This was an interesting fantasy with lots of elements of history, archaeological findings, religion and religious mythology all rolled into one. I really enjoyed the unravelling of the plot regarding the Secret Society, however, at times found myself a little caught up with trying to understand who was who and also trying to unpack all the important historical events described in the story.

Esme is clearly a history buff and this story really flexes these muscles.

I am looking forward to finding out more about this dystopian society in the next novel.

Having said that, it was a very memorable read and was definitely a lot more intellectual and titillating than I expected.

I loved Sidney's cleverness, wit, and ferocity to discover the truth.

Think Nancy Drew meets A Discovery of Witches 🧙‍♀️

I had high hopes for this book. The cover looks great. The description sounds like something I’d love reading. Unfortunately it fell flat. I didn’t DNF but came close on quite a few occasions. There was an awful lot of explaining going on and not nearly so much doing. The steps of the “treasure hunt” were solved remarkably easily and didn’t bring much suspense. Sidney wasn’t a particularly sympathic main character. I did like her grandmother and some other side characters a little more. The VR and science parts left me cold and were quite dull at times. A shame for what could have been a good book.

Urban fantasy
Treasure hunt
Hidden artifacts
Secret society
Paranormal
History & museums
Magic & witches

“Thirty-year-old Black woman Sidney Taylor is a talented early American history professor, working in fast-paced Washington DC, with her eyes on promotion.”
“When she receives an anonymous and very cryptic invitation to visit historic small-town Robbinsville, North Carolina and hunt for a missing archaeological treasure - with a million-dollar pay out at stake - it's one she can't refuse.”

An Intrigue of Witches is the first book in the Secret Society Mystery series.

The book had a interesting mix of history and future, from American & Egyptian history to super modern virtual reality in the future. The plot and storyline reminded me of The Da Vinci Code mixed with Discovery of Witches.

The pacing of the book was okay, not too fast but there weren’t any dull moments either.

The storyline was a bit difficult to follow at times because there were so many things happening and new secrets being revealed, but the ending wrapped everything up nicely.

The characters were a bit shallow. I would have loved to learn more about them, especially the main character. She is a smart and interesting character with a lot of potential.

The storyline was really interesting but at times a bit too much for a book this short. Maybe some of it could have been left for the other books of the series.

Overall I enjoyed reading the book. A bit different than what I usually read.

This book is a good fit for anyone wanting to read an adventurous book with treasure hunting mixed with history.

This book had a lot going on…to much in my opinion. Witches, AI, history, quantum physics, too much and it did not fit together. I didn’t like the politics behind it but I pushed that aside to get to the story and it just didn’t work for me. I wanted to like this so much but it wasn’t for me.

I’ve read this author's work before, so I was pretty sure the writing in this series opener would be similar to that series. I was both right and wrong. This book was well-written just like her other series, but this one contained so much more. The author combined political intrigue, magic, sci-fi, suspense, and a tiny bit of other genres to turn it all into a captivating read. Now, all of this was a little bit too much and could have been two books instead of one, but even though it was almost too much, it still was an engaging read. I’m interested in continuing the story, and I look forward to what’s next. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

I DNF’d this book at 50%. There is a lot going on in this book, the blurb includes treasure hunts, witches, ancient blood lines and conspiracy theories, which all sounds great together, but unfortunately I don’t think it came together nicely. Instead of a neat little package that comes together nicely, it feels messy and really far-fetched and the ideas really do feel so completely different and too far apart to actually fit well together. The writing could do with another round of editing, there’s a few changes in tenses that need fixing and also so of the sentence structures need fixing, I have been bored throughout this book and am not particularly fond of any of the characters.

An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison is the first book in a new series, the Secret Society Mysteries. The main character, a Black historian is manipulated into tracking down an ancient relic and chaos ensues.
I really struggled with this because there is just so much going on in so many directions. It does all get shoehorned into an ending that sort of wraps everything up, but it would have been much more effective to cut about half of the threads out and introduce them in later books. There is comprehensive discussion throughout the book about the historical background including Egypt, Scotland, and early America; the treasure hunt; the secret societies of witches and witch hunters and whoever else; the centuries-old conspiracy; the family background and relationships; the current fraught political climate in the story; the time travel; the involvement of AI and virtual reality; the magical system (which isn’t well defined); and cryptic clues. It is just way too much, and it is generally told in long speeches between characters. Unfortunately, that just seems more like info-dumping, and isn’t very entertaining reading.
Despite my negativity, there were some things that I liked. The main character is smart and driven. I quite enjoyed a scene early on where she discovers a hidden space and resolves its secrets. Also, I think many of the ideas were interesting and creative, and the author has a unique way of combining historical figures into her contemporary story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the e-ARC.

An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison is a genre-blending masterpiece of Cozy Science Mystery and I am all over it. Now, I struggled with the first chapter, not in essence of the beautiful descriptions and scene setting, it just seemed a little detached, as if Sidney was talking about herself in the third person, more focussed on describing Sidneys looks and popularity than the removal from the office. However, this is just my personal taste and it was the only blip in the entire book for me

Esme Addison is a stunning author and she is breaking new ground in the cozy mystery genre. A lot of Cozy/ Science crossovers are usually gaslamp/ steampunk, but an Intrigue of witches is in a class of its own

Sidney has found an intriguing artefact, yet after declaring it to her museum, she is made to sign a on-disclosure agreement and thrown out with immediate effct on "paid annual leave". Suitably miffed, Sidney pootles off to stay with her (may I say absolutely blinding charcter) grandmother while she tries to figure out what on earth is going on

Through Sidneys investigation, the book shifts gear and I was absolutely gripped! The cozy mystery suddenly revs up and hares off into a thriller, full of conspiracy, secrets, history and secret soceities, all centred on this intriguing artefact

A fantastic read to get your teeth into! I was all prepared for a snug sit down and I was on the edge of my seat! I have not read any of Esme Addisons books previosly, but this series has got huge potential and I am here for it!

Thank you to Netgalley, Severn House and Esme Addison for this awesome ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I did not finish this book. I stopped at 20%. I don't leave reviews on Goodreads for books I DNF, but I am offering my feedback here.

I selected this book because the cover is great and the book blurb sounded really intriguing. This is the type of book I would enjoy reading. However, I stopped for several reasons. First, I was 20% in an not a mention of witches, just many rehashed conversations about the evils of virtual reality. Second, most all of the information is very clearly spoon fed to the reader. Sydney and Abner have a conversation about the evils of VR, then repeat that same conversations a few chapters later. Sydney is examining the mirror, in a treasure hunt that people have spend centuries trying to solve, and Reba walks in just at that moment to point out a flaw that is the exact key to solving that piece of the puzzle. Then she leaves. Third, the story telling is just not very smooth, maybe because the author is trying so hard to "connect the dots" for us. Finally. I don't prefer stories with a heavy reliance on cultural references like YouTube, TikTok, Zoom, etc. I just feel like this needs alot more time with an editor. Aren't double quotations used with dialog? I kept getting thrown off by the use of single quotation marks for all the dialog.

This is a book for fans of the National Treasure movies meets Dan Brown.

Sidney is an up and coming historian for the Smithsonian. She's a media sweetheart helping make history cool again to the masses when she's unexpected let go from the museum. Rather than dit and wallow in her pity, she returns home to Robbinsville, NC to stay with her grandma. From there she discovers a secret history of her town and embarks on a historical treasure hunt based around Black Colonial history.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the history element along with the treasure hunt. There were some twists I didnt see coming along with some science fiction elements. Overall a good time and entertaining.

This book was a DNF at 17%. I was not engaged with the storyline as it was not what I expected based on the book’s description. The writing style also didn't draw me in.

This was A LOT of story in a very small package! I think since this is going to be a series (at least it looks that way), it might have made sense to shave some of the plot down and save other pieces for later. I thought I was in for a mystery with some paranormal elements, but this went in so many directions and I think it mostly could be considered sci-fi.

A lot of the information we get is told to us by our main character and I think some more "showing" would have been helpful. When the layers kept being added to the story, it got more cumbersome and even confusing. Maybe even a little funny? Just when you thought you knew what was going on, there was a "wait, there's more" element thrown on top of the heap.

It pains me to rate this lower than usual, but I didn't find the writing strong, the characters compelling, or the story interesting.

An Intrigue of Witches has one of the most unique and original premises I have read in a book in recent years. The story is riveting; the main character is a Black historian on a treasure hunt reminiscent of National Treasure, complete with a conspiracy and a slew of secret societies. For a fantasy/sci-fi reader whose favorite movie is National Treasure, this book felt like it was made for me.

The plot was the novel's strong point, though, at times, it was predictable and completely illogical (laughably so). The dialogue felt fractured and robotic; the book, in general, could probably benefit from another beta read run-through. What bothered me about the book was that two stories were running throughout it, but they never seemed connected. The sci-fi plot was fantastic, and I would have loved to see it highlighted more. The fantasy/magic elements also could have used more explanation; remember, this is the first book in a series.

I enjoyed this book despite struggling to immerse myself in it fully. This will be a read for a select niche, but I would not recommend it to everyone.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

DNF @ 16%

I would say ‘perhaps this books isn’t for me’, but everything about the premise is exactly the novel I was looking for. I love historical fiction, fantasy (particularly witches), mystery, secret societies, escape rooms and treasure hunts. However, this fell completely flat for me. Whilst the writing wasn’t atrocious, it certainly made something that should have been utterly enthralling fall flat on the page.

I felt as though I was told every detail and nothing was left to one’s imagine. Descriptions were factual and I was told how to feel about everything that happened. It was almost as though she was writing a report on a historical discovery. I felt as though the writer was scared to let the reader have to work for anything for fear of being criticised for ambiguity. There were some odd tense switches and the sentences didn’t scan at all well, meaning that forming voices of characters or narrative perspective was incredibly challenging.

Throughout my read I found myself switching into teacher marking mode and was editing individual sentences to ensure they were showing rather than telling me things.

Therefore, I would perhaps summarise that whilst the plot, concepts and the pacing of the novel was nice, it needed a much heavier edit than it was afforded. A real shame as the premise seemed so promising and the story was fun, but the lack of decent editing really held this back.

This book had me until about 70% in. It's National Treasure and a little Da Vinci Code, and I'm all about the history lessons mixed with conspiracy theories. Without giving anything away, it lost me when it got into science and quantum physics. I can see where the author was going with it, especially in terms of setting up for future books, but it took away from the story for me. Just trying to be too many things at once, though the author's note at the end was helpful for clearing things up. Still rounding up to 4 stars because I was loving the storyline and mystery. Wish it had kept going with just that! I'm a plot girl, so this was up my alley, but if you're character driven, this might not be for you because there wasn't too much in the way of character arcs and development.

It's an enjoyable story and I liked the characters. I'd probably read a sequel if there is one.
There were a few plot points and events that felt bumpy for me. Plus, I hope the editor gets to take another pass before publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Severn House for the ARC of An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison.

Addison has ideas and ambitions for her novel which I do applaud her for, but I don't know if this book is the best result of her abilities.

I'm sorry to say that this book just did not do it for me - I thought this would be more of a cozy mystery with a fun search for a magical object and a meet-cute in small town Virginia.- but there was an overarching issue of what story is being told. Is it about historian Sidney Taylor searching for a mysterious object for a million dollar payout? Is it about witches and magic and witch hunts and global conspiracies? is it about solar flares and the end of the planet? Is it about the harm of turning life into virtual reality or one run by billionaires who control the government? Is it about time travel and quantum physics? Is it about historical voyages and settlements of the early American settlers? Each storyline is briefly hugely important, but none seem to fit together reasonably, and none seem researched to the point of coherence. I don't know that I would want to share the quantum aspects with any actual physicists, and some of the larger conspiracies were overwhelming to the point of ridiculousness.

Sidney is an odd sort of character. She's a historian at the Smithsonian. Her mother is a famous news anchor. Her father is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. She's broke because they want her to make it on her own and having a doctorate while working at the Smithsonian and being featured on TV for her work is not cutting it. When she is put on furlough and goes home to visit her grandmother, she is also given a job by an old, absurdly wealthy museum owner who has a private jet and who will pay her a million dollars to find an artifact he has been looking for for decades. From there event after event after event happens to Sidney and at no point does she reflect on any of this or make sense of it or do anything sensible. Also, she doesn't watch the news because reasons (?) so she doesn't know that solar flares are basically decimating parts of the west coast, but don't worry, everything is brilliant as usual in America even though the president and a persuasive billionaire want to have everyone live their lives solely through virtual reality while the world ends (Ready Player One mashed up with the recliner people of Wall-E).

Some of the writing is also childish to the point of being cringey. A former friend was "sixty pounds overweight and wore both glasses and braces" which is a terribly dismissive way to write about your college roommate and best friend. Some of the characters start to refer to each other as "sisters" and "sis" as though the language of an 18-year-old sorority girl would still be cool in your thirties. There is another character who insists on calling women "bitches" and other derogatory names, but he uses "bitch" or "whore" so often it's just a caricature of an angry Chad incel. There is a lot of repetition to drive unnecessary points and plots home, a lot of telling vs showing, and a lot of flat characterizations made worse by their dialogue.

Thank you for this copy!
The cover caught my attention right away.
This book started out interesting and drew me in, but I got confused as it went on, with how many things were going on. They didn’t mesh together well for me, however I would definitely be willing to try this one again

—Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a great start to a new series.
I loved the mystery action plot line because it was really cozy and fun. I love when characters go out to find artifacts in different media forms.
I wanted a lil more character development though. But considering that it was the first book, i’m sure we’ll get them in the next book.

Sidney Taylor, after being placed on furlough, goes back to her small hometown in North Carolina after receiving a letter asking her to find a secret artifact. She goes on a National Treasure-esque pursuit to search out the hidden artifact, falling into a secret society of witches and racing to stop a Virtual Reality takeover. This book was really fun and entertaining and I flew through it. The writing was captivating and kept me hooked. Sidney was charming and relatable and I enjoyed her inner thoughts and seeing her interact with the side characters around her. The secret society of witches was incredibly enchanting and I was truly immersed in the world. A few things I did not enjoy though were the pacing at the beginning, not learning enough background about the main character, and the way that the book tells the reader instead of showing them certain things that are happening. The very first chapter starts with the main character being placed on furlough and getting the letter that invites her back to her hometown. I would have liked to see a little more background leading up to the furlough, in particular, her relationship with Dr. Philippi so that the main character’s motivations and relationship with with her boss made more sense. This also leads into not getting to know the main character enough at the beginning and the telling of things that have happened rather than showing them. I feel that if there had been maybe just one chapter preceding the first chapter to show the reader what Sidney’s life was like before she was placed on furlough, it really would have helped to give a good representation of what being placed on the furlough meant for her. Overall though I really did enjoy this book and I would gladly read the next book once it comes out as I was truly delighted by the main character and loved the atmosphere of the secret society. 3.75 rounded up.

Thank you to Severn House and NetGalley for providing access to this ARC. All opinions are my own.