I really enjoyed something slightly different to my normal read, a good old witch, magic and the unknown, brilliant read.

This isn't my usual type of book but boy was it good,
Set in the late 1800's - The Once and Future Witches tells the tale of three sisters who all leave their home in mysterious circumstances - their reasons begin to unravel slowly throughout the story - the tale also intertwines with the suffragette movement in America.
As the title states - the sisters are witches - each with varying levels of power - and their power comes to light when a mysterious tower appears in the town square.
Without divulging too much of the plot, the story covers new and old Salem and it also unravels certain fairy tales.

It was very well written, with lots of rich characters and settings - instantly transporting you to another plane.

A great novel from Alix E Harrow - I look forward to reading more.

It isn’t fair to any of the other books being published in 2020 that they have to compete with this book. ‘The Once and Future Witches’ is one of my favourite books of all time. Reading it is like being immersed of a bath of magic and witchcraft, hopes and dreams, power and joy. Alix E Harrow wields words like a master sculptor creating their piece de resistance. There’s nothing I can say to adequately sum up how incredible the experience of reading this is, other than it ignites your soul with the fire of all those who have been wronged for wanting to be more than they are.

Once upon a time, there were three sisters. Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood was the eldest sister, the Crone, banished from her home only to find a new one in the New Salem College Library. Agnes Amarantha Eastwood was the middle sister, the brave one, the Mother, holding a punishing job in the mill where she could avoid having to care about anyone else. James Juniper Eastwood was the youngest, the Maiden, a firecracker of a girl who burned with the injustice of the world and wouldn’t rest until it burnt down and a new one arose in its place. These three sisters were lost – to each other, to their purpose, to themselves – but they would find each other again, and the world would tremble with the power of the three united.

Bella was the character I empathised with the most – the planner, the reader, most at home amongst her books and research. Given a problem she went to the library and worked. Bella loved her sisters fiercely but also tempered them, soothing Juniper’s more bloodthirsty elements and prodding Agnes into action when she faltered. Bella would never be the spokesperson, the radical thinker, the ideas generator – but she would always be there giving the ideas roots and branches, turning them from abstract dreams into tangible, inevitable reality. No plan would get anywhere without a Bella.

Agnes was the beating heart of the trio – at first cautious, careful, burned one too many times, but later the fierce, clawed figure of a mother protecting her cubs. Juniper saw Agnes as a coward, but really Agnes was the brave one – the one not afraid to say no when everyone else insisted she say yes. I understood Agnes less than the others, but then I’m not a mother – I don’t know what it’s like to hold another life in your hand that you value so much more than your own.

Juniper was all thorny branches and tangled thickets and bloody, scraped knees. Juniper was what happened to a dog kicked one too many times that suddenly scented weakness in its owner. Juniper didn’t know words like restraint, or forgiveness, or subtlety – she answered every question with a fist and a curse hissed under her breath. She was not the swooning Maiden of your fairytales. I loved Juniper – loved how fierce she was, how determined, how she never apologised or thought but simply rushed in with no thought of the consequences. The world would be a very different place with a few more Juniper’s in it.

The plot is excellent, twisting like smoke, but the three sisters are by far the most important part. This book is moulded on the strength of their characters and the sheer beauty of Alix E Harrow’s writing. The fact that the plot is so clever is merely the cherry on top (and the little references and similarities to The Ten Thousand Doors of January an extra little garnish).

Read this book. Listen to the story of the three sisters and let them speak to your soul. Maybe these words will be the ones you need to spark the will and the way, and change your life for the better.

This is a grandiose book. Wonderfully written, full of issues that matter without ever being preachy, great, complex characters and a story that packs a punch. Alix E. Harrow managed to snag a Hugo nomination for her debut <em><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43521657-the-ten-thousand-doors-of-january?ac=1&amp;from_search=true&amp;qid=68Rs1YyHlH&amp;rank=1">The Ten Thousand Doors of January</a></em>, which came out last year, and already won one for her short story "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" (which you can read <a href="https://www.apex-magazine.com/a-witchs-guide-to-escape-a-practical-compendium-of-portal-fantasies/">here</a>) last year. So it comes as no surprise that her sophomore novel manages to immerse the reader in the world of the Eastwood sisters and their quest to return witching to the modern era.
All three of the sisters are unique and captivating characters that the reader will fall for. They all have their strengths and, importantly, their weaknesses and flaws, none of them anywhere near infallible. But more than anything, they are interesting. To me, that is more important than any other quality. I wanted to know more about what makes these women tick and spur them into action. James Juniper, riotous rebellion leader. Agnes Amarath, fierce mother and protector. Beatrice Belladonna, sapphic librarian and guardian of knowledge. Each of them made me fall for her in turn. The secondary cast is no less enchanting. And the villain of the story, Gideon Hill, is so damn creepy because he is so believable. He is the kind of man every woman, even now, has encountered in her life, who has made life difficult for those who don't just accept him as their superior leader. But then you find out that there might be more to him than meets the eye...
The story of <em>The Once and Future Witches</em> focuses on the return of magic to the world in a period historically associated with the quest for suffrage. It shows women banding together in secret to overcome obstacles and create a world more open and tolerant. It is ultimately a story of hope in the face of adversity, something which is crucial at this particular moment in time. And it is so well written. It is full of stories within a story, crafting together a world of magic evolving over the centuries, culminating in a coherent and complex system that makes sense. There are rules, there are traditions, and there is a history to it all. It is wonderful. As you can see, <em>The Once and Future Witches</em> is an absolute treat, and is one of my new favourite books of all time.

I tried several times with this book,and I just couldn't get into it.
I tried several more times,as I'd so enjoyed Harrows previous book,but still I just wasn't enjoying it.
I'm marking it up to wrong person/wrong book/wrong time