3.75/5

I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.

When I requested this book, I was a little scared of it. I liked the cover, and the story sounded interesting based on the description. I was hoping for a scary story (of course written for the younger age group), but I was a little scared, too, because middle-grade stories are sometimes too childish for me.
When I started reading, I was a little disappointed. I was expecting more magic, a little more fear, and the book felt a little childish for me. Somehow the things didn't come together. Some parts were very difficult for me, too. I just can’t stand bullying, which is why I cancelled a lot of book series with a high school setting. This is just unbearable for me. I’ve never experienced bullying, in our schools (in Europe) the situation is far better, and for me, it’s just disgusting. But let’s get back to the story. The book was ok until 20%, I didn’t hate it either adored it. After that, the novel finally started to be more exciting. I enjoyed the book from this point until the end. The ending was predictable, it was ok, but I just wanted to finish it. Overall, the story was 4/5.
I really liked the structure of the world, it was Harry Potter mixed with Salem. The historical part was also interesting. The atmosphere of the book wasn't scary, but it had a dark mood, I really liked it, too.
The characters were ok. I hated the characters who were a bully, but the others were gone. I liked our main characters, especially Zeus and Piper.
On a negative side, it was unable to maintain my interest. I could put the book down at any moment and I didn’t want to pick it up again. That’s why it took me so long to read such a short book, and that's why I'm not going to go on with this series. There is no cliffhanger at the end, so in my head, the story is finished.
Overall, I got a cosy, moody book. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t have the extra in it, so I finished the series with that.

My review in Hungarian:

A recenziós példányt Netgalley-től kaptam. Ez nem befolyásolta a véleményem.

Amikor jelentkeztem a könyvre, kicsit féltem tőle. A borító rettentően tetszett, és a fülszöveg alapján is elég érdekesnek tűnt. Reméltem egy jó kis félelmetes történetet kapok (természetes fiatalabb korosztálynak írva), bár kicsit féltem, mivel a middle-grade történetek néha túl gyerekesek nekem.
Amikor elkezdtem olvasni, kicsit kiábrándultam. Több mágiát vártam, kicsivel több félelmet, és kicsit gyerekesnek is éreztem. Valahogy nem álltak össze a dolgok. Sőt, voltak részek, amik nagyon zavartak. Egyszerűen én nem tudom elviselni a bullyingot, ezért is hagytam abba sok könyvsorozatot, ami középiskolában játszódik. Egyszerűen elviselhetetlen, hogy pár ember csak mert ő úgy gondolja, hogy megteheti, így viselkedjen. Egyszerűen ez nekem sok. Én sosem tapasztaltam ilyesmit, nálunk nincs jelen ekkora mértékben az iskolában, és számomra ez gyomorforgató. De térjünk vissza a történetre. Olyan 20%-áig elvoltam a könyvvel, nem utáltam, kicsit gyerekesnek éreztem, de ekkor végre kezdett beindulni. Eléggé élveztem a könyvet innentől, egészen a végéig. Valahogy ott megcsattant az érdeklődésem, kiszámítható volt mi lesz a vége, és már vártam, hogy mikor lesz vége. Úgy összességében 4/5 volt a történet.
A világ felépítése nagyon tetszett. Harry Potter varázslói összekeverve egy kis Szálem-es boszorkányokkal. A történelmi szál is érdekes volt. A könyv hangulata igaz nem volt félelmetes, de sötét hangulat lenge körbe, az is nagyon tetszett.
Karakterek szintjén is okésnak mondanám a könyvet. Az a négy karakter, akinek az egész jelleme abból állt, hogy másokat bántottak, különösen zavart, de a többi karakter elment. Kedveltem a főbb szereplőinket, talán Zeus és Piper tetszett a legjobban.
Negatív pontnak tudom feljegyezni, hogy nem tudta az érdeklődésem fenntartani. Bármikor le tudtam tenni a könyvet, és nem hiányzott, hogy felvegyem. Ezért is tartott ilyen rövid könyvet több mint egy hétbe elolvasni. És ezért sem fogom folytatni a sorozatot. A lezárása elég kerek, persze már volt egy-két utalás, hogy mi várható a következő könyv(ek)ben, de az sem csigázott fel, szóval nekem itt lesz vége a történetnek.
Összességében egy hangulatos, laza könyvet kaptam. Élveztem, de nem volt meg benne az extra, ezért a sorozatot ezzel be is fejeztem.

My 9 year old daughter read this and thoroughly enjoyed it. A fast paced, magical book about a girl called Abby who finds out that she has magical powers on her 13th birthday during quite a traumatic event and that there are other like her- one of whom is her sworn enemy. A brilliant fantasy story, with a bit of Buddy the Vampire slayer about it, this was a great read that captivated.

This was such a fun and magical story!
In this book we read the story through two perspectives; Abby and Robby. In the beginning they are best friends, but they fight about something and aren’t talking anymore. We then read from Abby’s perspective how she is a witch and learns how to do magic. While from Robby’s POV we also learn about witches, but more about the bad witches in relation to the disappearance of his mom and stepmom. It was very interesting to read these perspectives at the same time, since in this way we do know more than both characters.
This book is very big on friendship relations, and not only between Abby and Robby. Since they stop talking, they both build up a new friend group, and it was very nice to see these friendships develop!
As I mentioned at some point Robby’s stepmom disappears, and I think that was done really weirdly. It was as if no one else noticed besides our main characters?! I also thought the plot was a bit predictable. But maybe that is because I’m not the target audience!
I definitely recommend this book for younger readers, and I’m fairly interested in what this author will write next!

This will be such a great addition to those students of mine who are always asking for witch/warlock stories but without all of the spookiness. I love how the story carries you through the town’s secrets and how Abby is having to uncover not only about the town, but figure out herself and where she belongs now in Willow Cove.

I received an e-arc from Owl Hollow Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Abby and Robby are best friends. On Halloween, they decide to check out Whispering Hill, an old mental hospital in their town. While there, they are caught by a woman named Joanna. Joanna chases Abby and Robby off the property only to find Abby can fly. Abby finds out later on that upon turning 13 (on Halloween), she became a witch. Five other girls in her class also become witches on their 13th birthdays. The catch is that they are all from the same bloodline. The six girls have to piece together who is telling the truth between their new history teacher, Miss Winters (who looks a lot like Joanna), and Robby's stepmom, Tina.

I really liked The Witches of Willow Cove. It was a quick and fast-paced read. I really loved the characterization of all of the characters. All of them grew tremendously throughout the novel and became better people. They learned more about each other and all seemed to become friends at the end even though Abby and Olivia hated each other throughout the novel. The only downside I had was that I wanted more at the end of the novel. I wanted to know more about how the six girls were going to learn about magic after the epilogue. I hope Josh Roberts decides to write a sequel because I will definitely read it!

I feel like this fell a little flat for me. I can honestly say it was a solid 3 stars, and it's all personal preference. I didn't much care for the writing style. I just couldn't stay interested in the book and kept putting the book down. The characters were just alright but didn't again capture my attention. I really wanted to love his book. I would say that this isn't a bad middle grade and would still recommend for the intended age group.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

There definitely wasn't a dull moment in this story! Between the magic, middle school mayhem and disappearances, Abby is trying to figure out how to balance being a witch and "normal" middle school. It was so interesting watching the story develop between Abby, her best friend Robby, and several other big characters in the story. I love how developed each of the characters were, and the fact that so many little hints kept you guessing what would happen next. I loved the touches of history in the book as well.

I thought this was a fantastic, spooky, magical middle-grade book! I can't wait to share it with my students!

What do you get when you put together magic, witches, middle school friendships, and mysterious disappearances? The Witches Of Willow Cove! This book has spooky elements that will reel in readers such as potentially haunted institution, mysterious caves/secret passageways, a history of Witchcraft, and familial connections to this history all over town. The characters don’t let their age stop them from doing the research, putting the clues together and using teamwork to try to figure out what is going on, and you just can’t help but cheer them on along the way.

On Halloween night every thing changes for Abby. She and her best friend Robby sneak up to an abandoned property on Whispering Hill, but Abby is unaware that Robby is actually trying to understand his mother’s disappearance. When a mysterious woman sends stone chimeras after her, she saves her own life and the life of Robby by flying away on a broom. That evening sets in motion a chain of events that reveals secrets about Abby, her ancestry, and the history of the town. Can Abby figure out what happened to Robby’s mom? Can she embrace her new abilities and protect her friends?

‪I grew up watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch so I really loved this spooky, fast paced story! ‬The references to the Salem witch trials make this story that much more engaging. I also appreciated that like Sabrina, Abby has to try to balance being a witch while surviving middle school (high school in Sabrina’s case).

My sixth graders are always asking for spooky stories and I’m eager to recommend this one!

Thank you to Josh Roberts for sharing this book with #BookAllies in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and IBPA / Owl Hollow Press for the ARC.

Very enjoyable middle-grade adventure, never a dull moment. From the creepy, atmospheric opening to the solid ending, The Witches of Willow Cove delivered. The pacing throughout was excellent, the characters were well-developed and the storyline did not give anything away to quickly. A fun read, looking forward to a possible sequel. 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I love the story. It's been a while since I read a full-length novel. Every chapter excites me to the point where I can't easily stop reading it. It's a good story that talks about friendship and the experiences of kids turning to teens. I think it would be a good read for readers of all ages.

Well, this was quite a fun middle grade read. Full of mystery, history, friendships, bullies, jealousy, rivalries and magic. As an adult I enjoyed it. The younger middle-grade me would have devoured it.

What the description doesn’t do justice to is the fact that this is an ensemble cast. While it is true that Abby Shepherd is the main character, it is also true that her best friend Robby – a nonmagical person – plays a significant role as well. Even then there are several others with large ‘screen time’ such as Amethyst, whose hair color matches her name, Zeus, Becca, and Piper just to name a few. The strength of the book lies with these characters and the different avenues they take to learn the truth about recent events and the town’s history. Doing so helps the plotting of the story continually move forward, but the variety of characters also help provide a realistic town and school setting. After all, this is the age where kids start ‘noticing’ each other.

It all starts on the night certain girls turn 13. That’s when their magical abilities begin to manifest themselves. Some of the magic they experience seems to be person-specific and other types of magic is general to all. While our new magic users are becoming adjusted to this rather huge change two seemingly unrelated individuals mysteriously disappear. There is too much coincidence going on and some of our cast is split on learning spells while others are researching the town’s history.

If there are any issues with the story it would be with how one of our main characters handled a disappearance of someone they knew. While the individual and their parent were upset I felt it was glossed over a bit to help ensure the main story line plot continued to move forward.

Toward the end, we get the hint that perhaps there are more sinister events coming their way, but that will be for a future book.

Rating: 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Owl Hollow Press for the reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Thank you for the author and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars

I really liked this book. It gave me major Harry Potter vibes, except for the school situation. In this book we follow Abby and Robby, two best friends, on their journey of magic and witchcraft. We get to read from Abby's perspective as well as from Robby's. I really liked both characters and I think I could even be friends with them in real life!

The beginning of the story was a bit slow in my opinion, but that's okay. The story is full of action and suspense that makes you want to keep reading. Especially at the end I could no longer put the story away. I just had to read on, because I absolutely had to know what was going to happen.

Some things were fairly predictable, but that didn't make it any less fun! This book is right up my alley, and I think my younger me would have really loved the book. All in all, 3 stars. You should definitely give this one a shot if you like stories with magic!

How perfect! Certainly got me in the mood for (early) Halloween, definitely recommend.

Josh Roberts has done a fantastic job of capturing the angst of being a teenager, his characters are fully realised and the plot was well rounded. It reminded me of Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets Charmed.
The cover is absolutely stunning as well!

This was a perfect story for my granddaughter, that we read together and I don't admitting I loved it. She actually read ahead in places because she didn't want to stop and wait for me, so it certainly nailed being gripping for its age group. It has just the right amount of paranormal to add tension and remain exciting without being scary. On a personal note I love the tie to Salem witches.

The opening parts, especially with statues and the flying pulls you into things quickly and the pace is steady throughout. I was easily able to see the world and the children, which was described with a crisp clear style. The story really has strength in the characters. I love Abby and Robby. While the theme of friendship was laced throughout and builds between several of the characters I really felt it shine between Abby and Robby.

Highly recommended for readers of all ages.

The Witches of Willow Cove is your classic, middle-grade, comforting read. Perfect for children who like a bit of danger and adventure in their books without too much horror. The action focuses on Abby, a 13 year old girl, who after messing around at an abandoned mansion on Halloween, discovers she has abilities that she previously didn't have. It soon becomes apparent that she is not the only one, and so form the Witches of Willow Cove - a group of previously normal 13 year old girls discovering their magical powers.

The characterisation within the book I felt was very realistic, and I liked that the characters were realistic 13-year-olds. Even though Abby and her new friends are on this huge journey to explore their new gift, they have to manoeuvre through friendship issues galore and this adds to this enhances the realism of the characters.

The character of Miss Winters was equally marvellous throughout - at first a silhouetted, evil figure; then a friendly supply teacher and mentor and full circle back to a secretive villain. At any point in the story you are never sure whether she can be trusted and this adds to the feeling of fear throughout the book.

The Witches of Willow Cove is the perfect read for those difficult girls in your class, the ones who are too old for Jacqueline Wilson, too uninterested in Harry Potter but who want the magic and realism that both author's offer. Josh Roberts has created the perfect blend to amuse and engage those tricky readers.

I don't read books about witches or anything magical, with Harry Potter being the exception. I am almost strictly a contemporary girl. Don't get me wrong, if I find a fantastical book that interests me, I'll definitely read it, it just doesn't happen much.

That being said, I've been trying to branch out in terms of my reading. One goal I have for myself this year is to read more middle grade and adult books. I also want to read books outside of my preferred reading/comfort zone. This is where The Witches of Willow Cove comes in. I was browsing through Netgalley and I came across this arc, and my interest was piqued. 

For one, the cover is great. There are several cover concepts that you can view on Josh Roberts' page, which is linked above, and they all represent the story well. Some might find the cover to be a tad dull, but for a middle grade novel, I think it fits well. The colors are very Halloween-y, which fits with the beginning of the novel.

Secondly, the description lured me in with veiled promises of twists and turns, as well as themes of friendship. I was not disappointed. Now, there were some plot points that were predictable, but it is intended for a younger audience, not an audience that can spot some obvious reveals. There were, however, some plot points that I did not guess, and I definitely enjoyed them. 

The theme of friendship played a major role in this novel. The description mentions 6 teenagers that find out that they are witches and that they band together. It does not mention a couple other main characters outside of the coven, who play a major role in the story line. Each character was unique in their own way, which added to the story as each of their quirks came into play. There are 10 characters altogether, and usually a wide cast would cause for some to be flat and one dimensional. I was happy to find that wasn't the case. 

Overall, The Witches of Willow Cove is a great middle grade book. 

I would like to thank Netgalley, Josh Roberts and Owl Hollow Press for the review copy of this book in exchange my honest opinion. This book is was released May 26, 2020.

This was a really fun, magical middle grade book! It is a great suggestion for readers, both kids and adults, who love the Harry Potter series.

The Witches of Willow Cove is a great read for those in late elementary or primary school, or early middle or secondary school who are confident in reading independently. Fantasy lovers in particular will really enjoy this story of a novice witch and her best friend, facing all the usual trials of being 13 (first crush, conflict with parents), but with a magical identity crisis thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed the action sequences, those are particularly engaging and this really took me back to being a young teen with dreams of discovering I was special and unique, having been gifted with magical powers like Sabrina the Teenage Witch. This isn’t as dark as the Sabrina comics, so I wouldn’t be worried about letting readers adventure solo here. A great solid read, heartily recommend.
Thank you to Owl Hollow Press and Net Galley for the free advance e-book copy of this title.

The middle-grade story called 'the witches of Willow Cove' reflects on the past. The Salem Witch Trials are part of the concept. When six thirteen-year-olds find out that they are witches, everything changes. Their new history teacher is there to help them out until they begin to notice something...

I LOVED this book. It's a middle-grade story but it read like a YA Fantasy. Overall, I'm not a fan of 'fairy tale witches' due to the fact that real witches don't fly brooms nor do they use wands and all. But the respectful way of portraying witches made this book totally different. I also liked the fact that the author actually included some real history in it.
The characters were all round and had a unique personality. I also liked the fact that the main characters are not the only heroes. The book teaches about friendship, love, and working together. It's a very strong message throughout the whole book. All characters benefit from it. Even when certain characters are villains, they still manage to work together.
Fantasy books need a strong setting and 'the witches of willow cove' absolutely has such a strong setting! The dark atmosphere was great and suited the story well. The caves and tombs felt so real.
This author has a nice writing style. It's a quick read, a fun way of telling a story and there is sarcasm + humor included.

Overall, I really liked this story. Nothing bothered me and I also don't think there is anything that can be done better.