This book was so good that I finished it too quickly. I loved the characters and their changing nature's. I also loved the magic, as well as practical information about herbology. I won't say more because I want other readers to discover this gemstone as I discovered it

I picked up The Age of Witches based purely on the title of the book, and I went into it without any real preconceptions as it's not a genre I typically read. I'm happy to say that the book drew me in almost immediately and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire story.

The story centres around four main characters: Harriet, Frances, Annis, and James. Harriet and Frances are cousins, both descended from the Bishop line of witches. One of their descendants, Bridget Bishop, had been executed as a witch and the line continued through her two daughters. However each daughter chose a different path, with one using darker forces and the other avoiding them. Harriet is of the latter, and she uses her magic to help women. Frances is from the former, and she uses it to fulfil her ambitions, which include marrying into wealth and extending her influence by marrying off her step-daughter Annis, who also happens to be a descendant of the Bishop line and Harriet's niece, although she knows nothing of magic at the start.

As the plot unfolds we see Frances and Annis travelling to England, where Frances bewitches both Annis and James to try and force a marriage. Harriet, having followed them in order to prevent such a thing begins to teach Annis about magic. The story is told from the perspectives of all four characters, and I found the switching between viewpoints added so much depth, especially when it came to Frances. In such a story as this it would have been so easy to create her as a villain that you absolutely hate, and yet through her thoughts and memories you come to feel a kind of compassion for her, even if you still hate what she's doing.

The book eventually comes to a close with all the various threads woven together neatly, if not necessarily in a pretty manner. There are consequences to the events that happened throughout the book, and I think this is what I love the most about it. It feels real because life is gritty and so is what happens to the characters at each turn of this story. All in all I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character driven story lines which combine real world experiences with a touch of the fantastic.

i love a good witchy tale and this one is set back in the day in salem.but i have since learnt its part of a series so i intend to seek out the other books and pick it back up where i left off. i literally cant wait to start it again after reading the others first. Which i intend to buy as soon as ive posted this review.

Another great addition to the A secret history of witches. If you like historical fiction with a heavy dose of magic this is the one for you. If you haven't read the first 2 books you can still get into this story. I couldn't get enough of it. The story focuses on Annis who struggles with pull of family, legacies. Definitely would recommend.

Disclaimer - I received a free digital download of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first started to read this book, I found myself not being able to get into the story and prolonging trying to properly read it. However, after the first several chapters, I found myself quite taken with the book. I’m don’t normally read anything set before the 21st century, I just find it difficult to become completely absorbed with the writing and so tend to avoid.

The fact the book was set prior to my usual reading frame didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the storyline or of the characters. My normal reading genre is romance and I particularly liked that this books main focus was on family, connection and passions with romance a little on the side.

I loved the focus on female strength in a time completely dominated by men. Annis was such a good representation of a strong female lead and I truly enjoyed reading her story and going through her struggles with her. I would definitely recommend this book!

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan tells the story of the legacy of the Bishop witch ancestors in the late 19th century. Harriet Bishop and Frances Allington come from the same ancestral line of witches but have very conflicting agendas.

A lover of gothic-y historical fiction and all things witchy, I was looking forward to reading The Age of Witches. However, I fairly slugged my way through this novel. Whilst I cannot pinpoint any particular points of contention, I just found the pacing fairly slowly and I really struggled with the plot. I was disappointed that there didn't seem to be much in the means of magic but a whoooole lot of descriptions about horses. (So much horses.)

Personally, I wasn't invested in Annis as a character at all. I would have much rather read a story focusing solely on Harriet and Frances, delving deeper into good and bad magic (maleficia).

Overall, despite some of the waffle and pacing issues, The Age of Witches was an okay read.

3/5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for giving me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

REASON TO READ

The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan is a story about the legacy of witches, magic, love and feminism set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age New York and London.

REVIEW

This is my first Louisa Morgan book but not my last. First off the book is a slow burner, but please don’t let this put you off. Set in the Gilded Age against a backdrop of New York and London, a period I love. I loved Age of Innocence from Edith Wharton and this book perfectly captures both the opulence and the poverty of the time and more importantly the limited choices for women in this period.

It’s these limited life choices that fuel each of the central characters to want more than their gender allows and how ultimately magic helps them achieve these goals. Annis is our young heroine, who wants more from life than just being a socialite. Then we have Harriet, Annis’s estranged aunt and Frances her stepmother who for want of a better analogy represent the good and bad sides of magic. Harriet is a healer and herbalist, who knows all to well the lure of the dark side of magic, whereas Frances has embraced dark magic and seduced her way out of poverty. Battle lines drawn, Annis in the middle - you get the picture.

One other point I really loved about this book is how It drew on the legacy of Bridget Bishop, original Salem witch and tied our characters into her historical legacy.

If you love witches you will love this book. If you don’t love witches you will still love this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out over five.

A beautifully written tale of witches in New York, an incredible story with depth and magic led by very strong female characters, It was a book that hooked me from the very beginning and I did not want to end being swept away by the magic.

The Age Of Witches is a historical fiction about a family of women in 19th century New York.
Honestly, there's not much witchcraft in it. The main plot is a love story between Annis and James, and they both like horses. A lot.
I found the pacing slow, I felt the book could have lost 100 pages without affecting the plot. The characters were pretty dull, again they were pretty predictable which made the overall storyline predicable.
Overall, the book was OK, I probably wouldn't read it again.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free e book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book enough to seek out previous books by Louisa. I have not read anything historical for a while and it was nice change of pace to read a historical story that had strong female leads who were also caring. Harriet and Annis carried the story, Frances has her comeuppance but I don't think I would give her the sympathy that Harriet and Annis do.
If you want an old fashioned love story, while retaining strong female characters I would recommend this story. It makes a nice change from reading contemporary books.

I found it difficult to write this review because The Age of Witches is just so darned good! The language is tight and economical with not a superfluous word to be found and that just adds to the atmosphere and the storytelling. With an open mind, this is a totally believable story with very well drawn characters and scenarios. Allow me to quote a small example...

= “I’m in love with Annis Allington, Mother.”

“Goodness.” Lady Eleanor, with a grunt, pushed herself to her feet. “Not that I think being in love is a real condition, Rosefield, but if you feel that way, why did you let her slip through your fingers?" =

Enough of my wittering, I hope you choose to read this book so that you too can discover how good it is.

Up until the 60% mark, this was easily a 4-star read, but it sadly dropped down to a 3-star towards the end.

Harriet Bishop is a witch.
In 1692 her ancestor, Bridget Byshop, was killed because of her powers, and she vowed that her good and bad magic (maleficia) would pass down to her daughters Mary and Christian, respectively. As a descendent of Mary, Harriet is using her good powers to practise herbalism, whilst Frances (Christians descendent) is using her maleficia to gain power and elevate her position on the social ladder.
The two butt heads over the treatment of Frances' step-daughter Annis and things take off from there.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 60% of this. The writing and magic were really interesting, plus I loved the historical fiction setting of late 19th century New York. However, the climax of the book occurs just after the 60% mark, but the story is dragged out afterward. It became really boring with some weird subplots that didn't capture my attention at all. I would've preferred a shorter book that had a much more concise/interesting plot, than something that is longer but 50% good and 50% uninteresting.
Nevertheless, there were some really cool scenes that involved witch battles, and conflicts between good/evil magic. Annis was a great character as, despite her age and the era that she is living in, she comes across as a young woman who won't be walked over or taken control of.

Overall, I thought this was an okay book, but the last 40% ruined it for me. I am planning on reading Morgan's other books at some point, so fingers crossed they work out better!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Reading this book reminded me of just how much I actually like historical fiction! I don’t know why I don’t read it more often. Do I find that genre a little bit intimidating? I have a couple of Ruta Sepetys and Ken Follet books sitting on my shelves that I KNOW I’ll love, but I still avoid them and keep reading fantasy and sci-fi. In fact, this year probably has a higher number of fantasy books ever.

In «The Age of Witches» Louisa Morgan transports us to the late 1800s New York, and oh my, the feeling of that era was fabulous. I loved Louisa Morgan’s writing style. It felt so effortless and easy to read, but beautiful at the same time. Her descriptions of places and people were probably one of my favorite elements in the whole book and the reason why I kept wanting to read more and more of the story.

Related to the previous point, I also have to mention the role of women in society and how Louise Morgan wanted to challenge the established order by giving Annis such a wild and strong spirit.

Annis wasn’t my favorite character, but I can’t deny how important her role was, and not only in the story about witchcraft or the story about love but more so in the society - the hope that headstrong women can get what they want and break the stigma.

The main reasons why I didn’t like «The Age of Witches» as much as I thought I would is the slow burn romance. While it makes all the sense to be in the story, and it’s doesn’t actually take the main stage. We still focus primarily on witchcraft. But as I didn’t connect with Annis, the romance didn’t do much for me either.

The Age of Witches
by Louisa Morgan
Little, Brown Book Group Uk
Orbit
#gwendalyn_books_
#TheAgeofWitches

A MUST-READ FOR THOSE WHO LIKE MAGIC, LOVE AND A LITTLE BIT OF FEEL-GOOD FEMINISM IN THEIR HISTORICAL FICTION' Library Journal
A young witch must choose between love and loyalty, power and ambition, in this magical novel set in Gilded Age New York and London.

In 1692, Bridget Bishop was hanged as a witch. Two hundred years later, her legacy lives on in the scions of two very different lines: one dedicated to using their powers to heal and help women in need; the other, determined to grasp power for themselves.

This clash will play out in the fate of Annis, a young woman in Gilded Age New York who finds herself a pawn in the family struggle for supremacy. She'll need to claim her own power to save herself - and resist succumbing to the darkness that threatens to overcome them all.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

‘Witch should be a beautiful word, signifying wisdom and knowledge and discipline, but it isn’t used that way. It’s been made an insult, implying evil, causing fear. The word has been perverted.”

The Age of Witches is the third installment by Louisa Morgan that is creatively centered around the true to life descendants of the infamous Bridget Byshop of Salem Massachusetts.

An exceptional coming-of-age story that is set against the lushly depicted backdrops of Gilded Age New York and London. Seen through the eyes of multiple POV’s, and the pace was brisk and vividly rendered. There is something about Morgan’s writing that pull you in with her lyrical prose that is immersive and engaging.
The characters are strong and are realistically dimensional. A wonderful conjured tale of three women who are both strong and struggle under the bind placed on woman during this particular times in history. They all three have chosen in a distinct path, some in the light and others in darkshades within their own magic. I loved every page, and was a nonstop read for me, one I stayed up long after my bedtime to finish.
Engaging and vibrant with wonderful herbal concoctions, magic spells, and amulets...
Louisa Morgan books are stunning historical fiction interwoven with magical realism.

#bibliofinder #bibliolifestyle #orbitbooks #witches #historicalfiction
#louisamorgan #theageofwitches #thewitcheskind #asecrethistoryofwitches #witchlit #witchyfiction #readersofinstagram #witchesofinstagram #witch #witchery #herbalists #books #bookstagram #sacredlife.
#witchcraft #spellcraft #booksaboutwitches #witchbooks #historicalfiction #historicalfantasy #booksaboutnewyork #newyorkfiction

New York in the 1890s: Young and wealthy horsewoman Annis is raised by her father and her mysterious stepmother Frances. Frances, of humble origins and driven by ruthless ambition, constantly strives to improve her social position, preferably by marrying Annis off to an English aristocrat. Neither Annis nor her father suspect that Frances is a dark witch, who uses her powers with no regard for others to achieve her goals. Fortunately, Annis has a powerful ally in Harriet, her great aunt, who also possesses magical powers.

Louisa Morgan did a great job and wrote a really good and very convincing novel. Magic and witchcraft are a natural given in "The Age of Witches", thus the book does not feel like a fantasy novel at all, but rather reads like an episode of "Downton Abbey" with potions and voodoo. The novel is very well written, the author's extensive and versatile choice of words and the amount of research, which must have formed a huge part of the writing process, are remarkable. Due to the four different character perspectives, the novel is also incredibly entertaining. While the male character is rather weak, the three women are very strong - this is a narrative of powerful women, after all. The novel even offers some subtle (and not so subtle) early feminist thoughts, which perfectly align with the historical setting.

"The Age of Witches" is a great choice for readers, who would not necessarily choose a fantasy novel, but like a touch of magic. The novel is a fine blend of various genres.

Harriet Bishop comes from a family of witches but in the New York of the 1900s there are only a few of them left. From the other branch of the family and using her heritage for all the wrong reasons, her cousin Frances is trying to use her own stepdaughter to further herself in society. But Annis is also descended from the Bishops and she and Harriet are determined not to allow Frances to manipulate an innocent young man into marriage, whatever the cost.

I do love a good historical witch saga, I love the herbal magic and I would happily have lived at that time myself. Sadly, this story promises a lot but delivers less - playing out as really a romance novel rather than concentrating on the women in the saga, and generally not being particularly interesting to read.

All the women in the story have a fascinating history that we really don't hear enough about and the men are either unpleasant or uninteresting. It didn't really grab my attention and I found myself getting bored of the repetitiveness of the story.

Not one I will be going back to any time soon!

The Bishop women have the gift of magic. Power at a time when women were powerless in a society run by men.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative is shared by four characters.
Annis is at the centre of the story. She doesn't know about her Bishop heritage from her deceased mother.
She is born to a wealthy family, but does not wish to follow the expected behaviour and life of a young lady. She is headstrong, and wants nothing more than freedom and independence.

Annis' wishes are countered at every turn by her step-mother, Frances.
Frances is also a distantly-related Bishop woman, who started life in poverty. She has used dark magic to control the people around her, and gain an advantageous marriage to Annis' husband.
Now that Annis is old enough, Frances intends to sell her to a penniless English lord; so Frances can buy her way into New York's elite society.

Luckily, Annis' estranged Aunt Harriet will do everything in her power to stop Frances' malicious plans. Harriet is a powerful practitioner, who understands the lure and danger of using dark magic. She's keen to steer Frances back to the light, before it's too late.

The final narrator is James, the new Lord Rosefield who inherited an estate and a mountain of debt from his late father. Despite being pressured by his mother, he doesn't want to marry for money - especially not a brash American girl. He is a practical man, who has plans to save his estate, that doesn't involve depending on the dowry of a stranger.
He's an innocent, who is the victim of Frances' magic, when he loses control of his feelings.

Despite the fact that there's a lot of horses and magic in this book (my two favourite things!), the story was very slow-building.
It's a period piece, written in a suitable style, but the plot took so long to get going, I did put the book down several times.
It really picks up in the second half, as everyone comes together in England. Frances' manipulations quickly become apparent, and Annis has to study quick, if she is going to help her Aunt Harriet counter the curses.

I liked that this is a family matter underneath it all.
Despite being distantly related, and from a branch that has had a few dark/insane witches, Frances is still part of the family.
She has always felt the outsider, and she is blinded by the drive to prove herself Harriet's equal, both socially and magically.

I liked that the book looked at the position of women in society at the time (1890). I thought it was clever how each woman was simply trying to secure her place in a world run by fickle men. In their own special way.
Annis is the most obvious, as she dreams of running a stud and creating a superior horse bloodline. In the absence of her work-aholic father, Annis has had the freedom to train Black Satin, a perfect stallion, whom she has put to stud with select mares. She has no need of a husband, or a father, or any other man to manage her money. Her father is an excellent businessman, and Annis wants to show she can do the same.
Frances wants to be recognised as the elegant lady she has become, rather than the poverty she came from. She knows the society she lives in, and knows that the only way to get what you want, is to manipulate the right men. She is willing to pay any price to achieve her dreams.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, and I look forward to reading more of the author's work.

There’s something about a story on witches that is timelessly interesting. From The Wizard of Oz books to the more contemporary Practical Magic and the soon to be remade The Craft, the witchlore narratives around sisterhood and glamour spells goes from strength to strength in popular culture.

Maybe it’s the idea that magick exists which means you no longer have to clean your room (Mickey Mouse in Fantasia, I may be looking at you) or you can turn yourself into a rat in an instant (Buffy, it might not have worked completely but it is still a compelling idea and a good way to get out of said chores when you’re 16, heck, or when you’re any age).

Louisa Morgan’s “The Age of Witches” starts off in Salem’s witch trials, as Bridget Bishop is executed for being a witch. She is, as you probably know, one of the real life victims of the Salem witch trials. While I was looking that up on good ol’ google, I found this article ( https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/weird-norfolk-norwich-witch-salem-bridget-bishop-1-5884359 ) where I discovered that Bridget Bishop was from Norwich, something I wish we’d known when my husband and I visited Salem in the early 2000s.

“The Age Of Witches” quickly fast forwards into the ‘gilded age’ of New York, or Victorian England. This felt similar to the All Souls series, of which the first book, “A Discovery of Witches” has now been made into a glitzy TV show starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode. The Bishop name features heavily in both, of course.

I was surprised that the setting stayed around the same era, to be honest – for some reason, I expected it to fast forward to the modern day. There are three main characters, introduced near the beginning. One is Harriett, the ‘Good Witch who focusses on healing poultices and balms, while the other is Frances the ‘Bad Witch’ who specialises in love potions and voodoo dolls. Making up the trio is Annis, the niece caught in the middle between her Great Aunt and her stepmother, both of Bishop blood but different lines. Something in the story reminded me of The Mercies- maybe it was the focus on women and the strength they have together. 

I read this pretty quickly as the story was engaging and the characters were interesting – as soon as I had sorted out in my head which one was which (or rather, which witch was which, hehe). None of their names are particularly similar but I kept getting them mixed up for the first few chapters.

I also struggled to understand the family relationship – how would Annis have witch powers when it’s her stepmother with the connection? The solution is a bit neat for my liking, but I suppose there were fewer people at that time so more chance of bumping into far flung relatives.

The other thing, and this is a small, personal issue – the term ‘shirtwaist’ was used a lot. They seemed to get dressed and undressed a lot and nine times out of ten it would include a shirtwaist of some description, which I don’t know what it is and I’m not really bothered enough to find out. I gather it was a dress type garment. I know, I told you it was small. I think because I read it over the course of a couple of days, it was more evident – I wouldn’t have picked upon that if I had read it more slowly.

All in all, a pretty solid tale of good versus evil and what happens when we dabble in the inbetween. I liked learning about the women involved and the other people in the story, and I probably would be interested to read the second book if there is another one in the series – I think there is more to tell.

Thanks as always to Netgalley for the platform and to Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC.

An enjoyable plot, although predictable at times. I felt it lacked a bit of oomph in places. Some of the characters could have been further developed to give the story a bit more depth.

I agree with another reviewer who said the plot came to a climax around 60% and although the story needed to be wrapped up I think the plot could have been rejigged for a better flow. However, saying that, I was kept interested in the story in the most part and the writing itself was good. I liked the setting and the inclusion of magic in the tale made for a pleasant read.

DNF. Despite an intriguing time setting for this book (Manhattan in 1890), I'm just not feeling grabbed by it. I read the first few chapters, where we're introduced to three main characters: a young woman determined to follow her own path, rather than the one her stepmother wants her to take; the stepmother, who seems to fit lots of 'wicked stepmother' stereotypes; and an older woman who is related to both, a bit of an outsider, who likes to get up early and gather plants from the meadow. However, the scene-setting & slow build up wasn't making me rush to turn pages, or come back to it between other books. With so many other books in the world, I've decided not to make myself push on.