I feel a bit about saying this, but unfortunately, this book didn't blow me away. I really wanted to like it, despite Witchy fiction not being my go-to genre, I do like to dabble if a story comes along that I really love the sound of, which is why I picked this one up, but I just couldn't love it. It's an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon; it's better than watching reruns of Midsummer or Poirot on TV, but I just couldn't get into it.
Sorry!
Maybe I'm not the right reader?
I think those who love their witchy fiction would love it, but no, not for me, sorry!

I am fairly new to reading Sci Fi & Fantasy titles but was very happy to engage with Van Praag's The Witches of Cambridge. I loved virtually visiting in this part of England, especially at the university. I also very much enjoyed spending time with the many women in these pages. They have qualities that make them unique and that impact how they relate to others.

As happens in the best reads, I found myself engaging with the characters and wanting the best for them whether they were the one who could not help herself from speaking the truth, the one uniquely sensitive to others' feelings or any number of the others.

After I started this book, I bought several other titles by the author as I want to explore her worlds again and again.

Highly recommended (even if you are not sure about books with magical elements).

Many thanks to NetGalley and Allison & Busby for this title. All opinions are my own.

"Light, Charming, and Comfortably Magical"

The Witches of Cambridge is a cozy, whimsical read that blends gentle magic with everyday life in a way that’s both charming and easy to sink into. Set against the backdrop of an academic city with a dash of enchantment, it offers a story full of friendship, romance, and small personal revelations.

The writing is warm and accessible, perfect for readers looking for a light escape. While the plot doesn’t delve too deep and some character arcs feel predictable, the overall tone is sweet and comforting. It’s the kind of book you read with tea on a rainy afternoon—not groundbreaking, but pleasantly magical.

Great for fans of magical realism and feel-good stories about women, connection, and a touch of the extraordinary.

#TheWitchesOfCambridge #MennaVanPraag #MagicalRealism #CozyReads #WitchyFiction #FeelGoodFantasy #3StarReview #CharmingAndLight #EasyRead #BookstagramReads

Another excellent novel of magic realism from Ms van Praag. Readable, engaging, surprising. A word of warning: lily of the valley, bluebells and tulips are poisonous so don't try these "spells" at home

(2,5 ⭐️)

"The Witches of Cambridge" by Menna van Praag is a cosy book that mainly focuses on the lives of the members of the “Cambridge University Society of Literature and Witchcraft”. The story keeps switching its focus/POV between the characters throughout the book. These characters are:
Amandine - She is an art history professor at Cambridge. She's a witch with the special abilities of an empath. That means that Amandine is able to read other peoples feelings/emotions. She has been happily married to her husband Eliot for thirteen years but recently he has been acting strange and distant. Amandine is worried and is trying to find out what her husband is up to and what he's hiding from her.
Noa - She studies art history and is a student of Amandine. Though she is not a witch like the other characters in this book, she has a condition, what she refers to as a "truth-telling Tourette syndrome". Because of this condition, Noa is able to sense other peoples secrets/lies and is unable to keep them to herself, which causes her to blurt them out. This has caused her to end up in difficult situations throughout her life and is mainly why she doesn't have many people in her life. Her life takes a turn however, when she meets the mysterious Santiago at an art gallery.
Héloïse - She used to be a professor at the University of Cambridge as well but hasn't been teaching or attending any meetings of the “Cambridge University Society of Literature and Witchcraft” for almost two years now, ever since her husband passed away unexpectedly. She withdrew from everyone and everything in her life and is barely leaving her house now. Héloïses can't seem to stop mourning her husband François and is being haunted by his grief. Meanwhile, her daughter Amandine has been trying go get her out of her dark place and start living her life again. Héloïse is also a witch and possesses special psychic abilities.
Cosima - Her biggest wish in life is to become a mother. Cosima's mother passed away after giving birth to her so she never got to meet her and was basically raised by her older sister Kat. Although her life has seemingly turned out great, finding her true love with eighteen and getting married by twenty one, to opening up her own successful bakery in Cambridge, she is still not able to fulfill her greatest wish in life, becoming a mother, and she might never be able to. Cosima's special abilities as a witch are her baking skills, specifically the special treats she creates that contain secret ingredients with magical abilities.
Kat - She's the departmental head of applied mathematics at Cambridge. Kat is the youngest in her field to have achieved such a high position. While she is very successful in her career, she sadly hasn't been as successful in her love life. Kat desires to find love but that turns out much harder to achieve than expected. And being secretly in love with her best friend George isn't helping her situation either. Kat's special witch abilities are that she's a master spell-caster.
George - He's also a professor at Cambridge and has been best friends with Kat for many years. Even though George is also a witch, he doesn't have any special abilities. His powers aren't as strong as the other witches. He can move things, cast incantations and can keep secrets, even from psychic witches.

<spoiler></spoiler>
Overall, the book as a very interesting premise and a cosy set-up and as an art history student myself, I was very much looking forward to reading this book and diving into the story. My main issues with this book were the amount of POV's and how certain plot aspects were handled. Especially Cosima's accidental love magic, that resulted in George falling in love with her and her not telling him that this is why he suddenly feels so differently towards her, even going as far as to making him agree to make a baby together. It all felt very unjust towards George.

Thank you to Allison & Busby and NetGalley for giving me access to the digital ARC.

I was sold immediately on the premise of a witches book club. I will say the fast paced switching of narratives was confusing and a tad akin to whiplash. But I did enjoy the spread of characters and povs, providing lots of interesting stories with fun sprinkle of magic

Book club, witches,.... say less. This book follows a lot of characters and it made it so good to get to have that overview of everything. I have a lot of fun with this and it was such a good on to read in between my usual romance.

This was a fun spring time read. Magic and romance, quirky, friendships and book clubs. At its heart it looked at all different kinds of love and I enjoyed each characters story.

Within Cambridge there's a group meeting regularly to talk about books. It just happens they are also witches. At the moment there's a lot happening in the small corner of the world where they reside, and it relates a lot of magic. This isn't a book about a single person but a collection of people, with magic being a connecting part of their lives, whether they have it or not. The story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, so that we are privy to a more complete picture of what's happening. There's a fair bit of drama in all their lives and magic can be helpful and not so helpful for all of them. Some of what they thought was good might not be totally good. And some of the magic that was problematic may be less so than thought. I think what it comes down to is that the magic is part of them for good and not so good. How they accept it or not can make a difference in their lives.

I really enjoyed this book, especially after the story sets itself up. There are mysteries to solve and deal with and there are risks and fortunes (so to speak) to be found in their lives. We get to know these people, for good and bad, in happiness and in some desperation. We discover there's dark magic about and we learn about how we can cooperate to work things out at times. Overall, I give this 3.5 stars and would like to thank Netgalley and Allison and Busby for giving me a free advanced reader copy. My feedback is totally voluntary.

"The Witches of Cambridge" is a novel in true magic realism style. It is recommended for readers of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen, and I understand why. Both the writing style and content can easily be compared to these authors, in the best possible way. I really enjoyed this book! The characters all have a touch of magic in them, and I loved how they connected with each other and could give and take from each other's subtle magic to help and guide their lives. Some also wish to exploit magic, which added an interesting aspect to the book.

There are multiple points of view, so the novel tackles several topics: heartbreak, infidelity, new love, and life in general. There are many references to art in this book, both paintings and literature. And since several of the characters speak French, there are many French sentences throughout. Even though I don't speak French myself, it didn't matter. I felt it added a nice atmosphere to the book, and I don't think I missed anything by not understanding it.

Reading this book was a mix of emotions, including sadness, anger, but also joy. It was lovely to see the camaraderie between the characters and how they found each other. I absolutely recommend this book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a group of witches that meet at monthly to discuss books ... what else do you need to know

they each bring to the group their own powers unique to them which is about to test them all...

not a bad read though its a slow burner....

I did get a little confused at first with the narrative changing perspectives however, once I found my groove I really enjoyed this book! I loved picturing the book club above Magdalen Tower and really just the love for books throughout the story as well! The relationships were crafted so beautifully and so full of romance and magic. I enjoyed the variety of relationships too: mother and daughter, sisters, unrequited love. Each so beautifully written and developed! I really enoyed!

I have read this book on its first release and enjoyed it. The magical component is secondary to the bonds shared between the members of the coven, although it proves very useful at times. Great characters and wonderfully written I recommend this as an easy and enjoyable read.

Not quite what I was expecting but an ok read nonetheless. Magic takes a back seat to the relationship dynamics, which is fine but just not what I anticipated reading about.

I actually read and reviewed this in 2016. Here's the review I wrote then: A pleasant light read! Try this one if you enjoy stories told by several women and which have a healthy dose of whimsy. Yes the idea of witches is a little out there and yes the characters could be more fleshed out but you'll still find this a worthy read. It's refreshing. I had not read van Praag before so thanks to NETGALLEY for the ARC which introduced us. Thumbs up for this one!

** spoiler alert ** This was a fast read, some good thoughts and character development arcs, females being there for each other, and sprinkles of art references.
However, while magic was central to one of the storylines and mentioned quite a bit, it still felt like a separate element. And the setting didn't feel like being in Cambridge either.
While the storylines were fun to read, and the revelations and reactions, they were too many and too fast, making it a good book to speed through, but not memorable. I wish I had more time with the characters to empathise with them. I reeeally wanted to love this book.
Also, everyone just having found the love of their life in an instant? And the witch knowing when one person did magic on them but not when the other one did? Some things just felt like they didn't make sense. And ethically wrong but no consequences. And the casual acceptance of them being witches? It is convenient but not what I expected.
The witches supporting each other and having a book club were perhaps the highlights for me. So... would I recommend it? Yes, for a fun read.

I received a free copy of, The Witches of Cambridge, by Menna van Praag, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Amadine Bissett is an empath, though she mainly keeps that to herself. There is a lot of drama in this book. Im not really into witches so I found this book, to be an ok read.

A charming witchy read, this novel explores the lives of a coven living in Cambridge. There are many characters with many stories going on. However I enjoyed the setting, and the ultimate outcomes for all the characters was satisfying.

I requested this book as I love Menna van Praag's writing and was a couple of chapters in before realising that I'd read it before, in 2018! This must be a reprint/reissue. Anyway, I was delighted to read it again and enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time. The characters are great, the magic is fun and the recipes sound absolutely delicious. The use of various herbs, flowers and spices for different spells was intriguing and it's left me with a longing for a pistachio cream croissant.

The premise itself holds promise: a group of witches living in a university town, each possessing their own unique magical abilities. However, much of the story feels like it revolves around human drama rather than the exploration of witchcraft as a central, untamable force. Magic in this book often comes across as a tool for navigating personal struggles rather than as a profound, transformative aspect of the characters’ lives.

The narrative spends much of its energy on interpersonal relationships, exploring family dynamics, love, and personal growth. While this approach may work for some readers, I found it distracting from the essence of witchcraft itself. The witches' powers are often treated as secondary to their emotional journeys, which ultimately weakens the sense of magic as something greater than mere personal development. The magic is occasionally intriguing, such as when it's used to reveal secrets or navigate difficult situations, but it never feels like a driving force of the plot—it’s more of a background element, rarely at the forefront.

What disappointed me most was the missed opportunity to dive deep into the craft itself. Magic, when it does appear, feels almost like an accessory—something to help resolve a problem or advance the plot, rather than something that shapes the characters' lives and decisions. There’s little exploration of the history, rituals, or the true weight of magic, leaving it feeling more like a supernatural gimmick than an authentic part of the witches’ identities.

Another frustration lies in the way the supernatural elements are incorporated into what could easily have been a conventional story. The witches’ powers sometimes feel like an afterthought, added into an otherwise human-centric narrative. The magic is there, but it doesn’t hold the gravitas or mystery that one might expect in a tale centered on witchcraft. Instead, it often becomes secondary to human conflict and emotional resolutions.

In conclusion, The Witches of Cambridge is a novel with charm, but it doesn’t fully capture the essence of witchcraft in the way I had hoped. For those of us who crave a deeper, more authentic exploration of magic and its complexities, this book may leave something to be desired. The witches here feel too human, too caught up in their personal stories, and not nearly connected enough to the ancient, unyielding force that witchcraft should represent.