I had to DNF at 30%. Normally I love a good witchy sister story, but for some reason this one wasn't gripping me. They are all different characters but sometimes it felt like they all had the same internal voice. Perhaps that's just to show how close they are as sisters? Maybe I'll pick this book back up during the autumn spooky months, but for now, it's a DNF for me.

While this book started off slow for me, it really picked up and ultimately I found it a gripping, triumphant story of women’s agency and sisterhood. Parts of it can be quite grim, as the book deals very realistically with the violence against women and misogyny that results from women getting any measure of power, however I found it very uplifting and a celebration of the strength of women. It was a fascinating, compelling story that almost flawlessly wove together political intrigue, social commentary, and magic.

I liked how much the book focused on the bond between the sisters, and how that bond can be tested and thought broken, by betrayal - lack of trust - hurt, but how sisters are tied together despite all of that, and how relationships can be healed by honesty, communication and forgiveness. Part of what made this book so hard to read at times was knowing what real, visceral danger the sisters were in and being afraid that they wouldn’t forgive each other before something truly awful happened. As it turned out, even when things were awful and dire, even without forgiving each other entirely, the sisters still helped each other and that was perfect and real and raw and lovely.

I also really enjoyed the LGBT rep in this book - one of the main characters is a lesbian, and one of their friends is trans. The identities are very seldom questioned, and the relationships are poignant and a cornerstone of the story. I thoroughly needed to read a book where being gay, or trans, or both, isn’t a major plot point and doesn’t entirely revolve around misery.

I would recommend this book to others, and I can’t wait to see what Harrow does next.

This book was an absolute wonder; a tale of women who tried, and women who dared. Women who took the rules and norms of an uncertain time in their hands and used the ways, the words, and definitely the will to attempt change an untenable situation.

Basically put, the Eastwood sisters are moderately fledgling witches who each set out, individually, from their horror of a home to find a better life in the city of New Salem. Each has their own motivation, and none figured their sisterhood would figure into their bigger pictures.

What pulls them back together is a promise for renewed magic and a strong danger with powers and wiles vastly unknown to any of them.

You have the stalwart Agnes, who finds herself working in a small factory, the studious Bella who satiates her craving for knowledge at a library, and the youngest, and wildest of the three, James Juniper, who embodies the piss and vinegar required to help pull everyone together to right the wrongs pushed on them by a male-dominated society.

In the unfolding of this amazing tale, Ms. Harrow presents an incredibly multi-faceted approach at the history of women and the ways of their folk, their mothers, their mothers' mothers and the subtle wending of witchy ways.

Set in the backdrop of a rising suffragist movement. Very quickly, the Eastwood sisters, June most of all, pulls together a group of high-spirited compatriots to try to sort out the troubling storm brewing in New Salem and the apparent rise of one Gideon Hill.

What unfolds is a very heartwarming tale of determination and sacrifice; a grand story of rediscovering lost histories and unearthing the untapped potential in those who have seemingly lost everything.

This is definitely a book I will be revisiting. The characters are all rich, diverse and very relatable. The twists are all incredibly well-formed and exhilarating as well as heart-breaking. For every gain of self-realization, there also comes the heartbreak of the reality of choices.

I would not have changed anything at all.

Sometimes a new author comes along who absolutely blows my mind with their natural gift for storytelling, and Alix E. Harrow is one of those authors. I will admit that I was nervous to read this book after reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January at the beginning of 2020 because I loved it so much, and I was afraid she might not be able to do it again. But she certainly did with The Once and Future Witches – I was under its spell from the first sentence – and Alix E. Harrow is now officially an auto-buy author for me!

This is a story of three sisters in the late 1800’s in New Salem, when the suffragist movement is just getting on its feet. The story revolves around wise Bella, strong and steady Agnes, and wild Juniper and their goal to escape their abuse-filled pasts and bring back the Lost Way of Avalon, or magic, at the same time giving power back to women who have been downtrodden for so long. In a world that considers magic an abomination and punishes those who use it, comes three women with magic in their blood and the desire for change.

I have always been drawn to stories about magic, which this certainly is, but it’s so much more. It’s a story about love and hate, power and oppression, fairness and prejudice, pleasure and pain, bravery and fear, and compassion and hostility. It’s about the need to fight the battle to give women the respect they deserve and the legal rights held by men. It touches on everything! At its root, its about the need for change, and what a relevant topic that is in our world today.

I love how each chapter begins with a verse we all know in a similar form from childhood tales and nursery rhymes, but each is actually a spell. Also, the number “3” is very important to this story, and although the sisters are all very different from each other, it will take the combination of all three of them, working in unison, to hopefully make change happen. They had been torn apart in the past, but they soon learn that they are stronger together.

Not only do I love the magic in The Once and Future Witches, but I just found this story incredibly powerful. There are so many lessons to be learned from these three sisters, and I came away feeling even more proud to be a woman and truly believing that the more people you let into your heart, the more you have to help you if you should fall.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early review copy of this book which I can’t recommend highly enough. 5 magical stars from me!

Absolutely magical. Alix Harrow writes with such exquisite language, each word and description draw you in to the story of three sisters and their tale of rediscovering each other and themselves. The story is full of fairy tales, the struggle for the rights of the oppressed, and finding love and compassion. A book I’ll buy in hardcover to read again and will recommend to everyone, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me hours of joyful escape and suspense.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January fans, rejoice! Harrow is back with another historical fantasy, this time set in 1893 Salem. The Eastwood sisters are suffragettes who turn to witchcraft to pursue women’s rights and freedoms. These sisters have delightfully witchy names: James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna. While the rest of Salem believes there’s no such thing as witches, the sisters busily fight forces, create magic, and bond with one another in order to secure their rights. Not a perfect book, and it required some patience on my part, but I admired its exuberance and am glad I stuck with it.

This book was an interesting take on the ideas of witches, which made it quite enjoyable.
It took me a long time to get around the political parts of the book and that caused some slow moments to result in a 4 star instead of 5 stars.
I loved the relationships between the sisters and how represented each was with their own personalities that drove the story forward for the love of one another and eventually the added people into their families. These three sisters were able to push through past trauma and gain strength in fighting together against another dark person.
This book enticed me to pick up her other book, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and I am excited to read through that book this year!

I struggled reading this one and unfortunately DNF’d it after a few slow weeks of trying over and over to just keep reading and push tryout, waiting for the moment where I was totally grabbed. I LOVED Harrow’s first book and was hoping this next novel would capture the same kind of magic. I think had I felt more connected with the characters and cared more about them or had a more in depth understanding of the magic system, I might have felt more invested. I might attempt to pick it up again later - maybe it was just the wrong time.

Many many thanks to Redhook and Netgalley for,providing the advance reader copy! This book was fantastic. It centers on three estranged sisters who are (as you might have guessed) witches. The book combines alternative history and touches on suffrage, labor rights, gender, and more. I’m just in love with this book and sorry it’s over. Put this on your to-read list for fall, I highly recommend it.

So many thoughts...

Let's start with the things I liked: The plot is about three witch sisters who reunite, become suffragists, and fight for women's voices. This book is all about empowering women. I liked the parallel that was drawn between being witches and speaking up for women's rights, as if witching in general was a women's movement. I also like the parallel that was drawn between scared men trying to minimize women and the same scared men who tried to stamp out and burn witches. I like what this book was trying to say.

I'm also a huge fan of fairytales so I loved how the words of these known fairytales were woven into the story. Witches binding themselves to words instead of objects? Love it. I also loved how each chapter started off with the lines of a known fairytale or nursery rhyme and it explained what the "spell" was used for. So creative and it actually made sense.

And there's also some good rep in here - LGBT, single parent, non-toxic masculinity.

Ok so all the good things being stated, let's move onto what I didn't like: This. book. moved. so. slow. The pacing was rough and I got bored often. Unfortunately, once I got bored, I stopped paying attention to what I was reading, then something would happen and I'd have to backtrack to see what I missed. It happened often enough that I can't say this book was wonderful when it just wasn't. At times, it felt like a slog to get through and I felt each one of those 528 pages.

So yeah, I'm sticking with 3 stars because there were some great things in here and the overall story was one that intrigued me enough to continue. However, the pacing is really slow and I will not be surprised if I hear of many people DNFing this one out of boredom.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alix E. Harrow has a way with words. As of now, I have read a couple of her novels and short stories. I am always amazed by the beautiful and magical prose.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow follows three sisters: Beatrice Belladonna, Agnes Amaranth, and James Juniper Eastwood. Beatrice Belladonna is the oldest; she is wise, quiet, and bookish. Agnes Amaranth is the middle sister; she is strong and determined. James Juniper is the youngest of the three; she is wild and fierce. The trio finds themselves together in New Salem in 1893 amidst the women’s suffrage movement. The three sisters grew up hearing stories of witches from their grandmother Mags, so they hope to use these words and ways to give power to women. This launches and drives the tale while intertwining magic, sisterhood, and the fight for equality. The sisters soon find that they are not alone in their dreams or their fight. Together, they join forces, wreak havoc to show that witches exist, and make enemies.

This novel is full of twists and turns. At certain points, I could see where it was going, but I was glad that I was still surprised in the end. The story is also very character driven. I loved the main cast of characters and how Harrow juxtaposes them. I loved seeing how wild Juniper can be but how she began to change for those she loves as well. Agnes’s character shows why it is important to not shut people out. Her path to motherhood is also inspiring. Beatrice is very relatable for me personally as the quiet and bookish sister. I really enjoyed when she cut herself some slack and explored her sexuality more. Also I want to mention one of my other favorite characters, Cleo. She becomes friends with the sisters and helps them with finding the lost words and ways, but it is more dangerous for her as a woman of color. I looked forward to the parts of the novel that included her, especially since she seemed mysterious at first when we did not know her background or where she stood with the other characters. It would have been cool to learn more about her.

The Once and Future Witches was a very fun read for me. I love reading about witches, and I think it is really cool that Harrow used it in connection with suffragists and feminism. I absolutely love her writing style and how she crafts characters. I liked the ending as it was really shocking. I did not see it coming, but it was a nice end to the story overall. However, a few things about this novel did not work for me personally. Certain parts did not hold my attention and at times were a little predictable. There were times when I felt like it was taking too long to get to the point. I did not love some of the language and phrases used as well. There are some phrases that I personally find cliché or overused when it comes to writing about witches, kind of like the saying “we’re the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.” It just does not work for me. These are only minor criticisms, and overall, it was a very entertaining read. If you love Harrow’s previous works or reading about witches, then this book is definitely for you!

Thank you to the publisher, Redhook Books, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel before its release on October 13th, 2020.

*Content warnings from the author: Child abuse, both physical and psychological; parental death; arrest and imprisonment; mind control; pregnancy and childbirth, including forced hospitalization; racism; sexism; homophobia, both external and internalized; threat of sexual assault, averted; torture (mostly off-the-page, but alluded to); execution (attempted); child abandonment; major character death*

Alix Harrow's The Once and Future Witches carries the reader along on the Eastwood sisters' no-holds-barred battle to bring the ways and the words of witchcraft back into the hands and the mouths of women in 1893 New Salem. The sisters have been estranged for seven years, but are brought back together by the potential of magic to heal the wounds they've inflicted on each other and to restore power to women in a time when they can't even cast a ballot for mayor. This feminist historical fantasy novel demonstrates the tenacity of women who have endured child abuse, imprisonment and torture, homophobia, and sexism throughout their lives, but who refuse to quite fighting for what is right, and rightfully theirs. Readers of The Ten Thousand Doors of January will find the same beautiful writing style here, paired with a heavier subject matter and even higher emotional stakes. Be forewarned that The Once and Future Witches may inspire you to take to the streets for a cause that you're passionate about, with your trusty familiar at your side.

What I liked:

🖤 Character-driven plot (told in 3 swirling POV's)
🖤 Nice genre-blending (historical fiction --> fantasy --> magical realism --> paranormal)
🖤 Ya Ya Sisterhood
🖤 Spectacle-wearing, book learnin' librarians (aka: my soulmates)
🖤 Miss Cleo Quinn, who just so happens to be a trouser-wearing journalist *ahem* queen *ahem*
🖤 Sapphic representation + longing
🖤 Evocative, emotional prose
🖤 Magic that's passed down: preserved through stories, through word of mouth
🖤 Realistic portrayals of oppression, abandonment, abuse, misogyny, motherhood etc.
🖤 Bella, Agnes, and Juniper evolve into much more than their Maiden, Mother, Crone archetypes
🖤 Themes of courage and perseverance; of love and sacrifice; of power and powerlessness
🖤 Most important of all: BADASS WITCHES UNITE

What I didn't like:

🖤 Pacing: sometimes slow, other times off-kilter
🖤 Took time to tether myself to the premise because I wasn't clear where it was headed in the beginning

This was a clever and symbolic historical twist on women and their "witchy" rights. Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ARC! 3.5 stars

You had me at suffragist witches. And after the brilliance that was Ten Thousand Doors of January, there was no way I wasn’t going to pick up Alix Harrow’s sophomoreL novel. I’ll bring the hemlock if you bring the thistleseed, ladies!!
Taking place at the tail end of the 19th century, we meet the Eastwood sisters: Beatrice, Agnes and James (or Belladonna, Amaranth and Juniper, if you prefer). After years separated, they find themselves drawn towards one another, despite some of their best efforts otherwise. Underneath the surface of the town of New Salem, women are organizing to obtain the right to vote, but there’s also something more nefarious at play. Even the shadows seem to have eyes, and it’s difficult to rally support when the town seems to be in an escalating state of fear.

“That’s all magic is, really: the space between what you have and what you need.”

I loved Harrow’s use of magic in this book. She’s able to incorporate domestic necessities without reducing ‘women’s magic’ to the patriarchal ideas of ‘women’s work’. Yes, women & witches can mend a tear in your blouse, but they can also lead a revolution. Once and Future Witches uses alternating perspectives of the three Eastwood sisters. Their personalities are not only distinct from one another, but they also differ in the ‘type’ of woman each represents. Namely, the mother, the maiden and the crone (this one in particular makes me wince because she’s supposedly in her 20s????).

The memories of the previous witch trials in Old Salem hasn’t faded from the town’s collective memory, and there appears to be an enemy who will do anything to smoke out those responsible for trying to bring the magic back. I really enjoyed this story conceptually, but my one criticism is that it just seems unnecessarily long. I’m not asking for a YA pacing—I fully understand that this, like January is an adult novel. But I felt like parts of the story dragged when they shouldn’t have. There’s too much good stuff here for me to be counting the number of pages I have left!

Additionally I liked the inclusion of those who the women’s movement has historically left behind. This includes black women, poor women, sex workers and people in the LGBTQ+ community. The established organizations for women’s suffrage were almost entirely rich, white women and the author made clear that it was that way by design. Instead of accepting these prejudices, the women turned away created their own spaces to fight for their interests, both in the book and in real life.

In total, though, congrats to Ms. Harrow for a successful follow-up! The story is unique and compelling with a lot of elements I could not have seen coming. Historical fantasy is always going to be a favorite sub-genre of mine and I love the way this author transports you with her writing. Always looking forward to whatever she’s putting out next!

This is such a fantastic book!

Sisters Juniper, Bella, Agnes are very different but bound together by witchcraft. Simple stories and charms first taught to them by their grandmother, Mama Mags, then developed as they left their home individually to pursue new lives in New Salem (which took the place of the Salem that burned to the ground.) They are drawn together by interesting circumstances and for a purpose.

While the story revolves around the sisters and reemergence of witchcraft, there is also a compelling character study in how three young women deal with trauma inflicted by their “curse” of a father. Their reactions range from anger, to withdrawal, to escape.

This is much more than a fantasy about witches, it speaks to the broader issues of feminism and repression in the late 19th century, with some whispers of that which still exists today. As you get deeper into the story, you find a predominant theme of sisterhood and making difficult choices for the good of others. All of the characters experience dramatic growth, even the brash and angry Juniper.

The beauty of Alix Harrow is in her boundless imagination and her lyrical phrasing. Here’s an example of prose that is so perfect you have to read it twice:

“That’s all magic is, really: the space between what you have and what you need.”

This book is “magical” and I loved it. It’s a departure from The Ten Thousand Doors of January in theme. But there were so many times in both of them where I wondered how in the world the author came up with something I’d just read. She’s a great storyteller.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Once and Future Witches is built on and around nursery rhymes, which are anything but. The year is 1893, and as The Eastwood sisters come together again after a long separation, they find the strength they didn’t have growing up. Suffragettes with a twist, how perfect! I feel like some reviewers are over reviewing this with impossibly long book report style reviews, so I will keep it relatively short and sweet.

Harrow takes on women’s rights, she shows us what the bonds of sisterhood should be among women, how we should lift each other up instead of tearing each other down, and how we are stronger together. She shows us the power of the written word and the power of oral history. The characters are inclusive with a very diverse cast. The sisters each have unique personalities and talents, and I related to each of them in various parts throughout the book.

This novel took me longer than normal to read. But as a fan of Harrow’s, I know the pain of finishing one of her books too fast, and so I savored what I read. I somehow even kept a slower pace during the tense sections, which was almost impossible. Including stories around the main storyline added a cherry on top of this already delicious treat. An excellent and powerful read. Thank you Redhook Books for sending this along.

This is a book about sisters. It’s about feminism. It’s about witchcraft. There are themes of the oppression of women, the power of tradition, love and sacrifice, and family. Now I have not read many witch stories, but this feels very unique to me. I loved how it incorporated nursery rhymes and children’s stories. It’s been a long time since I read “The Witch of Blackbird Pond” but now I want to go back and reread it.

This was a book was full of hard things but was still hopeful. I really enjoyed this book. It was the right mix of fun and fairy tale. I highly recommend this book.

3.5 stars.

In the late 1800s three sisters who are witches reunite during the suffrage movement. They need to go deep into their past to change what their future holds. A fun fantasy book that is a unique and will keep you guessing!

Taking place in 1893, the book entwines witchery with the sufferagette movement.

The three protagonists - sisters - are beautifully depicted and highly relatable.

The book is about relationships between women, and their struggle for independence, no matter class or race. Witchery is the means by which they fight for freedom.

My review doesnt do this book justice. It is multi layered and wonderfully written.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley. I am leaving my honest review.

Sisters, feminism, and witches, oh my!!! This story follows three estranged sisters, Bella (the bookish older sister), Agnes (the beautiful middle sister), and Juniper (the wild younger sister), who are unexpectedly reunited in New Salem. Together, they seek to reignite witchcraft, empower women, and put an end to the dark and oppressive forces at work in their town. Alix Harrow’s writing style is incredibly eloquent and I loved the feminist messages she conveyed throughout the story. My only complaint is that I struggled to make it through the first portion of the book because it dragged a bit. However, while book was somewhat slow to build, the ending was incredibly satisfying and more than made up for what it lacked in pacing. The story came together in a beautiful and emotionally impactful way. I highly recommend this one! Just be warned that this is a book that will most likely take some time to get in to.