Sadly, this book was a huge let down for me - it was one of my most anticipated this year and it just didn't work at all for me.

The character tried too hard to be a cross between Cher from Clueless and Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it fell flat. Every now and then I smiled at a reference but most of the time it made no sense why this character was even making those references.

OMG, the outfits - I CAN'T! Look I loved Clueless, I've seen it more times than I can count and I love the character of Cher and watching her pick out outfits was fun. This was NOT. She changes her look entirely every single day and we have to hear about them from top to bottom. This is constant. Like almost every damn chapter and most of the outfits made me roll my eyes because I want to know exactly how this girl knows pretty much only 90s references. She wasn't born then, so what exactly makes it her era? TELL ME PLEASE.

I will say the book started out strong, I thought I was going to love it and then it went downhill fast and the magic stuff is really not explained well and she meets a boy and instantly thinks he is the most beautiful thing she has seen on earth. I get it she's a teen - fair, but not that enjoyable to read about time and time again.

Anyway, I know I was harsh but I these are my overall feelings on this book. Big let down for me. Hopefully the book will work for others.

Esme Pearl, a seventeen-year-old with an affinity for babysitting and thrifted fashion, is just trying to finish high school. She expects her last year to be completely boring - filled with babysitting, hanging out with her best friend and trying to get her driver’s license. That is until she accidentally crashes one of the school’s driver’s ed cars using only her mind. With the arrival of a new girl named Cassandra Haven who has similar abilities (and a smoking hot older brother), it’s safe to say that everything has changed.

The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams boasts itself as a mix between Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Adventures in Babysitting. When Esme finds out she is from a long line of Sitters destined to save the world from demons, the similarities become even more prominent. There were some things that reminded me of other books or television shows, like Undead Girl Gang and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Although I enjoyed the parallels and the book in general, I believe that they made the story a little more predictable.

Of all the things I enjoyed, my favourite had to be a handful of the side characters, like Janis and Pig the Pitbull. I hope they both get bigger parts in the sequel. Other than that, I enjoyed the fun, spooky writing and Esme’s narration. Although I had issues with Esme’s whole “I’m not like other girls” attitude, I liked her special brand of sarcasm and cynicism. Unfortunately, I think since I wasn’t the intended audience (because I’m a little too old), I couldn’t appreciate the book as much as I would have liked.

Overall, The Babysitters Coven was a fun read and I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy creepy stories about witches.

Imagine my excitement to see a new YA novel come across my screen called The Babysitters Coven. I knew it wouldn’t be a direct translation of The Baby-Sitters Club, but I did end up wishing the whole babysitting concept had a little more attention. What really stole the show was the more fantastical theme – magic. Kate M. Williams’ heroine sitter, Esme (love this name!) is an introverted high school junior who is, of course, part of a babysitters club. She and her best friend, Janis are essentially a Mary-Anne and Claudia duo. Esme keeps to herself, and Janis wears wild outfits with a fresh theme every day. I was immediately taken with Esme, as I too, am a Mary-Anne wishing I was a Claudia.

A mysterious new girl and her cute brother come to town, and along with them, the supernatural. Esme learns, with the help of her new friend, that she has magic powers that are meant to be used to protect the world. This was a direction I could go along with, until it got cheesy around 60% through the book. I almost never stop reading books that I’ve already started and stick with them until the bitter end. But when the cheesy part arrived, I almost couldn’t do it – hence how I recall when it began – I spent a few hours encouraging myself to move forward. But I powered through, and glad I did. The ending was pretty decent, and I thought it was an empowering and fun story for younger readers.

My favorite parts were the pop culture references and the descriptions of the girls’ outfits. Esme makes some really vintage references, and several sent me to Google to look up what hairstyle or piece of clothing that was being described. This book is slotted for readers twelve years and older, and I can imagine the younger readers will need Google handy as well. But I must say, when I finally did get the references, I loved them. It reminded me of when I was a teenager.

The Babysitter's Coven is such a fun read! I've found I'm a big fan of books that deal with modern witches, and this one is definitely one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the babysitting aspect and the addition of demons into the world. I think it brought a unique take to the modern witch story that I very much loved. I also love Williams' writing. She has a perfect skill in humor that had me laughing (something that I don't find myself doing a lot of in books). Her writing style also really brings the reader into the story and keeps you on your toes throughout. Definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a fun, witchy read this fall season.

So I was super excited to start this book, but I think that I hyped myself up way too much. The writing was pretty good, definitely fast paced and was easy to read. The concept was great, but I find that I didn't particularly love the characters or the way that the story played out. The character interaction to me at times just seemed a little forced. This book seems like it would be better for the younger set of the YA community. probably the ages 12ish through maybe 15. This book gave me such feelings of nostalgia because as a kid I loved the babysitter's club books, and this is kinda pitched as the Babysitter's Club meets Buffy. and I guess I can see that. Though I am not a huge Buffy fan.

What I liked

Can we please talk about the witches? The Babysitters Coven totally reminded me of Charmed just without the sisters. And as a big Charmed Fan, I knew right from the beginning that I would love it. This book also reminded me of a book series that I used to read as a child. The Babysitters Club. I honestly couldn’t rave enough about this book. I loved every single aspect of it!

Williams writing style was amazing as well. I couldn’t put the book down. Williams had the perfect way to describe her characters, what happened and what they were going through. Seriously it was great!

Like I mentioned above, this book reminded me a lot of The Babysitters Club and Charmed and I liked the main idea of this novel. Teenage Girls that were babysitters and who discover that something strange is going on.

What I didn’t like

I have nothing to say. The only point I have to criticise would be the fact that the end could have come a bit sooner. But honestly, that’s my own opinion.

Overall, The Babysiters Coven is a great read for every paranormal fan out here. Not only young adults!

When I read the synopsis I knew this would be a perfect read for me. I mean Babysitters Club and Buffy, that is an awesome combination! This is also a great read for the fall. I loved how fun and quirky this book is. I really enjoyed the magic! If you are looking for laughs, fun, and of course witches than this is a book you need to pick up!

The cover is BEAUTIFUL but the story really fell flat for me and it was really boring. I really wish the author would have take the time to flesh out the characters and the plot. When the Esme meets Cassandra, it just felt so forced and quick that it was not believable.

Adventures in babysitting with witches, magic and demons? The babysitters coven is a story that comes with this full package. The story started out a little slow, with the narration not being my ultimate favorite.

Esme is a dedicated babysitter, young and free with quirky fashion sense. She and her best friend run the club and they all go well. Until the new girl, Cassandra, comes in and things start to take a whole big turn. Navigating the darkness of Halloween with secrets spilling out every moment, Esme, Cassandra and their friends are plunged into a world of witches, demons and magic.

As I’ve already said, the story started out slow. But it quickly grabbed momentum and the suspense started building up quite well. I loved the whole mystery surrounding Esme’s mother and her true roots. Esme’s character arc was good although I did find her a little annoying at times. Cassandra was cool and all but I did not like her that much. She somehow did not really intrigue me, and all throughout, I thought that she couldn’t be fully trusted. Her quirkiness was contagious, though.

As the story progressed, it got more interesting and by the middle of the book, it had my full attention. The second half of the story went by really fast, with one thing lapping over the other. Which was amazing, to be honest, although at times I did get confused.

One thing that still had me a little lost is the whole relationship dynamics between Cassandra and Esme’s family. I do know for a fact that there is a while lot more to them, and I cannot wait for it all to unfold. Another bothering aspect for me was the unnecessary romance trope that was added. While I do love to read it in m books, I wasn’t so fond of how it played out in this. Esme sounded too childish around Cassandra’s brother, and her inner monologues of him had me rolling my eyes very often.

I loved the whole adrenaline this book produced, keeping me hooked to find out about the ending. It was a sweet one, with not too much happiness, neither too much sadness. I think the author did a cool job with the story, and the magic system was brilliantly done. While I cannot say I loved the story as it was full of cliches, I did enjoy the fast paced narration and the scenes that it had. It was fun, full of exciting happenings and ending with a cliffhanger, I cannot wait to see what the second book has in store!!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with the e-arc of this book. All views expressed are fully mine.

I liked The Babysitter's Coven but like a lot of the books I've read this year...I didn't like it as much as I wanted to.

For some reason, the book felt like it should have been middle grade and not YA  I kept forgetting that the characters were around 17, and it would be interesting to see this book as a middle grade series.

I can't speak to the comparisons to Buffy or Adventures In Babysitting, since I haven't seen Buffy or Adventures In Babysitting.  I kept thinking about the Babysitter's Club, though, if they were witches and trying to defend against demons and whatnot.

Esme wasn't always my favorite character, and Cassandra wasn't either, but maybe they'll grow me, should I pick up the sequel.  I'm not sure if I will but we'll see when the next one comes out.  I did like Janis, though.  And I did like the backstory for Esme's mom.  It wasn't what I was expecting but I did like it.  Pig was great too, and it's so hard not to love.

I was expecting expecting babysitting to have more of a connection to the weird goings-on.  It would make a great cover but it didn't go that way at all.  Still, it was fun to see what adventures they got themselves into, and I liked seeing them try to figure things out with pretty much no information.

I do wish they struggled a little more than they did, because things were pretty easy for both Esme and Cassandra.  They did figure things out pretty fast, and they seemed to do things really well after practicing a handful of times.  I think it would have made their achievements a lot more fun and it would have been a little easier to root for them.  But maybe that's just me.

There was this 90's teen movie vibe to it, which was fun.  Now that I think about it, I can totally see this book being a Disney channel series/original movie.  It would be pretty fun to watch, and it's certainly light and fluffy enough to work well as a movie or tv show.

The outfits sounded pretty cool too, and that, more than anything, made me think of the outfits that Stacy and Claudia would wear in the BSC.  Which I now feel like reading, by the way.  A movie would bring the outfits to life, and it would be pretty cool to actually see the outfits.

My Rating: 3 stars.  I liked The Babysitter's Coven, but I honestly thought it sounded younger than I expected.  It was a fun read but I had my issues with it too.

The Babysitter's Coven definitely has a Buffy influence, but with much more snark about the concept and a bit of humor. Esme is part of a small Babysitter's Club, which is mostly her and her friend Janis hanging out, and the occasional gig. She mostly lays low, so when the new girl Cassandra goes out of her way to join her, she is surprised. Pretty soon, she discovers that they both have powers, powers that seem to be connected to their mothers and powers that give them responsibility in an old Sitterhood (no that isn't a typo). For now, though, they have to catch a child abducter who may or may not be a demon.

Firstly, I loved Esme as a protagonist, because she is entertaining in her descriptions, and also there's the fact that she and Janis both 'theme' their outfits daily. She is the tempering presence to Cassandra's brash confidence and recklessness, though she herself undertakes risky things later on in the book. The first half was slow and there was no 'Sitting' going on, but the second half makes up for the slack, delivering us action, some nice plot twists (predictable if you have read a certain other similar witchy book) and some nice stakes for future books. I love the occasional gag like their Counsel being too busy with his 'cover job' to take their education seriously, but there were also times that they were comically not funny, like the villain face-down in the ending (why would he even come back there if he got what he wanted?); overall, though, it is entertaining enough and is a quick read, nevertheless.

I'm not a fan of witchy books, but after reading two in a row, I can definitely see the appeal of them. And though this one wasn't my favorite, I did like certain parts of this very much. Witches are fun and that's exactly what this was: fun.

Esme knows she'll never want to get a job, so she did the next best thing... Become a baby-sitter. She even formed a club for it. Then a beautiful new girl Cassandra Heaven came and she joins the club with a mysterious note from her mom. As it turns out, they become friends, bonded by the fact that they have superpowers.....

The best thing about this is hands down the way the magic is portrayed. I loved the way it was done. I'm not a fan of witchy books, but if the magic and spells were done like this, I totes would be. It just seemed pretty cool to me. And the way it was written in the funny style Williams possesses, it took some of the creep factor out of it.

As for the writing style, there were some things I liked and some I didn't. For instance, I liked the humor. Most of it was literally laugh out loud funny. Normally it's pretty hard to get me to actually laugh. However, I didn't care for the the text abbreviations. I get that teens use them, but in a book I feel like they should be used sporadically. They were used way too much in this one and I it got a bit annoying over time.

As for the plot, I don't feel like much happened throughout most of the story. As it got to the end of the story, it all tied together. Normally that would make me DNF a book, but I think the fact that I was laughing and I was fascinated by the magic made me want to keep reading. But the plot twist at the end was fun. And the end definitely leaves us open for another book in the series. I can't wait to see what is in store next for these sitters. I hope their coven grows!

I surprised even myself by reading two witch books in a row, but it seems the fall is all about witches. And I'm not even mad about it. Bring on all the spooky, witchy, fall-y (?) things!

First off let me just say that I absolutely love the cover of this book. I think it's so cool and badass. Unfortunately though, I didn't end up liking the book as much as I love the cover.

Let's talk about our main character Esme Pearl. She's just another regular teenager who babysits for local families as her job. As soon as she turns seventeen strange things start happening to her and with the arrival of a new girl at school, her life gets turned upside down. I found Esme kind of annoying at times and that kind of made it hard to connect with her. I still did like reading about her and seeing things from her point of view. However, she wasn't really my favorite character but then again I didn't really like any of the characters that much. I did really enjoy the friendship between Esme and her best friend Janis though.

The writing was kind of cringy at times. There was an overuse of slang and lingo that made the writing a little hard to read and get through. The dialogue especially seemed kind of stilted when it came to the use of various lingo that was used to make the characters seem more relatable. Other than this one thing the writing was fine.

The beginning of the book was kind of slow. It took a couple of chapters for me to actually get interested in what was going on. I did like that there wasn't really that much of a romance. I found that refreshing. The ending though was very abrupt and left me with a lot of questions of which I felt at least some of should have been answered.

I know there is a sequel coming out next year but I don't know if I'll read it. This was a fun book that could've been better for me if a few things were changed. I recommend this book if you're looking for a light read with teenage dram and a touch of magic.

3.5 stars

I was sold at The Babysitters Club meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Add an amazing cover and I knew I needed this one on my shelf. Which made me even more excited when I found out I could participate on this blog tour! The Babysitters Coven was a fast and fun debut novel!

Our main character Esme loves fashion and has a babysitting club with her best friend Janis. Esme definitely doesn't see herself as a popular person and actually describes only having one good friend. The club is the perfect way to spend time with each other each day. High school can be hard and they definitely help each other get by.

Things start changing though and Esme starts experiencing weird things. Like when she gets frustrated at driver's ed, the car suddenly goes backward and runs over a tree stump. Or a cheerleader upsets her and hangs upside down in the air! What's going on with her? I have to say I wish this would've gotten more attention in the story. It definitely leads up to her finding out she has special powers, but I missed a bit of development. A few weird things happen and all of a sudden she knows about it?

When a new girl, Cassandra Heaven, moves to town things get even more interesting! She wants to be a part of Esme and Janis' babysitting club. It's definitely clear she has some ulterior motives. In all honesty, I'm still not sure what to think of Cassandra. She's definitely there and in many ways self-centered. All things are kind of about her and she even says her powers should be a reason for them to have fun. I think I need more information about her.

Of course things start getting weirder as things progress and it's clear it's not a coincidence that Cassandra has moved to town. The Babysitters Coven is a real deal and it's time for them to be trained. I loved this idea, but it takes until the last half of the book for anything to really be explained. I really had hoped to see this sooner and have more training. This made the ending and action seem a bit sudden and fast near the end of the book. I really hope this is explained more in the sequel.

That being said, besides wanting more information about the coven and some aspects seeming a bit unrealistic, this author's writing had me hooked. I read this book and no time and did enjoy myself. The references and little jokes were a nice touch. Even though there was a little bit of romance in The Babysitters Coven is definitely took the backseat to the rest of the story. Friendship and family were definitely front and center and that was a nice change.

All in all, a fun read and I can't wait to see what this author will do next!

The Babysitters Coven was a unique and fun read. I loved the cover and that definitely gives a spooky/Halloween vibe to me and this story is a perfect fall read.

This story is about Esme Pearl, a high-school student, who runs a babysitters club with her best friend Janis, and both have a passion for quirky fashion and babysitting. Well, the club is just for the name as those two are the only members. But when a new girl in school, Cassandra asks them to join the club, Esme starts realising that she is more than she knows about herself. She finds out that she is telekinetic and Cassandra is Pyrokinetic. Both of them tries to find out the truth about themselves and where do they belong.

WHAT I LIKED
==========================
** My favourite thing about this book was probably the dress-up that Esme and Janis did every day for school. Each day they decided a theme of their own and dressed accordingly. I didn’t know about most of the themes that they picked, still, I enjoyed reading about their dress up. Also, I loved how they were so used to the thrift stores and second-hand shops for their vintage clothes. Esme loved to wear second-hand clothes as she thought they carried some memories with them.
** I loved the cover of this book. It is so suspenseful yet amazing. It shows some of the story elements and really draws a reader in. Plus, I am in love with the color scheme. It perfectly gives the whole Babysitters’ club vibe.
** I liked the characters, especially Esme and Cassandra. They were quite opposites and yet they form a strong friendship because they realised that they were bounded by more than what they think.
** It was good to see how the characters grew over time. The characters really grew and changed throughout the book. I didn’t like Esme much in the beginning but slowly I started enjoying her role and ended up loving her.
** I loved how Esme wasn’t a stereotypical YA main character. She was a really average teenager worried about the normal things like her mom, her drivers license, and avoiding the school bullies.
** This book is said to be for the fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Adventures in Babysitting. Well, I haven’t watched any of these before (I know!) but I had a pretty idea of these and I can say that the book has done justice with these themes. The idea of secret babysitters gang with powers was quite good and entertaining and the approach was quite light-hearted which I really loved.
** This was a fast read and I was thankful for that. There was snarky banters, humor, babysitting fun and Buffy the Vampire references etc which really made it a fun read. I realised that this is one of those rare YA books that is meant for a younger YA audience. It perfectly bridges the gap between MG and YA.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
==============================
** There was a lot of modern slang in this book and though I understood most of them, I was still annoyed at places. Using a few words only is okay but there were a lot of slang and modern references which I think is not everyone’s cup of tea.
** I didn’t like the ending as much as I wanted to. The ending was kind of abrupt? I know there is a second book in the series which will come next year, still the ending could have been smoother.

Overall, it’s a fast and entertaining read. If you’re looking for a fall read which is full of humor and fun, witches and magic, then definitely pick up this debut.

I’d like to start this off by saying that I did not realize that this was going to be a series, so I figured I’d let anyone who reads this review know that 😂

The Babysitter’s Coven is a good read. It reads like the author is taking some of the most popular 90’s female led shows/movies, and mushing the storyline/characters into one love child baby book. At times it works, and at times it feels like there is a bit too much focus on how alike this story is to one show in particular. That being said this was still an enjoyable read. I thought it was quirky and fun, had a tiny dash of romance, all while still slowly building a paranormal factor. The lore and what information we get about the Sitterhood, the Synod, the Definite, and the Negative really intrigued me. I was wanting more and more as I read, and since there’s another book we will hopefully get that!

I can’t exactly say that I connected with the characters, because I didn’t. Maybe I’m just too old at this point, but I do think they could be relatable to younger readers. They were a likable group. Esme has this snarky fun personality that had me giggling at even just her inner monologue. Her journey and growth from chapter one to chapter twenty-three is a ride, and seeing her get stronger and bolder is refreshing. Add in Janis as the reliable bestie, and Cassandra as the new girl with some fire (lmao), and you’ve got this group of friends who work together in more ways than one to be protectors. In the life of a normal teen babysitter and a not so normal Sitter.

All in all this was a good YA read. I think that Kate Williams has the beginning of what could be a fun paranormal series led by teen girls and their strength.

I’m giving The Babysitter Coven a 3.5 star rating.
First I want to say this was a Netgally ebook given to me for my honest opinion.

The idea of this book was the main reason I requested this. The idea of babysitting witches was something I have not see in YA personally. It was a great twist and has very good potential. I really enjoyed the first chapters as we got thrown into the action pretty quickly. But it didn’t last for me. I felt like the story had its highs and lows.

A lot was left in a mystery blanket but it wasn’t one I was excited to find out. It was more of a frustrating waiting game to see what would happen. Our character Esme was a character I tried so hard to like. She just was so indecisive and she reminded me of myself. That’s not a good thing. I wanted her to be strong and to take the lead. She eventually did towards the end which did change my mind about her. I saw some growth and I hope her character takes on a more leading role in book two. Cassandra I think I loved the most, she was everything Esme wasn’t. She was reckless but I think I liked that about her. I’m hoping to see Esme change her to be more responsible.

I would have like to see the magic built up better as well. I think that would have been a good portion of the book to see how the magic system worked. It’s all still too much of a mystery.

All in all, I think this has extreme potential. It just wasn’t what I had hyped myself to believe. This doesn’t mean the book was bad. It wasn’t it still kept my interest but it wasn’t a “WOW” book that I thought it was. I’m eager to see where the story goes in book 2.

1.5☆
ARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.

This was terrible honestly. The writing was so incredibly bad. There was used of text shorthand being said out loud ("I LOL'D, "you were wrong AF", "I GTFO of gym", ect.) The characters were very bland and the storyline was incredibly predictable. This seemed VERY heavily inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer but not in a cool bad ass way and more like a "I like the concept but dont know how to execute it nearly as well" kind of way.

Now I do have to say that I enjoyed all of the talk of fashion and outfits in here as I thought they were the highlight of the story. I think that was really the only thing that i liked about this. I'm fairly disappointed in this because I had fairly high expectations about this book. The cover and synopsis sounded so cool. Unfortunately it did not nearly live up to the excitement I had for it.

"Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this funny, action-packed novel about a coven of witchy babysitters who realize their calling to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil.

Seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl has a babysitters club. She knows it's kinda lame, but what else is she supposed to do? Get a job? Gross. Besides, Esme likes babysitting, and she's good at it.

And lately Esme needs all the cash she can get, because it seems like destruction follows her wherever she goes. Let's just say she owes some people a new tree.

Enter Cassandra Heaven. She's Instagram-model hot, dresses like she found her clothes in a dumpster, and has a rebellious streak as gnarly as the cafeteria cooking. So why is Cassandra willing to do anything, even take on a potty-training two-year-old, to join Esme's babysitters club?

The answer lies in a mysterious note Cassandra's mother left her: "Find the babysitters. Love, Mom."

Turns out, Esme and Cassandra have more in common than they think, and they're about to discover what being a babysitter really means: a heroic lineage of superpowers, magic rituals, and saving the innocent from seriously terrifying evil. And all before the parents get home."

YAS! All the YAS! So much fun and nostalgia and come on, let's be honest, BUFFY!

This was a hard one to rate. I wanted to love this book so much, but I was so unsure of the audience. As a kid from the eighties/nineties, I liked the references... at times, but then the narrator's voice contradicted herself on numerous occasions. Then, the magic just seemed too easy, and the babysitters club (a part of the title!) was forgotten for a lot of the book. The fashion was cool, but it was just an okay read.