3 1/2 out of 5 stars
Alice Marin has finally be freed from the illusory realm but the world she has been freed into is a world where the remnants of magic are passing away quickly . With that happening it is also taking with it the unity of the witches and along with the unity along with their sanity . She is fighting of finding out who her true parents are and a friend who is battling her own demons . With the longest night of the year coming up fast Alice must figure out to defeat the destructive forces that haunt her family , Will she survive the night and will she survive the secrets that are too dark to be revealed .
The characters in this installment were written well but I felt that they just weren't as complex as the characters in the first two books . Alice seems to be just hanging on sometimes by a thread . She does come off just a little be naïve at the beginning but she does grow into the witch that she is suppose to be . She does get stronger as the book goes on . Natalie is kind a crazy her demons really drive her around the bend . They are good characters I just think they need a little more depth to them .
I was so excited to see the third book in the series . I truly loved the first two books and was just excited to get it . I sat down and started reading, I will say I couldn't really connect with the main characters in this installment . I felt that they were just there going through the movements . You sometimes feel lost while you were reading . There were also times where I kind of skipped over the inner monologues . I just felt that they didn't really need to be there . I will say the second part of the book was better then the first part . When they started battling and fighting to keep the magic . It was going great and then it just stopped . There were parts I truly loved in this book I mean there are parts that are slow but it really doesn't over shadow the rest of the story at all . I strongly suggest that you read the first two book so you know that is going on and who all the characters are . If you want a good witch series for your summer check them out .

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) by J.D. Horn from NetGalley and 47North in order to read and give an honest review.

The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) by J.D. Horn is the third and final book in the series from Author J.D. Horn. I have read and reviewed both the first book, The King of Bones and Ashes (Witches of New Orleans #1) and the second The Book of Unwinding (Witches of New Orleans #2). With The Final Days of Magic, although I didn't enjoy this entry as much as the first two, I still found it to be a satisfying, albeit heartbreaking finale to the series.

One thing is consistent throughout the Witches of New Orleans series is J.D. Horn's ability to give us such strong, unique and multifaceted characters which the reader can connect with. I love his ability to depict strong, flawed and resilient characters, especially the way his female characters come across. His plots are imaginative and lean towards the dark end of the spectrum as far as paranormal.  In this book, as with the others, there are quite a few characters and I really appreciated the character list included at the beginning for a handy reference, especially since I read quite a bit and the previous book was about a year ago.  Another thing I have to commend J.D. Horn for is that he brings  New Orleans to life, he delves into the history and mysticism of the city and it becomes a character of its own.

This book felt like it wrapped up most of the loose ends on the most part. We followed Natalie, Alice, Lisette and Angeline all continuing to work through much of what happened in the previous book. This book did do an amazing job tying together magic with mythology and the climax not only unique but very unexpected.  My only issues in this book are that the focus is constantly changing and it feels a bit wild and uncontrolled. There also seemed to be a disconnect with Natalie for me this time around...her storyline was a bit "confusing" for a lack of a better word.

All in all a good series, unique in every sense. I recommend the series as a whole, but I recommend definitely reading the first two books before this one, it wouldn't make a great standalone.  I recommend this to anyone looking for something that is rife with magic and mayhem!

Book 3 in a paranormal series that really brings out from the book the sense and feel of the city of New Orleans. These books most certainly need reading in order and are worth it if you are a paranormal fan. For me i can take paranormal books sometimes so i have to spread out my reading of them otherwise i become blah with them. This book i give a solid 3 stars but for the overall series i give 4 stars. A very good series and book 3 adequately brings the story to a satisfying conclusion. Not my number 1 book in the series but it is always hard to end series with everyone satisfied.

I requested this book from Netgalley without knowing that it's a part of a series. But I'm thankful I was given a chance to read and review it.
First of all, it is so much better, in fact, it is advisable to read the first two books before diving into this one. Everything would be so much clear. I planned to read the first two books but I got no time, thanks to my reading slump in the past month. But anyway, by reading some spoiler reviews of the previous books, somehow I have a big picture of what went that led to the events in this book. Also there is a comprehensive list of characters in the beginning of the book where everything about them and what happened were stated. So yeah, I think it's okay for me to review this book.

What I love the most about this book is the atmosphere. It's so eerie and terrifying. New Orleans is so alive on the page. I'm hooked from the beginning to the end of the book. And the characters are really compelling and intriguing making the whole ride of reading this just Perfect. Sure I have a bit of complaint regarding the inner monologues of most of the characters, but it's okay. I'm just not the kind of reader who enjoys much of internal monologues. I love how everything is wrapped up in the story and I think I'd love it more if I've read the previous books. It just gave me all the feels.

Overall, I can say that this will not be the last book I'll read from this author.

This is book three of a trilogy. I had not read books one and two so I was totally lost in this third book. It does not work as a stand alone. I liked it but so much happened in the first two books that I couldn’t piece everything together. I think I could have liked this if I’d read the other books. However, there was so much killing of witches and family members, I did not connect with any of the characters in the story. All in all, most of the characters were ruthless and unlikeable so I didn’t really care if they were killed off. Maybe if I’d read the other two, I’d have liked this more but I didn’t. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Final Days of Magic is the third book in J.D. Horn’s series “Witches of New Orleans”. It mixes Western Christian notions of witchcraft with a Voodoo/Creole that feels very specific to New Orleans culture. This is the final novel in the series and it is supposed to tie up the narrative arc. I have been on a witchie book reading spree of late and I wanted to really like this book. I really did. But I just couldn’t get into it.

I finished the novel after really pushing myself through it and I felt more relief it was over than anything else when I got to the last page. For me, it wasn’t that the writing was terrible or that the novel felt sexist or anything of the sort. It simply felt mechanical. It felt like the equivalent of writing by numbers and I could not get invested in the plot or the characters.

The ending of the novel hints at a battle of witches—those for the darkness and sacrificing witches and those against—but even that fell flat. Just as everything starts to heat up and witches are dying and fighting left right and centre the chapter ends and what is the next section of the novel? An epilogue set long after the battle. The let down was real.

This hasn’t been the worst book I’ve read in 2019, but it is also not the best either. Fantasy novels have to have good writing and plot development, otherwise just relying on the characters and the ‘magic’ to take the plot somewhere will just not work.

So, for Horn’s last novel in this series, I have to give it a shrug. What fantasy books are you loving at the moment? As always, share the reading love.

NOTE: This novel was was accessed through Netgalley and 47 NORTH for review purposes.

The Final Days of Magic is already the third and final book of the Witches of New Orleans that was published over the span of a year and a half. That is quite a quick publishing job.

The problem I have with this series still stands in the third book. I’m just not that invested in the characters. In most cases I want to skip their inner monologues though I try not to. There is just so often so very little of interest to find there. It is just not good when a readers favorite character is the one that was absent for most of the book and not technically alive. Daniel is in a way just the heart of the story and that shows when even though he isn’t there anymore, he is so often referred to fondly. It is a shame none of the other characters quite live up to that.

I will say that I was happy to see Alice and her ‘brother’ Hugo bonding in this book. It was nice to see how they were so different but still found ways to hang out together. I also truly enjoyed seeing that Alice and Nathalie found each other. I just wish that part had been expanded on more. Then again, the romance was never the focus of this book.

As for the story, I think this book is for the most part a worthy wrap up with how the trilogy was moving forward. It was slow, setting up a lot of things for the final 25%. There were a lot of interesting things but a lot of little strings were left to open. One does not have to tie everything up but a bit more would have been nice. I also got kind of tired of the endless someone dies but gets resurrected, returns as a spirit thing this whole trilogy seems to have. It just kind of gets old. It made the whole impact at the end not as strong for me personally.

Overall this was a 3 star trilogy for me. The writing in itself is fine, the story could be a lot tighter in places. However if you do take to the characters then I can totally see people falling in love with it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC as it's been an anticipated read of mine! Loved it!

I love this series. Great for Anne Rice readers who liked the Mayfair Witches. J.D. Horn paints New Orleans with all the depth and voodoo history that make you wish you were there, sort of.

Well, I'm slightly disappointed. I loved this series. I love New Orleans, and the descriptions and sense of place are wonderful throughout the series. But this last book just got so confusing. Polarities, Ancient Egyptian gods, emeralds vs. tablets vs. 7 tenants vs. 7 gates.... I honestly couldn't keep it straight, and it got so vague in places, an event would occur, and it would say the character knew what it meant, and I'd find myself thinking, "Stop with the cryptic crap - Alice may get it but I don't!" Lol.
I still enjoyed the book, but I don't know how we ended up where we did, and I'm still not sure I understand what actually happened.
It was definitely an epic conclusion to the trilogy, I guess I just didn't have the epiphanies most of the characters did.

The Final Days of Magic is the final book in the trilogy and you should read the previous books first. J. D. Horn is a fantastic author and always great characters and it well written.

This book is a fairly satisfying conclusion to the series. It does a good job of managing to tie up the loose ends that have been carrying on throughout the books. I (rather questionably) decided to marathon the first two books in the series in February and ended up deciding to wait to read this one until March. It gave me a bit of the separation I needed in order to prepare for this finale. I've said it before but I really enjoy how the author weaves voodoo with this fictional magic he's created. The characters have such distinctive personalities where it would be easy to fall into the trap of "everyone is the same person just with a different name".
There is supposed to be this conflict throughout the books between three of our "main" characters that comes to a climax. However, there was never any doubt in my mind that it would turn out the way it did. More characters die than I expected (but after the first book I probably should have!). Six characters is also a lot to follow for such a relatively short book, so we don't get to spend a lot of time with any of them. And because of it, Nathalie doesn't seem to have any purpose in this novel nor the Boudreaus, who are built up to be almost this witch police body but are really lacking.

This book is a fairly satisfying conclusion to the series. It does a good job of managing to tie up the loose ends that have been carrying on throughout the books. I (rather questionably) decided to marathon the first two books in the series in February and ended up deciding to wait to read this one until March. It gave me a bit of the separation I needed in order to prepare for this finale. I've said it before but I really enjoy how the author weaves voodoo with this fictional magic he's created. The characters have such distinctive personalities where it would be easy to fall into the trap of "everyone is the same person just with a different name". I must admit the epilogue had me tearing up a bit while trying to hug my cat.

There is supposed to be this conflict throughout the books between three of our "main" characters that comes to a climax. However, there was never any doubt in my mind that it would turn out the way it did. More characters die than I expected (but after the first book I probably should have!). Six characters is also a lot to follow for such a relatively short book, so we don't get to spend a lot of time with any of them. And because of it, Nathalie doesn't seem to have any purpose in this novel nor the Boudreaus, who are built up to be almost this witch police body but are really lacking.

When I received "The Final Days of Magic" as an ARC, I realized pretty quickly that I'd have to read the first two books in the series if I was going to really enjoy the story- Kindle Unlimited has the first two books, and I highly recommend reading them first if you have that subscription :). The first one was a bit difficult to get into, especially because there are so many characters that it takes a bit to understand how everyone is connected to each other. Even with an introduction that lists the characters, you really need to have the backstory to really appreciate this finale.

Of the three books in the trilogy, I feel that "The Final Days of Magic" was the weakest. I still give it a four stars, because I appreciate the way that the author, J.D. Horn ended the series. The ending was purposeful, and the story had solid development as it worked to the climax that has been building since book one, which makes it enjoyable to read. I have never been to New Orleans- but this book really makes me want to see it. The imagery of New Orleans was unique and beautiful- this stands out quite a bit in this third book.

Too many times, I feel like an author doesn't plan the way a book will end or will race to finish it and end up garbling it. In some ways, I feel like Horn did this-- some characters drop off and the descriptions of what was happening in the plot got wordy and difficult to process. At the same time, I could see the progression that Horn made through the three books with character development and plot. There was a lot going on, and it would probably take another read to really understand the way that magic works in this series.
There were a quite a few characters that I didn't like, and honestly ended up skimming through (Sorry twins. Sorry Marcielle). Other characters I didn't like but ended up enjoying (I didn't think I'd like Fleur- how did she become such a different character in the third book?!).
Overall, happy with the trilogy and happy to recommend it to fans who enjoy books about witches.

Thank you Netgalley, JD Horn and 47North for an ARC of this novel! I love the covers to these books! :)

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Final Days of Magic is part of a series that I wasn't aware of so I had to catch up on the other 2 books before I dove into this one. After doing that, I however recommend reading this in order. I love the New Orleans atmosphere. This book is full of witches and magic which is why ask to review this book. The story can be hard to follow at times but and some of the plots were out there but it was still an entertaining read.

The world building was good but there were times I could not connect to the characters but I am still glad I was able to get this in my hand to read a head of time.

The atmosphere is still good, and the way this trilogy wraps up is somewhat satisfying -- though character death is always a tricky thing, and some living characters kind of drop by the wayside when all is said and done.

This installment felt very slow compared to the first two. There's a lot less horror, as well as less plot movement and more of a kind of holding pattern that lasts until close to the end. The sprawling cast of Book 2 contracted a bit, but never got any less confusing, with constant "Wait, who is X again?" and "What is Y's relationship to Z again?" moments that kicked me out of the story at times, despite the cast list at the beginning of my copy. There were a few plot holes and loose threads that didn't quite come together. Plus, the author borrow shamelessly from his own previous trilogy in terms of how the magical endgame is explained... or not explained, depending on the level of your expectations.

I enjoyed this entire series, but this book -- while not at all bad -- is probably the weakest of the three.

The Final Days of Magic is part of a series that I recommend reading in order. The best thing about this story is the atmospheric presence of New Orleans. It's a city of ghosts and gothic cemeteries, and it's like you can feel that coming through. It's a strange story and confusing and far fetched at times. The writing is good and the characters are likeable but not but not loveable. If you like witches and magic and New Orleans, this story is for you. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Final Days of Magic is a convoluted story worthy of Anne Rice's Witch series from the 1990's. The beginning of the book contains an entire list of characters to explain where the book started. The book is much easier to understanding if you've read the other books. I will admit to feeling quite lost trying to get into the story.

I never have been a big fan of books about witches and magic. However this one sounded interesting and the setting is in my home town so I decided to give it a try. I’m sorry to say, I did not enjoy this book. In fact I could not finish it.. it’s just not the type of book I enjoy reading. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to try this book in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I have not read the predecessors in this series, I have a few blanks which google helped with, and which has left me wanting to read the rest.

This novel was wildly imaginative, with deliberate, and intense character building, where the quirks of everyone, match up, and collaborate to build a dialogue that is both effective, and in places strange. Horn, has incorporated Mythology and Magic delicately, and in a well-laid out method, providing a perfect measurement of information and entertainment.

It was dark, in a beautiful and illuminating way.