The Orchiére women pass their witchcraft from mother to daughter. This is the story of five generations of "witches." They live quietly, and practice in secret, because when they're found out, the Christians may kill them. They have have varying levels of power available to them, but it's a very intimate view of witchcraft. Mostly the magic is used for knowledge, protection, and love (which apparently never works out).

The concept is very appealing, but I found myself skimming quite a bit. There isn't much plot and the book moves pretty slow. There's a lot of detail about each character's feelings and thoughts, but not much detail of the craft practices, and events are fairly generally described. Really, not much happens until the last character suddenly uses her magic to help the Queen defend Britian in WWII; it would have been a good place to put some more detail, rather than just the vague mention of weather-influencing.

It felt like the main goal of the novel was to present the idea that there are people who practice wicca who are good, mostly ordinary, people, and the practice has been around for years. If this book had come out 40 years ago, maybe that would be a new idea, but to most of us, it's not exactly fresh.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting concept, poor execution.

I loved the idea of it being a multi-generational tale, however, Morgan's storytelling was unimaginative and repetitious. None of the women seemed to have a spine, which given their situation and circumstances could be overlooked if it wasn't for the absolute lack of character development.

I would have liked more magic, or more descriptions of magic in general but what I got was a lot of misogyny and pointless dialogue.

It might be interesting to pair WILD BEAUTY with A SECRET HISTORY OF WITCHES by Louisa Morgan since both involve magic, threats to witches and family relationships across multiple generations. Morgan's work covers the time period from 17th century France to WWII London and repeats the story of subsequent generations as they must overcome prejudice and fear and cope with romantic entanglements.

Other titles to consider? AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS or CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES or GIRLS MADE OF SNOW AND GLASS.

Solid writing makes this 3 stars. I really liked the synopsis, but unfortunately, the eras for each of the witches didn't really get flushed out. Ms. Morgan keeps the witch in question in the dark (so to speak) until she becomes "a woman". Then suddenly said witch knows everything! Just as you are getting to know that character, it seems, boom - you're on to the next one.
I wanted to know more about each woman and felt disappointed with the mother-daughter relationship for most of them. Our last one, though you get more from her story, it just left a bad vibe for me. When you bring in real people and history, you better make it good. It just didn't sit well with me.
As I said, I'm going to be just a little generous for the writing. Great potential for the story, but didn't quite make it for me.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

I've always been fascinated by the Salem witch trials. Wonderful story that taught me something.

I usually love books with magic so I was very excited to get my hands on this books. The story starts off interesting and kept my attention for the first few chapters. I was waiting for the story to build but, unfortunately that did not happen. The characters seemed flat and the story seemed unoriginal. There was no excitement and intrigue that I expected in a book about witches. I wanted to like the characters and root for them but, I felt indifferent. Witches and magic are very popular themes is writing since Harry Potter so for a story to stand out, it has to offer something new like The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I felt that this book needed something new and unexpected to make it stand out.

“After Grandmére Ursule gives her life to save her tribe, her magic seems to die with her. Even so, her family keeps the Old Faith, practicing the spells and rites that have been handed from mother to daughter for generations. Until one day, Ursule’s young granddaughter steps into the circle, and magic flows anew.

From early 19th century Brittany to London during the Second World War, five generations of witches fight the battles of their time, deciding how far they are willing to go to protect their family, their heritage, and ultimately, all of our futures.”

Check out that description. Badass women wielding magical powers, fighting injustice, and saving the future. Sounds interesting, yes? Well, actually, no.

As stated above, the novel follows five women in a generational tale set in England. Although these women are supposed to be five individuals, the author tells the same story (more or less) all five times: character has normal life; character suddenly discovers magical powers in both her mother and herself; character finds man to impregnate her; has a daughter; rinse and repeat. Given this framework, none of the characters really stand out–they all exist for the same purpose, and that is to pass along magic to a daughter. The ladies are reduced to breeding stock, in a sense, since they greatest achievement is always their child.

Except for the last character, anyway. And that’s the oddest thing of all. Four generations of nothing happening, and then, suddenly, one of the family helps to save England? By doing magic with Queen Elizabeth? Helping to turn the tide of World War II? Huh? There’s absolutely nothing to prepare readers for this rapid about-face in the plot. Actually, I should amend that: there’s nothing to prepare readers for the appearance of an actual plot, since nothing really happens in the first 80% of this book.

Honestly, I found this book to be boring. I forced myself to finish it, but I really didn’t enjoy it. I can’t even think of much to say about it, now that it comes down to me actually writing this review. Given how much I love to blab about books, that should be a huge red flag in and of itself.

This book was just okay. I felt as if the story was very repetitive. I feel for each generation the story is the same. I wanted more intrigue and magic but found this book very lacking.

This story will likely be enjoyed by someone who likes books of the occult. It just didn't work for me. Witches and witchcraft are generally subjects that are interesting and have loads of fun details, but this one was just too repetitive.

Yes it's a big book but it's a wonderful family saga that just happens to be about Romani women who are witches. I enjoyed this more than I expected to, chiefly because the personality of each woman shone through so strongly. Each character is fully fleshed out. It does move slowly in spots but it's also carefully plotted and has enough twists to keep you reading. I loved the animal familiars (watch for the fox). Those more conversant in witchcraft lore might not find this as educational as I did. It's worth noting, I think, that it never gets too fantastical although I was a little snuffy about the WWII part, which I now understand is actually a theory others have espoused. These women, beginning with Ursula, are incredibly strong. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Recommend this for those who like historical fiction. I'd not read Morgan before but I'm going to look for her again.

How I loved this book! The story of a family of women who are gifted (cursed?) with magical powers they must hide from the world to escape persecution, but must draw upon their reserves of magic and courage to try to save mankind from destroying itself. Magical, indeed!

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan is a historical novel that starts in 1838 at Orchard Farm. The Orchierres families magic seemed to wither with the death of Grandmere Ursule. Her descendants keep following the practices she established that have been handed down from mother to daughter. They have Ursule’s magic crystal and grimoire. Some of them can do simple spells, simples and charms. Nanette, Ursule’s granddaughter, is the first one to blossom with real power. Magic, though, always comes at a price. Follow the magic through the generations to see what happens to the Orchierres line of witches.

A Secret History of Witches was a slow-paced novel that I found lacking in magic. The story had potential, but it was never achieved. Each generation seemed to make the same mistake (it seemed like the same story repeated over for each generation—the author just changed the clothes or words to fit the time period). I thought it would be a story about strong, female witches (instead we have women that grow up, get pregnant, pass on family history and repeat for the next generation). Unfortunately, the only strong person was Gradmere Ursule (and she was dead). The woman and men were stuck in their gender roles and they were conventional. The magic elements were uninspiring. For a book about witches and magic, it was deficient. The characters lacked development (they were flat). Some sections were more complete than others. I was disappointed in the ending (it was unsatisfying and felt unfinished). I did not understand why the author did not bring the book into modern times and bring the witches full circle. She could have shown them back in full power in modern times. The book needed some oomph. My rating for A Secret History of Witches is 2 out of 5 stars. There is some good writing and the author did her research for the historical periods featured. My favorite section the World War II with Veronica Selwyn. If you are looking for a magical novel, check out Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy (vampires too)!

Review: A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
A Secret History of WitchesA Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a bit infuriating. Took me almost a month to read - I am not usually a slow reader. But this story was not interesting in the beginning.

This is the story of several generations of witches. Each witch has a book. The first few books were boring and repetitive. Each woman has a very similar experience regarding her awareness of her powers as a witch, followed by her attempts to either win the affections of a man and/or have a child - specifically a daughter to carry on the family line of witches. But I don't know why they felt so compelled to continue the line when they never really used their powers to their benefit. They spent most of their time trying to keep it hidden away, and when it was discovered, it usually resulted in their ruin or death. I found that so frustrating. At one point, near the end of the book, a witch from another family says people have always feared their kind because they didn't need a man. If that's the case, why did they waste all their powers on seducing men who didn't want them? Why didn't they try to use their powers to protect themselves from people who wanted to hurt them or to improve their lives without the need of a man?

The first few parts of the book felt like an intro, a setup for some sort of action, so I kept reading, but then I was noticing I was almost halfway through the book, and still waiting for something to happen. I had to start skimming then because I was spending so much time on this book, and there are so many other books I want to read, but I felt like I'd spent too much time on it to just give up.

I'm glad i stuck with it, I ended up really liking, almost loving the last part of the story. That's Veronica's book. She's the last of her line, her mother died in childbirth and she knows nothing about the family history. I enjoyed reading about how she discovered her powers, and the way she was later about to use them. Hers was the only story that felt developed and had emotion. Her story had heart, romance and family. I thoroughly enjoyed the role she played in helping her country during WWII.

I think this would have been a wonderful book if it had focused on Veronica, and the lives of the women before her had been explained in more of a summary. Maybe have Veronica learn about them as she's learning about her own powers, through research of some sort or from viewing the crystal or the stories of other witches who may have been familiar with her family. The details of their lives were not essential, and almost caused me to give up on this book completely. This is why I felt this book was infuriating. The story, if told differently, could have been great and entertaining. But the format in which it's presented is not enjoyable at all. Those first few books read like a dry textbook, providing information about the women's lives, but not in a way that you care about them. There were touches of what could have been, but weren't.

I don't know that I can recommend this book, except to say, rush through the first parts as quickly as possible to get to the story at the end. The last part of the book is really good. That's why I'm giving this three stars - I think the last part would have been four or five stars, but the first, more like one or two - so I'm compromising with three.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.

I loved this novel. It is a story of the women of the Orchiere line of witches who pass the knowledge of the craft from mother to daughter.
Each daughter who finds her power within herself and the craft is surprised and empowered. Still, for most of them, finding true love is the most important thing in their lives. The other challenge is to just survive since there are always people who would like to see them killed.
I did not know what to expect but I was very pleasantly surprised at the way I became engrossed in this story.
Such interesting characters.
Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of downloading this book in return for a truthful review.

Amazing book. Really enjoyed. Highly recommend

Couldn’t put down

I had such high hopes for this book and it did start off well. The story covers 5 generations of witches and the craft is passed on from mother to daughter. The story became redundant after the 2nd generation. I continued with this book hoping it would get better, but sadly, it just plodded along.

A Secret History of Witches was nothing less than a magical journey spanning over many generations.
From the moment I began reading I was spell bound into the lives of the Ochier Witches. Written with such vivid imagery distinct descriptions & careful reasearch you follow the lives of each Ochier Witch as she is passed down her power.
This book is about so much more than Witches, it is about the bonds of mothers & daughters and the relationship between them . Each character comes to life with her own personality, her own dreams, her own flaws. The author did an amazing job making sure that each woman had her own unique story to tell.
I purposely read this book slowly, I wanted to savour the story line, I wanted to take my time & feel the generations passing by. The author had the tremendous ability of keeping me so engrossed in the lives of each woman that I found myself eagerly awaiting to get back to the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone a hundred times over.

This review was also posted on Goodreads. I have posted the link to it below as well.

I received an advanced copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an light and easy read for me. I enjoyed it and the reason I gave it a 3 was because I felt that 3 of the 5 main characters weren't really developed. I found myself not particularly caring about the lives of the first 3 women featured in the book. There was a drastic difference between those 3 and the stories of Morwen and Veronica. Once you make it to the 4th generation of witches, the story picks up speed and, at least for me, I was hooked and couldn't read fast enough. I also felt the conclusion to each of the books was really abrupt and didn't really provide any type of closure. Even the ending left me hanging and I wasn't really satisfied with it. The spells were also a bit cheesy, but that's just my personal opinion. Overall, if you're looking for a quick, light read, give this a try. It had it's up and downs but overall, I liked it.

As a fan of multigenerational sagas and fantasy, I was thrilled to hear that a book liked A Secret History of Witches was being published. The book spans over a hundred years across five women in the Orchiére line, from their initial homes in France to living in England and then Wales. While I loved the strong sense of place and the descriptive elements of nature, food, and the homes, I felt that the character development was a bit frustrating. The five women's stories felt a bit too alike at times, and two characters' petulance or selfishness ended up placing others in serious danger. It highlights the power of continuity but not the power of change or growth.

Men also are considered fairly secondary, and the manipulation that men typically exhibit against women is turned on its head in this book. I thought it was interesting to see how certain relationships were more nuanced than others, but overall I felt like the romantic relationships in this book felt problematic.

I enjoyed this book and felt like it was a pleasant diversion and a good way to spend a Saturday in early fall. I'm curious to see what Louisa Morgan writes next under this pseudonym. In doing a little side research, I was intrigued to find that she is a practicing Roman Catholic given the subject matter and the Orchiéres' relationship to both Anglican and Catholic priests.

This is the story of 5 generations of witches and tells the tales of their struggles, sacrifices, losses and loves. The book is very well written and the characters are really well done. I had a hard time with it though. I think this is because the story is in 5 very separate sections. It seemed as soon as I got invested in one story and was rooting for the character it was over and we were on to the next generation. I was so frustrated! I wanted to know how we got from the young woman to what was an old woman in the next story!

There was however, lots of action, magic and romance thrown in there. It was just a bit of let down that we could not get more of the characters story in. The individual stories just all ended so abruptly.