daily basis with beings she has had limited to no contact with before, she must navigate this with limited help from others. 

She finds herself living with two others, one a being said to be evil incarnate, of whom no males are allowed to live, and the other a half breed that is outcast by most of her mother's people. She must earn her tuition with labour after refusing to bow to her aunt's will, and work in the kitchens with those who both hate and mistrust her. 

Worst of all, she is the spitting image of her warrior grandmother and people assume she is like her in all other ways as well. 

As Elloren meets individuals of different beings, she finds more in common with them than she does with some of her own people, and she finds herself making choices that will shape her destiny. 

This is a story of a world of prejudice, with a caste system, and betrayal between former allies. It is a world where some are trying to build bridges, while others are planning mass genocide. 

It is also a world of unpredictable magic, of dragons and elves, fae folk and werewolves. A world where maybe anything is possible. 

I found myself totally immersed in this book, and immediately placed a hold at my library for the next in the series. I'm looking forward to seeing what Elloren and her friends get up to next. 

How to Hang a Witch

Finished August 9

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

This is a great teen novel. The author is a descendent of Cotton Mather, on of the players in the Salem witch trials and uses that historical event to bring a current issue to a new level.

Samantha Mather has just moved to Salem with her stepmother Vivian, following her father's illness and hospitalization. Her father had always refused to return to this town, and Samantha doesn't remember her grandmother, whose house she is now living in, at all. 

While she is welcomed by her nearest neighbour Mrs. Meriwether and her son, Jaxon, she is still unhappy about being so far from her dad, who will be transferred from the hospital in New York City to a nearby city soon. 

The following day, at her new high school, is even more difficult as she is made to feel very unwelcome by a group of teenagers who are direct descendents of the women who were burned as witches in the 1600s. Samantha herself is a direct descendent of Cotton Mather, who played a large role in the historical event. 

As Samantha finds odd things happening around her and to people in town, she learns that her grandmother Charlotte had been studying similar happenings around descendents of the various players in the witch trials before her own death. 

Assisted by a resident ghost in her home, Samantha digs deeper into research, using her grandmother's notes and trying to reach out to the girls who have made her feel unwelcome. 

The parallels between to the past and the present highlight similarities that related to modern day bullying and scapegoating and show that we haven't come as far as we think in society. 

Samantha's efforts show ways to deal with real life issues even though she exists in a world where magic, superstition, and ghosts are a reality. 

This was a really interesting read, and is the first in a series of books. 

Poison

Finished July 27

Poison by Kathryn Harrison

This historical novel of the late 1600s follows two women, born on the same day, one a real figure and one not. Francesca de Luarca is the daughter of a Spanish silk grower. Her father's family has been in the business for years, and owns their own fields. Her grandfather held to tradition and what has worked in the past, but her father Felix has other ideas. He has heard about new mulberry trees that offer better yields, and wants to try them, but is thwarted by Francesca's grandfather. After the grandfather's death, Felix makes the changes he has dreamed of, but the results are not as he hoped. And so Francesca's mother, Conception takes on work as a wet nurse, eventually in the king's household.

Maria Luisa, first wife of King Carlos (Charles II) was born a French princess, niece to the Sun King, Marie Louise D'Orleans. She married the King on the way to the capital, shortly after crossing into Spain, in Quintanapalla. It is here that the two women first cross paths, as Francesca is in the crowd of people observing the couple as they emerge from the church. 

This is also the time of the Inquisition where there is much suspicion arising from any unusual events or behaviour outside of the norm. So when Francesca becomes involved with a priest, and is eventually discovered, she finds herself marked as a witch. 

Marie Louise's inability to conceive also arouses suspicion and when she is discovered in deception, things deteriorate for her as well. 

This is a story of women and their strong ties to their mothers, how love and fate determine their lives, and how society's reaction to their actions bring about their downfall. 

The stories of the two women only touch slightly, but Francesca's story winds around that of the Queen, and the narrative moves fluidly between them and across their lives to show the commonalities. 

The Invited

Finished July 1

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

This novel set in a rural area near a small town in Vermont, has a couple, Helen and Nate, who have quit their jobs, bought a property, and are building their own house there. Helen was a history teacher and she is fascinated by the history of their property, particularly a previous owner, Hattie Breckenridge, who lived there many decades earlier. Hattie was suspected of witchcraft and was hanged by the townspeople. 

As Helen looks for historical artifacts that connect Hattie and her descendants to the home she and Nate are building, she begins to see things, and gets drawn to certain places and things. 

Nate, meanwhile, becomes obsessed with an unusual animal that he has seen in the marshes near their home, spending time tracking and trying to capture images of it. 

A teenage girl who lives nearby is mourning the loss of her mother, who disappeared recently. Olive's father is struggling with the unexplained disappearance of his wife and seems focused on remaking their home to draw her back. Olive herself is drawn to Helen and Nate, the stories of Hattie, and the mysterious activities of her mother before she disappeared. 

This story has a lot going on, that gradually comes together around the story of Hattie and her descendants. 

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Finished January 24

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch: A Novel by Rivka Galchen

This historical novel is based on real people and history. Johannes (Hans) Kepler, the astronomer, had long before left home and started his professional life by the beginning of this story. 

His mother Katharina Kepler is accused by a neighbour of being a witch. At first she thinks she should ignore it, and then she reconsiders as she understands that more people have heard of it, and she determines to speak out on her own behalf. She must have a legal guardian with her because as a woman she can't actually speak for herself. With her two sons, only one of whom is in the same town as her, struggling to make livings, she asks her neighbour, a man around her own age, to be that person. 

I found that relationship interesting as they'd had little to do with each other before then. We see them spending more time together and getting to know each better. 

It is a time of great uncertainty. The plague is still a threat and very soon the Thirty Years' War will begin. Hans makes a living in various ways, supporting his two children from his first marriage, and his second wife Susanna and young daughter Maruschl. Katerina's other son Christoph is a pewtersmith and lives near Katharina with his wife Gertrauta (Gertie) and daughter Agnes. He is worried about the effect her accusation will have on his business and ability to make a living. Her daughter Greta has married later than usual for those times, to a pastor, and soon into Katharina's ordeal they more to another town.

All three of Katharina's surviving children are supportive, and yet they or in Greta's case her husband, are worried about the stigma rubbing off onto them and their families. When she visits, she keeps her head low, and avoids interaction with friends and neighbours. At home, she becomes worried about what stories people are saying about her, and continues over many months to struggle to clear her name. 

Through the course of the book, we also learn about her past, her youth and her marriage, and why she now lives alone. We get a sense of the external world that she deals with, as well as her feelings and motivations. Katharina is a simple woman, who tends her garden, takes good care of her cow, and makes both food and remedies from plants she grows and gathers. She is illiterate, and requires someone, here Simon, to write her words for her. She is older and enjoys spending time with her young grandchildren, telling them stories, and playing with them. 

As this story unfolds, it becomes larger, representing the story of others falsely accused, and women's lower position in many eras. We see how it affects her community and her independence. 

A fascinating tale, well-researched. 

A Secret History of Witches

Finished September 19

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

This novel follows five generations of women in the United Kingdom from the early 19th century to World War II. The story begins in Cornwall in the 1830s, when the youngest sister in a family begins to exhibit the power she has inherited. Nanette came to Cornwall from France as a young child, part of a family of Romany people fleeing persecution. Like the rest of her family, she speaks French, but has also learned the local Cornish dialect, and English. Nanette takes the vegetables and cheese her family produces on their small farm and sells it at the local market. Their neighbours are still wary of this family and suspicious of their differences and the language they speak amongst themselves. 

It is Nanette's grandmother who had a vision of where they would find haven, and who sent them there and protected them with her last breath.

The skills that the women in the family have range from simple herbal skills to scrying and making spells. Nanette has inherited a crystal that she sees things in, and a grimoire, or book of spells. They are connected to her and her descendents from the family that has already owned and used them. 

Nanette has a quiet life on the farm except for one incident in her youth that brings her own daughter Ursule to the family. 

Ursule begins her life in Cornwall, but circumstances take her to Wales where her own daughter Irène begins her life. 

As each woman comes to adulthood she learns of her heritage and her nature, sometimes with the help of other family, sometimes on her own, sometimes with help from others. 

Each woman chooses her own path, and how to use her gift and how to protect the knowledge of that gift from those who would persecute her for it. 

Each woman's story is different through these choices, and the knowledge they gain. As we see how those choices bring them different things in their lives, we also see how others react to them. The gifts they have inherited are not easy ones to have, and sometimes difficult choices must be made, and things that matter must be sacrificed.

This is a story of women trying to do the right thing for their families and for society as a whole, and trying to stay safe while they do those things. The book drew me into their lives and made me care about what happened to them, and the familiars that each woman connected with. For me it was a real page-turner and one that left me wanting more.

Practical Magic

Finished May 16

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

This tale takes us through the lives of two sisters from their childhood through their late thirties. Gillian and Sally Owens were orphaned as children and came to live with their aunts, women that lived in a house built by an earlier generation of Owens woman, Maria. The house had certain strange things about it, and around it, and the aunts were known by the townsfolk, particularly the women, to have certain abilities around herbs and tonics, particularly when it came to love. The visits from the town women generally came at twilight, when it was easier to go unnoticed in the shadows. 

Sally and Gillian were sent to their attic bedroom when visitors came, but they almost always snuck down the back stairs and listened and watched. Sally was more practically minded and she cooked for the household, even at a young age, but the two girls knew things most girls didn't.

Both longed for a more normal life, where they had friends and weren't shunned and feared. Gillian ran away at the first chance she had as a young woman, and never stopped running. Sally stayed for a time, and started her own family with two daughters, Antonia and Kylie, but when tragedy strikes Sally slips into grief and then heads out to start a life elsewhere. 

Sally ends up on Long Island and finds a job as a secretary in a school, and makes a more normal life, bringing up her daughters with guidelines and expectations, and hosting birthday parties and checking homework. 

As Antonia becomes a teenager, she becomes more rebellious, dressing in black and tormenting her sister, but nothing out of the realm of normal. But then Gillian returns to their lives, and she brings a big problem with her. Sally helps her, and the two women hope for the best, but things aren't right, and as Kylie also hits her teenage years shortly after Gillian arrives, and shares a room with her aunt, she finds that she can see things about people and about feelings that give her insight, but also burden her. As things come to a head, and Gillian's past threatens to catch up with her, the aunts are called upon to help, and the family finds that some things will bind them together forever.

I liked the four main characters, the two sets of sisters, and as we got to know the aunts a bit at the end, they grew more interesting as well. I read this book quickly, drawn in by the plot and caring about what happened to them, and whether the evil that had come into their lives would be more than they could overcome. 

Nightbird

Finished March 9

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

I have enjoyed Alice Hoffman's books and until I came across this one, didn't realize that she had written books for children as well. This story takes place in the small town of Sidwell in the Berkshire mountains. Twig's mom grew up in the town and when Twig was young, they would visit their grandparents there. But after they died, Twig and her mom moved back to town. Her brother, James, also moved back with them, but their father did not. Twig was quite young when this happened and she doesn't really remember her father. James doesn't leave the house very much because he has a secret, and it is one not easily hidden. 

Sidwell is a town that has a legend of a monster, and recently there has been graffiti appearing to be written by the monster warning of consequences should his home be destroyed. The home in question is the forested area of town, just behind Twig's house and quite extensive. It is owned by a family that doesn't visit often, and there have been rumours that they might be planning to sell it to developers. Next door to Twig's house is a dilapidated cottage, that has been empty for decades. Now the family that owns it has suddenly moved back and they have two daughters, one, Julia, the same age as Twig. But Twig's mother warns her against the house and its occupants as it was the home of witches, and once, long ago, a young woman from that family cursed the men in Twig's family. 

As the town ramps up the focus on fabled monsters, Twig fears for her brother James, and his future. She wants him to be happy, but can he still be himself?

I loved this book about this small town, the fear of what we don't know or understand, and the power of love. Twig is a researcher and she looks for information, doesn't just accept what she's told. She has supportive adults in her life, and learns how to be a friend. 

The Sparrow Sisters

Finished July 24
The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick

This book takes place in a small seaside town in New England called Granite Point. The town's only doctor has recently retired and sold his practice to Henry Carlyle, a doctor who has previously worked in emergency medicine in Boston and in the military in Afghanistan. He has a leg injury and a back story that is gradually revealed.
The town's residents are friendly and close knit. Among them are three sisters who live together in the house that they grew up in, and who run a garden business selling plants, flowers, and produce. There were four sisters, but one died of cancer, under the care of the retiring doctor. The youngest sister Patience (from Impatiens) has a touch that she may have inherited from an ancestor who was accused of being a witch. Patience uses the herbs and other plants they grow to make tonics that many people in the town rely on. The new doctor is a bit taken aback by this practice, but when he meets Patience, they have a connection that they both acknowledge.
The other two sisters, Sorrel and Nettie are protective of Patience and also have their own personal connections to men in the town that they've never acted upon. There is also a young boy in town, whose mother died and whose father isn't coping well. He hangs around the gardening business a lot and Patience has taken him under her wing, teaching him plants and giving him cookies from the amazing bakery in town. He's got some health issues and when he's off his meds, Patience has used a tonic to help and also tried to get his father to step up.
One interesting thing that becomes a plot point is the way that Patience's moods manifest. Different herbal scents come off her due to her mood, and the weather seems to be affected as well. Her body temperature fluctuates as another sign of what's happening to her internally.
When a tragedy hits the town and a local reacts emotionally, a county prosecutor sets his sights on Patience and things get really crazy in town.
I found this book fascinating and I liked the way that the people in the town reacted under the pressure, particularly the women.

Half Spent was the Night

Finished January 2
Half Spent Was the Night by Ami McKay

This short novel follows the characters introduced in The Witches of New York, which I haven't read yet. It takes place beginning on December 29th, and ending on January 1st. The year is not specified here, but it is obviously in an earlier time.
There are three witches living together, Adelaide Thom, Eleanor St. Clair, and Beatrice Dunn. They receive invitations to a grand masquerade ball from a new arrival to New York. The ball is to take place on New Year's Eve, and the attendees are to RSVP in person at the hotel. Two of the witches are eager to go, but the third is not.
All of the witches have questions on their mind. One about dreams she has been having that seem to point to something in her future. One about what choice she should make for her future, and one about choosing between a faraway love and what she feels are her responsibilities.
The woman hosting the ball is an unknown, and yet she seems to know a lot about all three women, as well as about many others in town.
Past figures are likely to appear at the ball, but sometimes that past must be faced before one can deal with the future.
I loved this tale, with both the situations each woman was facing, the magic so evident here, and the strong relationship these women have with each other. A great read.