A review by twistingsnake
The Modern Witch's Spellbook by Sarah Lyddon Morrison

adventurous dark funny informative medium-paced

4.0

I will admit, this lost me in its first love-magic heavy half. Of all the forms of magic, I loath love-magic the most. I see it as one of the highest form of violation a person can do to another magically. That being said, I think it's the right of all magic users to use magic as they see fit. It's just not something I ever dabble in. I much prefer more straight forward black magic. After page and page of endearingly folksy love-magic I was certain that this book was a wash. Until, you get to the second half and Sarah Lyddon Morrison gives a very detailed explanation on grave robbing. If you're looking for a book on baneful magic, this has some zingers! Don't let her easy dismal of darker magic in the beginning fool you, this girl has no problem giving you as many death rituals as she can jam pack into one chapter titled only as "Hate Magic". 

Also, I found this era of magic refreshing. Most modern books are so preoccupied with upselling you overpriced crystals and the schematics of a self-love jar that they forget to tell you the history behind the craft. The complicated, often immoral motivation behind magic. I love how lived in this book feels, how you get glimpses of a society of young, 70s witches up to all sorts of mischief. I love that she's got her own less-than-dubious herb dealer that she advises you approach cautiously before asking for hens blood. I added a lot of her morally dubious spells to my grimiore and I'm leaving the love-spell section of this to my much more inclined little sister. A fun read!