My only advice to readers is to read "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" instead. The story of Addie is far superior, as is the writing and the world creation.

I came back to read this after reading Sayers’s most recent novel The Ladies of the Secret Circus and loving it. The author takes us across four different lifetimes in this novel as one woman finds herself bound to the same lover every time she starts a new life. In 1895 she is a sixteen year old embroiled in an affair with an older, married artist. In 1932 she aspires to be an actress and is making the move from the east to the west coast of the USA for possible stardom and the chance of love. In 1970’s California her secret love affair might tear apart her band. It is in 2012 that Helen is trying to piece together these fragments of lives. She’s remembering events and times she’s never lived and starts to wonder whether she’s lived multiple lives, with the same tragic love affair having drastic consequences. In every life she meets Luke, but is also bound to Marchant. Now she wants to find a way to break the cycle.

The cycle is set in place back in 1895, when Juliet is having an affair with the much older Marchant. Juliet’s mother wants to put a stop to it and calls in a demon to have her revenge on him. Yet, the spell goes wrong, dooming Juliet to reincarnate and relive the doomed love affair over and over. The book has some very strong points. Each time is well evoked and feels authentic. I enjoyed some of the incarnations of Helen, particularly the first and the latest one, and the concept fascinated me. I felt the author cleverly embedded a sense of foreboding in each character and psychological clues as to what might be coming through memories and dreams. The middle lifetimes seemed less effective and didn’t hold my attention as much. I felt that after the first time Marchant and Helen come together the pagan elements of the story, such as the demon used to punish Marchant, seemed to disappear. I was a little confused as to Luke’s part in all this - is he another human doomed to experience unrequited love in every lifetime? Or is he a demon or Angel type guardian for Helen, sent to offer a safe alternative to Marchant?

Despite these weaknesses I did enjoy the book and had no problem finishing it. If I’d read this novel first. it wouldn’t have put me off reading her latest, but I think the storyline of her current novel works better and is a more successful novel.

4.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2021/12/14/a-witch-in-time-by-constance-sayers/
My Five Word TL:DR Review: I absolutely loved this book

I’ve had A Witch in Time waiting to be read for a little while, a review book to boot – which makes me feel very bad for not reviewing it much sooner – but this year has been a tad strange for me and you know what they say about the best laid plans? Anyhow, one of my blogger buddies recently left me a comment basically asking what I was waiting for so I thought – ‘what the heck, I’ll pick this up next’, and I’m pleased to say that this book bewitched me. Of course I’d read and loved The Ladies of the Secret Circus so I had an inkling this might work it’s magic and I’m happy to say I was totally gripped.

I’m not going to elaborate on the plot too much here. The story revolves around a young girl in Belle Epoque France who embarks on a disastrous romance with an artist and is mistakenly cursed by her own mother. The curse itself involves the two characters being reborn throughout eternity, fated to meet and fall in love over and over again but never to find happiness together.

The winning elements of this story are threefold. I loved the time periods that the author chooses to bring each different iteration to life in, I really enjoyed the character’s individual stories and I thought the writing was beautiful.

So, firstly, the settings. We start the story with a modern setting where we meet Helen, a successful journalist, recently divorced and about to embark on a blind date. Helen plays a main role throughout the course of the story, in fact she starts and concludes the book. Helen is soon to discover that this is not her first time round, in fact she has three previous ‘versions’ of herself to catch up with – and this is where the fascinating settings come into play. The youngest version is the young girl called Juliet, muse to artist Marchant. Living in rural France, Juliet’s future has been mapped out already and it’s not one she likes the idea of. Ultimately Juliet wants to see Paris and strangely enough her doomed relationship sets off a string of events that will eventually take her there. I loved this setting, the descriptions of the apartment, the different areas and the way Sayers, almost casually, manages to capture the essence of the place and time. From there we find ourselves travelling to New York, onwards to Hollywood, over to Los Angeles and New Mexico. I loved all these settings and was totally caught up with each story.

This brings us to the characters. Effectively there are three central characters. The original artist Marchant, Juliet (his muse) and a character known as Luke Varner who is a demon roped into administrating the ‘curse’ (which basically means he helps bring the characters together and facilitates their different lifestyles). Juliet is reborn a further three times. Nora, an aspiring actress in Hollywood during the 1920/30s. Sandra, a talented musician on the brink of success with her newly formed band and finally Helen who we met at the start.

Each time Juliet is reincarnated it takes time for her to become aware of her former life or lives and so we follow Helen’s story as she gradually becomes familiar with the three previous versions of herself. Marchant is similarly reborn into each different period and the two are relentlessly drawn together (although he is more an unwitting player in each thread and never reminds his previous roles). Luke, well, he waits around until he’s needed, never really changing, just ticking along waiting for his next gig. What I really enjoyed about this aspect is that each version of Juliet becomes stronger than the last. she eventually shares all their memories and experiences and with each rebirth learns something new about herself. Interestingly each character seems to find a way of making their own mark – Juliet is forever immortalised in paint, Nora is a short lived but successful movie star permanently caught on camera, Sandra enjoys a brief moment of ‘almost’ fame when the band she plays with are given the opportunity to make an album which brings us to Helen. She’s slightly different in that her talents lie more in the magic she is able to wield, the history of which will all be revealed during the read.

What I really admire here is that the author brings to us a very unusual love story which made for great reading. I would point out though that this isn’t what I would typically define as the ‘romance genre. What I also hadn’t really thought about until writing this review is that Sayers has included a love triangle. So, here am I, I don’t like love stories and love triangles are one of my pet hates – and yet I loved this. I raise my hat to the author and confess myself gobsmacked.

In terms of criticisms. Well, I mentioned above that this is unusual by which I mean it doesn’t follow the traditional course for a love story. I would also point out that all of Juliet’s reincarnations suffer in some very dark ways and certain aspects will definitely be triggers so think about that before picking this up. I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone based on those aspects but just wanted to be clear that this is sometimes a spattering of grim rather than a sprinkling of fairy dust. Also, the actually, ‘witchy’ elements to the story are written with a very light touch. The magic here is more the rebirths of the characters over and over and the way their stories collide and interlink. There is a little magic but it’s more the power of suggestion (thank Obi Wan ‘these are not the droids…’ as oppose to broomsticks, wands and ‘hubble bubble’).

Slight criticisms aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this. The writing is excellent, I loved the historical elements and the way that so many other aspects tied into each story. It was compelling, interesting and incredibly entertaining.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

The plot moves at a horribly slow pace and the romance has red flags attached to it in neon lights. The main characters were tiresome and irritating and the entire beginning of the book was just weird and drawn out. It didn’t hook me in at all.

Arc provided by the publishers in exchange of an honest review,

I didn't read the blurb when I was given this one, I went on the title alone...as anything witchy's always a winner! Very cleverly written, original concept; told from the different reincarnations of Juliet.

It took a while to get into, but once I got going I absolutely loved it & was totally under its spell 🧙

Captivating historical fiction, romance & time travel.

'𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣, 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚'

A young woman in Belle Epoque France is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist.

Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 4 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

I had my 'book snob' head on when I started this and I recoiled in disgusted because I thought it was going to be more 'literary' .... well, I soon got over myself! I loved this book, it was a fabulously engaging plot and it was a lot of fun!

It did take a few pages to get into but once it got going I found myself thoroughly invested. The writing is great, easy and fun to read - just the sort of thing to read in one go on a beach somewhere. I thought the flashback sections were well done. This technique is so common but often falls flat - here, it was what kept me intrigued and I really got a vivid sense of each of the MCs lives. I particularly liked Nora's story, but each one evoked its time period really nicely.

I was attracted to this book by the witch element rather than the romance element as I'm really not a fan of the latter. But the romance here was heartfelt and poignant rather than mushy.

I also loved the epilogue which, in my mind, left the conclusion a little uncertain - was it him or not? Either way, I appreciated the MCs outcome as it was positive and hopeful.

Great little book.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A fascinating and well crafted story that explores four lives of the MC. If you love historical fiction and romancr, this one's for you.
A good read.

This book took me completely by surprise. I picked this up after reading the synopsis and seeing it around a bit on social media but have to admit I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did!

The main character, Helen as we are first introduced to her, has lived many lives due a curse placed on her and is doomed to repeat a disastrous love affair. By her side through these lives is the “administrator” of the curse, a man who knows details of all her previous incarnations and those of the curse itself.

Helen learns of each of her previous lives gradually over the course of the book and the way the story moves back and forth between her current life and those of the women that came before her makes for compulsive reading. Each story has something unique and we see how Juliet/Nora/Sandra/Helen’s relationship with Auguste/Billy/Rick/Roger, and of course Luke, unfolds.

This book reminded me a lot of the work of Taylor Jenkins Reid, though I’m not sure if that’s because the life of Nora reminded me of Evelyn Hugo and the life (or at least the setting) reminded me of Daisy Jones.

I’d hope that people wouldn’t dismiss this book as fantasy/paranormal because it has such a wider appeal. The repeated lives, use of witches and demons may be tools from the fantasy genre but the story that this book tells is one of star crossed lovers, doomed romance and the search for redemption. I’ll be looking out for more from Constance Sayers.

LOVED this book - the tying together of young women through time periods and eras using magic and witchcraft, what a great concept! And beautifully executed. Intense and romantic.

An intense and immersive read that captures you from the first page. Fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue will love A Witch in Time. Romance, magic and history - A Witch in Time will stick with you for a long time to come.

This was first and foremost a romance. I do not usually read romance however this had enough magical or at least magical realism aspects that I was able to swallow it. I’ve been reading a lot of heavy non-fic and thinky SFF lately so actually this provided a light spun sugar counterpoint when I most needed one. Enjoyable even if I was a little outside the target readership.

The plot of the book was very interesting however I felt the book was slow paced the start was interesting but it got a bit repetitive. It took me very long time to read as I find it difficult reading a book I’m not interested in. This book wasn’t for me but I’m sure others will enjoy it as it does have an interesting plot just personally the writing style wasn’t for me

I think that others may enjoy this style of writing but I felt it jumped around far too much for me to follow and enjoy. Not a fan but I can see the appeal it my have to others.

I was really looking forward to reading this book and it started off at a fast pace and was building to be an interesting story. It then just fizzled out. It is not that i didn't like this book completely, it just did not keep me gripped. It was easy to put down which is a sign that i am not completely invested in a story.

I did hover over the two./ three stars for this book but decided on three because the plot /story-line was a good one and the way it unraveled was interesting, but i felt there was just too much un-needed information.

I liked that you learnt about the curse a little more with each life. All of the "reincarnated" characters were well developed and as per the era they lived in they were completely different to each other.

Overall this was not for me but thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this.

I genuinely tried to read this book a couple of times and just couldn't get into it. I'm not saying it was bad, or the writing was bad, it just wasn't for me!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In 1895, in France, 16 year old Juliet LaCompte falls hopelessly in love with Auguste Marchant, the painter who lives nearby. Their relationship is doomed from the start. August is already married and Juliet has been promised to another. Juliet's mother is a witch who provides small spells and potions to the local townspeople. When she discovers Juliet and Marchant's relationship she is livid. In a moment of rage and desperation, Juliet's mother casts a curse. Though she intends this only to curse Marchant, Juliet is caught in the crossfire.

Juliet and Marchant are forced to relive their tragic love story over and over again throughout different life times. Though they are not supposed to remember their lives before, each of Juliet's new lives do.

Luke Varner is a demon who has been tasked with protecting Juliet in all of her lives and ensuring the curse plays out as it should. Despite his best efforts he falls completely in love with her soon after they meet and continues to be throughout all of her reincarnations.

Fast forward to the present day, Juliet has been reincarnated as Helen, a magazine exec from Washington DC. As Helen starts to remember her past it becomes clear that there may be a way to break the curse once and for all. Will she be able to stop their suffering or will Luke stand in her way?

What I liked about this book

The concept of this story is appealing, that was what initially drew me to this book.
The different perspectives of each of Juliet's reincarnations. Even though they are all essentially the same woman, they each have attributes that make them different.
Starting in 1895 and ending in the present day, A Witch in Time is set during some very prominent times in history. The author has made a real effort to include some of these historical events and has researched them well.
What I didn't like
As A Witch in Time is predominantly a romance story, I expected the romance to be a bit more than it was.
The magic that the main character holds is completely inconsequential to the story. The story would continue the same way if it wasn't included.
A Witch in Time wasn't what I had expected it to be, but that is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I ended up being sucked into the story and eager to find out how everything would pan out.

3.5 Stars
✮✮✮✫

Trigger warnings: Suicide, Rape, Violence and Abuse.

Past lives, a curse and finding oneself. A witch in time is rich, detailed and tracks a path through time revealing a little more each lifetime. Engrossing as you try to figure out how this can come too an end after all if you are reincarnated every 34 years there is no end. Enjoyed the story right to the very end and not your typical witch tale.

Thank you to netgalley, Little Brown Book Group & Constance Sayers for my copy of A Witch in Time in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Juliet LaCompte, a young girl in 19th Century France becomes cursed to relive a doomed love affair throughout the ages, beginning with Parisian artist Auguste Marchant. Her mother desperate to separate the two accidentally binds them together for eternity, damming her daughter to relive this doomed love and die young over and over again. In all her reincarnations Luke Varnier her 'administrator' of the curse has fallen hopelessly in love with her, with Juliet, with Nora a 30s movie star, with Sandra a musician in the 70s and now with Helen the modern day reincarnation of Juliet who after beginning to remember her previous lives is now desperate to break the curse.

This book gave me all the A Discovery of Witches vibes while remaining unique and telling its own story. It really brought something new to the table, the romance was fantastic and heartbreaking and I loved the journey through the generations from 1895 to the 30s Hollywood and 70s music scenes. The writing was beautiful and it kept me enraptured with Juliet/Norma/Sandra/Helen's story. The locations were great too exploring rural France, Paris, California, and DC and the different ways of life that Helen was drawn to in all of her past lives. It kept me turning the pages and held my interest long after I'd finished it. Highly recommend!

I loved this book so much. I think it may just be my favourite book of 2020. This is my favourite kind of book, witchcraft and magic, history, and different life’s through time with a little bit of romance. This book is beautifully written and manages to capture and portray so much between its pages leaving you feeling quite emotional at the end.

This story is about one woman and four lives. Starting in France in 1895 a sixteen year old Juliet enters into a doomed romance with a famous artist that sees her being bound to him for the rest of eternity. We follow her to 1930s Hollywood and 1970s California. On her fourth reincarnation as Helen in 2012 she may at last have a chance to finally break the cycle.

I feel sorry to say but, I really didn’t enjoy reading A Witch in Time. The writing falls flat, the plot is convoluted and overall there is nothing to keep you hooked and I frankly wanted to stop reading many times.

Don’t go into this book expecting a witchy, magical book with whirlwind romance and enchanting stories.
The first life we encounter, of young Juliet, was an enticing read as the curse placed upon the protagonist starts with her, but this is marred by the knowledge she is an underage girl and the man who shines in her eyes is much older and it’s overall quite predatory.

The following arc of Nora slowly loses its steam and Sandra’s story lacked any interesting addition. I would have preferred less characters confusing the narrative or maybe to even have the book split into parts. There are just too many characters confusing the narrative and the continuous plot twists per say just feel frustrating as opposed to exciting or provoking.

Overall, I really can’t say more. I hoped to enjoy and love this book but I struggle to say any positives and wouldn’t recommend this as a future read.