1.24k reviews for:

The Witching Hour

Anne Rice

3.8 AVERAGE

gospelflare's review against another edition

2.5

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

vixenreader's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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Triggering in how it handles the themes of rape and incest, there is still a haunted story of loss connections, dysfunctional families, lineage, and disquieting trauma. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Xenophobia, War

Be aware that this text is heavy in its difficult subject matter, especially with incest, rape, sexual violence, and taboo sexual practices (mainly consensual non-consent).

mindoflex's review against another edition

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Too big. Really uncomfortable to read.

dessabunny's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

cipryan's review against another edition

5.0

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And the award for the most f***ed up family in the universe goes to... the Mayfairs, congrats y'all!

barbie13's review against another edition

5.0

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I don't normally like vampire or witch books. A co-worker kept insisting that I read this book and I finally gave in and wasn't sorry.

Rowan Mayfair, a brilliant California neurosurgeon who was taken from her mother at birth and raised by an aunt in California, does not know that there has been a powerful witch in her family in each generation for the past five centuries. She returns to the family's antebellum mansion in New Orleans after bringing back Michael Curry from the dead. He, too, has unwanted extrasensory gifts and is integrally tied to the Mayfair witches, having grown up in New Orleans. As Rowan and Michael's fates become intertwined, they seek to understand and destroy the terrible force that holds its power over the family.

This is the first book of the Mayfair Witch series.

sabiecee's review against another edition

4.0

slow-paced

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Holy what an undertaking. I loved the story, but I'm glad to be finished.

aravenstorm's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

mplemaire's review against another edition

3.0

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Generally agree with other reviews I’m seeing—the book felt a little bit patchwork in places (family history vs the Rowan-Michael storyline) also feel like it was unnecessarily descriptive of things that didn’t matter (the Florida beach house? All the renovations to the Mayfair house?) which resulted in it being a few hundred pages too long. I got into this trilogy following the AMC show, and enjoyed watching the parallels and differences unfurl. I do feel that Rice’s writing hasn’t aged the greatest, and some of her ideas are so twisted but overall I enjoyed this book and since I purchased the trilogy bundle on Kindle, will be returning to read Lasher after a light hiatus.

bookswithscrump's review against another edition

2.0

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This booked sucked up so much of my time, just to frustrate me and make me want to throw the book across the room and not even bother with the sequels. This book checked all my boxes initially: set in New Orleans, about witches, by Anne Rice, some good steamy scenes, family secrets, random ghost/demon and good world building - but then - the last 200 pages or so just threw it all out the window and I felt the main character just did a 180 in character/decisions and I hated the ending. I mean...yes there was a little bit of explanation, but for some reason, the ending 100% turned me off of this book and I wish I had just dnf'd it (or never picked it up to begin with).

2 stars, because Rice is a great writer and the setting (and the first 700 pages) were quite good.