Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
Cherie Dimaline’s latest, Venco, is a book about witches. It also might be the first in a series. I have to admit that I was somewhat unsure if I wanted to read the digital ARC that was offered to me. There was something about the description that made me pause, it almost made Lucky, our heroine sound uninteresting.
Lucky St. James is anything but uninteresting.
Dimaline’s book is at first plush a mid-life coming of age story about a young woman who discovers that she is a witch and must work with the found family she gains upon this discovery. Lucky has problems, like most of us. Her mother died when Lucky was young, and currently Lucky must take care of her paternal grandmother, Stella, who is a lovely woman who is slowly losing her mind.
Lucky is a character you can’t help but root for her because she is messed up in a totally normal, everyday way. But she doesn’t wallow in the unfairness of her life, not really. Angry about it, yes, but she does not go “oh woe is poor me”. She thinks and grow, and this is important.
One of my “complaints” if that is the right word about Marrow Thieves was that it was very male focused, Venco is women centered and focus, connecting women from a variety of backgrounds. It is an intersectional feminist novel.
One of the things that stands is out that the cast is diverse across the board. The women that make up what is Lucky’s Coven comes from all walks of life and different backgrounds, and trans women are women in this novel unlike some other examples I could think of. It is important because of the acceptance that is showcased in the book. When Lucky is told that Freya was not always Freya, Lucky’s reaction is simply that Freya has always been Freya. It is great that in this book people are just accepted for who they are.
Some people might think or even claim that this book is anti-male because the villain is a man. But this would be incorrect. While the Coven is female and the book focuses on the treatment of women by men (we are all the witches that survived type of a thing) there are male characters who help and are wonderful. What I particularly liked about the villain is that Dimaline sets him up so that while you don’t like him, you can also see him as a product of the system as well. Additionally, she is playing with the idea of women as tempter, an idea that was used to condemn witches. Her inversion of it in the story is quite nice.
I particularly loved the fact that the maternal line and women of the paternal line are seen as equally important in the book. Too often in such novels it is the main character’s mother’s side of the family that gets the only magical focus. Dimaline reminds us that we have women on both sides of the family tree, even while showing us the lovely nature of Lucky’s relationship with her mother.
There are some passages in the book that are downright beautiful. There is one early on when Lucky is working home that is so magical.

I was really excited to read this book because the premise sounded so interesting and I typically love anything with witches or magic.

However, I really struggled to get through it, because the pacing felt inconsistent and the story was hard to follow at times. The action really started to pick up during the last quarter of the book and then ended abruptly with no real warning.

That being said, I understand that this is an ARC, and there may be further editing before it is published. I think that this could be a great book with some tweaking, and I hope that it gets there.

Thank you so much to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I started this book over and over, and I just couldn't get into it. The pacing didn't work with me and I found I wasn't enjoying the book.

LOVED LOVED LOVED. This was such a breath of fresh air. No cliff-hanger, just some good old-fashioned lady witches kicking butt.

I have been obsessed with Cherie Dimaline since I read The Marrow Thieves, and VenCo did not disappoint! The second I saw a Dimaline book about witches, I knew I needed it. VenCo surrounded themes of feminism, social issues, intergenerational trauma, and class divisions in a way that represents every marginalized group and is accessible for everyone– something I love about Dimaline’s books as a whole. The suspense of VenCo had me on the edge of my seat while the action had me falling out of it. Lucky’s relationship with her grandmother Stella is so beautifully raw with hints of back-and-forth, humorous banter that made me fall in love with their relationship and road trip adventures. Lucky’s coming of age storyline and her finding herself magically is something everyone needs to read. What would you do to protect those you love when they are all you have left?

Action packed. Adventure. Drama. Funny. Heartfelt. I NEED A PREQUEL/SEQUEL PLEASE!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

VenCo was a delightful read that was different than what I expected from the marketing. When you read the title and description, it sounds like this is going to be a book about a business entity that is also a witch coven/conglomerate through the perspective of a young witch. Which sounds FASCINATING, and which is briefly touched on in the book, but this book is actually more about the journey of one young woman into witchcraft and magic and her own agency. It is told almost more as a traveling adventure narrative - taking place in eastern Canada, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Missouri and Pennsylvania (not in that order) in a beat up car.

I won't spoil it, but it's a really wonderful and heartfelt book, including the stories of many women and how they found themselves. It also seemed like the first in a series - there's definitely more story to be told. I do hope it includes more about VenCo itself!

I LOVED VenCo. This book is so unique and is such a fun (but also dark) read. This is not your average witchy novel; there’s an Oracle-who is actually three separate witches (the maiden, the mother, and the crone), there’s an immortal witch hunter, there’s a hunt to complete a coven of witches, there’s magical objects, there’s dreamwalking, and there’s an MC who needs to grow into herself and her power. I also love how the Oracle runs a successful female driven company (VenCo) which enables witches (women) to be successful in society. Really loved this and would recommend to anyone looking for a witchy read with strong female characters.