The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan is a wonderful tale set in Gilded Age New York and London. It tells the story of three witches from two branches of a family that descends from Bridget Bishop , the first woman to be executed as part of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Each branch of the family descends from one of her daughters, and each practices a different style of magic,
In New York we meet the descendants of both women, Harriet Bishop, a healer and herbalist who uses her magical abilities to ensure the success of her treatments, and Frances Allington, a woman who has used a darker side of her ability to secure a marriage to one of the cities wealthiest new tycoons. Determined to make her way into the upper echelons of New York society she hatches a plan to marry off her step daughter to a British aristocrat, hoping that the prestige the match will bring will overcome the stigma of the family as being New Money. Her stepdaughter Annis, who is also distantly related to Harriet through her deceased mother, has a mind of her own however, and has no interest in marrying , instead she dreams of breeding horses professionally. When Frances uses her dark magics to persuade Annis to become more docile , Harriet worries about her intentions and follows them both to England where Frances ensnares a young English nobleman for Annis, she knows that she will have to reveal the truth about her heritage to Annis and that both of them will have to work together to counter Frances' evil spells.
Rich in atmosphere and with a strongly compelling narrative of the power of family and heritage, The Age of Witches was a most enjoyable book. Harriet and Annis are both very likeable characters, and as a reader it is very easy to be capitvated by their story, but every good heroine needs a villain to test them, and here Frances is that to perfection. While she may have started with good, albeit selfish intentions , her descent into the darkness of her magic over the course of the book is wonderfully portrayed. It is a testament to the skill of the author that even with such a basically unlikable character I found myself sympathetic to her plight at the end of the book . Annis is a wonderfully determined heroine, and also a kind and thoughtful one , as is revealed in many little moments throughout the book, and I loved how her story ended.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This book wasn’t for me, I found it incredibly hard to get into and found myself wanting to put it down and read other books. I’m a tad disappointed because this sounded incredible and has positive reviews

I didn’t particularly like the characters and found myself tiring when reading their voices.

Two of my favourite topics - Victorian life and witches - mixed together, ‘The Age of Witches’ didn’t disappoint!
A perfect mix of historical fiction and magical realism with a pinch of romance. The characters were engaging and I really enjoyed seeing Annis and James grow as the story went on. Francis reminds me of Disney’s ‘Maleficient’, allowing her own bitterness to take her over, while Hattie is the kind of fairy godmother who isn’t afraid to kick a bit of ass if needed!
If you like magical stories like ‘The Night Circus’ or ‘The Ten Thousand Door of January’, historical fiction with a twist, or just a good story to get stuck in to, I’d nightly recommend this book!
Note - I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I thought this was a lovely book which read like an adult fairy tale. You have a wicked step mother, a good great aunt and a young maid caught in a battle of good vs evil. The book in alternating POV of all the main characters. An is just wants to be a horse breeder but in 1890 New York women are still riding side saddle. Her wicked step mother wants to raise her station and become one of the elite but to do this Annis needs to marry a title. Harriet wants to honour her heritage as a witch.
I liked the history of this period described by the author of both London and New York. The characters were all engaging and I love witches. I will definitely be reading the authors first book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheAgeofWitches #NetGalley

This book has great witches, some love, interesting family relationships. My favourite part was the witches. You meet 3 completely different, interesting witches with some very interesting powers. I really love how the book explains the powers these witches have and how the powers influence the world around them. The witches' powers are similar, but different at the same time and it was so interesting to read about their practices. This was the part of the book that fascinated me.

I should have mentioned that this book is taking place in our world in the 1800s and the historical part was well presented. It gave me some historical fiction vibes and that was really good. I also enjoyed how the author presents the women's struggles in that time and how much our characters fight to break the barrier and become something more, something better.

The only bit I didn't really like was the pacing of the book. It had a slow start. Then you get to some very fast action. At around 60% - 65% of the book I had the feeling that this was it. I was very confused why there was still around 35% - 40% left of the book. It felt like the big battle happened, the end should be just around the corner, but it wasn't. After this, everything felt a little dragged. Also, it became a romance book out of thin air. I kind of wanted the couple not to get together in the end, even though they are great characters and great people. I kind of felt that it was pushed for a happy ending and a marriage at the end.

The Age of Wtches was a slow burner but once it got going I didn't want to put it down. I love books about witches so it was always a safe bet that I would enjoy this one.

Harriet Bishop comes from a long line of witches, she is a herbal practioner who uses her skills to help those in need. Her cousin Frances prefers the darker side of magic and this has lead to a rift between the two women.

Frances has used her skills to get herself a rich husband and a nice house but she is not content to stop at that. Frances wants to be part of the elite and to that she is willing to do anything, even use magic to force her stepdaughter Annis into marriage.

Harriet learns of her plan and shows Annis how to tap into her own powers to try and defeat Frances before it is too late.

An enjoyable read.

I've read all of Louisa Morgan's previous books about witches. I'm no stranger to books on witches at all, and this one really does not disappoint. They way Louisa Morgan writes is unhurried, not so much gentle, but kind to your soul, whilst still keeping up the pace. She builds a world that is entirely believable despite its contents, and makes you wonder what happened in your own ancestry. The books are incredibly well researched. This one reads like Downton Abbey, with herbs, poultices, horses, and witchcraft (and honestly, that's the highest compliment because I love Downton). I devoured this book and cannot wait for more! Read it, you'll not regret it!

I really enjoyed this book. I love anything to do with Salem and the witch trials, so this was another story that I devoured. The Gilded Age backdrop was one I'd not really been interested by before, but I felt it really worked with the story. The writing style was really easy to follow, like the author's previous book, so I was overall pretty happy with this book.

I'm sure to some, this is a great read.
Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.
The writing was fine, the plot just didn't captivate me.

The Age of Witches, Louisa Morgan

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Sci fi and Fantasy
I love books about witches and magic, and loved the connection with the salem witch trials here. Its true, what we don't understand we fear, and I suspect there are those today who would act that way if they could.

Hands up – a little part of me still believes in the possibility of magic, and reading this, the two sides of it, good and evil, felt very real.
The spells, manikins, herbs, all were so well done I could visualise them. It wasn't simple easy magic but one which required study and determination, and the knowledge of how to put that study into practice. Spells too had physical effects on the caster as well as those influenced, as if they had to pay a price for the magic.

The ladies were all very strong characters, Annis, Frances, Harriet and of course Lady Eleanor. In contrast the men were weak and fickle. Even James, so strongly disliking Annis at first, ( I could feel his shock – it made me smile) seemed to be quite a weak person. Once he finally stood up to his mother he did seem to be growing a bit of back bone, and was making some firm decisions of his own. I did like him and was glad things worked out in the end, but for a while I could see him knuckling under.
The story unfolds well, interesting female characters, Annis, tomboy, would be horse breeder ( a horse lover myself I understood her feelings), her step mother Frances, highly ambitious and happy to manipulate events to benefit her, Harriet, Annis great aunt but she doesn't know it til deep in the story and of course Grace, Harriet's ...companion/help. The have more a friend relationship than that of servant and mistress. The asylum – horrific places, and of course a convenient place to stash unwanted female relatives. Note, in a society ruled by men its only ever the ladies that get committed.

Its quite a simple story, and that let the focus be on the witches, the craft and how they worked so differently. I loved the added bonus of the Strega, the lady who ran the supplies shop. She had a special insight into people that was interesting and which let Harriet have the things from her she would need to counteract Frances.

Stars: Four, Its an enjoyable read, not one I'd reread now I know how it plays out, but one which I did enjoy very much.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Enjoyable, readable - would recommend to anyone who enjoys the idea of wise women, good magic, kindness all used for good reasons; with one character using her abilities for the complete opposite reasons, and the problems she causes. Set during the 1890s, when wealthy heiresses from New York travelled to England in search of a titled husband, some characters are based on descendants of a witch executed at Salem. This does have a role to play in the plot. Do read, and enjoy.

The tale of a family bloodline of witches, one half good and the other tempted to the dark side.
The benefits of helping, healing and guiding pitted against the malevolent greed, jealousy and harm of a family of witches that goes back to a family curse from 200 years ago.
Set in lush countryside in England and the bustle of New York in the 1890's a fabulous read right until the very last page..

This story kept me engaged from beginning to end. Great characters and a writing style which brought to story to life. Great conclusion with the possibility of a sequel. Loved it!!

I admit I'm biased regarding witch related stories, as it's one of my favourite tropes. But this was truly an entertaining read.

I thought the multiple point of views narration to be a perfect fit for this book. We get to see both the perspective of the "evil" manipulative witch - and the reason as to why she is the way she is - and of someone trying to stop her, which is a great dynamic and the core of the book. Deeply feminist with beautiful descriptions, The Age Of Witches is a well written story about women's history and complex nature.

The Age of Witches was a fast read. It was entertaining for the most part. Felt a bit unrealistic at times, but overall it was a good read. This novel didn't wow me but that's not to say I didn't like it. I finished this book in a day which says a lot about the writing style and story.
This is a story of the clash of wills and intentions of two witches and the repercussions of their actions. Annis falls victim to the scheming of her stepmother Frances, who's a witch, and Harriet, Annis's great aunt tries to save her and other innocent people from getting affected by Frances' manipulations. An interesting feminist story. I was a bit puzzled by the ending though. Is there a sequel to this book, is this part of a series? I am not sure.
I loved both Harriet's and Lady Eleanor's characters. But, I was sorely disappointed by the way men were characterized in the story. Weak, vain and vacuous, the men in the story had absolutely no substance. None of them were likable or unlikable they were just bland and mostly useless. They felt like distractions to the story and I was uncomfortable with that. It's not necessary that a woman can shine only if the men in her life are weak. There are thousands of stories where women have shone due to the silent and strong support of men in their family. I would have loved to see stronger and deeper male characters in the story.
Also, Velma's character was so unrealistic that I caught myself rolling my eyes multiple times. Maybe it's my cynical nature, but I found her naivety and innocence unrealistic.

Recommend this book if you want a quick witchy story and a throwback to the 19th-century life and the lives of the women in those times.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group, Orbit and the author, Louisa Morgan, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Age of Witches in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a great read.
The storyline was well thought out and written with well developed characters. The descriptiveness was rich and vivid in detail. Very entertaining.
Well worth a read.

A well written book, with an interesting story told from multiple POV. However, I did not coonect with this book and did not care much about most of the characters.