The Once and Future Witches
Ratings199
Average rating4.1
I loved the mechanics and descriptions of witching. The lost histories of what bound these women together were fascinating, and the tragedies of othering that shaped their world drove the story pretty well. All the lore and fairy tales are beautifully written.
Then enter Juniper, a character that I just couldn't get behind the entirety of the book. Eve could've been written out completely, replaced with a witch sister and the story would've been about the same. Pacing suffered when some characters were on the lamb. Also, the suffragete storyline seemed completely forgotten to the detriment of the rest of the book.
The final set piece was interesting and ripe with tension, but the ending still somehow felt anticlimactic. I loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January, so maybe that's why this book disappointed me so much.
There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.DNF @ 20%This book was perfectly fine but just not for me, so take my DNF with a grain of salt. I honestly didn't vibe with any of the sisters, I found Agnes boring and Juniper annoying. I did like Beatrice, but largely because she's sapphic and seeing her relationship with [redacted] was so cute! I almost didn't DNF just to see where their relationship went, but decided it ultimately wasn't worth it. The concept was really neat, but didn't hook me enough.Hadeer's review really covered a lot of the issues I had with this so I'm just going to direct you her way. I think if you're interested in this, you should still give it a shot! But it didn't work for me.Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook Ko-fi
This book has the unfortunate problem of popping up in my library feed at the wrong time. I'm in the middle of reading the Cosmere and this book just wasn't scratching that itch, despite it being quite good.
This is just a little note to myself that I attempted this and the writing style wasn't working for me. Maybe try again sometime when I want something that seems very wordy.
This was a wonderful read! I loved the diversity of the sisters and their different talents. It was very fun.
It took a while to get into, as the story meanders into the plot in the first half. The three main characters are pretty good, but for all that I got the twists beforehand, I still wasn't exactly sure about their past.
give me descriptions of 1890s clothing or give me death
this book was alright, I think I just like my magic systems weirder than the one in here. the themes would benefit from a little more subtlety, too.
would be a higher rating if agnes and her failed abortion didnt exist in this book
also dont read if you have a hatred/phobia of pregnancy as agnes is a stupid cunt who gets pregnant. the amount of pages i skipped cause her bitchass kept talking about her titties aching or some shit is astronomical
2 stars still feels generous for this book. It was just boring??? I loved the idea but the execution was just not it. I couldn't connect to the characters and the plot was lacking. This is honestly a miss for me.
It took me a long time, and multiple attempts, to get invested in this story. It ticks so many boxes in my favorites list, and after loving the author's previous book, I knew I would either adore this book or be bitterly disappointed by it. (Which, now that I think about it, is exactly how I felt when I read the synopsis of The Ten Thousand Doors.) I did really like it, but it has such a bittersweet ending that it depleted some of the enjoyment for me. I probably won't read it again, but I'm so glad that I finally got through it.
So torn between 4 and 5 here. I was bored until about 30% in, then I got hooked. Such a story about family, specifically matrilineal ones, and magic, obviously. I loved the historical setting and I LOVED the audiobook of this. The accents were excellent.
Another rather uneven book. It was partially great and partially really boring. All in all, it was good. I don't regret reading it.
It took me a little bit longer to read than it should have. I found it hard to get into it. About halfway I forced myself to read it.
I liked the feminist history and matriarchy in it. I don't like the witch burning and book burning.
Also, I have to commend Alix' ... er... what's it called now... dang it. How she follows the shape of the story. We get a small victory and then she rips it apart, we rise from the ashes, and she burns everything down again, again and again, the steps get higher and higher, the disappointment and loss bigger and bigger. When she burned the tower I almost stopped reading. It was a bit much. Obviously not too much, as I finished the book :-D
I'm glad I finally read this. I loved the sisters. I loved the women taking their power back, and of course I loved the witchy vibes.
After being on the Spooktober TBR a few times, I finally cracked this open and immediately fell in love.
There wasn't anything about The Once and Future Witches I didn't like. The writing is especially beautiful and captivating. I seriously had a hard time putting this one down and would have kept reading if life didn't get in my way LOL
Absolutely perfect for Spooktober. Witches. Magic. Sisters, heartache, grief, loss, love and best of all hope. Go snag this one and give it a read...maybe you'll fall in love too.
I had a hard time getting through this book. Maybe it's the writing style, but it just couldn't keep me interested.
If the pace had been faster, I probably would have given this 4 stars because the writing was pretty good (terrible descriptor but my brain is fried and I honestly finished this a while ago but didn't update here),
An interesting fantasy/historical fiction about witches and women's rights. Audiobook seems fine but did not have enough time to finish it. Maybe got an hourish in.
Historical fiction, witches, feminism, a story about sisters: this really should have worked for me, but alas it did not.
I almost didn't finish this but I am glad I did. This book starts slow but halfway through it picks up and doesn't slow down.
