This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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3,5*
Pros: Super refreshing bg idea. Funny and relatable situations. Witty banter. Original and interesting magic system, similar to witchcraft. Loved the fashion and movie references. Talks about living and dealing with mentally ill family members.
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Cons: Clunky plot sequences. Overlooked secondary characters.

This was just okay for me. I liked the magical elements and I really liked Esme a lot as a character, but I had trouble connecting to the problems and scenarios in the book. I think it was more a matter of my own age (far from high school age) rather than anything on the author's side. I can really see high schoolers going through similar experiences loving this!

I wanted to love this book that promised to be a modern Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets The Babysitter's Club. I really expected to at least like this book, but sadly that's not the case. It had a promising start with the writing style overall liked however, the overuse of slang, girl on girl hate, and insensitive cultural statements made me DNF this book around 20%. I just can't recommend this books. I received a copy of this digital arc from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

As a self-professed "Babysitters Club" fanatic, I was definitely excited to read a YA book that claims to be inspired by that series mixed with Buffy. The story centers around teenage Esme who is struggling with normal high school drama (a bully, driver's ed, etc.), who then also learns she has telekinetic powers. After teaming up with the mysterious new girl, Cassandra Heaven, the two discover they're part of an ancient order to protect the world from evil. There wasn't a ton of action until the last 15 percent of the book, but I do think it was the perfect set-up for a series. It might seem a tad boring to get introduced to the characters and the mythology behind this world, but that probably means that subsequent books will be much more exciting. Esme makes a great protagonist because she's snarky and relatable, so it'll be fun to see how her personality changes as her powers develop further. My only true pet peeve (and this is minor) was the repetitive mention of everyone's outfits. It totally took me out of the story when a whole paragraph was about a person's fashion choices (especially because they all sounded like atrocious outfits, in my opinion). Other than that small issue, I enjoyed the humor in this book and the many pop culture references (Buffy, the Halloween movies, etc.). I'll definitely check out the second book when it comes out to see how this story progresses.

IMHO: the Babysitters coven
The first half of the Babysitters Coven is all about Esme's life and its downward trajectory as mysterious things keep happening and Cassandra integrates herself inside it. It takes that long to get past the blurb & into new territory but there's always something happening so I honestly didn't notice until I wrote this review. The we get some training, a PowerPoint demonstration, and a racing against the clock show down on Halloween.

Here's the run down:

Cute.
Snarky
Vintage fashionistas BFFs
BFF is the one local black girl who's too cool for her
Not an angel heaven & demon hell set up
Doing the right thing is innate feels simplistic and naive to this jaded adult but I understand the appeal. Hopefully this will be fleshed out later, especially given the differences between Esme and Cassandra
Stupid boys are stupid
Mean cheerleaders
Small town football
Unexpected ending.
Old spellbooks
Hot older brother love interest
Single dad
Horror movie fans

If there's any negative, it's that I would've gone with different explanations for pop culture "coincidences". But there's a lot more going on here obviously and that opinion of mine might change with the next installments

The Babysitters Coven is a fun romping adventure perfect for fans of YA paranormal like Undead Girl Gang and A Blade So Black with content recommendable to the younger end of the YA readership.

I went into this hoping for the perfect 90s witchy throwback: all the retro feels of Babysitters Club with the kickass vibe of Willow and Tara from Buffy mixed in.

I really liked Esme. She was the kind of person I would have been friends with in high school. She’s funny and very self-deprecating. She hates gym class (same!) and lives with her dad and her adorable dog. I thought her observations on her life were often very funny.

But for me, the overall pacing of the book felt off. The first three-quarters of the book seemed like a very long period of set-up.

We watch Esme babysitting and going to school. Hanging out with her friend. Going to school again. Talking about what she and her friend were wearing. Visiting her mother in a psychiatric hospital. I kept getting the feeling that something might be about to happen, and then … it wouldn’t. The plot didn’t really get going until the last quarter of the book, which meant that a lot of action and explanation had to be crammed into not enough pages.

So while I was definitely charmed (haha) by this at times, I wanted more consistent suspense and excitement.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I’m excited for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, because this is book 1 of a series, there was quite a lot of world building and set up for the following books. Due to this, I didn’t really get into the book until about 60%, when the action actually picked up (but then I was hooked). I was laughing throughout the entire book because the humor is on point and the book is filled with snappy one-liners that made me guffaw. Also, I love how the characters acknowledged the similarities between them and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To say the least, I’m looking forward to seeing what other Sitter shenanigans Esme, Cassandra, and Janis get into next.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was not what I expected it to be — and it turned out to be the best thing for me.


Let me just start by saying that I’ve never seen the comp titles for this book. Yes, I’ve never seen Buffy. I know, I know. I’ve also never read The Babysitters Club as a child, though this one was definitely something I wanted to get my hands on (does watching one episode on Netflix and thumbing through the graphic novel reincarnations while handing them to customers count?)

Despite knowing, albeit vaguely, what those series entailed, I still expected this book to be much darker, akin to the reboots with dark twists we’ve been seeing lately. Folks, if you’re picking up this book expecting that, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, the book is a whole lot of campy fun. The spells are quite silly and the ingredients are made from every day items you can find around the house. The main character and her best friend are fans of 90s and early 2000s movies (am I that old), and there are tons of references to faves peppered in — yet not enough to annoy me. There are lots of descriptions of outfits, following the girls’ thrifting trendsetter attitudes.

Basically, don’t take the book too seriously and you’ll have a good time!

Every scene was full of just the right amount of silliness. Esme was just the right amount of awkward. I found myself laughing a lot and highlighting my favorite lines (“They said I’d never need this PowerPoint,” he said under his breath, almost as if he were talking to himself. “But I knew it would come in handy.”)** I kept thinking about how much fun it would be to watch this as a movie!

I also think it skewed a bit towards the younger side of YA, which is actually pretty nice to see. We’ve been getting so many hard-hitting and dark books, and they’re great, but it doesn’t hurt to have fun books like this to help teens transition into the older reads. It’s already pretty hard finding books that fit this category, but I’m hoping this will ease the struggle!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and loved every time I picked it up to read more. If you liked the fun of Undead Girl Gang, I think you should give this book a try!

When I read the blurb for “Babysitter’s Coven”, I knew I had to check it out! I mean “Adventures in Babysitting” meets “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”? Yassss!!! Sadly, the book fell a little flat. Ok, it was more than a little flat, it was disappointing all around. The book started strong but I soon discovered that the plot was severely lacking. It almost felt disjointed for lack of better words. The characters seemed younger than they were supposed to be and underdeveloped. Overall, this book was very challenging to finish. I won’t be continuing with this series, sadly.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a little late reading and reviewing my ARCs but I'm hoping to catch up quickly. Fortunately for me a few are already out as audiobooks on Scribd. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams is one of them.

However, while I wish I had great things to say about this book, I didn't really enjoy it. I feel like this book was just not for me. I didn't really care about anyone, anything. The plot and world were lacking and unbelievable. Also, the humor didn't make me laugh me all that much.

This book follows Esme, a seventeen year old babysitter who discovers she has some powers and need to "save the world" from demons and things like that. That's basically it, I guess. Honestly, I'm not really sure what else to say because I don't feel like a lot happened especially when the characters are supposed to save the world or whatever. I don't really like middle grade books and this one reminded me a bit of that.

(Thank you for giving me an ARC via Netgalley)

I loved this book. It was so fun to read. Esme Pearl has a babysitter's club, but when she turns 17 everything changes. She is able to do things she was not able to do, she has met a new friend that can do extraordinary things, and weird incidences are happening when she babysits kids. She is confused and excited at the same time. She is trying to hold it together for her senior year, but she feels like she is losing everything, and everyone, including her mind. I loved this read. I could not put it down. This may be a good middle school YA read, but high-schoolers will love it also.

Wow, this book was such a great quick spooky read! Growing up I loved reading the Babysitters Club...but always wanted it to be spooky or have a witchy vibe. The Babysitters Coven gives you everything you want! Funny, creepy, and of course a little witchy! Read it! Buy it for a friend!
5/5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of The Babysitter's Coven by Kate Williams in exchange for an honest review!

First & foremost, I’m so glad that I never made it all the way through Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because wow — I can understand why fans of the show would be so disappointed by The Babysitter’s Coven. Considering it a tale of Adventures in Babysitting Meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one thing, but blatantly ripping it off is totally another. Honestly, since I’m not huge into BTVS, I wouldn’t have even noticed if it wasn’t for my book reading pals. With that being said, if you’re not a fan of BTVS, this book may still be a winner for you.

But maybe not, because I still have more to say.

I swear, there are some pros to this book; at least, there were for me. At times, The Babysitter’s Coven feels like a Disney Channel Original Movie — you know the ones. Cheesy acting & ridiculous story line, but holy heck it’s so much fun. I love cheese as much as the next person & you bet your bottoms that when Disney+ comes out, I’ll be over here with a tub of popcorn & carton of Oreos binge-watching all of the Disney Channel Original Movies offered.

The Babysitter’s Coven is a very easy & light adventure. Kate Williams’ clearly meant for this to be fun. & even thought at times her humor doesn’t land for me, she did do an alright job. I, at least, seen what she was trying for, even if it wasn’t executed well. Once it got to about the 60% mark, action started to pick up & I was able to rush through the rest of the read.

Of course, I don’t want to dive into spoilers, but The Babysitter’s Coven gives us a talking dog. & the spell ingredients? Absolutely ridiculous. Legit, one of the bigger spells in the book calls for VAPE PEN JUICE, LIKEWUT. There’s a lot of other cheese-factors, but again, I don’t wanna get too much into spoilers.

Our main character, Esme & her best friend, Janis are fashionistas. I absolutely adore Janis’ fashionable ways & would love to take a dive into her closet. They throw titles onto their outfits & one was called Lydia Deetz goes to the beach & obviously, that spoke to me.

Oh, and that cover? Absolutely gorgeous. But now, I unfortunately must talk about the negatives.

Whew. Okay, so. Somehow, I must have skimmed my eyes over a particular scene, but Taylor brought the fat-shaming to my attention. Our high school bully is a fat girl who the main character describes as a hippo waiting to charge. Um? Gross much?

I also found myself extremely uncomfortable with a scene with the coach; I can’t dive too deep into this portion, because MAJOR SPOILERS. Without context, it sounds worse than it really is — however when this particular line is thrown out, the reader doesn’t have much positive context to go off — so it’s originally meant to sound this messed up — “I’m going to force you to do a lot of things.” WHAT THE WHAT. No, thank you.

I also wasn’t a fan of the acronym use. Esme tends to talk in LOLs, NBDs, AFs & many other acronyms. Which, listen cool. I do it too sometimes, but there’s such thing as over-doing it. This may not be a problem to other readers, but it definitely caused me to cringe a few times.

When I saw this cover (omg I want a tattoo like this) and the title (I used to read The Babysitters  Club), I was like "yes, please!" Witches, babysitters, and a secret?? That's my jam. But The Babysitters Coven was a little different than I expected. It's still about teenage girls and babysitting and witches, but the twist near the end kind of threw me for a loop (in a good way). But before I say too much, let's get to the review!

Esme is just a normal teenage girl trying to get by until she can leave her boring hometown. She hangs out with her best friend, Janis, they obsess over fashion, and they babysit. It's a pretty normal life.

But then weird shit starts happening.

During driver's ed, the car moves on its own and while playing dodge ball in gym class, a ball meant to hit her in the face veers back in the direction of her bully.

And then Cassandra Heaven and her brother, Dion come to town and Cassandra seems to know exactly what's going on with Esme.

Turns out, the strange things that keep happening to Esme are her own doing. She has powers. How does Cassandra know all this? Her mother left her a note and her journal filled with spells. And Cassandra is a witch herself.

While Esme can move things with her mind, Cassandra can set things on fire. Together, they practice spells and figure out what they can about the dark being that keeps coming around when they babysit.

But witch-training isn't the only thing on Esme's mind. Dion just so happens to be hot af and seems interested in Esme. They have a few dates together and seem to have a connection, but before anything really starts, the whole witch thing gets in the way.

And as it turns out Esme and Cassandra aren't the only witches in town

Their gym teacher, Coach Davis, happens to be a teacher'/trainer for new witches and he helps them hone their powers. And they need all the help they can get because one night, while Esme and Cassandra are babysitting, the little girl they're watching is taken and sucked up into a portal. They must figure out how to get her back and how to defeat the evil villain who came through the portal from the other side.

This book was such a fun read. I loved going on this journey with Esme and Cassandra (and  Janis once Esme finally tells her what the hell is going on). I especially liked the fashion element. Esme and Janis are total fashionistas and picturing their outfits based on the book's descriptions made my fashion-loving heart so full. Two descriptions I especially loved were "Sylvia Plath goes to prom" and "art teacher on a bender." LOL

Oh and that twist at the end I was talking about? Well, no spoilers, but lets just say, don't expect too much romance. Dion turns out to be kind of an... idiot and Esme (thank god) has standards.

Also, don't discount Esme's mom. There's a huge secret behind why she is the way that she is and I hope, since it seems like this will be a series, that the next book has her gaining her freedom.

The Babysitters Coven is a fun, delightful, and magical book that I needed after reading so many sad/dark stories. Sometimes, you just need a a light read and that's exactly what this was for me. I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars. If you like witches, fashion, and girls fighting off evil together, this is the book for you.

The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams is out now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A quick note before we dive in: as a reviewer, I strive to be critical yet respectful because I know how much work goes into writing a book. I prescribe to the belief that no two readers read the same book and I make an effort to highlight positives about the book, be clear about the reasons why I didn’t enjeoy it, and to the extent possible share who may enjoy it. I originally was going to rate this 2 stars, but after sorting through my feelings and writing my review I realized I personally cannot recommend this book. I think there have got to be better witchy reads out there without harmful stereotypes and creepy adult behavior for teens to read.
Believe me, no one is sadder than I am that this book didn't work for me. The cover is absolutely eye-catching and "Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is a phrase I didn't know I needed until I heard it. I wanted to love this book and it was one of my most anticipated Fall releases. But unfortunately, I was left wanting for character development and worldbuilding and found the narrative at times questionable and uncomfortable.

There seems to be this trend which relies heavily on nostalgia but isn't written for the generation who would be most invested. Last year it was Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel, and sadly this year we have The Babysitter's Coven. The protagonists are seventeen years old, but honestly, this reads more on the lower-end of YA. Which is fine but there is a clear disconnect given that the marketing heavily leans on the nostalgia which people in their early-to-mid thirties have for these childhood stories. Ultimately, this was really never a story written for me, but unfortunately, this is not a case of "right book, wrong reader" in my opinion.

If this book were written as-is in the late 90s, I would have loved this when I was thirteen years old. I definitely would qualify this as a solid lower-YA read (for which I am not the target audience, and that is totally okay) if it weren't for the outdated references that I don't think teenagers in 2019 would relate to and the uncomfortable internalized biases I will touch on later in this review.

In terms of the plot, not a whole lot happens which made for a rather lackluster read for me because I didn't relate to the characters at all. Not to mention that The Babysitter's Coven is heavily inspired by both The Babysitter's Club and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to the point where our narrator Esme talks about how she is left with being the Mary Anne of the group despite having terrible handwriting and referencing the Buffyverse on multiple occasions.

I never connected with the characters. Cassandra is very much the 'Faith' character to Esme's 'Buffy,' but neither of them felt fully fleshed out to me. The romance, if we can even call it that, felt contrived and forced. I did, however, enjoy Janis and her sense of style (I'm sure she's going to be a more fashionable Willow) and I appreciated that we had three characters of color in the book.


The writing is fast-paced but at times jarring because the narrative literally uses chatspeak like 'LOL,' 'IRL,' and 'IDK' in-text and conversation... and no one talks like that. Especially teens today who tend to use laughing emojis instead of writing 'LOL.' And as much as it pains me to be so critical, the worldbuilding we do get feels like words changed in the Buffyverse lore. The Hellmouth becomes a Portal, Slayers become Sitters, Watchers become Counsel, and The Council becomes the Synod. The main difference is Sitters don't kill, they Return the monsters to the Portal. Oh, and they use magic because ~witches~.

I hate to be so critical of a book, especially a debut. But I would be remiss to not mention how uncomfortable the text reads at times. The first-person narrative voice of a teenager is difficult because let's face it: we can be catty bitches in high school and our thoughts are unfiltered. But Esme is not a nice person and she is someone who I struggled to want to root for when she is the one being bullied. And let's talk about the choice to make the main bully overweight and have Esme refer to her as both a hippo and fat cow. Of making fun of Stephani for not having an 'e' at the end of her name. It's just unnecessary.

The whole Counsel situation and the circumstances for them actually kind of learning about who they are and their powers is... it's creepy as hell and quite frankly uncalled for. Especially because it goes unchallenged? Like who the HELL would go with an angry person in their car under "get in the backseat or I will make you" duress (this is a literal quote. I am not making this up.)? The whole exposition-in-the-creepy-basement thing made me so uncomfortable. The dude basically kidnaps them but it winds up okay apparently because he's supposed to be their paranormal teacher.

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me at all, but it may work for a younger reader who especially loves the 80s and 90s and isn't as into Buffy as I am. But given some of the cringey and uncomfortable things in text, I am not really comfortable recommending a young teen to read this book. I really wanted to love this one, and Williams has a lot of quirky ideas that will likely develop in the series as she hones her craft, but I won't be continuing with this series.

Many thanks to Delacorte Press for providing me an electronic ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Quotations taken from an uncorrected proof and may change upon final publication.

The Babysitter's Coven follows Esme Pearl, a seventeen-year-old babysitter who has recently developed some super mysterious magical abilities. With the help of her new friend Cassandra, Esme uncovers the secret world of the Sitters, an order of girls with spell casting abilities, charged with protecting the world from supernatural threats. The girl's trainer seems to think they have all the time in the world to master their abilities, but when a dark force threatens one of Esme's babysitting charges the girls must work together to save the day.

The Babysitter's coven is a fun, fresh, magical read. The world-building was familiar (the book poked fun at itself for it's similarities to Buffy the Vampire Slayer) but with enough of a twist to make it feel exciting. Esme was an incredibly relatable narrator who was believably freaked out by all the weird magical stuff going on around her. All in all, I'd say this is a pretty perfect quick fall read.

This book was enjoyable and fun!
I loved the whole aspect of babysitters with magical powers and how it ended? I can't wait to see what happens next!

As soon as I came across this book and read the synopsis I knew I needed to have it in my brain asap! I mean, magical, protective, babysitters? Umm, yes please! And it did not disappoint! It was so much fun!

I really loved the idea of witchy, magical babysitters protecting their charges from evil. However, there wasn’t as much babysitting as I initially thought there would be—it was a lot of Esme coming into her powers and trying to figure them out. It’s not a bad thing though because I just loved following Esme and all the magical mishaps she ran into.

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"I, Esme Pearl, high school junior with a mediocre GPA, one friend, no driver’s license, chin acne, and zero college prospects, had special powers. Supernatural powers."
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Speaking of Esme, I really loved the characters! They felt like actual, real teenagers and Esme was very relatable. She was also quite sassy and I loved that about her. This is her walking up to a house party, passing some guy puking in the bushes:

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"It was as grim a social scene as I’d ever encountered, and I missed everything that I’d left behind at home. I wondered what my nail polish collection was doing right now."
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Literally me! Oh, she also loves to watch horror movies to scare the sadness out of her. If this is not me to a T then I don’t know who I am anymore. Lol.

Cassandra was very interesting. She’s new in town and she really wants to join the babysitters. Well, there’s a reason why 😉 She’s very stubborn and does what she wants, and while I love the confidence, I have a feeling this girl is going to be trouble. Lol. And then her brother Dion... 😍😍😍

SO swoon-worthy! He was very sweet, but he was also an idiot and just- 😒 But I did love him! I wonder where things are gonna go between him and Esme after this because I really enjoyed their interactions.

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"He was so hot, you would probably use his driver’s license photo to make s’mores."
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😍😂

And then him and Cassandra too. They’re close, since they only have each other, but they’re not best friends. I’m excited to see where all these relationships will go.

I also really liked that we got some diversity in this book. Dion and Cassandra are actually Mexican American, which I was particularly excited about because I am too 😉 Esme’s best friend Janis is black and I loved her and her sassiness. But yeah, I thought this was very cool.

Let's talk about the magic because magic is awesome and I loved it! Now that I’m thinking about it, it kinda reminds me of the magic in Charmed , which is one of my favorite TV shows (OG Charmed , of course 😉)! In the world of The Babysitters Coven , each Sitter has their own special ability, but on top of that they can also do spells, like on Charmed ! I really liked how they did the spells though. I feel like this was very different to anything I have read/seen before, which was not only creative, but refreshing! I just love magic and the mythos in this world—I was totally into it! I love the idea of the Sitters and their mission and the magic and how they use it. It was very well thought out and very well done!

I don’t think I have many negative things to say about this book—I just enjoyed it a lot! It did take a little while for the girls to discover what was going on with them and learn about the Sitters and all that, but it didn’t really bother me. I really loved the writing, the fun dialogue, and all the awkward situations Esme found herself in. The Babysitters Coven was an incredibly fun, witchy read and I highly recommend it!

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"Babysitting on Halloween—what could not go wrong?"
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I was expecting something a bit different with this book if I'm honest. It wasn't my cup of tea. Characters were okay, it was very much us following the main character throughout her day and that should have been exciting (the title eludes to that) but... it wasn't really? The plot was a bit of a drag, cover was GORGEOUS. I was just expecting a bit more fun with this story and didn't really get that.

What odd jobs did you do as a teenager? 17 year-old Esme Pearl is good at babysitting, and besides, she can’t imagine punching a clock, having uniforms, and answering to strict bosses. She and her best friend have had a babysitters club since preteenhood, and it’s a good setup, until Esme realizes she can move things with her mind. And the new girl in town seems to have powers of her own, and wants to join the club. It turns out babysitting is way more than just keeping little kids alive and Esme’s about to jump into a world she didn’t even know existed.

This book was so much fun and really put me in the mood for fall. Seriously. I need creepy stories, hoodies, and sweatpants. Maybe some chai lattes. I am over this 90+ degree weather with a minimum of 80% humidity, and this book really put me in the fall headspace. Witches tend to do that quite nicely.

If you’re looking for a fun and supernatural read leading up toward Halloween, this is it. Even better? It’s out today, so no need to wait. Grab a copy from your favorite bookstore or your local library and get ready to cast some spells!