The Once and the Future Witches was officially the most anticipated book of the year for me, so obviously, my expectations were sky high. And somehow, this book still managed to dazzle and astound me. I HAVE A NEW FAVOURITE BOOK PEOPLE!

This is one hell of a book – and I hate it that my words cannot do any measure of justice to its power and beauty. All I can say is – read it, you will not regret it. Read and absorb and revel in each of the 528 pages and I guarantee you, you will fall in love with it. I know it is a bit on the longer side, but I swear I would have happily read on even if this book was a 1000+ pages.

This review might be me just gushing on and on endlessly, but I will try my best to give you ample number of reasons to read this book.

The Once and the Future Witches is a glorious, fiery and powerful read. It is seething with anger – against the wrongs done against women for way too long, in different forms and manners for decades. In spite of being a slow paced book, I was so engrossed in the story throughout that I had literal goosebumps so many times. It is absolutely impossible to not be moved by the journey of the three Agnes sisters and the countless other women whose lives they touch. It is unlike anything I’ve read before and it has had a profound impact on me.

The beauty and sensitivity with which Alix E. Harrow talks about the anger, the bone-deep weariness, the desperation, the fear and the helplessness which came with being a woman during the late 19th century really gets to the reader. The three sisters represent women, their personalities and their struggles everywhere – the quiet librarian, who tries to approach each problem with practicality and knowledge; the hardworking and steady middle one, whom life has made believe that if a woman wants to be safe, she must become small and closed-off; and the youngest one, who doesn’t give two hoots about what the world thinks and lashes at it with pure fury. The character arc of the Agnes sisters and their evolving relationship is phenomenal and utterly seamless – you are in love with them before you even know it.

Apart from the Agnes sisters, The Once and the Future Witches features a diverse array of female characters – the prim and proper suffragist ladies, the Black sisterhood of witches who call themselves the Daughters of Tituba, the overworked and underpaid working class women and sex workers. It is amazing and empowering to see women from all walks of life united in their pain and power and standing up for each other through thick and thin.

The writing of Alix E. Harrow is pure magic – it enchants and binds readers in a grip and compels them to believe in the power of the written word. The book is an ode to folklore and fables and the love for literature. The Once and the Future Tales is itself written in the style of an ancient folk tale. As with The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Harrow’s writing compels you to believe that this tale is, in fact, 100% true. The sights and sounds described in each scene transport you to a different world altogether, one of old magic and green vines and smell of wild roses and ash. After highlighting almost every other passage I had to just give up and accept that every single line of this book is going to be sinfully rich and spellbinding.

To sum up, I am absolutely dazzled by this book and it has occupied a special place in my heart💖

Everything about this book screamed at me to request it. I felt absolutely delighted at being able to have been chosen to review it!

Witches and witchcraft? check.
Alternative history? check.
Empowered women fighting for their rights? check.

This book has everything and more. The bond between our three main characters was wonderful, I loved the way that the prose was written, and I just adored everything in this book. I can't wait to pick up more books by the author!

This is one of those books that you manage to keep at an emotional distance for only the briefest time before falling head over heels totally in love with it.This novel is full of twists and turns.I loved the main cast of characters and how Harrow justifies each character.
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It’s 1893 in New Salem North America, there are three Eastwood sisters Agnes, Bella and Juniper. They lived in a world where once was full of witches but now it is forbidden. Their tales and spells are now passed down from mother to daughter through fairy tales and books.
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Juniper, Agnes and Bella are fierce, formidable women in wildly different ways. They are also flawed, stubborn and inspirational.They all definitely go through a lot of development throughout the book, which makes them more likable compared to when we first meet them, where they are all broken in their own ways. Harrow brings the theme of sisterhood and familial bonding into this story.
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This book is full of adventure, and it is told, with powerful messages you’d come to expect from an Alix Harrow's story. I honestly love everything about it. It's beautifully written and is really a magical story. Please add this to your tbr pile soon cause you really don't want to miss this!!!!😍❤️

In an alternative history, witches have been relentlessly hunted. Their homes and books are destroyed and when caught they are chained with iron, tortured and burnt at the stake. The survivors hide their knowledge and spells in nursery rhymes and stories, passed on from mother to daughter.

A story of sisterhood, persecution, the fight for emancipation and the strength that brings women together. Inspiring and beautifully written.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is a alternate historical fantasy novel that follows three sisters who join the Suffragists movement and begin to spread forgotten words of witchcraft in the hopes of restoring the practice from kitchen spells to its former power.

Unfortunately, I really struggled with this book, and so put it down around the 50% mark. On paper, this was so much of what I usually love; books about feminism, witches, sisterhood, history, but everything fell so flat for me. The pacing is incredibly slow throughout the book, even when it seems like events are happening. At the point that I got to, I knew the general gist of where the story was heading from the synopsis, but the story didn't seem to and just meandered. I didn't connect with any of the three main characters. Some felt more like caricatures than others (I felt Juniper was very one note, whereas Agnes seemed to have the most depth). I also felt that although I could that the author was trying to be inclusive with the cast of side characters, there were details to their characters that didn't line up as accurate and it felt poorly researched in that regard, and thrown in for the sake of diversity. If you're going to have a book be inclusive, put the work in and research as much as possible. I did enjoy the overall atmosphere of the book and the writing was lovely (although the constant repetition of the main characters' full names grew tiresome around the 20% mark) so I didn't hate it, but those factors were not enough to make me feel like this was worth continuing with.

Thank you to the publisher for approving me for this e-Arc, and I hope other readers get along with it better than I did.

Currently DNF (read 50%). 2.5-3*s

For some reason I struggled to really engage with this story. The premise is delightful and I loved its feminist streak, however there were a few things that really ate at me and took away my full enjoyment.
1. Repetition. Perhaps this is a stylistic element, however almost every paragraph begins by restating the full name of each character. This really distracted me from the reading and otherwise beautiful prose as it's as though I'm having to start from scratch. Maybe this writing choice was to make it feel more 'fairytale' like, but after a few chapters in, it started to become more irritating than anything else.
2. Miss Quinn and POC representation. There were a few small red flags in POC representation. The references to witches from other cultures such as the Sioux people and those from Africa were a little bit too flippant and quick. I'm sure it wasn't the intention of the author, but these passing comments made such representations feel more like token gestures to tick a box rather than a thoughtful use of such cultures. I'm not an expert by any means, however the representation of Miss Cleopatra Quinn was a little bit uncomfortable. For a start, there wasn't any indication that she was Egyptian, but classed under a general 'African-American' label, and yet by naming her after a prominent and famous Egyptian figure was a little misleading. Perhaps this name choice came from a desire to create quick associations and help the reader, or maybe it was to highlight that African-Americans do in fact struggle to place their heritages as a consequence of their heritage and so will also make these popular associations. But it was tiring.
3. The three sisters - Juniper, Agnes, Bella - are very trope-y to the point that they began to feel a little bit like caricatures of stereotypes. They all serve a purpose in the story (and they are very effective), but it again just added to the exhausting nature of my reading experience.

On the more positive, I really do love Alix Harrow's beautiful descriptions. She is a mistress of words and I am in awe of how she can pull together such beautiful images to describe harrowing things.

Maybe it gets better in the latter half of the book. I do intend to read the full thing at some point, but right now I found the repetitious prose and POC representation exhausting and de-motivated me to keep on reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for luring me in with this recommendation and the gorgeous cover art. Thank you to Alix E Harrow for providing such an amazing story for this ARC review. All the opinions expressed below are my own.


"Witches and women's rights. Suffrage and spells. They're both...a kind of power...the kind we're not allowed to have."

I'm not often drawn to books involving witches to be honest. I love an annual viewing of Hocus Pocus (who doesn't?!) but that is usually where the affinity ends.
If anything can change my nonchalance, I suspect it may be Alix E. Harrow. This is the first piece of work I have read by the Hugo award winning writer and I don’t need any tarot cards to predict it will not be the last. From the outset of The Once and Future Witches I was hooked: the worldbuilding alone is amazing; you can immediately picture the mills, avenues, squares and slums of New Salem as well as the mysterious tower that pulls our three main characters together.

The three Eastwood sisters themselves are another work of art. Juniper, Agnes and Bella are fierce, formidable women in wildly different ways. They are also flawed, stubborn and quite frankly, inspirational: by linking women’s rights and witchcraft this fantasy novel suddenly becomes more real and relatable to the modern female reader, despite being set in 1893. We empathise, sympathise and rage right alongside the Eastwood sisters on their quest for equality in a male-controlled world.
However, not even witches can act alone and the Eastwood sisters have an amazing cast of supporting characters surrounding them. Impressively, not a single one of these characters can be accused of being two-dimensional: the character development that Harrow has invested into this novel is incredible and must have taken so much work! From the Suffragette’s secretary to the skin-crawling villain to the women and men fighting (and witching) side by side; every single character is substantial and memorable. The sarcasm within Juniper for example is hilarious and even the traditional figures of the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone refuse to conform to stereotypes: I LOVED it!

The format of this novel is very clever and practically forbids you from becoming too comfortable by peppering the main story with “witch-tales”. These complement rather than distract from the storyline and also provide small changes that make you smile – such as the tales of the Sisters Grimm.
Do not be fooled though: the use of witch-tales does not prevent The Once and Future Witches from being an incredibly modern piece of writing. Topics covered include sexuality, gender identity, feminism, race as well as smashing the patriarchy: all interspersed with magic, betrayal and a hell of a lot of emotion.
I would however argue that some topics are slightly too mature for the novel to be considered YA, the description of torture and suggestions of sexual abuse probably push this book firmly into general/adult fantasy fiction novels.

The Once and Future Witches is a future bestseller in my opinion. This unique, powerful novel provides characters that you can’t help but empathise with; slow-burning, intense relationships; the trials and tribulations that come with sisterhood and plot twists at every turn.
This book will swallow you heart and soul, make you laugh, make you cry and leave you bereft at the end.

It is a must read!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 5/5

Something that I really adored in this book was the feminist perspective used by the author. We don’t usually see such thing in a novel. Most of the authors are simply ignorant of such facts.
The once and the future witches uses the alternating perspective of three Eastwood sisters which makes the story even more gripping. They may be sisters, but their personalities are quite distinct from one another. Their relationship is beautiful, yet so painful ! I really loved how their character builds up throughout the story.

This story was Unique and enchanting in its own way. I loved the story and the plot !

Thank you so much for accepting me for my first book request. Unfortunately I have decided put this book down for now and I hope to try again at a later date.

My thoughts so far about The Once and Future Witches, is that it is rather heavy on the description to the point where the dialogue is lacking. I really enjoyed the multiple character chapter perspective but I feel like this hasn't been executed to its fullest potential. The storyline has a very fast pace in that it jumps days ahead and therefore I feel like I could be missing some character interaction, which is ultimately what I was looking for in this book. The premise still really excites me as it focuses more on the historical ideal of witches and the writing does feel both appropriate and mystical (especially in the witches' rhymes). The most engaging part for me so far is the character Beatrice and her budding relationship with Miss Quinn in an unlikely research team pairing. It is this aspect that intrigues me the most in finding out how it transpires but the rest of the book falls flat for my personal taste. I was hoping for more action to grab me and enthral me but as it currently stands; the beginning feels rushed and the characters I want to be detailed and complex are coming across rather two dimensional and stereotypical.

Many thanks to Orbit and Little, Brown for an ARC

A character driven feminist story that had me hooked from the very first chapter, The Once and Future Witches is a must read for fans of slow, atmospheric witchy tales. It revolves around the three Eastwood sisters, distinctly different but with a shared goal of recovering the power of witchcraft and helping women take what's rightfully theirs.

Despite being set in 1893, it reflects issues faced by our modern society; a powerful tale of witchcraft interwoven with insights into women's rights, misogyny, gender roles, race, homophobia, sexuality and abuse. Alix has written a powerful novel that explores sisterhood, love and survival sprinkled with loads of magic, witchy goodness and diverse characters. Highly recommended!

The second Netgalley book in a row where I have had to stop and breathe while the words 'What a book' run round and round my head. The Once and Future Witches took me a week to read (a very long time for me), a week in which I started a new job and had to get through the difficult fourth chapter of my own book (always a stumbling block) and yet held my dreams and thoughts despite all those important external factors. This rich, mesmerising, clever book deserves to be huge.

There are, of course, three sisters. James Juniper is the youngest and she's on the run, just seventeen, full of anger and hate and loneliness and accused of murder. She ends up in New Salem, a town full of upright citizens, unlike Old Salem, now overgrown ruins and ash, where she finds her long lost sisters. Agnes hiding her beauty under drudgery, Bella hiding in books. But this is no joyful reunion. Bella and Agnes betrayed each other and they both betrayed Juniper.

Their world is a late Victorian world where women fight to be heard. But it's a world where women aren't just denied the vote, they are denied their birthright. Witches have been purged over and over, in flame and with torture and fear. Women's dresses don't include pockets so they can't hide spell aids - and thus prove their goodliness. But all around witching flickers, in stories and fables, in the secrets mothers whisper to their daughters, in samplers and recipe books and family histories. And when the sisters meet their fear and loneliness and need for change makes witchcraft visible to the women (and men) who yearn for freedom and to those who would seek to burn it - and them - out.

Beautifully written, expertly plotted, unbearably sad at times and yet full of hope and wit, The Once and Future Witches is a clever, inventive, feminist fantasy. Highly recommended.

“Once there were three sisters.”

‘The Ten Thousand Doors of January’ was my favourite read of 2019 and ‘The Once and Future Witches’ is my favourite read of 2020. I know there are still plenty of pages to fall in love with this year but trust me, friends, this is the one!

The wise one, the strong one and the wild one. There’s a bit of each of us in at least one of the Eastwood sisters; hopefully all three. This is a story of sisters and suffragists. Of fairytales and the power of words. Of survival and sacrifice. Of transforming the story you were given into a better one. Of “witchcraft most wicked”.

“The wayward sisters, hand in hand,
Burned and bound, our stolen crown,
But what is lost, that can’t be found?”

Sometimes you read a book that feels like it was written with you in mind. Sometimes characters will draw you into their world and you feel like they’re kin or, at the very least, kindred spirits. Sometimes a story speaks to your soul in such a way that when you lift your head after the final page you are certain you grew wings while you were reading. That’s just some of what this book was for me.

I want to ramble about characters, surprises and heartbreaks, love found and battles waged but, consistent with other books that have so deeply worked their magic on me, this review is more personal. Sorry if this isn’t the review you were looking for.

“Don’t forget what you are.”

As I read I felt my spine straightening. My will strengthened. My courage blazed. My heart opened, warming and knitting itself together, even as it broke. My tears threatened many times before the inevitable ugly cry (it was so ugly!). This was the perfect book for me at the perfect time.

I made a deal with myself weeks before I started reading. I had a really difficult task ahead of me and I wanted this book to be my reward for completing it. Not allowing myself to dive in before I won my battle was its own special brand of torture but knowing the witches were waiting for me spurred me on. Being able to finally immerse myself in the lives of Agnes, Bella and Juniper was worth the wait. And then some.

I now have a task equal, if not greater, to face than the one that preceded it but this book has fortified me and given me the courage I need to shine a light on the next shadow on my path.

“Together they dared to dream of a better world, where women weren’t broken and sisters weren’t sundered and rage wasn’t swallowed, over and over again.”

I can’t wait until someone I know has read this book so I can get all gushy about the specifics. Until that time, a warning: if you see me out in the wild, prepare yourself. Our interaction is likely to consist of me emphatically telling you to “Read this book!” as I shove it in your face. Protect your nose accordingly.

“Maleficae quondam, maleficaeque futurae.”

Content warnings include “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.” The author lists these on Goodreads. I’m adding to these the mention of abortion, on page death of an animal, physical abuse of an animal and sexual harassment.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, for the opportunity to fall in love with this book early.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

"The Once and Future Witches" is a feminist tale about sisters, witches, and emancipation in a world dominated by men. Old Salem has burned down and the old Witches have been burned with them, but three estranged sisters reconnect in New Salem and discover that their magic isn't entirely lost.

I quite enjoyed parts of it, especially the queer romance, but it was too long for me in many parts. I didn't really like Juniper and it made me skim-read her parts of the story. I also hated the part about Eve.

This feminist take on witches in the US was nice, however.

3.5 stars

This book comes at the perfect time to get you in the mood for Halloween and might just be my favourite book that I’ve read about witches so far.

I loved how this mainly focused on the relationships between the sisters, although there is a small amount or romance it is definitely not the focus of the story.

The three sisters in this story come from a very troubled childhood with an abusing father and all have lasting scars because of this. I felt like each of the sisters definitely had some character growth and had to face these issues that they were still contending with.

I absolutely loved how the spells in this world were based on our own nursery rhymes and I always enjoyed seeing how each rhyme was going to be altered to become a spell. I thought this was a brilliant way to tie this to our own world and make the story feel a little more believable.

The only complaint that I have is that I thought it was a tad too long and I found my attention wavering during the last quarter.

I also would love to read the story of the original maiden, mother and crone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with the e-arc for The Once and Future Witches in exchange for an honest review.

I read Alix E. Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January towards the start of lock down and I was completely surprised by The Once and Future Witches. It is a completely different standalone story, at its soul a tale of sisterhood, justice, and fighting for woman’s rights, all bound into the wonderful world of witchcraft, perfect for Halloween.

In New Salem in 1893, witches and witchcraft don’t exist, women have no power or control in a male dominated society. This is the world James Juniper encounters as she runs away from the pain and hurt of her past. Juniper’s sisters Agnes and Bella left home years previously, and both have built new lives in New Salem, but Juniper’s arrival brings with it the stirrings of witchcraft, the healing of previously broken bonds, and the fight to transform women’s rights.

This book is told very much through the perspectives, voices, thoughts and memories of these characters. Three sisters...and we all know how important the number 3 is to witchcraft! Each character is distinctive, empathetic, and brings a strength and dimension unique to them to the story.

The story also brings forth challenges beyond those of women denied the vote, denigrated and dominated, it also challenges culture, colour, and there is a lovely LBQT romance that will charm your socks off.
However, for me the pacing is a bit hit and miss. Initially the story puts in place characters, background, plot and challenge, but there were moments when despite Harris’s gorgeous literary descriptions and prose, it felt like it dragged and I had to wade through. Yet, other moments flew by at a rate of knots and I was desperate to keep reading - the ending is a true ride of a rollercoaster!

I liked this more than I thought I would...woah nelly that opinion was a bit strong 💪 let me gather myself. Yes well - I liked this. “The maiden, the mother and the...er other one” I can’t get enough of that stuff, the power of three and the luck of seven. Dark towers coming out of the clouds (in a totally non-phallic way) and crashing into public squares then vanishing again, the Sisterhood ✊ great stuff. This is a a fairly large book but the story rips along with a three point perspective from each of the main ladies who are at first glance very different characters and the prose is very nice bordering on the poetical at points which is fine by me.
The three sisters are all engaging in their way Bella is a bit of a bore but she livens up by the end. Agnes is obviously the best character she had the best attributes of her other sisters and actually makes decisions for herself. Ivy is the cocky younger sister who looks like fun to begin with but you wouldn’t want to live with her.
The best thing about these ladies is that they swear. It has always bothered me that characters faced with life threatening/apocalyptical situations don’t swear - I know that I would be turning the air blue if I were in their position so this was refreshing.
All the equal opportunity boxes are also ticked and it’s a bit “up the women” but that not overwhelming and there’s even a couple of Not All Men representatives. One of them a hot blonde with the heart of a lion, the other a middle aged nerdy librarian - top drawer Good Men. All bases covered. However I did find it annoying that the only “bad” woman turned out to be under control of the “bad” man and she redeemed herself in the end. I found that a bit trite. Women can be bitches too you know.
All in all though this was a good read I enjoyed it. How’s that for praise!

I absolutely loved 10 000 Doors of January and expected to fall in love with this one as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't. I tried to finish the book three times and I give up. It's not bad. The writing is exquisite. It's just I don't care about the characters.

If I revisit it in the future and change my mind, I'll update the feedback.

Thanks to Netgalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of The Once and Future Witches, which I consider to be a glorious feminist approach to Witchcraft in literary form. The plot revolves around three sisters: James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna, who have - at different times in their lives - escaped their abusive father and drifted to the town of New Salem. Though at first, none of them are aware of their other sisters’ presence.

An ominous magical occurrence draws them together, though at first the bond between them is frayed. Remembrance of their grandmother’s tales Witchcraft and the poetry of spells help fortify them - and their allies - against the oppressive dangers of the patriarchy and the witchfinders who would do them harm.

I loved the research Harrow must have put into crafting this lengthy and beautiful novel. Her historical knowledge of witches, fairy-tales and nursery rhymes are woven together to create a magical realist world and I loved each and every page.

It is my sincere hope that Alix E. Harrow will write many more novels, as I’ll be front of the queue for anything she sets her mind to write!

'The wayward sisters, hand in hand,
Burned and bound, our stolen crown,
But what is lost that can't be found?'

The Once and Future Witches is a historical fantasy set in 1893, New Salem, where the ways of witching are near extinct thanks to the purging of magic in Old Salem in the 1600s. The novel follows three sisters: Beatrice Belladonna 'the wise sister, quiet and clever as an owl in the rafters', Agnes Amaranth 'the strong sister, steady as a stone and twice as hard' and James Juniper 'the wild sister, fearless as a fox and curious as a crow'. As youngsters, they were raised by an abusive father and their grandmother, Mama Mags, who clung to the old ways and instilled the values of witchcraft into her grand-daughters. As adults, their father and grandmother are dead, they are estranged and living life without magic until an event on the Spring Equinox brings them back together and begins the search for The Lost Way of Avalon; a supposed myth about a tower built by the Last Three '-some great construct of stone and time and magic - that preserved the wicked heart of women's magic like seeds saved after the winnowing.'

James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth and Beatrice Belladonna are the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. They are set-up as archetypes in order to dismantle the very concept of viewing women (and all people) through one lens. The reclaiming of witchcraft for women runs in tandem with the conversations surrounding women's suffrage in the same time period. '"Witching and women's rights. Suffrage and spells. They're both... " She gestures in midair again. "They're both a kind of power, aren't they? The kind we aren't allowed to have." The kind I want, says the hungry shine of her eyes.' And, during the course of the book, the fury, passion, conviction and self-belief in regards to what a woman has a right to want, take and have surges like a fever with acute intensity; it is hard not to close the book and feel like the very essence of womanhood is magic in itself. In my opinion, the intersectional feminism of this book really takes the time to be considerate towards how the various themes overlap with the vast range of identities that women have, including in regards to: race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender. However, I will be seeking out some OwnVoices reviews of this book when it is published to learn if the intersectionality is handled well or if my interpretation of it is clouded.

'Stay mad, baby girl.'

The atmosphere that Harrow creates is the exact kind of atmosphere I have been searching for in a book about witchcraft for so long. It is October in book form, it is long slow walks in the forest during autumn, it is Stevie Nicks floating around a stage singing Rhiannon, it is the first time you felt a bond of sisterhood beyond blood, it is course-correcting conversations at 3am, it is candles and herbs and your soul-deep hopes, it is when you finally feel comfortable in your skin, it is when you have people in your life that you would sacrifice everything for and it is an awareness of what the women who have come before you have done and what the women who will come after you will do.

'She is a pocket full of witch-ways.'

Much like The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Harrow's prose are beautiful. There is a lyrical way to how she writes, but it never presents as overly flowery because it always packs a punch too. It's the kind of reading experience where it feels like the words are tattooing themselves on my skin. Again, as with Harrow's debut, the people who will get the greatest enjoyment from this sophomore book are the ones who love words and the power of a finely crafted sentence.

'I am terrified and I am terrible. I am fearful and I am something to be feared.'

There is a strong plot at the centre of this novel but the characters are the driving force so the pacing can meander at times, especially for those who prefer a snappy plot over character and thematic study. I'm a bit of a chameleon when it comes to this but I do put more stock into multi-dimensional character work than I do plot. When I can sit with various characters in a book and really get to the substance of who they are, yet finish with the desire to learn even more about them, I know that the plot is just a consequence of enjoying these characters that I have fallen in love with. And, Harrow has propelled herself to the top tier list of authors that can make me feel like this.

If you enjoyed The Ten Thousand Doors of January and you have a spooky soul, you will love The Once and Future Witches. Thank you so much to Orbit for sending me a review copy, all quotes are taken from this proof and may not be final.

'Maleficae quondam, maleficaeque futurum.'

I'm not quite sure how I can fully express my love for this book. This was actually my first Alix E. Harrow book, so I had no idea what to expect when going in. And I'm honestly so glad for that, because it let me be completely swept off of my feet by her writing.

Juniper, Agnes and Bella are such brilliantly written characters that I couldn't help but fall in love with them. They all definitely go through clear arcs throughout the book, which makes them infinity more likable when we first meet them, where they are all broken in their own ways. Harrow brings the theme of sisterhood and familial bonds to the forefront of this book, and I couldn't help but shed some tears at points throughout, as they fiercely protected their little family.

I found the plot itself to be very engaging, despite my usual aversion to historical books. The world Harrow sets up is just far removed enough from the real world, while still being grounded in real life historical events, that it actually worked really well for me. The struggle of the Eastwood sisters to empower women was something that I could read on and on about, and the overarching plot about the past of witching itself was really interesting.

I honestly couldn't put this book down, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves books about female rage, empowerment, familial love, and of course a bit of the fantastical. I'm definitely going to be picking up a physical copy of this book when it is released, as it is one of my favourite books of the year.