Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - VenCo

At first I thought it was going to be merely average, a witchy road trip and not much else, but the ending really did wrap things up with a nice feel-good bow that I hadn't seen coming but that made all the sense in the world.

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bookishcookiemonster's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The book takes a few chapters to pick up its pace, but once the adventure starts, the story goes very fast. Its engaging, and definitely had me at the edge of the seat quite a few times.
SPOILER:

I really enjoyed that the various witches weren't all one kind of witch, but women who came from different backgrounds of magic. Also, really liked how important previous generations of women were to the main character's journey. I wish we had got to see more of the relationship between Prue, and Jay Christos, like how they met, why they even started dating, how deeply in love were they?, etc

Overall, enjoyable book!

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maregred's review

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

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smagzisreading's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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lettuce_read's review against another edition

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4.0

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just_one_more_paige's review

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adventurous hopeful 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

4.0

Thanks to William Morrow for the review copy (and then a surprise thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC version). I love a story about witches, so I was pretty much sold on giving this a try just based on that. Even as I started to see some mixed reviews come through (as HarperCollins *finally* freaking worked through a contract with the Union, there has been a small flood of posts about this particular novel), I was still more than intrigued enough by the synopsis to pick it up and see for myself.

Lucky St. James lives with her grandmother, Stella (who is beginning to experience indications of dementia/memory loss), in a small apartment in Toronto. One evening, Lucky finds a spoon buried in a wall, a spoon that is stamped with the word "Salem" and gives off a mystical sort of vibe. This spoon links Lucky to a coven of North American witches who have been searching for years to bring together the owners of 7 scattered spoons. But a dark and powerful enemy is also searching for the final of the seven witches, and will stop at nothing to prevent them from uniting. With direction from their own dreams and intuition, the backing of the rest of the coven (and the financial resources of their front company, VenCo), and very little else, Lucky and Stella set off on a road trip across the United States to find the final spoon, the final witch, and fight for VenCo to usher in a new future for women and witches.

I'd seen some mixed reviews of this as they were finally able to start dropping a few weeks ago, so I went into this with tempered expectations, just in case. And while I think I am glad for that, and maybe that contributed to my own reactions, I have to say that I really enjoyed this book! At one point there is a description of the magic that Lucky has gathered and gotten access to along her journey as “a quilt of methods and beliefs,” and that's what this entire novel felt like to me. There was such a cool cultural variety of magical mythologies and histories, many North American-based, both Indigenous and grown from the traditions of many early colonizers/immigrants, as well as with a number of other diaspora additions. I loved reading each of the stories of the women of the coven, how they had come to find their own spoons and their place within VenCo - what diversity and honoring of the connection amongst women across barriers. It was a gorgeous ode to the variety of women, and their stories and interactions, that make up this region of the world. While it did make the magic, occasionally, a bit esoteric and ambiguous, I was also a fan of the way all the magic and power were based in intuition, emotion/feeling, and an acceptance/reclamation of one's past and identity. I get that that is not going to land for everyone, if you are a person that prefers set parameters to your magic systems this might be a frustrating aspect of this book. For me though, I thought it fit really well to the overall vibe and the fact that, in the race against time (and enemies) to find the final spoon, Lucky didn't really have the time to learn a lot of magical rules or structure anyways.

In addition to the magical, there was quite a bit of additional focus to this novel. The plot itself really brought it, with action and tension, as Lucky and her grandmother "raced" to find the final spoon. Their road trip adventure was a fun framework, and the comedy of errors/caper-style energy with which Dimaline wrote it kept things light, even as the pressure ramped up and the inevitable conflict with the evil tracking them down. And let's take a minute here to respect and applaud the horrible personification of patriarchy and capitalism that Dimaline created, a la Gaiman's American Gods, but with a more sinister real-life-recognizable twist...and with a spectacularly satisfying ending of comeuppance and well-deserved justice. Anyways, back to Lucky and Stella. Their grandmother-granddaughter relationship is so heart-warming, their bond giving both strength and exasperation, as all the deepest bonds do. A lovely centerpiece throughout. Finally, the way this novel wrapped up, with a sort of survey of covens everywhere reacting, left me feeling anticipation and promise and gathering in a way that I struggle to articulate but was so filling.

Altogether, this was a story full of energy and a mystical type of magic that sits well in the modern world: there and yet not obvious to anyone outside its boundaries, forged in the power of women coming together, defending and fighting for each other. There are serious notes about bringing down the patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism, but against a backdrop of delightful magic, an adventurous plot, and the fulfilling vibes of unbreakable feminine bonds. A very entertaining read.

“Is it still anticipation if all you are anticipating is nothing? No, it isn’t, it’s - dread.”

“First it gets weird. Then it gets absolutely amazing. Come on.”

“But don't worry so much about what others might think. As long as you can still think, that's all that matters.”

“No one can read what hasn’t been done.”

"Magic that takes root and grows in a particular place ends up being part of that land. [...] He was surprised the same people who went about their daily lives not believing in anything could also be the same people who spoke about deja vu or hunches with a straight face. Why did they think those things happened to them? The land. The land held magic like a giant sponge. It could hold it for centuries, and in isolation if need be."

"I am the daughter of Arnya St. James, defender of women, drinker of gin, fighter of assholes, a fierce half-breed from a long line of fierce half-breeds who took no shit and gave no fucks. I am a witch and I am here."

“Maybe the end of your kind has brought it not the end of the whole world. Maybe it's just the end of your world.”

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awebofstories's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

Grade: A

This book was such an adventure! If you enjoyed the Practical Magic books by Alice Hoffman, this one would be right up your alley. However, this one has more inclusivity and a stronger feminist edge.

We meet Lucky, who doesn't seem to live up to her name. She lives with her Grandmother and works a series of temp jobs to support them. She's just learned that they are being evicted from their apartment. Then a woman appears with an offer that seems too good to be true, and all Lucky has to do is go to Salem, Massachusetts.

Yes, there are witches, and they are the best kind of witches. There is also a quest and a formidable foe. We also have a zany grandmother. All of these characters are expertly drawn, with Lucky in the middle. Lucky is that sort of character that any reader will relate to. Dimaline draws all these characters into an intriguing web that keeps you turning the pages.

I only had two small issues with this book, both of which fall under the "me problem" umbrella. First of all, this book uses the historically inaccurate idea that the Salem Witch Trials took place in what is now Salem, Massachusetts. (Look this up...the trials actually happened in what is now Danvers, Massachusetts). My inner historian heart shudders whenever this happens.

Secondly, while this book does not end on a cliffhanger, it does end on a precipice. To me, this story is just beginning, and if I don't get a sequel to it, I'll feel like I'll be stuck in VenCo limbo-land!

I highly recommend this book, and I pray that there is more to come!

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