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.

I loved this - I hadn't previously read any of Alix E. Harrow's work, so I went in having no idea what to expect (making it a wonderful surprise).
I'm a big fan of stories about sisters, and this was no exception - I loved the Eastwood's dynamic. I also enjoyed the side characters - they all had a defined personality, even if there were a few who I would have liked to have seen developed more.
The writing is beautiful - it flows well and paints a picture vividly, without being overly waffly.
Whilst the book doesn't have the fastest moving plot, especially at first, I felt completely immersed in this world - and shed a few tears at the end.

Really enjoyed this book! Loved the setting, the world building and the characters. The prose was by far my favourite part of the book, thought evoking imagery, beautifully paced sentence structure and filled with female rage, which happens to be one of my favourite things. More of my review can be found in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfnfG7pGJMU at the 7:43 minute mark. Thank you for the opportunity to read this early.

"Aren't you tired yet? Of being cast down and cast aside? Of making do with crumbs when once we wore crowns?"

When I read the premise of this book, I knew it would be good, what with witches, women's rights and the fight against oppression.
The story is set in 1890's America and follows the three Eastwood sisters: James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth and Beatrice Belladonna. The wild one, Juniper, is the youngest of the three and runs away from the only home she has ever known. When she arrives in the city of New Salem, she encounters the Suffragists and joins their campaign for the right to vote. Agnes is the brave one, who has closed off her heart and refuses to care for anyone, lest it be used against her. And Bella is the wise one, and the eldest of the sisters. She is most comfortable surrounded by books and works at the college library. Having not seen each other in seven years, the sisters are reunited and decide to bring about the return of witching.

Each sister tells their story, which allows the reader an insight into their thoughts and motivations. I found I related with each of them in different ways, although I think Agnes was my favourite. All of them, however, were strong, determined and filled with so much anger that it made me feel a fierce hatred towards their father and every other man who had wronged them.

I loved the slow burn romance experienced by both Agnes and Bella. Both sisters deserved people who loved them, and Cleo and August are therefore perfect for them. The Daughters of Tituba were fascinating and I loved that slaves had built a network of tunnels under the city, so that they, and their descendants could always escape.

"But tonight, beneath the Rose Moon of June, they are witches. They are crones and maidens, villains and temptresses, and all the stories belong to them."

The lyrical prose throughout this book is beautifully written and creates a world that is mystical, but steeped in enough truth to be believable. Each setting was perfectly easy to picture, from Old Salem to New Cairo. Harrow is an amazing author and I look forward to reading more of her work in future.

I would say that it could be little difficult to keep track of the Sisters of Avalon and where they all came from. Sometimes I would have to search back and check whether they were mill girls or suffragists etc. The book was also quite slow to start and I spent longer reading Part 1 than the remaining four parts put together. Overall though, it was a fantastic read which I would highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

I loved this book so much! A brilliant story of witches, sisters, suffragettes. This book has everything.

Three sisters, witchcraft and stories. Another beautiful and unique book from Alix Harrow. The writing itself is so lyrical and magical and the characters are strong and well-drawn. This story is all about empowerment, magic and sisterhood. There's a sinister element woven besides the quirky use of fairy tales and rhym. The story has plenty of twists in the plot and an unusual ending. Highly recommended.

WOW!
I'll start by saying that I didn't think this book could get me so passionate about it.
In The once and future witches there are many themes covered, including family, friendship and sisterhood, but as you can also understand from the title, magic.
After a long distance, the sisters reunite again in New Salem.
Juniper, wild and angry, ready to take revenge on those who would take it out on them.
Agnes, he'd rather stay out of everything.
And finally, Beatrice, a quiet girl who prefers to be on her own and not get caught up in compromising situations.
The whole novel screams "girl power" and it's something I loved so much.
There is no lack of twists and turns, suffering and amour. As well as delicate themes such as domestic violence, female oppression and LGBTQ+ themes.
In all this I have not told you that the book is set in the 1800s, so I would like to emphasize the relevance of the themes.
One thing that I noticed about this book is how much more the narrated part prevailed over the dialogues, but that's not why it bored me. On the contrary...
There are narratives from each sister, narratives rich in content and diverse among them.
But now let's go back to talking a bit about the magic inside the book.
The author, through various subterfuges, always manages to characterize and give shape to what magic represents.
I recommend this book for its peculiarity, I think I've never read anything like it.
Congrats to the author!

The Once and Future Witches is the story of three sisters in 1893: Juniper, Agnes and Bella, who each separately escape their abusive father, and later reunite in New Salem – drawn together by a vision of a mysterious tower. The cause of the suffragettes inspires them to find a way to empower women by bringing back the forgotten words and ways that were lost when the last witches were burned in Old Salem.

Historically, of course, strong independent women have frequently been accused of witchcraft and I loved the idea of the suffragettes being actual witches. This story is not only a fast-paced, thrilling battle between supernatural forces, it is also a richly layered fantasy in which magic is woven into the syntax of rhymes, proverbs and fairy tales, as well as a sensitive delving into the deep currents of the relationships between sisters. An exquisitely crafted and intensely moving book.

<i> "Witching and women's rights. Suffrage and spells. They're both..." "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." </i>

The Once and Future Witches is an enchanting tale about sisterhood, feminism and a bunch of witch craft in between.

I adored everything about it. Alix E. Harrow's writing was so atmospheric, it was like reading a fairy-tale-- a dark fairy-tale. I was hooked from page 1, it's more than 500 pages long and I never felt like it dragged on. I loved how the characters embodied different types of women, from smart and quiet, to audacious and fierce, but all of them strong in their own ways.

<i> There's no such thing as witches. But there will be. </i>


<b> Trigger Warnings </b>
<spoiler> Child abuse, both physical and psychological; parental death; arrest and imprisonment; mind control; pregnancy and childbirth, including forced hospitalization; racism; sexism; homophobia, both external </spoiler>

*e-arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so rich and lushily written that I found it difficult to consume in one sitting. I loved every word of this book and what they meant. This book is absolute perfection for people who love their books to be stuffed with fables, witchcraft, feminism, sisterhood, stories, spells and fairytales with a little bit of romance.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow sounded right up my street when I first heard of it, but I didn't realise just how incredible it was going to be!

In a world where magic is all but gone, where the witches of the past were burned, where witchcraft is illegal, with women only knowing small, harmless spells, shared down the generations through stories and nursery rhymes, where women have next to no rights... the Eastwood sisters James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna have not seen each other or had any contact for the past seven years, due to an abusive father and overwhelming betrayal. Juniper is running to somewhere new, trying to escape; Agnes is a millworker, working long hours, keeping everyone at a distance; Bella is a librarian, books and words more a home to her than the room she lives in. All in New Salem. On the night of the Spring Equinox 1893, the three meet again when they are all inexplicably drawn to St. George's Square, where the Women's Association are holding a rally, trying to draw more women to their cause. Out of nowhere, a tower, surrounded by roses and ivy, appears in the square, with the wrong constellations in the night sky. Despite the past, the sudden appearance and disappearance of this tower is the catalyst that bring the Eastwood sisters back together, striving for a new life, a better life, for women, a life where women are witches, and as powerful as they once were. Witch those small, harmless spells, they join the suffrage movement, founding the Sisters of Avalon, recruiting like-minded women, who will fight with their magic to bring about change. But there are those who will do all they can to keep women underfoot, controlled and obedient, and magic all but stamped out. When shadows are alive, a sickness is spreading, and witch burnings are still a very real threat, the Eastwood sisters and their fellow Sisters must find a way to bring back magic, before they themselves are found.

Oh my god, The Once and Future Witches is just epic! It's quite a long story, but so much happens! It's just amazing! It's alternate history where witches of the fantasy kind did once exist, and were strong and powerful, until the patriarchy took over and witches were burned into practically inexistence. The quote, "We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn't burn," definitely applies to the Eastwood sisters. While they all have their own stories, their own histories, the betrayals and hurt between them, they all have a white hot flame in their souls. They are past accepting the lives they are given, they are expected to live, the way the patriarchy wants them to be small and quiet and subservient. Powerless. Controlled. Together, the flame they each have becomes a burning, blazing fire!

The story is told from each sister's perspective. The youngest at 17, Juniper is the angriest. She is wild and reckless, and can't - won't - sit back and do nothing. The middle sister at 22, Agnes is the most careful, the fiercest. She is pregnant, an unmarried soon-to-be mother - a scandal - but she will do absolutely whatever it takes to keep her baby safe, and woe betide anyone who dares even think of hurting the little life growing inside her. The eldest at 24, Bella is the quietest, the more reserved and nervous, the one the world has forced into hiding - and hiding from - a part of her that is integral to who she is, but the smartest, whose ideas and note-taking and research they all depend on. None of these women are perfect, but they're all amazing. I related to them all, but I also saw aspects of myself in them. I fell in love with all three of them.

The magic in this book is so familar. There are three parts to magic: the ways, the words, and the will. Each spell requires ways, certain items - herbs, animal teeth, hair, chalk, etc. - and emotion, words to said to cast the spell, and the will to make it happen. Witching, as it's called in the book, is described as a conversation with the red heartbeat of magic, which I think is just gorgeous. While it's fantasy magic, it's clearly inspired by traditional magic. Mama Mags, the Eastwood sisters' grandmother, was clearly a Wise Woman, with herbs drying in her house, jars full of innumerable things, a witch garden. The witch ways are all things us real witches might use. The Maiden, Mother and Crone archetypes are integral to this story, which just made my heart sing.

Stories and nursery rhymes also play a huge part. The ways and words have been hidden in plain sight within them. There are so many fairy tales - or witch-tales, as they're called in The Once and Future Witches - and nursery rhymes that you'll know, though have been changed to not only suit this particular story, but to also make them feminist retellings - because some of the stories are retold in full throughout. What I absolutely loved was how these stories are also possible histories, in a round about way, and how witches were in every one. Most male characters in our stories are female in witch-tales. Almost all female characters are witches, or alluded to being witches; they're referred to, most often, as the Maiden and the Crone. Not all witches are wicked, and perhaps those that are had a reason to be, or their wickedness isn't what it first seemed. And the authors of these stories, in this alternate history, are female: the Brothers Grimm are the Sisters Grimm, Charles Perrault is Charlotte Perrault, Andrew Lang is Andrea Lang, and they're folklorists. I bloody loved this whole aspect, how feminist it is, but also the whimsy of it, the words and ways for spells contained in stories for children. I just love it!

There's discussion on how witching itself isn't wicked, rather that it's down to the witch and her ways, which I feel touches on the conversation around "white magic" and "black magic"(which has horrible racial undertones), and how magic itself is neautral. There's also the discussion of how witching - the ways and the words particularly - are different in different cultures. Black people have their own way of witching, as do Native American people. It's not all the same - and it's not all available for everyone (read: white people). There's a point where Juniper gets a little frustrated that Gertrude, a Native American member of the Sisters of Avalon, won't share the witch-ways and words she knows, and Gertrude kindly but firmly tells her that not all ways are hers, which touches on cultural appropriation. This all speaks to real witchcraft.



Which leads me to how diverse this story is. Juniper is disabled; she injured her foot in a fire years ago, and it's left her with a permanent limp and the need of a staff. And while it's not outright stated, it's strongly alluded to that she could be asexual. There are two gay women, Bella and Cleo - there is a gorgeous slow burn romance between Bella and Cleo that is just so beautiful! - and two women who if not specifically gay, are at least not straight - one of whom is also trans. Cleo and the Daughters of Tituba are Black, and as I've mentioned there are Native American characters, too. I should point out that what is considered racist language today is used - Black people are "colored" and Native Americans are "Indians" - but it's appropriate to the time the story is set, and never used derogatively. This book does feature racism and homophobia, as well as the obvious misogyny, but almost never from the protagonists (there's one moment where Juniper admits to feeling uncomfortable about Bella and Cleo's relationship, but Agnes gives her a talking to, and she gets over it). All forms of bigotry in this book - and there is a fair amount given the time it's set - are very clearly not ok both in the minds of the protagonists, and how the story is told. I'm massively privileged, so could be wrong, but I feel it's all dealt with, with respect.



I also really loved the real history in this book. The American suffrage movement, and exactly what life was like for women before they got the vote, the oppression they suffered. But also the discussion of witch trials. This is a fantasy story with fantasy magic, but it acknowledges the very real witch hunts and witch trials of the past - and because of what the Sisters of Avalon are doing, the fact that witchcraft is illegal, and who is in charge, it brings them to the present day of the story. Harrow does not shy away from the terrible things accussed witches suffered. We see the beatings, the torture, the witch trial, and the burning of witches. Very real history is present in this alternate history historical fantasy. The mysogyny, racism, homophobia of the time is bad enough, but the witch hunt/trial makes for an incredibly horrific story. Your blood will boil, you will be raging - but you'll also be inspired and empowered by the fight of these women who won't give up, who refuse to be subjugated. The Once and Future Witches is an unbelievably powerful novel.

This review is already so long, and I've barely scratched the surface. The Once and Future Witches is an incredibly epic story where so much happens, with so much action and danger, with strong themes of power and agency and sisterhood. It's gripping, exciting, and enraging. It's full of hope and passion and strength and love. It's just brilliantly fantastic, and I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you to Orbit via NetGalley for the eProof.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features a (vague) sex scene; a description of an open wound; birth; abortion; mention of stillbirth; ableism; racism; homophobia; transphobia; an abusive, homophobic conversion school/prison; child abuse - physical violence; sexual assault; an angry, violent crowd; violence against women; torture; use of scold's/witch's bridles; a witch trial; discussion of burning witches, with descriptive detail.

I absolutely loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January, so was thrilled to hear about a new book from this author - and I was not disappointed! Witchcraft, suffragists, and three sisters who are so richly detailed and alive on the page that I was captivated immediately. It’s a powerful and wild sort of a book, and portrays black, queer and trans characters in a non-tokenistic way whilst also acknowledging the hardships faced by these marginalised groups in a deft and skilful way. Loved loved loved this.

The Once and Future Witches is a tale of family, friendship, sisterhood, and magic in the days where the Salem witch trials still burn fresh in the minds of men and women.

Through happenstance or magical intervention, June and her sisters are brought together in New Salem after fractious years apart. Juniper, chased to New Salem by the death of their father, is angry and wild and ready for revenge against those who strike out against witches. Agnes, still bitter after a believed betrayal by her sister, just wants to keep out of trouble, lest she's betrayed again. And Beatrice (Bella), a quiet librarian convinced of her own shame and sin, just so happens to stumble across a children's rhyme that could help bring power to the worn-down women of the 1800s.

Harrow fills this book with so much feminine power, it's impossible not to fall in love with the characters and the story. Through her own twists and turns on what we know of 1800s America, she paints a vivid tapestry of powerlessness and power, loss and love, suffering and triumph. The pace of the book is perfectly balanced, every component tied to the next so elegantly that I devoured this book without realising how much of the story I had consumed.

The narratives of each sister and the community they form are rich and diverse. Harrow discusses domestic violence, the oppression of women, the oppression of POC, the oppression of the LGBTQ+ community, and though this book is set in the 1800s, it's impossible not to see those correlations in our daily lives now.

And let's not forget the magic. Harrow's interpretation of spells and witchcraft is--wait for it--bewitching. I love the use of children's tales, of the incorporation of secrets, whispered from woman to woman under the nose of men who believe them to be powerless. I also love the mythology she builds, the twist on the fairytales we know and love, and how those stories have been corrupted by the generations that followed, how each person warps the story for their own need.

This book was like nothing I've ever read before and I absolutely loved every second of it. I can't wait to read more from Alix Harrow.

I am genuinely grateful for every ARC that I get to read and although I wasn't really into this book I still don't want to give it a negative review.
The author is a very talented and beautiful writer, the way she tells her stories is breathtaking and you can tell she puts alot of time and effort into fleshing out her characters. The story is very character driven, and I'm more of a plot driving kinda girl. These books are just a little too slow for me, but if you love getting to know a character inside out then this author is for you. This is not a bad book, I just think I am the wrong audience.

I adored The Ten Thousand Doors of January so I was beyond thrilled to get an e-ARC of this to review and it did not disappoint. In fact it went and exceeded all my expectations, became the best book I've read this year and if I could grant it more than 5 stars I would do that.

This is the story of three sisters. Three women. Three witches. Juniper, Agnes and Beatrice are women at a time when to be a woman is to be diminished, made smaller, forced to fit into a box that suits the men in power in society. Women's suffrage is on the horizon, but these women, Juniper in particular at first, refuse to be small and polite. They refuse to ask nicely for the vote, folding themselves into palatable shapes to achieve even a tiny measure of equality. They want power, they want agency, they want the world to see and acknowledge who they truly are. And be afraid.

Rage and fury run throughout this book, it made me want to light a match and burn the whole system down. It's a story of sisters and betrayal, hurt and love, sacrifice and power. It's beautifully written and lyrically compelling, and the characters take root in your heart and stay there. But it's also a burning raging feminist manifesto, urging women not to think small, not to twist and turn and jump through the hoops men set on the way to equality. It celebrates female power, the power of the maiden, the power of the mother and the power of the crone. It highlights the disparity between what women are "supposed to be" and what women truly are: powerful and angry and strong and brave and cunning and loving and a million other messy difficult brilliant things.

It's a furious beautiful tour de force and I think it must be impossible to read it and feel nothing. I loved it.

Thank you thank you thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

Not long ago I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January, so I was curious about this new book written by the same author Alix E. Harrow.
Harraw has a unique writing style which I think many people will like. However it just didn’t work for me. This is the reason why I couldn’t get into the story.