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carriepond's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I watched an interview with Alix E. Harrow where she said her three-word pitch of The Once and Future Witches is "Suffragettes, but witches." If that sounds up your alley because, well duh, I highly recommend checking out this book.
Set in an alternate version of 1893, The Once and Future Witches follows the three Eastwood sisters: Beatrice Belladona, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper. At the beginning of the novel, after being estranged for years, the sisters have separately made their way to the fictional town of New Salem, Massachusetts, a place where magic is a thing of the past after the witch burnings decades earlier in the town now known as Old Salem. When Bella feels inexplicably drawn to utter the words of a spell during a women's suffrage rally, the three sisters are reunited and a magical tower rises in the square, setting off a series of events that lead them to rally their fellow women to bring witching back to Salem. Their magical antics get the group increasingly more attention, including the attention of a sinister member of the New Salem city council eager to use the threat of powerful, witchy women as a way to propel his own rise to power.
I really enjoyed this one. Harrow is able to take so many historical references and mash them up in a fantastical way that is entertaining, smart, and unique. I am a big fan of what I will dub feminist historical novels, with characters with more modern sensibilities that don't let the historical setting force one-dimensional stories that we've already seen a thousand times. The pacing at the beginning of this was a little slow and the suffragette thread wasn't really carried all the way through, but those minor flaws didn't really lessen my enjoyment of this novel, which has so many threads and storylines that Harrow carries beautifully through to the end.
The Once and Future Witches is ultimately about how powerful women can be when we are in community with one another. I appreciated that Harrow's heroines included a diverse mix of women, which made the power-in-community theme resonate all the more. I also really liked the use of storytelling and that the ways that women passed down magical knowledge were as diverse as the different groups of women featured in the novel.
If you like books with secret societies, witches and magic, read this book. If you like historical novels with a fantasy or feminist twist, read this book. Alix Harrow is an author I am really growing to love.
Set in an alternate version of 1893, The Once and Future Witches follows the three Eastwood sisters: Beatrice Belladona, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper. At the beginning of the novel, after being estranged for years, the sisters have separately made their way to the fictional town of New Salem, Massachusetts, a place where magic is a thing of the past after the witch burnings decades earlier in the town now known as Old Salem. When Bella feels inexplicably drawn to utter the words of a spell during a women's suffrage rally, the three sisters are reunited and a magical tower rises in the square, setting off a series of events that lead them to rally their fellow women to bring witching back to Salem. Their magical antics get the group increasingly more attention, including the attention of a sinister member of the New Salem city council eager to use the threat of powerful, witchy women as a way to propel his own rise to power.
I really enjoyed this one. Harrow is able to take so many historical references and mash them up in a fantastical way that is entertaining, smart, and unique. I am a big fan of what I will dub feminist historical novels, with characters with more modern sensibilities that don't let the historical setting force one-dimensional stories that we've already seen a thousand times. The pacing at the beginning of this was a little slow and the suffragette thread wasn't really carried all the way through, but those minor flaws didn't really lessen my enjoyment of this novel, which has so many threads and storylines that Harrow carries beautifully through to the end.
The Once and Future Witches is ultimately about how powerful women can be when we are in community with one another. I appreciated that Harrow's heroines included a diverse mix of women, which made the power-in-community theme resonate all the more. I also really liked the use of storytelling and that the ways that women passed down magical knowledge were as diverse as the different groups of women featured in the novel.
If you like books with secret societies, witches and magic, read this book. If you like historical novels with a fantasy or feminist twist, read this book. Alix Harrow is an author I am really growing to love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Torture
Minor: Animal death
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I wasn't sure if this would be a good book for me. I anticipated it might be a little dull or a little too intense, but I wound up loving it! I especially liked the adaptation of fairy tales and other well-known works as the hidden words of spells. This was just the book I needed this month.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Confinement, Murder, Grief, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Racism, Classism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Transphobia, Miscarriage, and Abortion
Government sanctioned removal of children from target group of peoplecassiopeia_lucky_fowkes's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is AMAZING I have read it twice now, I love it so much!
You end up falling in love with the characters like they are you own Sisters (note the capital S)
Only read if you are okay with crying for ten minutes at various parts of the book (this happened to me both times I read it!)
It has an amazing plot with lots of plot twists that grip and pull you into the story and dont let you go until its done
I wish this book had a sequal!
Also the writing style is amazing, there is the perfect amount of description to allow you to imagine sort of the more fine details in how a character looks for example but also gives you a good base
the settings are also described in this way
I cant tell you how much I love this book tbh it changed the way I look at everything and changed my life too!
I highly recommend to any feminist out there.
Let the fire inside your heart continue to burn and let this book help it to burn brighter with fury, love, hate and hope.
You end up falling in love with the characters like they are you own Sisters (note the capital S)
Only read if you are okay with crying for ten minutes at various parts of the book (this happened to me both times I read it!)
It has an amazing plot with lots of plot twists that grip and pull you into the story and dont let you go until its done
I wish this book had a sequal!
Also the writing style is amazing, there is the perfect amount of description to allow you to imagine sort of the more fine details in how a character looks for example but also gives you a good base
the settings are also described in this way
I cant tell you how much I love this book tbh it changed the way I look at everything and changed my life too!
I highly recommend to any feminist out there.
Let the fire inside your heart continue to burn and let this book help it to burn brighter with fury, love, hate and hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Cursing, Alcohol, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and Xenophobia
I put all the content warnings in graphic because i dont have time to sort them! Also some are so minor they are only one sentence or wordsol84's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
kimmag92's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to like The Once and Future Witches much more than I actually did. The premise is magic has always existed in the world and before the Plague women were rulers and leaders of society until men turned against them and magic was relegated to something shameful. In the story we follow three sisters who were abused by their father and who come together seven years later in New Salem who take up women’s suffrage as a way to bring magic back to women.
Though I greatly enjoyed the premise of the book I found Harrow’s execution to not be great. The explanation of the world was muddled and unclear and so was the magic system. Also, each chapter is told from a different sisters perspective. How she did this was quite clunky as instead of each chapter having a heading of the sisters name, like many multi POV books do, she started the first sentence of each chapter with the sisters name. It felt rudimentary.
Though I greatly enjoyed the premise of the book I found Harrow’s execution to not be great. The explanation of the world was muddled and unclear and so was the magic system. Also, each chapter is told from a different sisters perspective. How she did this was quite clunky as instead of each chapter having a heading of the sisters name, like many multi POV books do, she started the first sentence of each chapter with the sisters name. It felt rudimentary.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Torture, and Physical abuse
justmys's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
A powerful book that explores the varying pains that women face in their lives. Although it is set in the late 1800s, the plight of the women between the pages is universal and never ending and you'll find yourself empathising with the characters almost from the very beginning.
The book touches upon a myriad of different cultures and lives, exploring their differences and similarities and finding what joins us together in the face of a fight that needs to be won.
You can feel the fire in these pages, it's so beautifully written and feels rooted in history, despite the fiction and magic. It weaves between the marginalised and the long suffering, bringing in LGBTQ+ topics, race inequality, social standing and sex, and it does so with such genuine care and love it's beautiful to read.
The book touches upon a myriad of different cultures and lives, exploring their differences and similarities and finding what joins us together in the face of a fight that needs to be won.
You can feel the fire in these pages, it's so beautifully written and feels rooted in history, despite the fiction and magic. It weaves between the marginalised and the long suffering, bringing in LGBTQ+ topics, race inequality, social standing and sex, and it does so with such genuine care and love it's beautiful to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
beth_dieroff's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Death, Torture, Abortion, Sexism, and Transphobia
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really like this book. It's very smartly written with interesting characters and clever tweaks to history and historical figures.
It's a book that's full of women's rage and the subtle ways they have to hide their power to pass things down through the generations and the never ending cycle of women gaining a measure of power only to have it nearly all taken from them. But still they endure.
I appreciated the effort to bring in words and ways from other cultures, both contemporary and historical, and the focus on the fact that progress will eventually cause a reactionary backlash which will fall hardest on the most marginalized.
While I really liked the book, the ending didn't quite work for me. Well, it works on a thematic level, just not a practical level. I can't think of any reason Gideon would choose to take over the body of a female child. He is keenly aware of how easy to is to accuse a woman of witchcraft and see her burn, whether she's a witch or not. I can't see himself putting himself in that position, even temporarily. Surely he's found some method over the long years of gaining procuring what he needs from the next man (or potential men) whose body he intends to occupy. I think Eve had to be in some kind of proximity and I'd think it a big gamble that once she was rescued she'd be brought to her mother's burning rather than safely whisked out of the city.
It's a book that's full of women's rage and the subtle ways they have to hide their power to pass things down through the generations and the never ending cycle of women gaining a measure of power only to have it nearly all taken from them. But still they endure.
I appreciated the effort to bring in words and ways from other cultures, both contemporary and historical, and the focus on the fact that progress will eventually cause a reactionary backlash which will fall hardest on the most marginalized.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Death of parent, Police brutality, and Violence
Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Physical abuse, Torture, and Abortion
jenmcreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book was more than I expected. With a story of witches joining the suffragette movement, I was pleasantly surprised by the degree to which this book explored intersectionality and took that issue seriously. I loved the women's collections of magic being saved and passed down in recipes and nursery rhymes and I felt that set a poignant tone for the book overall. At times, the plot became a bit convoluted and challenging to follow however I did find I was always able eventually to catch up to it. This definitely scratches the itch for witchy reading, and does so with more depth and nuance than I anticipated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Confinement, Violence, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
bookishaddictions's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
One word for this book: wow. I snagged this novel on Kindle because of the beautiful cover, and I have zero regrets. This is probably one of my favorite books so far this year (and I’ve read quite a few). Harrow provides strong and authentic characters, a solid plot, and interesting perspectives as she shows old ideas in a new light. Follow along with the Eastwood sisters as they work to rediscover the magic that is believed to be lost in this historical fantasy. This is a story of sisterhood, resiliency, love, and survival; it is the reminder that if a woman has the will, she must only find a way. The Eastwood sisters give us everything a reader could want, and I definitely found myself considering what Hogwarts house they would each theoretically belong to. Juniper gives us the tough and fierce witch we always are tempted to be (she’d def be a Slytherin). Agnes shows us the strength of a mother’s love (and is argubly a Griffyndor). Beatrice is our soft-spoken witch that reminds us we that we are all important (and she’s our Ravenclaw). Overall, I 100% support you checking this book out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse