The Once and Future Witches is unapologetically feminist, chock-full-of-witches and sisterly: there's sapphic pining, books, reworked feminist fairytales and women in every form, fighting the patriarchy. Told in beautiful prose from the perspective of the three Eastwood sisters: a librarian, a mother-to-be and a revengeful teenager, it's a powerful and timely tale about fighting for your seat at the table, even when it burns.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I don’t even know where to begin writing this review. I was completely blown away by this book. It was so unique and powerful. I did not want it to end!

The author does a whole new spin on fairy tales and asks us more about what hidden messages are in old nursery rhymes and stories. She explores how witches used these rhymes to hide spells and charms in them such as in Grimm’s Fairytales. It is like magic in your hands whilst reading this book, it is full of spells and short fairytale stories that appear around the main plot. It all weaves together perfectly to create a spell binding story

The three main characters who are the Eastwood Sisters are all so different from each other. You have the eldest and wisest in Bella, Agnes is the middle sister who is the strongest and Juniper the younger, wild one. They all start off with a very troubled relationship but they come together to be a force to be reckoned with.

This book is all about the power of sisterhood and how you can overcome the odds if women all rise together to create a movement so strong that they can defeat anything. It echoes about so many of the modern world’s issues such as homophobia, race, gender, sexuality, discrimination, feminism, you name it. It is so empowering to read about and very refreshing and at times relatable.

The storytelling is also rich and immersive with the detail of the world building that you find your imagination is captivated.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If like me you love a witchy read then this is the book for you!

This is the perfect autumnal escapist read; full of magic, adventure, spooky happenings and raucous women!

A tale of women seeking power in politics as the suffragettes rise up in society, James Juniper believes it’s time to bring back witchcraft. She draws her sisters Agnes Amaranth and Beatrice Belladonna back together to join the suffragists of New Salem and reinstate the power of witchcraft as it is currently relegated to housework and nursery rhymes.

The combination of suffragettes and witches is a stroke of genius! If you like your historical fantasy with a feminist twist then this is a book for you! It’s one of my favourite reads this year!

I really enjoyed this author’s first book, The Thousand Doors of January, and this book was just as magical. I adore the beautiful prose, which is so lovely to read. The novel is full of twists and turns and pulls you into an incredibly atmospheric tale.

It is packed full of wonderful and diverse characters most of whom are female, giving this novel a feminist edge. The three main protagonists sisters Beatrice, Agnes and Juniper couldn’t be more different. Beatrice is wise, studious and intellectual, Agnes is strong and determined and Juniper is feisty and fearless and a little reckless at times.

The plot is good and also covers a variety of pertinent topics, such as racism, sexism and sexuality. The pacing is overall fairly slow and whilst some chapters are action-packed and really held my attention, others were more contemplative and informative and took time to digest. The book took me some time to get through and I could help but feel it could have been condensed slightly.

This is the perfect Halloween read when thoughts of magic, witchcraft and witches fill our thoughts. I loved the addition of spells at the beginning of each chapter in the form of old nursery rhymes. The author has spent a lot of time researching this topic which shows in the detail and the brilliant touches on many historical issues as well. A gorgeously dark and spellbinding novel. The ending was slightly shocking and I did not see that coming!

It’s 1893 and witches are no more since Old Salem was burnt to the ground along with all of its witches. Women’s fights have now taken to the ballot box with the Suffragist movement. In reality, the difference between ‘Witch’ and ‘Suffragist’ is quite blurred for many men. All women with too much power, knowledge or motivation are something to be reviled and controlled. Yes, this is really all about feminism, and this is only one of the many reasons why it’s a top read for me.

As far back as I can remember (and that’s quite a long way), I’ve loved fairytales, myths and legends. The original stories, if you will. Witches didn’t fare well in these stories, but they were always the characters that I wanted to know more about. What motivated them? Why were they ‘evil’? How did they do THAT?! I wanted to be the ‘good’ version! So this book has ticked a lot of boxes for me. They’re witches, they’re good, normal, women, and they want to make ALL of their lives better.

The main three characters reflect the three stages of a woman’s life (maiden, mother, crone) and also reflect the kinds of lives that many women would (and still do) live.
James Juniper, the youngest, wants to come in to her own power - whether that’s as a suffragist or a witch. She believes that you don’t have to choose: she’s a true fighter and is willing to stand up for her beliefs.
Beatrice Belladonna has escaped her life with the family years ago and works as a librarian: knowledge is her greatest power. Finally, Agnes Amaranth is an unmarried mother who wants to protect her unborn child.
They’ve all been damaged by their abusive father, and this story is as much about them rebuilding their relationship as it is about women coming in to their own power.

The Once and Future Witches has a lot to offer all ages of reader. It makes you think about not just women’s rights, but also race, LGBTQI+ rights, survival, and just standing firm for what you believe in. It shows through the example of the three estranged sisters, that we are all stronger if we stand together.

I didn’t want to stop reading this - I inhaled it, couldn’t put it down, went to bed early two days in a row just to read it, and thought about it in between times. And I’m still thinking about it. If you like witches, you’ll like this. If you like a good story, you’ll love it. If you want to read a book that encompasses all of this and has relevance to our lives today, here’s your book.

This is going to remain a firm favourite for me for a long time. Perhaps I’m one of the future witches?

Many thanks to Little, Brown and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

Feminism meets witches. I read and adored Alix E. Harrows first novel 'the ten thousand doors of January' and had such high expectations for this book and I wasn't disappointed. I really liked this book and it definitely gave me October witchy vibes and that was a huge selling point for me. The writing is beautiful and so descriptive it really pulls you into the story. I loved the set up and world of New Salem during the time of the suffragette movement and the fight for the woman's right to vote. I really loved the family dynamics in this book and how those familial bonds grew throughout the course of the novel as the characters were going through hardships. Having the perspective of these three sisters was also super interesting as they were all different and brought their own eyes to what was going on. I also really loved the little bits of romance that we got between some of the sisters and their potential partners. I also really enjoyed the ending of this book and it really picked up and the latter 30% of the book I was unable to put down until I found out what was going to happen. I would highly recommend this one, especially during the autumnal months. 4 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by Little, Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Content Warnings: misogyny, sexism, violence, sexual harassment.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is a story about sisterhood — by blood and by choice — broken trust, love, witchcraft and womanhood.

After years of not seeing each other, James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth and Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood reunite in a public square of New Salem, lead there by an invisible thread of power that ties them to each other. In 1893, in a world where witchcraft is reduced to small charms, tales and nursery rhymes, and the suffragists of New Salem are fighting for their right to vote, the Eastwood sisters want to restore witchcraft to what it once was, before the processes and burnings happened. And in doing so, perhaps, transform the suffragist organization into a witch movement.

I needed to read various chapters before being really engaged by the story, but when I did, whoa. The three sisters have very distinct and interesting voices and the story, while it flowed unhurriedly, with its twists and turns delighted me. The element I most appreciated is the incandescent subplot of queer love. I still think the story is around a hundred pages too long, though.

This book a great read for october with witches in the nineteenth century. This book hooked me from the very beginning with 3 separated sisters having to come together to restore witching to the world. The story that we follow was gripping and definitely did not disappoint

"Must a thing be bound and shelved in order to matter? Some stories were never written down. Some stories were passed by whisper and song, mother to daughter to sister."

What a gorgeous, rich, and spellbinding (I'm not sorry) book this was. Alix E. Harrow blew my mind with her short story "A Witch’s Guide to Escape" - and this very much feels like a spiritual successor. Funny and warm by turns, this story of sisterhood in any number of forms is the kind of fairytale that might persuade me to have daughters just so I can pass it on.

It starts with three sisters, as it often does, and that's not the only homage to the familiar format of children's stories. But the author knows what she's doing - leading the reader towards what they know will be a zig, only to zag in a way that you don't see coming. And not in a way that feels like trickery either, or something the reader was too dense to see coming - in a reassuring way, for the most part, a way that sees you've been hurt before and wants to let you know not all the stories do that. But there's plenty here that's all her own invention too, and if it first it is borne up by the traditions and rhythms of the story that came before it, by the end it's standing very much on it's own.

I feel guilty for giving this five stars. This is definitely one of those occasions when I'm rating an author on their own personal system, and this is five stars for an author at the absolute top of her game, one not only performing well in a genre, but creating her own. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy - though thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the free digital copy for an honest review.

The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow’s sophomore novel set in the late 1800s, is the story of three witch sisters fighting for the power to vote in an alternate history America during the suffrage movement and is very much a powerful and contemporary feminist fairytale. It is both a love letter to folkloric traditions and an ode to the fierce power rebellious women throughout history have wielded. There’s no such thing as witches, but there used to be. It used to be the air was so thick with magic you could taste it on your tongue like ash. Witches lurked in every tangled wood and waited at every midnight-crossroad with sharp-toothed smiles. They conversed with dragons on lonely mountaintops and rode rowan-wood brooms across full moons; they charmed the stars to dance beside them on the solstice and rode to battle with familiars at their heels. It used to be witches were wild as crows and fearless as foxes, because magic blazed bright and the night was theirs. But then came the plague and the purges. The dragons were slain and the witches were burned and the night belonged to men with torches and crosses.

The story follows the Eastwood sisters, together after unwanted separation, as they join the suffragists of New Salem, Massachusetts. James Juniper was the youngest, with hair as ragged and black as crow feathers. She was the wildest of the three. The canny one, the feral one, the one with torn skirts and scraped knees and a green glitter in her eyes, like summer-light through leaves. She knew where the whip-poor-wills nested and the foxes denned; she could find her way home at midnight on the new moon. But on the spring equinox of 1893, James Juniper is lost. Agnes Amaranth was the middle sister, with hair as shining and black as a hawk’s eye. She was the strongest of the three. The unflinching one, the steady one, the one that knew how to work and keep working, tireless as the tide. But on the spring equinox of 1893, she is weak. Beatrice Belladonna was the oldest sister, with hair like owl feathers: soft and dark, streaked with early grey. She was the wisest of the three. The quiet one, the listening one, the one who knew the feel of a book's spine in her palm and the weight of words in the air. But on the spring equinox of 1893, she is a fool.

Each of the sisters paid a high price to escape the abuse they were subjected to by their parents and adversity throughout their formative years; as a result, they all have anger issues. But when they reunite as adults, in a reality where witchcraft is illegal, it is with the same mission in mind: to channel that anger into bringing back real magic. Little do they know the implications their actions will have. Being an ex historian you'll find you cannot resist the temptation of the spellbinding and alternative nineteenth-century America Harrow exquisitely crafts right down to intricate, otherworldly details which immerse you and have you head over heels for both the story and the characters. It sends a timely message that we must fight the oppressive and patriarchal forces we currently face and illustrates that both hurt and hope can coexist before leading to real, positive change in society. But not only is the plot beautifully constructed so are the three sisters who inhabit it. Harrow has a spectacular natural ability for storytelling and every word of this fantasy is lyrical and evocative from beginning to denouement and the fact meets fiction world is vivid, stunning and richly-imagined. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Orbit for an ARC.

This book is set in an alternative reality late nineteenth century, where witches were a fact of life until they were wiped out. Magic gave women a certain amount of power and freedom, but now both magic and women’s rights are frowned upon and suppressed. The story focusses on three sisters, as they initially try to make a life for themselves in the repressive town of New Salem and escape the shadows of an abusive father, dead mother, and other childhood traumas, and later try to restore women’s magic and standing.
It’s a good concept that’s well-executed. The setting is vibrant, the three main characters are well-drawn, and the magic system and history are carefully developed, with the idea being that you need “the will, the way, and the words” — the words are especially interesting, generally being drawn from nursery rhymes and similar, with the idea being that women kept them alive and passed them on that way.

It’s a deeply feminist book. Magic and witches make neat metaphors for women’s rights, though issues such as backstreet abortions, the vote, and equal pay also play into the plot directly. Themes of workers’ rights, racial equality, and LGBT issues are also woven in.

There’s quite a lot of darkness in the book: lots of physical and emotional abuse of children and teenagers in flashback and a full range of unpleasantness in the present day timeline from poor working conditions to sexual harassment to straight up torture. And an extremely traumatic childbirth scene. I feel like some of this was necessary to show the characters’ struggles, heighten the stakes and bring in a bit of realism, but it did mean I found it a hard read at times, and I’m not usually one to shy away from heavy themes.

I was similarly in two minds about the villains. There was one overarching villain who sought to repress and harm the sisters with a toxic mix of magic, politics, and force, plus plenty of other deeply unpleasant men. I usually like villains with a bit more nuance and "shades of grey" but it was quite refreshing for a change to have antagonists who were genuinely awful - from their sexist attitudes to their propensity to kidnap ill babies and imprison women in fetid cellars! - and who you could unashamedly and straightforwardly root against. Though at one point, slightly out of nowhere, the main villain seeks an alliance with one of the main characters, and he was so irredeemably awful I could see no reason it would even cross her mind to say yes or spend any time considering it.

Overall though, I thought this was a good and somewhat unusual read which did some interesting things with some big themes while still keeping a sense of magic.

The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I loved it!

It is set in the late nineteenth century and follows three sisters who have been separated for a few years but suddenly find themselves pulled together. In New Salem woman we currently protesting the right the vote but there is something darker at play. I love the interweaving use of folk tales and nursery rhymes and the writing was beautiful.

It’s a wonderfully witchy, feminist novel about three sisters fighting the repression placed upon all woman and taking their power back.

Alix' first book, The Ten Thousand Doors of January was my first ever blog post so I squealed with excitement when I got this one and it did not disappoint!⁠

This is the story of three sisters and how, after being separated through circumstances none of them fully understand they are reunited and come together on a quest to return witchcraft to the world in order to make it a better place.

What an enchanting and spellbinding read! I loved the strong independent female characters that the author is so brilliant at creating and to touch on so many historical issues, such as gender, women's rights, race, homophobia, sexuality, survival, feminism, that are so often glossed over in this genre was really refreshing.

I absolutely adored the addition of old fairy tales and the use of nursery rhymes as a way to pass witchcraft down through the generations and how they also came together to tell their own story.
⁠
This is the perfect book to cuddle up with on a cold October day when thoughts of Halloween and magic fill the air and Alix E Harrow is definitely on my auto buy authors list!

Thank you Orbit and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for review.

I was so fortunate to receive a copy of this beautiful book, and it's one of those stories I genuinely feel thankful to have read and to have in my life. That sounds melodramatic, and you know what I'm like, I do err on the side of drama occasionally - but there's just something about The Once And Future Witches which haunts me and I know it's a story I'll treasure. 

Now I'm sure you're wondering, what's so good about it? I'm sure you've seen it doing the rounds, this won't even be the first review of it on The Fantasy Hive. You've heard the noise about it - THE MAGIC THE PROSE OMG etc. 

For me, Witches is absolutely deserving of the hype. On the surface, you can see why it ticks so many boxes; set in the late 1800s in America, it's an alternative-history fantasy that follows the suffragette movement in a New England city; at its core are three wonderfully portrayed sisters with a complex relationship; the magic system is that kind of fairy-tale garden-witch Alice Hoffman kind, the kind that feels like it could very well almost be real if you believed in it hard enough...

But looking deeper than that, this is an extremely well written story that successfully appears to be quite simple, but employs all those clever little knacks to produce an effortless, and timeless, story. Harrow is quite clearly more than a mere writer, she is a story-teller, a witch of words. 

"It used to be the air was so thick with magic you could taste it on your tongue like ash. Witches lurked in every tangled wood and waited at every midnight-crossroad with sharp-toothed smiles."

It's an enticing opening that I followed like a dream, pushing through the branches of that tangled wood but wary of that taste of ash in the air. Immediately, there's a warning in this opening. After this introduction, chapter one introduces us to our first sister, the youngest sister, James Juniper Eastwood. I think I fell in love with her there and then as she limps onto the first page with what is quite possibly the most beautiful description of a character I have ever read:

"She was the wildest of the three. The canny one, the feral one, the one with torn skirts and scraped knees and a green glitter in her eyes, like summer-light through leaves. She knew where the whip-poor-wills nested and the foxes denned; she could find her way home at midnight on the new moon."

It's just so rhythmically beautiful, isn't it? It tells us everything we need to know about Juniper in such a romantic way; a wild spirit in tune to the magic all around her. The magic that's around us all if we just saw it through Juniper's glittering eyes. 

Harrow's portrayal of her three protagonists is a different kind of magic again; her stunning prose weaves individualist stories into their voices that sets them wholly apart from each other. It would have been so easy for the three sisters to have become blurred - the things writers usually use to create "distinct voices", backgrounds and motivations, are both shared between the three. Harrow harnesses the true sense of the individual, whilst bringing them together in a deep bond of sisterhood. She has expertly rendered the complexities of personality, character, and human nature. They each have a distinctive theme to their thoughts, like a colour pallette, which separates each voice and makes it distinctive and unique.

"Quinn's hand is still resting lightly on Beatrice's arm, and Beatrice is paying no attention to it (the pearl shine of her nails, the smudge of ink on her sleeve, the warm smell of cloves rising from her skin)."

Beatrice speaks to herself in parentheses, answering herself with a sideline snarky commentary, or an illuminating detail, that I really connected with (apparently not everyone has a running commentary in their mind!) Amaranth pictures her life in circles, who is within the circle, who is without the circle, who threatens the sanctity of her imagined boundaries. And then running wild from Beatrice's scholarly punctuation and Amaranth's rounded but solid edges is Juniper, with her focus on nature and her brash and impetuous emotion that flashes through like a summer squall. 

Although this is a story about three sisters struggling to overcome their past and reconnect to forge a new future, for themselves and the women of their city; this is also very a much a story about stories and how they shape us. How powerful stories can be, how they can change our perceptions, how dangerous they can be gliding from the wrong tongues. I was swept along by the sisters as they worked together to find the will, the words and the way to bring magic back, but I couldn't help wonder at Harrow's commentary on the nature of stories, that exploration of what we think we know about something. The way knowledge is shared and carried forward, and hidden. 

Ultimately there was so much to love about this book, this Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell as written by Alice Hoffman, but there was so much that also left me thinking. It sang to something deep within me, the superstitious little girl who always politely greeted Mr Magpie and would never ever pick a hawthorn blossom. I was heartbroken by the end. Left bereft that the story had to end. But very much looking forward to what Alix E. Harrow brings us next.

I loved this book from start to finish. It's my best read of 2020 so far. There isn't one thing I didn't love, and as soon as I'm able to release a longer review on my personal blog (hopefully by the end of the month) (link: angiesbookmarks.wordpress.com), I will go into much more detail about what makes this book absolutely perfect. Unfortunately family and health emergencies have prevented me from preparing a blog post sooner.

The story takes its time, alternating between slower, contemplative and action-packed moments, in a pace that overall feels natural and human. It's beautifully multilayered and constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. I particularly loved how fairytales and folklore are interwoven with the plot and storyworld. Each character is unique and truly jumps off the page, villains, secondary characters and ghosts included.

Finally, the prose felt like poetry. I loved the vibrant use of imagery and composed words: they created a sort of spell-/nursery-rhyme-like feeling within the prose itself, and the very aware use of parenthesis was spectacular.

Honestly, I can hardly flaw this book! Can't wait to see it on shelves so I can recommend it to everyone I know.

I could not love this more! "The Once And Future Witches" hooked me from the first page. Witches, feminists, activists, suffragettes, patriarchy-dismantlers - what's not to love? Alix E. Harrow's writing is incredibly evocative, conjuring sights and smells. I truly wanted to step inside this book. It's a story to savour, despite the overwhelming urge to swallow it in one huge gulp. It's about sisterhood with a capital S, simultaneously uplifting and empowering. At time of reading, I was also asked to review an album - "Love Letters To The Master" by Melisa Kelly. I highly recommend checking it out as I found it to be the perfect soundtrack to Alix E. Harrow's wonderfully witchy novel.

Set in the late 1800s in New Salem - a time when witches seem to have thoroughly purged and women suitable punished. In reality, witching continues. Small charms to help with the housework, to calm a fever or soothe a baby. Barely tolerated because it is homely women's work. But the spells have survived, passed down through songs, rhymes, stitched in needlework - they just need a strong will.
The say everything important comes in threes. The three Eastwood sisters fill the archetypes of the witch - the crone, the mother, the maiden. Separated by lies, misunderstanding & the damage inflicted on them by their father - they find themselves drawn back together in New Salem where women are fighting for the right to vote but are faced with prejudice and lingering fears that giving women power will lead to the the return of witchcraft. Maybe the return of witching is just what they need...
I liked the 3 sisters and how distinct they felt from each other whilst also sharing certain characteristics. I liked how differently they had coped with the abusiveness of the father, how that had impacted their decisions & current circumstances, but also how they developed in themselves and healed their relationship with each other.
The suffrage movement is the focus of the earlier parts of the book and works well to illustrate the fear that men have of women having power -whether that be the power to vote, to decide for themselves or the powers of witches. Although the campaigning for the next mayoral election is the backdrop for the entire story, along with the sinister mayoral candidate, I felt the suffrage element dissolves too early. I'd have liked to see more of how the non-witchy suffragist women were dealing with the increasing hostility.
I particularly liked the use of a few lines of nursery rhymes, poems, or fairytale at the start of each chapter that are actually the words to a spell - hidden in plain sight where men won't think to look.
This book feels very different from The Ten Thousand Doors of January - the plot is more complex and perhaps less neat (although I think that suits the difficult period, the clash of people & beliefs) but the love of storytelling, the importance of stories, is strong in both.
This is not a cackling, dark, dark woods, talking animals type of witch book. This is a strong women, sisterly bonds type of witch book and I think it is all the better, all the more powerful for it. (Although there actually is some cackling and some woods and familiars)

This book had me sucked in from the blurb and the first 2 pages, and absolutely blew me away all the way through. The Once and Future Witches is a magical, enchanting, compelling and beautiful tale of three sisters and their quest to restore witching in the world. With fairy tales woven throughout, this book absolutely took my breath away. You know when you read a book and get that feeling in your chest where you’re so immersed and don’t ever want to come out? – this is one of them.

This is a big book – 528 pages and I truly loved every minute of it. I would love to see this as a series on the TV – I’d definitely be setting my TV to record so I could watch it again and again.

The storyline is amazing. Three sisters who are reunited with an unbreakable bond, and a will to bring witching back to the world. The journey is dangerous, gripping, heartwarming and inspiring. Set in 1893 in New Salem, not only do they have to deal with the persecution against witches, but women as a whole. They start by getting involved with a suffragist movement and things spiral from there…… There are twists and turns throughout this fantastic novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat and not wanting to put it down.

The characters are amazing. So many strong and powerful women who are determined to make life better for themselves, others and their future generations – their iron will will blow you away. Despite what they come up against, they press on with enviable determination – but will they succeed, or will dark forces get in their way?

I’ve not read any of Harrow’s books before but I will be – she is an amazing storyteller. The words flowed seamlessly on the page, drawing out all sorts of emotions in me and fully immersing me into her tale. The fairy tales that are told throughout are a brilliant addition, and I loved every second of them.

The setting is also fantastic. I genuinely felt like I was in 1893 and could feel the frustrations of the women who just wanted equal rights. Harrow’s descriptions are superb and I could genuinely see the whole story playing out in front of me.

Honestly……this is a outstanding book; up there with one of my favourites of the year and I’ve read a lot of books! I’m not sure my words are even doing it justice, but just know – this is a must read! If you want to get fully sucked in to a wonderful, dark, compelling, magical and breathtaking story then you need to read this. If you’re a fan of witches (like me) then you will LOVE this, and even if you’re not – you must check this out.

This couldn’t come more highly recommended by me! This book is definitely going on the read again and again pile, and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

DNFed at 178 pages

I cannot tell you how upset I am at the fact that I've DNFed one of my most anticipated books of 2020. As a huge fan of Harrow's debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, I have been eagerly awaiting The Once and Future Witches ever since I learned of its existence. However, I found that I just couldn't get into this book.

While Harrow does a wonderful job of creating the magic of witching, the worldbuilding generally fell flat for me. I have so many questions about the strange choices she made, leading to a number of holes and things that just didn't make sense. Ultimately, I just didn't really see why witching and the suffrage movement were even connected and didn't see a point in the book and what the characters were even doing.

I was surprised to find that I really didn't like the characters in this book at all. Juniper made me grind my teeth, I absolutely cannot stand characters like her who are so childish, hot-headed, and don't have an ounce of sense in their damn heads. I should have loved her sisters, but they were both so flat and wildly uninteresting.

I will probably be in the minority here, but this book just wasn't for me. All the of the magic and wonder Harrow created in her debut was missing from The Once and Future Witches, in fact, it felt like a book from a totally different author.

This is a perfect historical fantasy read for October, full of witches, magic, sisterhood and the fight for women's rights.

Set in late 1800s America, we follow the reunion of the three Eastwood sisters in New Salem and everything that happens after they meet again. I enjoyed Harrow's bending of classic fairytales to give them a more feminist slant, some felt a little forced but I liked the thought behind it.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read, there were some slower parts and some questionable comments on other's appearance but I think this makes a great read for the "spookiest" month of the year and I will be looking out for what Harrow writes next.