The year is 1893. There’s no such thing as witches, but there used to be. And there will be again.

I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January earlier this year and really loved it, but the slow meandering pace that served that book so well just didn’t work as well for me in this one, a book where things are always on the brink of happening but take so long to get there!

I loved the sisters and the rebuilding of their relationship after so long apart, this is the part that would have felt false had they immediately become close again, so I really enjoyed how this was built. Harrow’s writing style is absolutely beautiful, what a way with phrases, I’ll absolutely be picking up whatever she writes next!

Hello Bookish Folk!

Today I’m happy to be sharing with you my review of Alix E. Harrow’s second book The Once and Future Witches. I would firstly like to thank Orbit for approving an eArc of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here are a few things you can expect from this book:

A lush and powerful historical fantasy;
The most engaging and fascinating trio of sisters you could read about;
Themes of family, sisterhood, love, forgiveness and so much more;
An incredibly immersive and atmospheric setting; and
An amazing story which is winding, wonderful and a pure delight to read.

On to the full review…

I must confess I actually avoided this book like the plague, I read the blurb and was sold, I though yes I want to read this but every time I was choosing my next read I reread the blurb but never chose it. I don’t know why but alas I picked it up and I am so sooo glad I did. I think I enjoyed this as much as I did because it was totally fitting to my mood at the time, though that isn’t to say this book isn’t incredible in its own right. See being a mood reader isn’t always bad because when you do it correctly you find books like this and enjoy the experience of reading it so much.

I always love the idea of a historical setting in a book and get so excited for them, but they are not always done well. This is not the case for The Once and Future Witches at all. Harrow has done incredible work to really give you that feeling you are in New Salem in the 1890’s, you feel the injustice in the air and the fear of witches. Though, that is not all, Harrow has also done exceptionally well to build a solid setting through the factories, the houses and less than lavish accommodations some people were forced to live in, and the mindset of the people at that time.

This book is a tale about gaining the vote for women and what happens when these women stood up and said they wanted change, but it is also empowering, and witchy and ohh so good. Harrow has done such an incredible job in The Once and Future Witches at blending the magical and the historical while infusing it with folklore and a whole lot of witchy. Every page of this books is written superbly, it is a very enchanting read, though not in a whimsical and magical way but in a hypnotic and addictive way. It fully immerses you into its world and its people. It is so vivid and thought provoking too.

The pace of this book, in my opinion was great, Harrow knows how to continually raise the stakes. I loved the way this story was laid out in it entirety. It is by no means a fast paced plot but with such incredible character development and world-building the slower pace is by no means problematic nor lacking in tension, suspense or anticipation. It is a winding and wonderful story.

This book follows three incredible sisters; Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood, Agnes Amaranth Eastwood and James Juniper Eastwood. All of whom are utterly distinctive and have their own voices. Harrow has done an incredible job at making sure you, as a reader, can tell who is talking without mention of a name! They are so distinctive and each is so fun. No one falls beneath the other, there isn’t a boring one or one you like the least, they all stand up in their own rights. The sisters and the people they slowly come to form relationships with go from strength to strength in this book, even the side/support characters are memorable and a joy to be around.

The Once and Futures Witches has themes of family, sisterhood, love, forgiveness and so much more. It is a powerful novel and a wonder to read. Harrow has also written some lovely romantic interests in this book, I won’t say whom because they enters spoiled territory in my eyes but know they are wholesome and you will be rooting for them! It is subtle and well presented.

I really loved the insertion of common fairytales into this book. At the start of each chapter you have a tale, one you may know of or one you may not. Some are reimagined and some stand as we know them but it was so fun to see them as spells.

Also, hats off to the cover art on this one, it is so appropriate to the tale and reminds me of the little herbal grimoire pictures of fresh lavender sprigs and nettle. It is the perfect start of your reading journey and sets the tone of the book brilliantly.

THE RANKS:

BUY THE HARDBACK | BUY THE PAPERBACK | BUY THE EBOOK | LIBRARY RENTAL OR SALE PURCHASE

I wold most definitely grab this book in HARDBACK and I have even spotted a copy on BookShop.Org (its cheaper than Amazon, so winning). The Once and future Witches is an amazing historical fantasy book that is so much more than the words on its pages. It is a book with big themes and so much to show you.

I still need to read the other book by Alix E. Harrow, but I’ve heard so many good things about it and the writing.
I was glad everything was true, this book is wonderfully written and I really liked the plot.
Recommended.

Good, well worth a read.

As a fan of all things fantasy, I was really glad to be able to review this book. The pace is good, the wording eloquent with a good flow, and the story and characters are well written and portrayed so the reader is drawn deeper and deeper into the action

I have tried, tried and tried again to get into this book and I have really struggled. It is not all down to the book however I have managed to read enough to give my thoughts in a review. Massive thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Publishers for allowing me to have an eARC.

Plot summary:
Salem in 1893 is a very strange world- witches no longer exist. At least that is the thought of the population- that they are gone and stories of the olden days. However following the story of the Eastwood sisters- Juniper, Agnes and Beatrice- will turn the world upside down was they pursue forgotten words and bring around a movement to help everyone become more than they currently are.

Review:
Plot wise- Honestly I found the plot and premise to be really intriguing when I first started the book. Witches, Magic and fantastic references to the suffragette movement? Sign me up! I loved the first few chapters- i was engrossed in the world, lore and characters. However as the story started to move on it just felt slightly stagnant and slow which made it really hard for me to stay engaged.

The writing style in this story was something different to what i normally read and i feel like this might have attributed to why i struggled to read through the story. It's a personal preference (i am not a fan of characters having their own chapters/viewpoints) but it left me a bit disjointed when going between the different sisters.

Character wise Juniper frustrated me to no end reading this. I understand her feelings, her desires and motivations but they just seemed to hit me the wrong way when i was reading. Agnes was a delight and by far my favourite when it comes to character development. Beatrice was the nice middle ground- and i loved her characterisation and development.

The world building was really good overall, no major concerns or comments on that front.

Final Thoughts:
It was a story I had such high hopes for, and I really wished I enjoyed it more than i did; but my heart just wasn't in it by the end.

I loved her other book so was really pleased to read this one and I wasn't dissapointed ! I loved the relationship of the sisters - I enjoyed all the sisterhood and witchcraft - this had me gripped

I really liked this one. Harrow has a very vivid, beautiful writing style and this had a diverse group of characters. I loved the bond between the sisters and the other witches. I did think the pacing was a bit off in some places in the book, so I had to take a star off.

I loved everything about this book. I have a particular interest in reading books about witches (something which has stuck with me since childhood!), and this did not disappoint. The world created in the book is so unique, three sisters with a family history of witchcraft, mixed in at a time when women were campaigning to vote - it is unlike any other book I have read. Fairytale elements, magic and sisterhood - the perfect combination!

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is the book I’ve waited my whole life to read. It’s a beautiful, magical, magnificent story that will always have a place in my heart. There wasn’t one emotion I didn’t feel throughout this wonderful novel. It made me laugh, it made me cry, I felt dread and despair, but I also felt hope and wonder.
When I was done reading at 3am I had this surreal feeling that this story was true and I was almost 100% sure that if I opened my door I’d discover a fantastic new world. I obviously knew deep down this wasn’t true, but this is the power this book has. It makes you believe in magic and doors and the stories we all read as children. It makes you believe.
You would never know that this was Alix's debut! Her lyrical writing and her ability to weave a story so beautiful and magical will make you think it's at least her 5!
The characters are so full of life and a realness that you don't feel often. They're flawed and human and because of that it made the characters one of the big reasons I love this book.
I don't want to say much of the plot as it's truly a magical experience going into this book and nkt knowing whata coming and experiencing things along side Janurary.

The Once and Future Witches had a slow start, there was a lot of introduction and getting to know of our three main leads - it didn't feel info-dumpy, it was just hard to get past that first hurdle of information.
The witchcraft showcased throughout, I thought was magical and sweet- though I really wanted something darker from this book, and sadly it didn't deliver on that end.
I loved all the characters, I loved how all the sisters felt so different from each other, though some were a tad rushed, and their storylines never came to a nice end.
The villain in this I hated. I found him boring, and a tad predictable - I wish he was more morally grey, but sadly he was just pure evil.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though I do think it would have lent itself better being the first book in a series, rather than a standalone.

"There's no such thing as witches, but there used to be". Set in 1893, this novel follows the three Eastwood sisters who, though estranged for some time, all find themselves in New Salem. It is a time of change, a time when women are campaigning for the vote, to have their voices heard. At the same time, it becomes evident that magic also wants to be heard. Remnants of spells written in nursery rhymes, just waiting to be rediscovered. It took me some time to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I liked the way that the rediscovery of magic was tied in to the fight for women to find a voice.

I absolutely loved this author's debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and was very excited to read this one too. In the end reading it was a wild ride, it's a rich, mesmerizing and loudly feminist but also dark, slow at times and disturbing.

It started a bit slow for me and it took me a while to warm of the the three sisters but after the half mark, it picked up pace significantly and I couldn't put it down till the end.

The author creates a rich world of spells and witching populated with diverse characters, all standing firmly on their own, all of them quite memorable. At the same time there were some dark and painful to read scene for me to read personally

In full honesty it all felt very gender essentialist to me at aroudn 30%, and I was worried it will go fully into "all men are bad and all women must fight them with any means at their disposal". I am glad to say this changed and as the story continued there was less focus on gender but rather on power dynamic, people with all the power and rights and people with none of them.

It was truly empowering, there were moments of joy, true friendship and camaraderie. I would say the focus is on building relationships of all kinds - familial, between friends and co-workers, between lovers.

I appreciate the casual queer rep and the way the author explored racial relations, labour and voting rights.

There are strong love/romance elements which made the romance reader in me ecstatic. They were not the main focus of the story but they were solidly drawn and made me believe in them and in their HEAs.

The ending was both unexpected and fitting in a way. It felt right but also made me ugly cry, so there is that and I am not saying anything more in order to avoid spoiling it for other readers.

In short, I would recommend this book with the caveat that you need to be in the right headspace for it.

CW: abuse, torture, difficult childbirth, burning at the stake, sexual harassment

A well written tale following three sisters from whence they were separated through them finding each other again in New Salem. Weaving the suffrage movement and witchcraft, it spins an emotional tale of the three girls as they each tell their story.
An enjoyable and satisfying read.

I predicted I would love this and I wasn't wrong. Harrow's writing is just amazing. She just weaves beautiful and detailed plotlines, while not fast paced and packed with drama and excitement there is still a page turning quality that just draws you along. I loved that each chapter started with a spell. These were all slightly twisted, changed versions of nursery rhymes or sayings that would be familiar to most. It just really adds to the atmosphere which has this real homey, kitchen witch vibe to it. It gives you a feeling that all these sayings, rhymes and poems that have survived generations have the splash of magic in their words and that just sums up the whole book. The words just hold a splash of magic in each on.

Another aspect I loved was the fairytale retellings. The book is dotted with short retellings of Grimm fairytales that have been given a more feminine twist to the stories. Just as dark and twisted as the originals but its the princesses that do the saving. They are retold in such a traditional style and they are just gorgeous to read. I would happily read a whole book of Harrow's feminist retellings.

I really love how she sculpts and paints the world she creates. I could envision every area of New Salem that we visited with the Eastwood sisters. It has its hardships, its dark corners and its rays of light and happiness. We got such a good grasp of the lives of all the women in this story (no matter their background) and the hardships they faced. The magical elements slipped seamlessly into the world and didn't feel out of place there. The sisters themselves as characters really held there own. The had such distinct personalities and you could really tell when we had moved perspectives with how the narration and outlook changes. They were each fierce and Magical in there own way.

It just has everything a could wish for, a couple of slow burn romances, fierce sisterhood, magic and mystery. Writing that just wraps you up in a blanket and takes you away to its magical land. I just loved it.

Do you have a moment to talk about our feminist lord and saviour The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow?

This is a historical fiction book with a touch of fantasy in the form of witching.

We follow three sisters who embody the typical archetypes of a witch – the mother, the maiden and the crone. Where we start our story, the sisters are separated but they soon come together to thwart an evil plot brewing in New Salem.

Each sister has their own journey and growth, and they get involved in trying to return witching to the world in the midst of the suffragette movement.

There is an interracial lesbian couple, and the book also touches on the NAACP type movement going on in New Salem as well as highlighting that for black women, the fight is even harder. It tackles the ideas of sisterhood, feminism and humanity in combination with lyrical writing and a fictional backdrop.

This book made me feel empowered, emotional and proud to be a woman by the end of it.

This was a fresh take on a period in history that remains a strong influence on this type of fiction. It stood up with some of the better examples of the genre, and I would recommend it for the characters especially

I am terrified and I am terrible. I am fearful and I am something to be feared.
First book of 2021 and it's a well deserving five star read.

I instantly fall in love with almost every book that reads something new or is embedded with a lyrical prose, so there is nothing new here because ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES is filled to the brim with both and that too quite magnificently!

“There’s more witching left in the world than you think, girls," “The kind they can’t burn because it was never written down.”

But but but! Once and Future Witches isn't just a book I love, it's much more than that. It's now a part of my soul and one of the fewest books that I would recommend to every reader out there who is need of a recommendation or well I MIGHT JUST CASUALLY SNEAK IN THIS BOOK if we are having a non-bookish conversation . BECAUSE THIS BOOK! THIS GODDAMN book has my whole heart.

Books and tales are as close as she can come to a place where magic is still real, where women and their words have power.

I read "THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY" in 2019 and I was just utterly mesmerized by Harrow's storytelling and lived my journey through the doors with January and Sindbad and Alix E Harrow conspire the same magic once again in ONCE AND FUTURE.

Oh, how she does—to see her daughter grow free and fearless, walking tall through the dark woods of the world, armed and armored. To whisper in her ear each night: Don’t forget what you are.
Everything.

Set in the fictional world of 1890's New Salem, Once and Future explores the beautiful bond between sisters through a suffragist rebellion and witchcraft. The book weaves an emotional and heartrending tale of women rather sisters fighting their fight against patriarchy and a society that only knows to bend them at their own will. Harrow's enthralling narrative compounded with remarkable characters makes you pine to be a part of the story amongst the sisters fighting for their cause. And not to mention, with Alix's stories not a single character feels like they are playing a part of a supporting role as per the story's requirements cause every character has a presence of their own and that's what makes her stories wholesome! As the three Eastwood sisters find their way to each other and to magic, this book is surely meant to find it's way to every reader's heart!

But if there isn’t any such thing as witch-blood— if none of them are born for greatness and all they have are moldering stacks of books and an overgrown tower just south of somewhere— perhaps they have to make the miracle themselves.

I wish I could remember what happened in this book, but alas. I had originally planned to give this book 3.5 stars, but since I cannot remember anything I decided to knock it down to 3 stars.

Characters – 6/10
I really enjoyed all three sisters in this story. They each had their own unique voice and personality but I wasn’t that invested in their stories. We start off with Juniper’s POV, and by the end, her POV hardly ever comes up. This book constantly jumped between their POVs, and even though they were distinct I found myself not caring about what happened to them. They were often lost in their own heads and thoughts, which really disconnected me from the story. That sounds terrible, I know, but I think that was a pacing issue as well.

We meet a lot of side characters who are barely memorable and who don’t contribute much to the story. Beatrice was my favourite out of the three of them, but all in all, I would say most of the characters were pretty forgettable.

Atmosphere – 8/10
One thing this book has going for it is the atmosphere. Fairytales are often spun in between the stories and they add so much to the world and general feel of the book. The Once and Future Witches reads like a fairytale, which isn’t a bad thing. I could clearly picture New Salem and I wanted to join the suffragist movement as they fought for our rights.

You can clearly tell a lot of love and research went into this book and it shows through the descriptions and the atmosphere.

Writing – 7/10
Alix E. Harrow’s writing doesn’t particularly stand out for me. It’s not overly flowery (which I like) but it wasn’t mind-blowing either.

Plot – 6/10
I have some pacing issues with this book as I mentioned above. It often felt like the story was ending, or preparing to end, and then it just picked back up again. It made me feel like the whole middle of the book was just dragging along. We follow a bunch of mini-arcs throughout the story, but the overarching plot gets lost in the sauce.

Intrigue – 5/10
I will admit that I was bored through most of the middle of the book. There was nothing that really intrigued me other than the magic system, which is wonderfully thought out. However, I need characters and plot to go with it.

Logic – 6/10
In context, everything makes perfect sense about this book. The magic system works really well and is explained really well. We also see a lot of historical references to the social and political climate and it adds the right amount of tension to the story.

Enjoyment – 6/10
Overall I enjoyed certain aspects of this book but found the plot and the characters a little lacking.

6.2 CAWPILE = 3 Stars

I was a big fan of The 10,000 Doors and it only took the two page introduction to The Once And Future Witches to remind me of why..
Damn, Harrow can write!
The prose is beautiful without being pretentious and flows so easily I was immediately immersed in the story.

Harrow starts each chapter with familiar, whimsical rhymes and accompanying spell instructions that add to the magical atmosphere in an endearing way.
Interspersed throughout are witches from various countries and cultures telling their own versions of bedtime fairytales, a small collection of short stories, each with a lesson and each personal to the teller.

The setting was beautifully done and so well written I could almost map the entire thing in my mind, which is unheard of for me! I'd love to see an edition include it.

The Once And Future Witches is told in third person from the multiple POVs of each sister, Agnes, Bella and Juniper three very different women. Every assisting character is fleshed out and imperative to the storyline making the reader feel part of something epic.

I liked that for once in a witching story the sisters are not close, not at all. There's no hair braiding and doting wide eyed gazes between these three so I was intrigued to find out what exactly had happened to estrange Bella and Agnes from one another.
Their character development across the book was fantastic, especially Bella's journey.

I don't often care for romance subplots but the few found in this novel were such slow burning, hard fought unions that I couldn't help myself.
You'll find beautiful lesbian and trans representation in The Once And Future Witches.

I could write about this book forever but I won't, if you're a fan of fantasy and witches you'll want to discover this for yourself. It is truly incredible and I will recommend it to EVERYONE.

I received a copy of this book to review from Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.
WOW, this book is incredible. I absolutely loved it. The worldbuilding is detailed and I found it fascinating the combination of 1893-5's America and witches. The writing is like having a story told to you by a Sister themselves. The 3 MC's are sisters, both complex and identifiable with by the reader, The growth of each character is well documented and developed throughout this story. This novel should be read by everyone, women in particular as I felt it really speaks to all girls who have wanted more or felt out of place. The writer gives voice to these feelings and explores them so eloquently that I found myself nodding in agreement at regular intervals throughout this book. The story took me out of a long, long reading slump and gave me that magic we all crave in our everyday lives.
I applaud the author on writing this novel as it my favourite read so far of 2021 and a story that will stay with me for a long time. I look forward to reading what comes next.