Haunting and dark! The storyline was really interesting, but the characters fell flat for me. Wanted to like this more.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy! I've tried getting into this story several times over the years to leave an honest review, but for whatever reason it hasn't grabbed me so unfortunately I have to DNF.

Witchtown was a well-written story and plotline that made it an overall enjoyable read. However, I struggled to connect with the characters and not much has really hooked me in to have me deeply invested in the story.

This book really caught my attention. It kept a good pace and was really interesting. Like to summary mentions it reminds me a lot of practical magic. I have to say I got rather attached to Macie.

I'm not sure what I expected from a YA book as an adult, but it wasn't this. I felt like the author dismissed the potential intelligence of his audience and created a predictable cliché book. It had every stereotypical character, complete with the overly villainous and obnoxious mother. I had hopes for a fun story, a mother-daughter bond, a magical place, maybe a mystery. I was disappointed that there were none of these in this book.

I loved this book so much! I loved the characters and the world! I would and have recommended this book to all my friends.

I decided to DNF this book after 17%. There were no glaring issues with the writing, but paranormal romance isn't the type of content that's holding my interest at this time. It's difficult for me to give a fair star rating to a book that I don't finish, so I judged it based on the small sample size. I appreciate the opportunity to review!

I really enjoyed this story. I thought that Macie was a really interesting character that developed a lot throughout the story. I really enjoyed the magical elements to this and I thought the town was set up very well.
I enjoyed reading about all of the characters except for Macie's mother. We were never really given a reason for why she was the way she was and I did not like the way that Macie just followed along with whatever she said. Overall I really enjoyed this and I liked the way the story ended. I would love to read more about Witchtown and these characters!

This is set in the modern world and is about people who have chosen to learn the practice of witchcraft. They have been threatened and attack by "normal" people and other religions so they have taken to live in closed off communities where they can practice in safety.

When sixteen year old Macie O'Sullivan and her masterfully manipulative mother Aubra arrive at the gates of Witchtown - the most famous and mysterious witch only haven inthe world - they have one goal in mind: to rob it for all it's worth. But that plan derails when Macie and Aubra start to dig deeper into Witchtown's history and uncover that there is more to the quirky haven than meets the eye. Exploring the haven by herself, Macie finds that secrets are worth more than money in Witchtown.
I am sorry to say that I could not finish the book-I found it totally uninteresting, still that is not to say others would enjoy it. Not for me I'm afraid.

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and review Witchtown by Cory Putman Oakes which includes a map of Witchtown and the history of Witchtown's origins. The story begins with introducing a mother and daughter who want to live in Witchtown and their purpose is to rob the town. Aubra, the mother, is also a Natural, which means she was born with her powers. The daughter, Macie, is a Void and doesn't have powers. Macie is very cynical because of all the moving they have done and her mother is selfish and mean-spirited and she doesn't care about what's good for Macie. Anytime Macie makes friends her mother becomes angry and every time they move, Aubra erases the memories of the people that knew them. The longer Macie stays in Witchtown, the more she realizes that her mother is hiding secrets from her. The story is full of suspense and twists! 5 stars for an entertaining supernatural read!

Cory Putman Oakes' Witchtown had an interesting premise, but it fell a bit flat on execution. Though the characters were interesting and engaging, especially the mother, the world that they were surrounded was underdeveloped. The main character, Macie, never seemed to be fully integrated into her surroundings, which pulled me out of the story quite a few times.

I am unable to give feedback regarding this novel since the time to read the book expired. But I appreciate the publisher for granting me the opportunity to read and review the novel at the time. I look forward to reading and reviewing future titles.

I lost track of this one. It happens occasionally with eARCs in non-.mobi format, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

The book was good but a bit predictable, I don't know what I was expecting but I believe that I wanted more of witches, if that's make sense. It was fun and fast to read it. It's kind of drama, romance, family care and a bit spooky, although not so magical as I expected. I liked the relationship between the main character and her mother, it's nice to read something different than those usual family relationship. Anyway, it's a fun and quick read, probably for someone who's not so scary of paranormal books. It's probably one of those books we can read on one sit.

The main thing I enjoyed about this book is that it was a fun light read. I'm not sure it completely swept me off my feet, and I'm hesitant, but I would almost say the premise was more interesting than the book turned out to be...
Inherently, I had no major problems with this book, and I did finish it rather easily, but would it have a long lasting impression on me? Not too sure. Mainly it's because I wasn't overly drawn to any of the characters. But also...the villain. One of my favourite things about a good book or movie is a good, interesting villain. I didn't get that here. The villain sort of felt like a one dimensional caricature, and sadly, it kind of bugged me!
Overall, I really hoped I would find this book awesome, but alas I was left slightly underwhelmed.

" "Welcome home!" she said grandly. I managed only a weak smile in return. Because I knew that we hadn't come to make Witchtown our home.

We had come to rob it."

* * *
3 / 5

Perhaps suprisingly, I didn’t pick up Witchtown because of the witches but because it promised a heist: a mother and daughter rock up to Witchtown, a haven for witches, intending to rob it blind. There wasn’t actually much focus on said heist, instead you get witchyness, an abusive mother (who is condemned for being so), romance, and friendships. It was a good, fun book, but I thought it could have pushed a bit deeper in terms of the secondary characters and the themes.

"We're all misfits here. Refugees from the real world."

There are three kinds of witch: Naturals, rare witches who are born with power at their crooked fingertips, Learneds, an ordinary person who has learned to channel magic, the most common type, and Voids, witches who have burnt themselves out. For no particularly explained reason, Voids are feared and outcast from society with brands from hot pokers on their faces! I felt like such a punishment really deserved a proper explanation, but apparently not.

Macie is our main character, a sixteen year old girl who has never had a real home. She and her mother have been on the move for as long as she can remember, robbing witch Havens. They stay just long enough to find out where the money is, rob everyone blind, and then Aubry, Macie’s mother and a Natural witch, wipes them from everyone’s memory.

This makes Macie an interesting character; she’s sort of devoid of a past, of a history, with no one to remember her. No friends, little family, and no place to call home. She’s also a Void, unable to channel magic, which makes her dependent upon her abusive mother to protect her and her secret. I thought Macie was a great character, but that too much of her was wound up in romances both past and present. In her past is Rafe, who no longer remembers her. Their story is revealed through memories that are interspersed throughout her interactions with good-boy Kellen, her new love interest.

" "Haven't I always protected you?" she asked. "Hasn't it always been you and me?"

I took a breath instead of answering. Separately, those two statements were accurate. But together, they seemed to mean something more. Something that wasn't quite true."

Like I said, unfortunately there isn’t actually much heist going on. It’s a semi-prominent theme throughout the first half of the book, which then pales to the background as Macie’s turbulent relationship with her mother comes to the fore, as well as her interactions with her new friends and her dealings with a poltergeist. There’s also the tantalising hints of another subplot: Macie buys the Depot, a shop which she intends to run. Unfortunately, she never really does this and it’s something I would have really liked to see.

Overall, Witchtown is a bit light on the elements that the synopsis promises, but has richness in its main character Macie and her new Witchtown friends. There’s lots of little plots going on, some of which are never properly resolved, which give the book flavour.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

Magical book with even more magical characters! I enjoyed this book so much!

Arc Provided by HMH Books for Young Readers through Netgalley

When you're expecting something along the lines of"Ocean's 11" but instead get stuck with the unwatchable "Ocean's 13".
Oh, this is going to get a rant of epic proportions. -_-

First of all, have you seen *that* title? Witchtown? Wow, you would think that this story was filled to the brim with an amazing number of gifted people, right?
Wrong. You know what's the right title for this book?
Boringtown, filled with boring and stereotypical people. Even the poltergeist is boring as hell.
There's barely any magic at all in this book, and most of the one there is _ like a very important scene close to the end _, is basically, "Oh, I don't know what I'm doing here, I'm just improvising as I go, and look, IT WORKED."
Really? How the hell was this published? -_-

Then there's the deceiving summary wrote by someone who mustn't have read this book...
I was hoping for a FREAKING MYSTERY! I WAS HOPING FOR COMPANIONSHIP BETWEEN MOTHER AND DAUGHTER! I was honestly hoping for a heist along the lines of "Ocean's 11".
Clearly I'm an idiot.
"But that plan derails when Macie and Aubra start to dig deeper into Witchtown’s history and uncover that there is more to the quirky haven (...)"
spoiler (highlight) AUBRA, Macie's mother is a cartoonish villain, there's no bonding between those two. Macie is being used by her mother! As for the "mystery", surprise! The heaven is broke.
Also, WHAT QUIRKY HAVEN??
Because you have a lesbian couple? A goth girl?
They have the depth of air. Every single person that appears in this book is a fricking stupid stereotype.
Also, blond people everywhere... except for one person, but I'll get there. Eventually.
And what is worst, is that the beginning was actually promising: In some sort of future (yeah, that also isn't explained), witches have been outed. In some part of my brain I kept expecting that tomatoes had been involved in it, like Kim Harrison's "Rachel Morgan's series", lol, but I digress.

So the rest of the population started freaking out, and Havens started being created to house the witch population... the native American reality happening over again.
In this reality where witches exist, there's people who don't have any type of power. Not learned or inherent (natural). Those are called void, and check this out: these people who have been supposedly persecuted in "our" world, people who needed shelter end up branding with an hot iron those who are Void, so that other havens will not accept them. BUT, there's a character in Witchtown, about whom there's rumours of "voidness" o_O AND NO ONE FREAKING CARES!!
If Havens are supposed to be fortresses to the rest of the world, why not ask the people who want to join their "club" to put on some sort of magic display as proof of their abilities?
Wouldn't that be less time consuming and idk... CRUEL??
Also as fortresses, these places leave a lot to desire when it comes to security: people are constantly entering and leaving the things!! See? There's no consistency in anything; just plot-freaking-holes everywhere!

Another aspect that you don't get to anticipate with this summary is that there's "luvey duvey" involved in this story. Two guys, although not a love triangle...
One of them is presented as this black dangerous dude who Macy initially thought was as a drug dealer. Really author?? With the blatant racism that exists in America, who think that is a line to casually drop in the middle of a teen/new adult story?
And I say "new adult" (highlights) because in flashbacks it is left to your imagination if Macie had sex with Rafe, the black dude who ends up not being a criminal, but a really great guy.
The other dude, of whom I can't even remember his name anymore (I don't care!) is this golden witch boy who is just great with kids, and about whom Macie starts salivating about, just days after something heartbreaking happened between her and the other guy Rafe.
Oh, my waning patience... and my shrivelled heart. -_-

So let me just recapitulate:
The writing style is basic and choppy; the story line (what story line?) and characters boring as hell.
Then there's the author's comparisons in the summary...uh, I haven't read anything by Danielle Paige (so, I'll leave it as that), but I'm PRETTY sure this has nothing to do with Alice Hoffman's stories.
So, yeah, this is a freaking mess that I definitely don't recommend.
The two stars? Because I ended up reading the whole thing due to the amount of incredulity that I was feeling at the time.

When I saw this on NetGalley I, along with many others I would imagine, was expecting lots of details about witchcraft and perhaps some focus on exploring how it impacted on people's lives in this imagined future. I got it, but not quite in the way I expected.
Macie and her mother, Aubra, move into his safe Haven called Witchtown. It is a safe community for those ostracised from the rest of the world when their talents become known. Sadly, it's the latest mark in this pair's thieving trail. Only this time, things are different.
Macie has always felt rather reliant on her mother. As a Void (someone with no magic) Macie has depended on her mother's Natural ability to protect her. This leaves her vulnerable as she can rely on no-one. Yet we are told that in their last residence Macie did exactly that, and it started off what can best be described as an unstoppable source of tension.
Macie is a character who comes into her own in this, with the help of new friends Tayla and Kellan. She learns more about who she is, what she wants from her life and what it might cost her to achieve it. Even though her mother is depicted in a rather caricature fashion, there's something rewarding about watching Macie take a stand against what she's been told her entire life.
Though there's some interest in watching Macie learn the truth about herself (which we suspect from quite early on), there's a lot that just doesn't add up and this is, ultimately, frustrating.