The ARC for this book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley.

Trigger warnings for misogyny, childbirth, abortions, sexual harassment, domestic abuse, and death.

Suffrage. Equality. Feminism. Witches.

A very interesting story that parallels the historical prejudice and oppression of women with witches and folklore.

Alix E. Harrow does a very good job of weaving fairytales and nursery rhymes into spells and incantations. She uses everyday items commonly used by women to explain the necessity of magic. And how in a world where magic is dominated by women, but through years of persecution, have had to hide it in plain sight.

Harrow reflects in her writing how society has (and still is) governed by white males who believe it to be their duty to dictate and enforce ruling over the treatment and ownership of women. Of how society is full of men who are fearful of the open-mindedness and independent power a women could weald. And thus if a woman who subjugates societal normals and has a thirst for knowledge - she must be a witch. But women are redeemable if they repent - if they give up their freedom, tame themselves, and follow the established guidelines set out for them they can be accepted back into the fold.

But the character's of Harrow's The Once and Future Witches do not give up so easily. Throughout history, women fought back against oppression and, as days go by, win new inches of ground each day. Through the witches of Salem 1600s to suffragists of the early 1900s to our female representatives in politics today. Women will forever fight for knowledge and equality wherever possible.

Overall, I loved the message of this book. It was a true piece of feminist work wrapped in a fantasy novel. It had brilliantly written characters with depth and intrigue who had passions for what they believed and fought for. The use of stories and mythology and fairy tales that readers are already aware of were cleverly weaved into the storytelling of this book. Which made the story feel relatable and understandable and created a connection to the modern-day reader.

Harrows inclusivity allowed for representation of LGBTQAI+ and several side BIPOC characters. However, a slightly failing I found to the book was that these representations were very surface level. While one of our main three sisters and her partner (our token black character) are the central romance to the story, the trans character is only briefly mentioned and only within the third act. Other BIPOC characters are relegated to third billing and while the book had the potential to flourished in its in-depth evaluation of how magic worked for non-white characters and how their culture plays a vital part in it - it was only ever briefly mentioned.

Overall, while I gave this book four stars - my appreciation for the book comes from the story and feminist stance of it. However, I did feel that the book suffered from pacing issues and over exposition. It is a very character-driven with flower descriptions which made it a slower read - but I did enjoy and was engaged with the story throughout.

As usual, it is written brilliantly. Every word is chosen carefully. But, as usual with with Alix E. Harrow books, it failed to touch my heart. My brain is incredibly happy but the heart is a tad disappointed.

2.5 Stars

I'm going to start this review by saying that this is going to be a very personal and unpopular opinion, but it's time to admit that Alix E. Harrow and me are not made for each other. The Ten Thousands Doors of January was one of my most anticipated books of last year, and sadly it was also one my biggest disappointments. Still, I hoped that it had been a case of reading the book at the wrong time plus the enormous hype surrounding it, so I jumped at the chance of reading The Once and Future Witches. Unfortunately I found here all the same problems I had with January: the brilliant premise and beautiful prose hide a very simple and linear plot, with characters that are strong and interesting at first but that are actually quite cliched and stuck in their roles (the rebel maiden, the tortured mother, the lonely spinster) for the most part of the story. There is a wonderfully diverse cast of secondary characters that left me wishing for more. But my biggest issue was the extremely uneven pace, that led me to squeeze two books in between reading this out of sheer boredom. As I said at the beginning, this is only my opinion and I'm sure everyone (and there were many, many people) who loved January will surely love Witches, but for me this was another disappointment :(

There are a lot of things to like about this book.

I love the characters, they are so well defined and the relationships between them are so realistic. The sisters in particular, their relationship and interactions are wonderfully depicted. It was also refreshing to read a witch story that didn't revolve around kids or teenagers.

I also enjoyed the way femininity and the power of women in all its forms was celebrated.

but overall it lacked something for me. I wasn't enchanted by the story, it felt a bit predictable and dull.

I really hope I'm in the minority in not loving this, it is well written with great characters and i really hope it finds an audience who will appreciate it.

The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Sci-fi and fantasy

I was so intrigued by the description, so eager to get started on this. I adore fantasy reads, and witchcraft and witches are a huge draw for me. Sadly, though I restarted several times I just couldn't get into the story and abandoned it at about 40% in. Life's too short ;-) Its perfect for others of course, as can be seen from reviews but for me it just wasn't a good fit.

It was well written, but at times even so I found myself drifting away from the story, a good read has me gripped to the page, reading “ just one more chapter/just to see what happens to...” but this was such a struggle I had to keep flicking back to refresh my mind over connections.
The little fairy-tales in the chapter openings were fun, but I didn't always connect them with the section that followed, maybe my mind runs on a different track.
I was really disappointed not to get along with this story, it held such promise and I was sure it would be perfect for me.

Its one of those novels where its reader taste, not an issue with the book that makes for the low stars. One of those stories folk will either love or be indifferent to. For me it was indifference. I could have made myself finish, I just wasn't invested enough in the lives and actions of the characters.

Stars: two. I just wasn't invested enough in the lives and actions of the characters.
ARC supplied by Netgalley and publisher

I went into this book with a lot of excitement and a little bit of apprehension because Ten Thousand Doors of January was one of my favourite read of 2019. But when I started reading, a little bit of that apprehension went away with the beautiful writing of Alix E Harrow.
We are introduced to the three Eastwood sisters, June, Agnes and Bella who have all been separated but chance to come upon one another in New Salem amidst a Suffragette march. Their meeting precipitates events that lead them to reclaim the lost words and ways of witches while trying to work together and forget old wounds.
I have tried to keep the summary as vague as possible so that people reading it can go in with as little spoilers as possible.
Alix E Harrow manages to set the scene in 1800s within the first few chapters and the writing gives you the perfect atmospheric witchy vibes you go in expecting almost immediately. The author’s love for storytelling is evident in the writing and how she weaves in folklore, fairytales and nursery rhymes soo perfectly into the narrative is commendable.
This is mostly a character driven narrative where a distinct voice is created for all three sisters with their own individual but intertwined histories and struggles. The character development you see over the course of the narration is incredible and I was completely, emotionally invested in each and every one of the characters by the end.
But the pace of the narration suffered in the meantime as sometimes the plot dragged, especially the first half, to make time for the necessary developments in characters or to set up the relationships between the characters.
But I can hardly complain because the ending made up for all of it! The finale had all the emotional gut wrenching heart soaring excitement I needed and I was sobbing so hard at the end that I couldn’t see through my tears to read.
I would highly recommend this tale of sisterhood in all it’s many forms for its inclusiveness, perfect witchy vibes, the beautiful lyrical writing of Harrow and the incredible female characters it presents to us in all their glory. Do not miss this!!!!! And preorder it right now!!
Rating : 4.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for sending me a copy.
This was a fantastic book that had me hooked from page one - it’s the reason it took me so long to read it as I was savouring it.
I loved all the characters, the world building and the plot - there was nothing I disliked about this book and will be buying it when it comes out for myself as well as pushing it into colleagues’ and customers’ hands as much as possible.

Trigger warnings for abortions, sexism, sexual harassment, domestic abuse, and death of loved ones.

The Once and Future Witches is a wonderful and haunting feminist tale. It is fraught with suspense and reads almost like a historical fiction- excluding the fantastical elements.

This is a slow-paced character driven story. All the characters are very well fleshed out and have diverse viewpoints and differing voices.

That being said, while Harrow's prose is beautiful, the present tense put me off and took away from my enjoyment of the novel., Had it not been for the prose, this could've easily been a 5 star.

I will be rereading this on release because the typographical errors seriously annoyed me and I could see myself giving this a higher rating had these minor issues not bothered me.

I was a little concerned going into this book that I was going to have to have another discussion about where we draw the line with historical fantasy - what is fair game to talk about and what isn't. While that discussion is still important in this case I think it's less pertinent because, while this book references the Salem witch trials - we're actually talking about the 1800s rather than the late 1600s - so while things in the US still weren't great for women (as this book acknowledges) we're not dealing with innocent women who were actually murdered so I personally felt ok with this one. 


It also helps that this book did what I've been asking almost every historical fantasy book I read lately to do - it set up right at the start that magic was possible and what various attitudes towards magic were. So in this case we're dealing with a world where magic can happen, most people do know a little bit of magic, there is a divide between 'male and female' magic, and some people don't like people doing it- for the most part with religious justification. All that within the first couple of chapters - perfection. 

But, whether people like it or not magic is happening and our three sisters use magic to do various things. I liked the way that magic was done in this book, the idea of oral history and passing down snippets of spells and the general....community nature of it felt very realistic - while also serving the plot. I liked the idea that magic was something to be shared with other women, which also ties into the idea of empowering women which is yet another theme of this book. Yes to this alternate reality where instead of being transphobic mumsnet is a place for sharing spells. (That's not what this book is I just like imagining it...)

I really liked the plot of this book, I liked the way that the three sisters all had a major part to play in the story - very rarely do I enjoy all the perspectives in a multiple POV book but actually I don't know that I could pick a favourite sister...

I enjoyed the way that the plot built and changed as the book went on - I wish I could put my finger on which book this reminded me of but the way that the major antagonist was revealed was something familiar (in a really good way). I was captivated and engaged through to the very end and I may have shed a tear or two at certain moments. 

This book also contains some LGBTQ+ representation with the major 'letter' there being the L (or B....it isn't labelled) with one of the sisters being a owman who loves women. I liked this plot a lot and though there were a few moments where I was concerned we were going to slip into unpleasant tropes for the most part this book did well. There is a small amount of trans representation but all I can really say is it is there and isn't 'bad' it just isn't very relevant to most of the book. But still - good to recognise trans women in a book that takes women's suffrage as a major theme. 

Overall I had a great time reading this book, I'm so pleased it managed to stay away from all the pitfalls that I was concerned about. It's just a fun read, and an empowering one. It recognises how rubbish things were (and are) for women (in an intersectional way might I add) but manages to paint that in a hopeful way. 

Yes. Would recommend. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and also physically - all opinions are my own.

The Once and Future Witches publishes October 15th!

Absolutely loved this one! I have been completely captivated and immersed in this one.
I really wish I could experience reading this for the first time again

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book to review. I’ll admit I’m a sucker for witches and I like reading about magic. I was excited to read this but at the same time I wasn’t sure about it.

Trigger warnings (Taken from author answer on goodreads) - Child abuse, both physical and psychological; parental death; arrest and imprisonment; mind control; pregnancy and childbirth, including forced hospitalization; racism; sexism; homophobia, both external and internalized; threat of sexual assault, averted; torture (mostly off-the-page, but alluded to); execution (attempted); child abandonment; major character death.

As you can probably tell from the trigger warnings this book is dark in places. The witchcraft in the book is great and I would have loved to read more about the witches in this world.

This book follows three main female characters who are sisters. I liked the sister relationship they had and it felt realistic to me. I didn’t really connect with the characters but I still managed to enjoy the story. Agnes, Bella and Juniper are the main characters and they want to turn the women’s movement into a witches movement. These three women also love stories and there are a few tales in between chapters.

I really enjoyed the themes of trying to fix broken bonds between sisters, justice and the fight for women’s rights. I thought the themes helped the story and I enjoyed seeing them in the book. The book is very character driven and each of the main characters has a distinctive voice. There is also a sapphic pairing in the book which was great to see. Also badass librarians are always a win!

One major problem I had was the writing style, it wasn’t for me which I should have guessed as I did not finish the authors other book. It took me so long to read this and the writing style was the reason I couldn’t get invested into the book and enjoy it more. However the style will work for plenty of people, it just didn’t for me personally. The pacing also felt a little off but that might be because of the little tales between chapters.

Overall this was an okay book for me, I probably won’t reread it and I struggled with the writing style. However I did manage to enjoy the story and the themes in the book.

Blown away

This is without a doubt one of my favourite books of 2020.
What a brilliant brilliant read.
I am stumbling over myself to type as quickly as I want to to make it clear how much I LOVED this story.

Once and future witches tells of 3 sisters, of women who fight for fairness and equality, of witches who perhaps ‘are women who need more than they have’. It is described as a love letter to rebellious women of history and I couldn’t agree more.
The three sisters are whole rounded characters who I fell in love with completely particularly Juniper and her wild, wilful nature and Agnes who loves with a fierceness I recognised.
They have ties that bind them together despite their troubled childhood and a broken relationship and, drawn by the appearance of a magical tower, they find themselves reunited and fighting for female equality and to bring back witchcraft aided by the different communities in New Salem in the 1890s.

I enjoyed the fact that the witches were presented somewhat differently - yes the sisters were familiar: the maiden, the mother, the crone. But there was more than that- witches were represented by women of different colours, different languages and nationalities. They were represented in men and in gender fluid roles.

There were familiar stories interwoven into their story, love - but not just in the traditional sense, a clear enemy with vast power both literal and metaphorical and it was just a huge dose of fun.

Truly loved it. 5 stars.

Thank you to hachette and to Alix E Harrow for the ARC I received in exchange for this honest review.

Last year, Alix E. Harrow’s debut novel «The Ten Thousand Doors of January» was a huge success. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the first half of the book. Even after giving it a very fair try, I still wasn’t able to connect to the main character or the story.

With the release of «The Once and Future Witches», I decided to give Alix E. Harrow’s books another try and was very lucky to receive an e-arc from NetGalley. Once again, and even though I forced myself to read until the very end, without skipping the boring descriptions, always staying focused on the story and constantly reminding myself how excited I was about this book, this book was not for me.

In «The Once and Future Witches» we follow the Eastwood sisters - James Juniper Eastwood, the youngest; Agnes Amaranth Eastwood, the middle sister, and Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood, the oldest one, on their suffrage journey to not only give more rights to women, but also to return their oldest power - witchcraft.

The book is over 500 pages, so we got to know the three sisters (and some side characters) very well throughout the story. Each one of them was very unique, but also had some qualities that all women will be able to relate to. June (Juniper) was the youngest, the most reckless and head-hotted of the three. While Agnes was the one who could endure everything, and Bella was the wisest, the most curious and strategic. They all had flaws, but their traits worked flawlessly together.

Undoubtfully, the character work, the story, and many important and empowering ideas, woven into the plot, were done masterfully. There is no denying that. Alix E. Harrow really knows how to create a powerful novel that will affect her readers from the very beginning.

As “witchcrafty” and fairy-tale-like this story seems to be, don’t be fooled! It had a fair share of fairy-tales, yes, but it also had a lot of gruesome, dark, and sad moments, which made me shed a couple of tears.
My only and main complaint is Alix E. Harrow’s writing style. It’s beautiful, I can’t deny that. However, beautiful writing doesn’t mean engaging or appealing.

In my opinion, this book could have been 100 times better, if only the editors would cut out all the unnecessary fluff, long descriptions, metaphors. First of all, it would significantly reduce the number of pages, and secondly, it would help to propel the plot forward, keep the pacing high, instead of constant ups and downs.

Reading this book felt like a rollercoaster, and not an emotional one. One moment I was engrossed in the story, not noticing myself flipping the pages (tapping my Kindle), and the next one a long sentence or metaphor or description would pull me out of the story. Throughout the whole book, I had to constantly make an effort to stay interested, stay engaged, and pay attention to what was happening on the pages. And I don’t think that’s a sign of a good book.

I know a lot of people loved her previous book. If you did, I think you’ll love this one even more. The plot and the characters were much more interesting, in my opinion, However, if you didn’t like Alix E. Harrow debut novel, this might be a miss as well.

The book had a very slow start for me, and unfortunately I was not able to finish it. I definitely think there is a market for this book and I can clearly see the author took great pains to create a distinct atmosphere however not all books are for all readers and this one was not a match with me.

I am sure this book will do well when it gets published.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an e-ARC

I was completely sold when I read the blurb for this book, the promise of a feminist book lead by witches and set in the 19th century. It ticks all the boxes for me.

In this story, you follow the point of view of 3 sisters with 3 different personalities and visions of life. You follow them in a world where magic used to be everywhere and powerful, but now reduced to songs and tales and hidden tricks. After being separated for a couple of years, the 3 sisters are reunited again in New Salem and are now facing a new danger.
Although they are undeniably tied together by a strong bond, they are also tied to a difficult past and you see them struggling with their doubts, hurts and mistrust. In their journey to restore the stolen power to the women and witches, they will rediscover themselves and each other again, learn about the power of love and sisterhood.

This book was mostly character driven and the growth of the sisters was remarkably done, you see them develop in a beautiful new version of themselves. I also absolutely adore the feminism aspect in the story and the fight for women’s rights, all the sisters and women coming together and rally towards the same goal and hopes. But what I loved beyond everything, was the writing style!!! It’s so beautiful and lyrical, with a perfect world building, so atmospherical, that I could easily picture it in my mind.

Now, it’s not a 5 stars read for me because as I mentioned above, it’s mostly a character driven story, and the pacing was often too slow for my liking. It was a bit dragging, without much happening at times, and I had to push myself to pick it up again.
I also unfortunately felt emotionally disconnected from the sisters and I could not really relate to any of them.

So overall it’s an enchanting book and I can see many people enjoying it once it’s out in October.

I still think about The Ten Thousand Doors of January, months after reading it, so I was delighted to see another book from Alix E. Harrow coming so soon. And slightly apprehensive in case it disappointed. I'm really glad that it surpassed expectations.

The three main characters are so strongly drawn: a 'maiden, mother and crone' could easily end up as stereotypes, but here they're not: and each of the sisters develops marvellously over the course of the novel, in response to events and to one another, including as they fill in the blanks about the reasons they were split apart in the past.

It's satisfyingly dark, some of the touches (the shadows wielded by the chief villain for example) are genuinely shiver-inducing as you read them. I also relished the way the magic is presented: it's not schlocky and over-the-top, and beautifully tied in to traditional nursery rhymes. As with The Ten Thousand Doors of January, there's a real love of words, language, books beaming out from every page.

The wave of sickness and the anti-witch demagoguery strike (presumably accidental in the former case, but not in the second) chords with what's happening in our world in 2020. But basically I loved it all: the supporting (and supportive) characters; the falling-in-love stories; its diversity...

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance reader copy (ARC) via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I wish I had some criticism to reinforce that last sentence but... I just found this wonderful from start to finish.

eARC provided by Orbit and Little, Brown Book Group UK in exchange for an honest review.

True to its name, The Once and Future Witches carries a unique, witchy charm within a dark yet hopeful quest for the return of witchcraft – and in turn, power to fight harder for women’s rights against an oppressive, ignorant, and misogynistic society. Set in the Progressive Era of the 1890s America, women and women's organizations start to call for the right to vote, broad-based economic and political equality, and social reforms. Hidden in the shadows is the pitiful remains of witchcraft, women-witching having been reduced to nothing more but a collection of stories, and twisted to be perceived as wicked, vile things. Set in the centre stage are the three sisters, reunited through a public, mysterious act of witching in New Salem who now seek to transform the women’s movement to the witches’ movement.
The Once and Future Witches is a rich and lushly written book, with its lyrical and accessible prose immediately lulling me towards the intrigue schemes the women concoct throughout the book. Adding to her beautiful, atmospheric prose-work, Harrow masterfully concocts a complex world in which the inclusion of real, told fairy tales with some twists grant weight and relevance to this alternate, magical world. Not only does this allow her to build a unique basis for the witchcraft in this world, it also allows her to foreshadow certain plot points as multiple pieces of the puzzle come together.
Although it is important to note that the slow pace Harrow sets may not work for some readers due to its painstaking nature, it is also important to acknowledge that it also made her careful, intricate storytelling possible to accomplish. The pacing provides much space and breathing room for important key hints to be subtly and carefully placed, allowing for greatly cathartic emotional pay-off with a combustive finale.
This story is primarily character-driven and the strength it draws is that the character developments are well-realised – also an added benefit of Harrow’s pacing. The sisters each have a distinctive personality and voice that enables us to get an intimate look to how differently they see the world, how their abuse at the hands of their father had shaped them in different ways; and how their damaged, yet slowly healing bond is repeatedly tested in their quest.
Harrow also manages to portray the historical experience of pain and injustice suffered by women in the 1890’s America with much accuracy and sensitivity. We see the suffrage of women’s movement to witches’ movement evolving into a much larger, more fundamental cause as growingly liberal interpretation and handling of witchcraft shed light on how society really thought of women at the time, thus highlighting the necessity of the movement.
Packing much deliberation and carefully placed elements as its main storytelling strength, Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches manages to weave a beautifully haunting, intricate tapestry best fit to tell the tale of sisterhood, justice, and the much, much righteous female rage.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Similar to The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Once and Future Witches will be a big hit among many readers.

Not even a year has passed since its first publication, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January already has 33.3k ratings and 6.7k reviews on Goodreads. For those who don’t pay attention to how the number of Goodreads rating/reviews counts to the popularity and general reception of a specific book, believe me when I say that Harrow has achieved something incredible with her debut at an astonishing rate. I’m confident that the feminist story told in The Once and Future Witches will also appeal to many readers. This, however, doesn’t mean that the content of this novel is similar to The Ten Thousand Doors of January. The Once and Future Witches did retain some of the “love for stories” element in Harrow’s debut, but this is, at its core, a story about sisterhood, justice, and fighting for woman’s rights.

“Association has battled for decades to afford women the same respect and legal rights enjoyed by men. It is a battle we are losing: the American public still sees women as housewives at best and witches at worst. We may be either beloved or burned, but never trusted with any degree of power.”


The story in The Once and Future Witches takes place in the year 1893. There’s no such things as witches, there used to be, but witching is now a simple charm or nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants to be in control of a form of power, their only choices lies at the ballot box. The Eastwood sisters—Juniper, Agnes, Bella—are the three main characters of this story, and they’re looking to transform the women’s movement into the witch’s movement while healing the broken bond between the three of them. There’s no such things as witches. But there will be.

“All of us grew up on stories of wicked witches. The villages they cursed, the plagues they brewed. We need to show people what else we have to offer, give them better stories.”


I do have to mention a caveat that I’m not a huge fan of witches stories; I wouldn’t say I disliked them, I just don’t have a big adoration towards the story. This is also why it’s safe to consider a 3.5 stars rating from me for this novel a high recommendation by my standard. If this novel was written by a less-skillful author, I have a feeling I would’ve given the novel a lower rating. It helped very much to my reading experience, though, that The Once and Future Witches was a thoroughly character-driven story; the three main characters have distinctive personalities, past, and voices to their narration that’s easy to empathize and care for. The themes of justice being discussed in the book are incredibly important in our civilization. It is when the characters gathered, schemed, and fought for their rights and freedom while also doing their best to heal the damages in their bonds that the story excels the most; I wanted even more out of them.

“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. Bits and pieces were lost over the centuries, I’m sure, details shifted, but not all of them.”


Unfortunately, and this is going to be very subjective, the pacing of the book didn’t click really well with me. In the serious, emotional, or intense moments, I was utterly gripped and compelled to read the book; the pages flew by during these sections. But the slow moments, which I usually love in a character-driven story, felt way too slow at times. Despite Harrow’s continuous display of her beautifully accessible and lyrical prose within her third-person present tense narrative, there were sections where I had to push myself to continue because the plot seemingly fell to a complete halt for me. This was especially true every time the three main characters weren’t together, which—understandably—happened more often than I preferred. Their characterizations and developments with each other were well-realized, though, thankfully.

“Her home was always witch-tales and words, stories into which she could escape when her own became too terrible to bear.”


Although the pacing in the novel didn’t fully click with me, The Once and Future Witches goes to show that Harrow certainly can write great standalone novels. Plus, the ending was satisfying, and I’m sure this is another story that will stick for a long time with many readers.

“She thought a survival was a selfish thing, a circle drawn tight around your heart. She thought the more people you let inside that circle the more ways the world had to hurt you, the more ways you could fail them and be failed in turn. But what if it’s the opposite, and there are more people to catch you when you fall? What if there’s an invisible tipping point somewhere along the way when one becomes three becomes infinite, when there are so many of you inside that circle that you become hydra-headed, invincible?”


Official release date: 15th October 2020 (UK) and 13th October 2020 (US)

You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions

Witchy as HELL! The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and Alix E. Harrow absolutely, unequivocally, brought the magic.

I first picked up The Ten Thousand Doors of January earlier this year (2020) and loved it beyond description. In fact, that book now occupies a space on my favourites shelf. It is unsurprising then, that The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated book releases of the year. Luckily, I have been fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to read this book before the official release date. The icing on the bookish cake is that I have had the privilege of reading not just one, but two of Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding stories in less than seven months and both have filled me with an unbridled sense of wonder.

“That’s all magic is, really: the space between what you have and what you need.”

Once upon a time, the world was a place of saints and dragons and magic and villains. Witches were real and they were powerful. The good stuff, real witching, has long since passed from the world though. Purges and plagues took care of that. These days the word encompasses small charms, passed down from mother to daughter, little more consequential than preventing a pot from boiling over or keeping hair just so. Witching is nothing but stories now, and those stories have been twisted to paint witches as wicked, vile things.

“There were three of us Eastwood sisters, me and Agnes and Bella, so maybe they’ll tell our story like a witch-tale. Once upon a time, there were three sisters.”

Agnes, Bella & Juniper have not seen or heard from each other in seven years. They used to live hand in hand, as close as sisters could be, but their childhood home was not a kind place to live and eventually, both Agnes & Bella fled, leaving Juniper to fend for herself. Home was her sisters, once, but that was before she was abandoned. As we fall into this story, Juniper is on the run from the law, wanted for witchcraft and murder. She has no plan or destination in mind but ends up in New Salem, wandering around until she finds herself at a rally promoting suffrage for women. It is a call to action and it speaks to Juniper. She finds herself furious. There’s a thing inside her that is hungry for something to burn. She wants more. To fight for something. And then, suddenly, the world comes undone.

“Witchcraft, pure as dragon’s blood and bright as stardust, unspoken for centuries.”

Old magic. Real Magic. Juniper is soon shocked to find herself staring at familiar faces. Both Bella and Agnes are in the city and the pull of this powerful working has brought them all together. A witch cast that spell and Juniper believes that they need to find out the truth of it. Bonds broken are not so easily mended though, and the sisters will have to work hard at restoring what they have lost. Juniper is convinced the answer lies with the suffragists and joins up. When she uses magic to draw attention to a suffragist protest, the city is thrown in turmoil, and Juniper soon discovers that there is another force at work, a malicious one, and it may just be a wicked witch.

“…witching was power and any power could be perverted, if you were willing to pay the price. You can tell the wickedness of a witch by the wickedness of her ways.”

While the Eastwood sisters and a number of other characters thoroughly worked their way into my heart (and Alix E Harrow has an absolute gift for writing wonderful characters), one of my favourite things about this book is the writing. Oh, friends, the writing… C’est parfait. I could gush about the sheer magnetism of Alix E. Harrow’s storytelling. How her exquisite prose pulls me in and envelops me in the story, captivating and mesmerising from start to finish. The craftsmanship of every word, sentence and chapter. Lush and lyrical, enchanting and evocative, beauteous and bewitching. She may only claim the title of Author, but she is worthy of Wordsmith. Or perhaps, Wordwitch?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Tell the truth, reveal all.

A spell to see, requiring a mirror & a borrowed belonging

The Once and Future Witches is a wonderfully witchy and thought-provoking tale of three sisters and their fight to break the restrictions placed upon them and all women for that matter. It is a story of how women are made out to be lesser. Asked to be this way. Told to be that way. Not asked anything at all. But it is also a story of taking back power, of agency, of responsibility. One of will and of getting back up. A story of hope and inclusion and family.

“A girl is such an easy thing to break: weak and fragile, all alone, all yours. But they aren’t girls anymore, and they don’t belong to anyone. And they aren’t alone.”

I loved every page of it.

Come October you can be sure there will be an open spot on my bookshelf waiting patiently for my second Alix E. Harrow novel to arrive

Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars
I did enjoy The Once and Future Witches, but there were just some things that stopped me from really being able to fully invest in it. The atmosphere was a bit offbeat, the pacing was a bit messy, and honestly, the metaphors and intentions of rewriting history were a bit... naïve, for want of a better word.

When I started, I really wasn't into it just because the book took so long to get in the swing of it. However, at around 30% things suddenly starting becoming really interesting and exciting - I'm pretty sure because Harrow started giving each of the three sisters their own storyline and struggles. That character drama was way more enjoyable and compelling than the exposition at the beginning (and honestly the tangle of things that started erupting towards the end). The plot itself is kind of convoluted, predictable, and obsessed with making references to fairytales, classic novels and historical figures (all of which are fiddled with to make sure women are at the centre of everything, but more on that later). While I like it and what it's trying to do with the whole Suffragette movement, the politics of witchery and matriarchy as an idea, it actually takes itself (in its magical-slash-historical landscape) a bit too seriously for a fantasy novel like this, lays it on too thick, and consequently actually comes across a bit silly.

I really like a lot of the little world twists in here (renaming famous authors as women etc) but when you combine it with a Suffragette movement very similar to ours, it comes across as naïve - it misunderstands some of the reasons women needed a movement in the first place. If female authors were the leading authors in this world, and female historical figures were remembered, etcetera, then the landscape of gender issues would be very different to what is demonstrated here: it's taking the consequences of our world's lack of recognition of women's work and plonking it on the end of a world that doesn't seem to have those same issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there would still be gender issues, but I don't feel like any thought has gone into how it would differ. And in a book trying to make statements and metaphors about that kind of politics, it's harder to buy into. I want to love it so much but there's this childishness to it. Which is mostly fine until you do the really unpleasant, dark stuff that the book just doesn't feel mature enough to tackle.

The diversity between the sisters is great, but there wasn't a sense of balance of them as an ensemble; there were points when it felt like Juniper was obviously the protagonist, but then Agnes or Bella would interject and kind of shift tension rather than continue it from another perspective. I will also say that, sure, while you have a handful of Black characters and very briefly touch upon the intersectional issues of feminism with them - it's very very brief, when actually even the story admits that their role in what this story is trying to be is monumental; we just don't really get to see it. All in all, I will praise the representation in this book, but I think it's a real shame that a lot of it is only mentioned rather than being explored. (Even the lesbian relationship I, personally, think was kind of glossed over, though arguably all of the deep details of everyone's own experiences is glossed over in favour of the over-complicated plot).

While I acknowledge my review focuses on some of the problems I had with the book, I did genuinely enjoy reading The Once and Future Witches. It was fun, sparky, and refreshing in a Disney only-while-you're-watching-it way. Ultimately, for me, it comes down to a really cool concept that ended up being more about the ideas than the execution of them. Worth the read, but I think it could've been done better.