This was... not what I had hoped. It was way too slow to really catch my interest, and while I liked all the queer representation, it just wasn’t enough for me.

When I first heard about B*Wicth I was really looking forward to it. I mean Buffy and Mean Girls? Yes, please sign me up. Unfortunately, I have to say that I was expecting more.

I couldn't get into the story and had a lot of trouble connecting with it all. I love the idea behind it and I do think that the book tackles important themes but it fell a bit short for me. It felt like half of the story was just putting in place some characters and the social-context and didn't have a plot. By the time the action got started I have to say that I completely lost interest in it.

On a positive note, we get a lot of diversity from B*Witch. Very happy to see a trans character that are very often underrepresented.

If you liked books like Dorothy Must Die or Splintered, chances are you might enjoy B*Witch

2.5 stars

When I first read the synopsis of B*Witch, I was really looking forward to this story. I'm a big fan of stories with witches and magic. Unfortunately, it just didn't really work for me. My biggest struggle was the constant switch of POVs. It felt like just a bit too much and it wasn't really clear where the main focus was at.

I enjoyed the diversity and the idea of the plot, but it took awhile for the actual plot to get started and it felt rushed near the end. If I'm honest, after finishing I'm still not really sure what happened. I loved the idea of how their magic worked and in this case how it was seen as illegal. I just wished I loved it more than I did. The familiars were my favorite part of this book. I just have a soft spot for animals.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I just did not get along with either the plot or the writing style of the book. Thus, I will also not be reviewing it extensively.

B*Witch was a cute, fun witchy book that teens will enjoy. The novel envisions an alternate modern reality in which witchcraft has been condemned by the US administration. Witches are actively hunted and persecuted, and there is a large amount of anti-witchcraft sentiment in the political climate. I thought this was such an interesting take, and in many ways, witchcraft is symbolic of marginalized communities--the "antima" or anti-magic folks are essentially white supremacists.

Ultimately this is a story about friendship, which I love! I enjoyed the plotlines about the different relationships between the girls and the coven rivalry. I did at times have difficulty keeping track of all the different characters, but overall enjoyed them. There were several characters of color and LGBTQIA+ characters.

Overall, B*Witch is a fun, witchy mystery novel about friendship and defeating bigotry. I'll be recommending it to teens who enjoyed Undead Girl Gang, The Babysitters Coven, These Witches Don't Burn, and When We Were Magic.

Next up is a YA choice with strong political leanings. In B*Witch by Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin, the existence of witches is common knowledge but the group is persecuted in ways reminiscent of America’s stance against Black and homosexual groups. A specific law bans witchcraft although it has largely been ignored in recent years, however, the recent election of a vehemently anti-witchcraft President has ignited anti-magic sentiment, and new groups calling themselves Antima (Anti-Magic) have risen to prominence.

In the midst of all this, Iris – a witch in hiding – just wants to get through her first day at a new high school, unaware that the school is already home to two rival covens. The first coven, led by Greta and home to cyber-witch Binx and secretly trans witch Ridley focuses on natural magic, while the other (nicknamed the Triad of Evil by Greta) is more willing to experiment with other, potentially darker, forms of magic.

Both covens are immediately interested in trying to recruit Iris, along with another new potential witch named Penelope and tensions quickly begin to mount, opening up old wounds between all the girls. But when one of them turns up dead, obviously the victim of dark magic, and more and more students begin brazenly wearing Antima patches to school, the witches realize they will need to work together to keep themselves safe.

B*Witch was an interesting book with a fantastic premise but that could have used some better editing to help make it clearer and easier to follow. The book alternates between the perspectives of five different characters – all high school age witches – and I found it difficult to remember who was who. The diversity here also felt forced with some characters having so many traits layered on top of one another that it felt as if the authors had a checklist of attributes they wanted to include and simply assigned a bunch of them to each person to make sure everything was covered.

That being said, I did particularly enjoy the chapters from Ridley’s perspective. Ridley is a trans girl using witchcraft to physically alter her body so she still appears in her male body in her conservative home, but has a female body at school and out with her friends. This ability allows for lots of discussion about what it means to be male or female, and how that meaning would shift in the face of magical (or potential future scientific) abilities that would allow a person to freely alter their body at will.

While I found the political elements of B*Witch fascinating, and obviously written to reflect current political tensions against specific groups in the US today, I found the main storyline somewhat lacking. There were simply too many characters vying for attention and too many simultaneous plots happening that no one idea or individual had an opportunity to shine. The book is also the first in a series so many of those plots were left hanging by the end, leaving more questions than answers.

This one had potential but could have been executed better, meaning I wouldn’t put it high on my must-read list this Halloween.

Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin pen an engaging magic-meets-murder mystery in B*Witch, a contemporary young adult fantasy with a practical twist that pairs rival covens of naïve teens together during an anti-magic movement in Sorrow Point, Washington.

Sophomore year begins on a rocky note as Iris Gooding, a lone witch in unfamiliar territory amidst a sea of potential Antima (anti-magic) members, visible thanks to their ominous shoulder patches, commutes to her new school. Bombarded with new sensations and worries (finding her classrooms, meeting new people, and navigating life as a witch in hiding), Iris struggles with anxiety and sensory processing disorder, resulting in the first glimpse at real magic – a practical, off-the-cuff calming spell whispered under her breath as she fights waves of nausea and panic, triggered by a whirlwind of emotion.

As Iris heads to her first class of the day, after a quick scuffle with an Antima-clad teen, her gaze lands on a trio of girls: Greta, Ridley and Binx – a diverse group that slowly becomes a balm to Iris’ anxious soul, as, little does she know, Sorrow Point is home to more than just one teen witch.

Just as we get to know Iris and her quirks, the narrative shifts as McKenzie and Ohlin navigate the lives of her fellow witches, Greta, Ridley and Binx, each chapter another slightly jarring shift that results in a slow build-up early on. Glimpses of personality shine through as the trio navigate their first day of classes, an ominous shadow message bearing the words: “You and your kind don’t belong here” — a pall over the first day of classes at Sorrow Point High.

Studious and level-headed, Ridley takes notes and asks questions in history, finding herself slightly off guard when she develops a fast crush on a new student named Penelope. Binx wanders in and out of focus during an English lecture, her mind on security systems as she attempts to debunk the mysterious shadow message while researching Iris via self-made programs and hacks on her cell phone. Greta is cautionary and kind, a warm, compassionate soul intent on keeping those around her safe with the use of herbs, potions, and reasoning. While each girl shines in her own right, developing over the course of the shifting narrative, which changes in perspective with each chapter, B*Witch appears slightly too ambitious in nature, juggling five perspectives split between seven main characters when the rival coven enters the picture as a grudging ally against the looming threat of the Antima.

Mysterious circumstances and ominous events build slowly as the novel moves past the girls’ first day of school, culminating in the death of a fellow witch that sends shock waves through Greta and her coven, including the newly recruited Iris, who proves to be an unexpected force to be reckoned with. From creative spell work to deadly premonitions sparked by touch, Iris ignites a fire, propelling the narrative forward with foreshadowing on the fate of the coven and beyond.

While the POV split proves to be frustrating at times, McKenzie and Ohlin make up for the jagged edges in a diverse, inclusive cast, offering teens a chance to see themselves in the witches before them, from the nature-loving animal whisperer that is Greta to the misunderstood, Japanese-American rebel technomancer Binx, not to mention the conflicted Ridley, a Black trans girl who must use magic to gain acceptance in her own home, a toxic environment of homophobia, shame and depression, and who, despite her struggles, remains determined and hopeful against all odds. B*Witch is a complicated examination of discrimination, identity and belonging that mirrors the microaggressions, injustice and racism of the real world in the Antima and beyond.

Magic transforms over the course of the novel as well, overextending boundaries to become all-encompassing. Initially seen as a refreshing convenience to boost the girls’ day-to-day lives while providing a source of strength, power and courage, magic seems to fall apart as the novel progresses, to the point where it was unclear what a spell did. Take, for example, the use of the protection spell, Pleukiokus, which is described as the “sensation of wearing an invisible cloak.” The spell, sometimes uttered multiple times within a short period of time, has no effect on the girls’ well-being, seeming to offer protection in name only. Magic transforms from a day-to-day convenience, a thing of varying power that allows for the characters to exhibit their personalities physically, mentally and emotionally, as they go about their day, to something much larger – a thing without boundaries, difficult to contain or define.

Despite its shortcomings, B*Witch is refreshing as a contemporary fantasy and features a strong foundation. Defined spells and hexes feel natural and inventive, including the back-and-forth text hex rivalry between Binx and a member of the rival coven, Aysha. From a magical tech assistant named Uxie to Iris’ increasingly ominous premonitions, not to mention short excerpts from Callixta Crowe (the witch who created a guidebook for magic), McKenzie and Ohlin offer vivid descriptions alongside inventive pop culture references, including the use of Pokémon cards to cast a spell, demented Hello Kitty phone messages, and more.

Complete with the circular, high stakes ending that some readers may expect, B*Witch is a fun take on witchcraft. While older readers may find the ending dissatisfying, McKenzie and Ohlin send a powerful message amidst the chaos: Everyone has the power to forge their own destiny. Fighting for their right to exist, the witches of Sorrow Point are a symbol of power and hope, or as Greta would say, love and light, for a generation fraught with injustice and discrimination.

I love books about witches. I also love young adult books. Put the two together and I am a happy girl! B*Witch was a book that I knew I needed to read as soon as I read the description and it was very much what I expected it to be. The description that includes Mean Girls and Buffy was very accurate.

Read my full review here: https://booksteahealthyme.home.blog/2020/07/05/book-review-bwitch-by-paige-mckenzie-and-nancy-ohlin/

I'm all for diversity and witches! While this wasn't great, I did enjoy my time reading it. I took off stars because there was just too many POV's for me to keep up. Between the characters and the mystery, I would recommend to others.

This was such a fun read! I love witchy books, especially those that aren't set in super complex fantasies. This was spooky, mysterious, and definitely a book that I can see reading again around Halloween time!

I enjoyed the setting of high school--I don't read a lot of YA set in high school anymore so it feels special to me when I do read one that is. The magic was cool to read about. The story itself was interesting and I really liked the mystery from two rival covens coming together to solve a murder. The characters were really fun and diverse. I do think that there were quite a lot of perspectives that sometimes confused me, though.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and think that it has a lot of potential to be a really great Halloweentime read!

I’ve read These Witches Don’t Burn as a YA witchy themed book and I instantly loved them. B*witch is a full feminist book with a mystery touch which is very exciting to read. The first few chapters talks about the three best of friends, their coven, their abilities, and their little bit of struggles in witching powers. Iris, a new student and also a witch, struggles with anxiety and uses her charm to relax herself. The multiple POVs kind of confuse me while reading and I didn’t get some of the vibes intended for the readers to feel.
Full review is up on my blog!

In B*Witch we are following teen witches that are separated into two covens. Both covens received threats from an anti-witches group that want to see them gone. After the murder of a witch, the teen girls have to find out who the culprits are. Otherwise, they might pay with their own lives. If you want to find out more then I invite you to read B*Witch yourself.

If you are following me since day one you’re probably already guessing with what I’m going to start. The writing style. I loved it! It was easy to read, the characters were greatly portrayed and the descriptions were amazing as well. Especially the spells. I liked the sound of them.

I can’t complain about the world-building either. I haven’t read many books about teen witches and their problems with the non-magical folks. So I found it refreshing to read about teenagers especially with queer characters. When it comes to the witchy books I’ve read the characters are usually a bit older and it’s never in the real world. It was something new and reminded me of one of my favourite books about young witches.

I would have wished to see a creation of own social media sites, instead of reading about Instagram and company but it didn’t quite disturb me as much as I thought it would.

Overall, B*Witch is a refreshing and diverse story about witches. If you are a fan or even a beginner in contemporary magic books than this is probably a great story for you! It’s also a fast-paced novel and there is a witch killer to catch. So you don’t even have the time to put the book down. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?

B*Witch is a book filled with magic, mystery and a fascinating crew of diverse characters. I have always been a fan of books about witches and wizards, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. While reading about wands and spells in the first few chapters, I got really nostalgic as it reminded me of Harry Potter. 😭

The characters were really enjoyable to read about. The multiple POVs made it tough for me to grasp the plot sometimes, but I got used to it eventually.

I really liked how the author represented anxiety disorders, LGTBQ, racism and discrimination through the storyline. The mystery aspect of the book was really interesting too, but I wanted a little more depth to it. The ending was quite satisfactory, and I didn't expect the twist at all.

3.5/5 🌟. Looking forward to the sequel!

Actual rating: 2.5

Enjoyment: 2.5/5
Execution: 2.5/5

In a world where magic is forbidden, high school witches from rival covens band together to solve a mystery.

I loved the concept of this book but the execution fell a bit short for me. All the characters individually were quite interesting, and I loved the queer and anxiety rep, but the writing and the multiple POVs didn't do it for me. The plot was intriguing but the pacing would wax and wane, with several mundane scenes stretching out over a few pages while seemingly more important scenes would only be given a paragraph or two. I am typically a fan of the dual or more POV format (example: Marie Lu's Young Elites trilogy, which focuses on one character but occasionally jumps to another's), but there were just too many recurring POVs in this case (five) in addition to multiple MCs, making it difficult to distinguish whose thoughts were whose. In turn, this lead to each character being developed rather shallowly, whereas focusing on just a few characters would have been much more effective. While I appreciated the diversity, I would like in the future to see more Own Voices stories!

It is all in all a quick read with an interesting premise, and the authors have mentioned working on a sequel. I'd recommend this to a younger YA audience looking for a casual book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the authors for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book has some really great things going for it and a few that I didn't love. First it had a super diverse cast of characters who are all witches (love witches). Second it had a mystery to solve. Witches and a mystery? I'm in. I liked the writing style and I thought the characters were well developed. However I felt like the story had some pacing issues and a few too many POV's (that's a personal taste thing though). Overall it was a fun read that needed a bit more work. I do think that some younger teen readers will really love it though!

Honestly, I really want to read this book since I quite liked the cover! Also a book about witches, I’m always up for that!
What I really like about this book/world is that the existence of witches is common knowledge, but they are not appreciated. Everyone knows witches exist, but they are hiding and secretly practicing their witchcraft.
So in the beginning of this book there is a new president, who is really against witches, so ‘antima’ (anti-magic) groups are starting to exist. In this book we follow a couple of witches from the same high school, who are having to hide for this antima group!
The plot was definitely very interesting! We did not learn that much about the magic system, it was just there. It was more about friendship and trusting each other. And of course figuring out who these antima people were at their school.
My main issue with this book were the characters. They were all pretty interesting, and all had their own character arc. But they were supposed to be 16, and they really read as if they were 12.. For the first two thirds of the book I was convinced they were 12, until it was mentioned they were 16, and that kinda threw me off.
I would definitely recommend this book for the younger side of YA!

A big thanks to the publisher for providing a digital copy thru NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.



Such a witchy, queer read! B*witch follows a story of two covens of teens witches who come together to solve the mysterious murder of another local witch before one of them is next.

I really enjoy reading books about witches, that’s why I didn’t hesitate to request to have an early access to B*WITCH. I actually thought this would be just your normal teenage high school drama plus witchy stuff. That’s why I was actually surprised that it included themes like diversity, a little bit of racism and homophobia, and sisterhood. The premise was really interesting, and there are a lot of things that I like, as well as things that I wasn’t so fond of.

In this novel, witches were discriminated, so witches like Iris had to keep it a secret for her own safety. On her first day of school, she met three witches for the first time, Greta, Ridley, and Binx. Ultimately, she was taken in by Greta’s coven. What she didn’t know was there was another coven who used dark magic. When one local witch was murdered, the two covens worked together. While investigating, they would stumbled on something more sinister than the anti-witch ideology. Something that would put their lives in danger. The story was told by numerous POVs. I had to get used to it first, since it was quit challenging to follow. The pacing was okay, not too slow and not too fast. I also like the whodunit plot. It kept me thinking and guessing while reading the book. However, there was not enough pay-off, and it felt a little bit unsatisfying. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the ending. I was a little confused about the twist that happened, so I think I just had to read the sequel to make those things clearer.

I really like all the characters, and I commend the author for adding the diversity in race, gender and sexual identity. The characters were amusing and charming, but I wished there were more fleshed-out.

Overall, B*witch has an intriguing premise and charming characters. It was definitely a quick read, and I recommend it to readers who look for a book with Halloween vibes.

3.5 stars!

This is one of those books I wanted to love and it fell flat. Maybe it was my high expectations. I love everything witch. I did like this, I just didn't love it.

There are two small covens of three girls each. Greta ran one coven and Div ran the other. Div's coven seemed to be a bit darker. There are new people in town that might have magic. The covens are kept secret. There are Antima out there and they're dangerous. They want magic to be illegal (still) and wants the witches punished.

One thing I had problems with was differentiating the characters in each chapter. Either there was too many or they were too similar. Ridley was a standout because she's trans and uses magic for her appearance. At home, Ridley is a male. But as soon as she's gone, she is who she was really meant to be. Iris was another standout. She had visions when she touched things. Iris was sweet and awkward.

Things start getting bad and both covens realize they need to try to work together (or get along) to stop whoever might be killing witches. I enjoyed the magic and most of the plot. I really think it was just the characters changing too much. Each of them had their own personal things to deal with, so that helped a little. Just not enough. I do appreciate all the diversity.

I gave this book 3 stars. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings for anxiety, fire, hiding who you are, politics, death, losing a sibling, hate (antima), sensory processing disorder.

Wow, I really struggled with this book. Can't tell if it's a me-thing or if the book just isn't that great. It took FOREVER for the book's main mystery to start. I mean, I appreciate an introduction/setting of the story but this was too much. The pacing did not improve from there. The girls' personalities weren't that distinct. I appreciated the diverse cast, but I really felt that each witch could've had more depth to set her aside from the others. I still say give it a shot if the premise is intriguing, but it didn't work for me.

What would you do if you received a book written by a witch who was killed in a late 1800s witch purge, and you found out that you could learn her craft, in a world that seeks to bring witch-hunts back, no less? B*Witch by Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin aims to answer just that.

The year is 2016 and the new government is extremely suspicious of witches. The so-called law 6-129, which forbids witchcraft, has gradually relaxed over the years, but the prejudice has remained. Most teen witches practice secretly, but if they are found out, expulsion from school or being grounded is usually the worst they can expect… things are about to get bleaker though. With the government’s increased prejudice against witchcraft and an emerging hate group, called Antima (Anti-Magic), many young, self-taught witches practicing in secret, now have reason to believe their lives are in danger.

When Iris, a secret witch who lives with Sensory Processing Disorder and frequent panic attacks, moves to small town Sorrow Point, she hopes to be free of the witch-hate she witnessed in New York. Little does she know that her new high school, is home to not one, but two secret covens, and, most horrifyingly, to several Antima members. When witches from both covens start receiving threatening messages with anti-witchcraft content, yet strangely charmed that implies a witch’s hand in their distribution, coven leader Greta and her friends, Ridley and Binx, must solve the mystery. This also may mean working with Greta’s once coven mate and now rival, Div, who follows a darker branch of witchcraft and leads a coven of her own.

Despite their common enemy, cooperating isn’t always easy: the covens have conflicting interests as both seek to recruit the gifted Iris and another new student and suspected witch, Penelope. Even within Greta’s generally benevolent coven, signs of discord increase as the stakes get higher: Greta, whose magic is as traditional and ethical as possible, often finds herself at odds with the more mischievous Binx. The latter is a cyber-witch who prefers to practise magic through technology, creating her own apps and being active in an online videogame called ‘Witchworld’, where she has befriended a rare male witch. When Binx trusts her new friend a bit too readily and comes to believe that a more aggressive approach is needed to fight the Antima, Greta feels her friend’s actions might expose the coven. But as the threats against the witches become more and more frequent and terrifying, the girls must work together if they want to solve the mystery on time and survive.

B*Witch is a very readable, with short chapters that don’t tire the reader. A lot of chapter titles are intertextual references, which is a nice touch. At the beginning of each chapter we get a passage from The Good Book of Magic and Mentalism by Callixta Crowe, the 1800s witch whose book the girls use to learn their craft. These passages nicely foreshadow each chapter’s content without revealing too much, as the authors do a good job at maintaining suspense until the last few chapters. The ending did feel a little abrupt, with a new plot point being introduced without much foreshadowing, but the plot twist was still an interesting one I had not seen coming, and the openness of the ending leaves room for more to be written about these very endearing witches.

Although the figure of the teen witch has been used a lot in the past few years, both as an aesthetic and as a political statement, Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin offer us a fresh take on contemporary magic. Each of the main characters interprets Callixta’s book differently. From Greta’s traditional, sustainable magic and trust in feminist deities, to Binx’s use of mobile apps and even Pokemon cards, the reader is immersed in a fun, playful microcosm. We are constantly reminded, however, that the magical safe space Greta, Binx and Ridley have created for themselves is fragile, threatened by both external forces and their own families, even their own coven. Knowing what is at stake, makes it easy to care about them.

The book is very diverse, with the witches coming from many different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and from all across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, as well as a main character struggling with her mental health, an issued addressed with honesty throughout the novel. All these different identities are part of the characters, but they aren’t all we get know about them: each has her own quirks, preferences and compelling backstory. Some characters, such as Mira and Aisha from Div’s coven, as well as Penelope, could have been a little more developed, but, in general, the authors manage to convey who each character is, and most importantly, what she wants. Since we get to know a bit about each witch’s home life and personal struggles, the ending could have dwelt a little more on the ways their experiences throughout B*Witch might influence their future decisions about their problems, but, once again, the openness leaves room for readers to draw their own conclusions. Fighting for their right to be themselves and practice their magic in love and peace, definitely teaches Iris, Greta, Binx and Ridley a lot about themselves – and each other.

B*Witch is an inclusive, fun, and suspenseful book that teenage witch fans will enjoy, and many of them might identify with at least one main character. All in all, this is a story about identity, belonging, loss, and girls supporting one another. A very interesting collaboration with a lot of potential, that left me hoping we haven’t seen the last of the two covens.