A Southern Enchantress offers an intriguing glimpse into the complexities of Southern life, blending romance with elements of magical realism. Trahan's writing style is rich and evocative, capturing the beauty of the setting and the depth of the characters. The protagonist’s journey of self-discovery is engaging, although at times the pacing feels uneven, with some plot points dragging on longer than necessary.

The supporting characters are well-developed, adding layers to the story, but certain tropes can feel predictable. Overall, while the narrative has its charms and moments of genuine insight, it doesn't quite reach the level of the standout Southern literature it aspires to emulate. A solid read for those who enjoy a mix of romance and fantasy, but it may leave some wanting more depth and originality.

I’m sorry to say I didn’t love this book. I felt that the descriptions of the tarot, magic, and clairsentience were not well enough researched (for instance, in a tarot reading with 2 cards from the suit of Cups, the character says all cards were from the Major Arcana). Getting details like that wrong, plus jumping timelines with lots of different relationships (many with already deceased characters we are only meeting in retrospect) makes it hard to connect with the book.

I love when books jump timelines and POVs to tell stories, leaving you to connect the characters and the story together. This one focuses on three different characters through out a timeline of 70 years, weaving a story of revenge, greed, and sadness. The story will make you cry and laugh. The writing was top tier, and the book was very enjoyable.

This book contains a story of revenge, greed, sorrow, family dynamics written from the perspective of three different characters. The story takes place in a timeline period of 70+ years.

This book has a beautiful mixture of magic, realism, ghost, multigenerous tragedy and drama. Due to the story diving into a multigenerous tragedy i was quite confused in the beginning of what these character had to do with each other etc. But once the story kept going things got more clear! This story had so many levels it blew my mind and i read this book in one sitting.

This book has amazing writing a colorful and beautiful journey of a women who works to stop a generational Tragedy and trauma that her female ancestors had to endure. I enjoyed reading this so so much!

Thank you netgalley, for providing this Arc in exchange of an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction, and found that it had strong pace, solid characters, and an interesting storyline. It certainly kept my interest throughout, and as someone who has read a lot of historical fiction, I thought this was an incredible accomplishment.

Forget about the cover. Read this Gem! I absolutely loved everything about this story. This could easily become a best seller if the cover gets changed.

::|| Max leaves his legal concerns in his attorneys hands and concentrates on fast-forwarding his relationship with Suzanne. Thanks to Maureen’s sleuthing skills, he learns that Suzanne’s considerably wealthier than estimated. Max knew about Suzanne’s lawsuit that follows her mother’s fiery death in a crash on U. S highway 61 four years ago in front of Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, one of the most haunted plantations in the South ||::

Suzanne is a beautiful, intelligent, smart and powerful woman who is caught in the middle of a family dilemma that goes back centuries.. And the women in her family line, they do not forgive and the most certainly do no forget. With one of the oldest, all powerful ancestral blood running through her veins she in on the brink of doing something for the females in her family that had never been done before. She is going to allow them to go home and be at peace.
But she can’t do that without first dealing with Max problem. She needs to put it right. She is her ancestors only chance.
I do have to admit when I first tried to get into this. It was hard, I found the back story confusing because I was getting so much information while trying to know what to keep and what is just there to hype up the tension but overall this book is amazing!

The more you read and learnt about the Lafountaine, the more I just wanted to adopted by them, although they didn’t have the easiest path, everything came out alright in the end didn’t it?

The story starts out pretty fast paced but with so many points of view I had trouble getting into it. I like how it ended with how their stories all tied together beautifully. I love the spiritual aspect and inter generational connection between them.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Imagine being born into a family of enchantresses!
I enjoy books that are across timelines and this one had a good storyline - best read over a weekend so you have continuity of reading the plot.

A Southern Enchantress by Deborah Trahan is a spellbinding young adult novel that immerses readers in the enchanting world of the Lafountain family. With its dual points of view, the story intricately explores the lives of these women, delving into their unique talents for folk magic and spellcasting.

Trahan’s vivid descriptions and complex character portrayals create a rich atmosphere that draws you in from the very first page. I was pleasantly surprised by how deeply I connected with the story, finding the blend of magical realism and familial bonds both captivating and emotionally resonant.

Overall, A Southern Enchantress is a delightful and immersive read that will enchant fans of magical fiction and character-driven narratives. If you appreciate intricate world-building and engaging, multifaceted characters, this book is definitely worth a read.

"every damn day i found something i didn't know that i surely needed to know"
.
3/⭐ - liked the book but not a must read
1/🌶️ - a little bit of spice
Trigger warning: rape
Netgalley ARC (thank you !!!)

The story:
In this book we follow the story of the lafontaine women, slowly we discover with the characters themselves the history of this family
It is a beautiful historical drama, with a fantasy aspect: connection to magic and ghosts

What i loved:
The story is written in different perspections and different timelines
It makes the beginning of the story very confusing but it creates a beautiful ending where all the pieces suddenly fit together

The atmosphere of the book is beautiful
The surroundings are well enough explained to vividly imagine the world the characters live in

The happy end

The complexity of the characters
Although I don't feel there is a lot of character development in the book
The characters don't need it they were complex from the beginning shaping the beautiful story

What i didnt love:
It took me a while to connect all the characters because of the different timelines, this is ok normally but the chapter's were short so we jumed from one thing to the other what made it more difficult than needed

Some unresolved questions
I personally dont like it when we don't have all the answers
Like did Esty have anything to do with this locked door ?
Why did everyone fail to tell Addy about the kid ? The adoption ? ....
The story of Max feels incomplete
Some info is lacking in general

So overall beautifully written book
But not completely my style and this is why the lower score

I usually like this type of book but I had hard time getting into it.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 1 November 2023

A back and forth story surrounding an old southern family the LaFountains. Many generations of women who are enchantresses, they can commune with spirits, make protection spells, and pass their knowledge down. Suzanne is the last woman in her family with the ability to help her passed on family finally rest, with a little help from other spiritualists and her family’s angel, Jack. Contained a few whirlwind romances, mystery, magic, and justifiable revenge. My heart hurt for the women in this family that were taken too soon, but I’m thankful Suzanne was safe in the end.

4 ⭐

Very Good.

A tale of revenge, greed, and sorrow written from the perspective of three different characters over a time period of 70+ years.

Writing is good, the characters are interesting, and the elements of fantasy (magic) are handled well.

Timelines may get a bit confusing, but they are explained quite well.

Recommended. 👍

This book had so much mystery, and so many ties, it kept me hooked. There were times where I felt it was a bit hard to follow, or like I had missed something, so I had to keep going back to re-read small passages, but overall I did really enjoy this book!

I enjoyed the history off the enchantresses of New Orleans and Pass Christian. Ms Trajan told their stories with magical words. An enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc of The Southern Enchantress by Deborah Trahan.

This book started off relatively slow, and unfortunately I struggled to get into it throughout it

The premise was interesting, and Trahan gets extra points for the uniqueness of her story. Playing with multiple timelines is a bold move, and it was my favourite part of the book. 



The main thing bringing this book down for me was the characters. I found all of them unlikable, and slightly one dimensional. I couldn't sympathize with any of them, and struggled to care about their unique stories.

The writing style itself was interesting, and while I could understand the appeal, it just wasn't for me. I found it wordy, and long-winded, with a lot of information being dumped at once. It felt very "tell" and not "show" to use English-Teacher-Terms.

All in all, the book was intriguing, unique, and despite not being my favourite I can appreciate all it had. If it had been simplified slightly I think I would have really loved it.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
I regret this book took me some time to get through, but I’m so glad I pushed through. It’s probably one of the most unique and unexpected storylines I’ve read in a few books. I love the connections through the decades and the interwoven stories. All of the characters are such rich personalities that I loved them all! While I knew Max was a slime-ball from the start, I was still rooting for him in some small way to figure his life out. I was really expecting more at the end in terms of comeuppance. I had hoped that Max was some distant relation to someone down the line that made the full circle journey more fulfilling. There is a LOT going on. I was getting lost in the details and the timelines and the overlap of characters. By the end, I was still struggling to understand who Jack was and how he tied into everything, he was kind of an enigma that was never explored fully. I was really hoping that Suzanne would seek out Esty since she was still alive. It didn’t make sense that Suzanne knew this branch of the family existed yet didn’t reach out. I think that could have offered more insight than the bits and pieces Jack scattered in at random intervals. I didn’t understand why it seemed the women had to choose between their clairvoyance or their hoodoo and root magic. The magic system got a bit too detailed at times but in the end it didn’t really add too much to the plot other than some candles and extra spookiness. There was a lot of magic that I think just ended up distracting from the plot. Overall, this book had too much going on. It could have been simplified and focused more on the connecting stories. But I truly enjoyed the interwoven storylines and the characters. The setting was delightful and one of the reasons I was eager to read this book. I would check out another story by Trahan in the future.

This is a multi-generational historical fiction spanning decades telling a tale of magic and love and endurance. Our main character is a strong girl trying to find her connection with her family magic facing a lot of challanges. Threre are multiple timelines going on in the story at first it could be confusion but later as you keep reading it'll all make sense. The author masterfully balances all the elements and incidents of the story. It was a beautiful read. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this free copy of the book.

This book has elements of murder mystery, the supernatural, historical fiction and female family generational bonds.

I enjoyed the authors writing style and the story was interesting. I didn't fall in love with any of the characters and at times the jumping through time periods and perspectives was a little confusing.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy of this book to read and review.