I suppose in some ways all anthologies will contain hits as well as misses. For me, this anthology had a lot of misses, but the hits are good enough that I can’t in good conscience fully discourage picking it up.

As exposure to a broad crop of diverse authors, I found the book quite successful. Perhaps this is reason enough to give it a shot. You’ll have a better idea of which authors you enjoy at the end, and who you should follow with and read more of.

For me, the hits were:
- What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata by P. Djeli Clark
- Good Spells by Ken Liu
- John Hollowback and the Witch by Amal El-Mohtar

Finally, from reading the Editor's note, there seems a kind of implicit goal that this anthology would change (or perhaps expand) our definition of the term “witch”. Here I felt like we were on more tenuous ground. For many stories within the anthology, I was pages in before I could sus out the new definition of “witch” the story was attempting to put forth and sometimes even frustrated that they had tried to connect their story to witchcraft at all.

For a full review please take a look at my blog: https://alligatorsandaneurysms.wordpress.com/2023/09/15/unmet-ambitions-and-hidden-gems-in-strahans-the-book-of-witches/

Seed of Power by Linda D. Addison: Poem

***** What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata by P. Djeli Clark: Short Story - I loved every second of this one! It was so, so, so good!

DNF - Catechism for Those Who Would Fine Witches by Kathleen Jennings: Short Story written as a catechism - I didn't like this style. didn't know what a catechism was, apparently it's a Q&A session?

*** The Luck Thief by Tade Thompson: Short Story

** Good Spells by Ken Liu: Short Story

***** The Liar by Darcy Little Badger: Short Story This one was so spooky and good!

Escape Artist by Andrea Hairston: Poem

DNF - The Witch is Not the Monster by Alaya Dawn Johnson: Short Story

****Met Swallow by Cassandra Khaw: Short Story - A fox lives inside the body of a dying girl? Sold.

****The Nine Jars of Nukulu by Tobi Ogundiran: Short Story - This one was very good!

**In a Cabin, In a Wood by Kelly Robson: Short Story - I'm not even sure this was magical?

***What Dreams May Come by C.L. Clark: Short Story - Loved the view of a transgender witch being denied the ability to use their family's magic, but the story felt a bit flat.

She Who Makes the Rain by Millie Ho: Poem

**As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand by Indrapramit Das: Short Story I'm honestly not even sure what this was.

****Orphanage of the Last Breath by Saad Z. Hossain: Short Story So good! Deals with police brutality and how historically, medicine women were labelled as witches.

***The Unexpected Excursion of the Murder Mystery Writing Witches by Garth Nix: Short Story - This had a few interesting bits but wasn't very enjoyable.

***So Spoke the Mirror Witch by Premee Mohamed: Short Story - I wish this one had been longer

****Just a Nudge by Maureen McHugh: Short Story - A dark one!

***Her Ravenous Waters by Andrea Stewart: Short Story

**Deja Vue by Tochi Onyebuchi: Short Story

Botanica: A Song in Four Movements by Sheree Renee Thomas: Poem

****Through the Woods, Due West by Angela Slatter: Short Story

***Nameless Here for Evermore by Fonda Lee: Short Story - Another dark one.

DNF - Mask of the Nautilus by Sheree Renee Thomas: Short Story

***Night Riding by Usman T. Malik: Short Story

DNF - Witchfires by E. Lily Yu: Short Story

DNF - The Academy of Oracular Magic by Miyuki Jane Pinckard: Short Story

**The Cost of Doing Business by Emily Y. Teng: Short Story

****John Hollowback and the Witch by Amal El-Mohtar: Short Story

Overall there were some really great stories in here but there were also some that didn't interest me at all. So, a worthwhile pick up if you're looking for some good witchy short stories but just know that all of them may not work for you.

I'm just really sad to say that this anthology was a mostly a miss for me. I was really excited to pick this one up as it did have some authors I have really enjoyed in the past. Sadly nothing really just stood out this time. This book is also very long and seemed kind it could have been trimmed down.

I highly would recommend checking out other short stories or novels from these authors. As I have read some really incredible stories from them in other collections.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Collection of stories featuring witches from all over the world. I was excited for this one, as I like stories about witches, and was curious about global stories about witches.

Unfortunately, I found the majority of the stories a bit of a slog to get through. Like most anthologies, this one was a bit of a mixed bag, with a couple of the stories being very good, a few rather mediocre, and some that were just not for me.

I initially DNFed this but a friend recommended I read just a story or two in between novels and this allowed me to appreciate the short stories much more. I'm still not sure this format is for me, but I'm glad I found a way to enjoy this collection of stories.

I do think this was a good mix of stories about all kinds of witches. The stories ranged from sci-fi to fantasy to mystery and from lighthearted to quite dark. Because of this readers may not enjoy all of the stories, but every reader should find some of the stories enjoyable.

Some of the stories I really enjoyed were What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata, The Liar, The Cost of Doing Business, and John Hollowback and the Witch. I definitely would have read an entire novel based off the premise of The Liar because I found it so interesting. The story is complete and well done as is but I would love to read more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As with any anthology, this one had stories I was sucked into immediately and couldn't get enough of (couldn't they be longer?) and some that weren't exactly my vibe. All in all, it was a strong collection, and I enjoyed getting to see witchcraft depicted in different eras and cultures, all while having a string tying them together at their core. Well worth the read, particularly during the upcoming spooky season!

the book of witches is so engaging and every story is so very different, though i received an ePUB arc i also listened to the audiobook and LOVED it, there was about 10 narrators doing lots of different voices for each story it was so incredibly immersive! the stories differ so much more than you’d expect when picking up an anthology focused on specific fantasy element like witches but each author wrote something truly unique. the witches in these stories were all different genders, cultures, and backgrounds.

i found myself constantly saying “this is my favorite story, no wait this one is”. i’ve never read an anthology before, but it allowed me to read small snippets from authors i’ve never read from before, and now my tbr has grown exponentially because i need to read more from them asap!

Thanks to @netgalley for the reader copy. I really wanted to enjoy this one as I love the premise- the concept of “witch” is so rich and varied and multifaceted based on culture and background. But the story assortment comes across a little too eclectic, a little too much genre whiplash. Some of the stories were beautiful and stuck with me, some I struggled just to get through, and bouncing between such extremes just left me a little tired by the end.

I always find rating and reviewing anthologies difficult, because there's such a variety in quality when you're dealing with 28 different stories. I picked this up because I recognized quite a few of the authors—some I've read from before and enjoyed, others that have books on my TBR. Overall, I really enjoyed the project, and the focus on diverse representation and depictions of witches.

Standouts:
Good Spells by Ken Liu (5⭐)
This was my first work by the author, and I definitely need to pick up more, because this was fantastic.

What Dreams May Come by C.L. Clark (5⭐)
This had great pacing and emotional impact, which I think is really hard to do in short stories.

So Spake the Mirrorwitch by Premee Mohamed (5⭐)
The writing and premise were excellent, and I loved the twist. Mohamed is definitely an author whose shorter works I really appreciate.

Witchfires by E. Lily Yu (5⭐)
Really strong story about the persecution of anyone who is seen as "other", and how easy it is to start literal witchhunts.

John Hollowback and the Witch by Amal El-Mohtar (5⭐)
I loved the premise of this, but also everything it had to say about entitled men/incels.

If any of the following sounds interesting to you, you’re going to want to pick up this collection: a world haunted after climate change made the seas rise, dreamwalkers, futuristic witch hunts, witches who write murder mysteries, a mirror-making witch, a nurse with a magical bloodline & a terrible neighbor, a river goddess who turns drowned women into witches, witch-burning with a mobile crematorium, or a witch employed by a factory where she essentially performs the same function as a school nurse.

The above descriptions are just a small taste of the wide variety of stories collected from a diverse group of authors that each had a very different take on the topic of witches. Although I didn’t love every single story, I did enjoy reading wildly varying tales derived from a single prompt because it was amazing to see what these talented writers came up with.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What makes a witch? Mostly they are women, but not always. Commonly they are lonesome, reclusive figures, but nearly as often they can be found in the company of mortals or alongside their faithful familiars. Sometimes they walk among us, unseen and unremarked, while other times they are hounded and harried, or in rare instances even worshipped.

What makes a witch? and How does the world answer witches? are the twin questions which drive every short story in The Book of Witches, edited by Jonathan Strahan. This collection combines witchy stories from established authors like Sheree Renee Thomas, Fonda Lee, Andrea Stewart, and Amal El-Mohtar with new and emerging authors like Emily Y. Teng, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, and Millie Ho. 

Each of these authors has a distinct voice, and a unique answer to the collection's central questions. Additionally, the stories and authors chosen for The Book of Witches were selected to represent a diverse cross-section of cultural backgrounds and traditions. So while there are a few stories featuring Western-style witches riding broomsticks and stirring cauldrons, most of the stories in this collection have a far more unique --and thus more interesting-- answer to the question of what it means to be a witch.

Was good, the plot was well developed.. It give you adventures and mystery. well worth the read. I love the way the author define the characters and the scenes. I definitely would recommend this to other people

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for my honest opinion.

This was an interesting read compared to what I normally read. The short stories all were very different some seemed written more as true tellings of historical information about witches while others seemed fiction. I think it was well put together and had stories for everyone. A couple weren’t my favorite and I skipped to the next story. Overall, it was very interesting and I liked sprinkling in the short stories between reads. I’m not sure if short stories are overall for me but I would highly recommend this to someone who prefers that type of read or if I’m in a witchy mood and just want a little dose of witchiness.

Most short story anthologies are hit or miss, and for me, this collection was nearly all miss. I honestly didn't enjoy any of these stories, and not a one sticks out as even memorable. Just not what I was expecting, I suppose.

This short story collection put me under a spell from the moment I started it and I could hardly put it down til I was finished - fitting, for a collection of stories about witches of all kinds.

Usually, collections like this can be hit or miss, with some stories being noticeably stronger or weaker than others. I was amazed that every story in this collection was a winner for me! While some stories certainly resonated with me more than others, none of them were true misses. One of the challenges with short stories is grabbing the reader and immersing them in your world in such a short number of pages; this means that if a story doesn't grab a reader immediately, they might not be invested in the story before the ending arrives, leaving the final moments unaffecting. Every story in this collection grabbed me in one way or another, leaving me thinking about the witches in them long after I had finished the story.

I have a soft spot for fiction that explores witches, especially around themes of monstrous women - whether in truly fantastical terms or in a historical, grounded lens, looking at the ways we view powerful women. The short stories in The Book of Witches explore a wide variety of monstrous women through a myriad of different cultural lenses. This collection is incredibly diverse and it was a joy to see so many different myths and folklore explored through these stories. Some stories were rooted in history or in fantasy, others looked to the future for inspiration. They explored queerness, race, otherness, trauma, longing, desire, and revenge - no two were alike in themes or writing and it was wonderful to start a new story, excited to see what each one would explore.

All of the authors were incredible and each story brought an important interpretation to the collection, but I particularly loved Cassandra Khaw, C. L. Clark, Angela Slatter, and Toby Ogundiran's stories.

I loved this so much that I'll probably purchase a physical copy - I'd love to annotate it, to dig deeper into the types of witches the stories follow and break down all the angles of what it means to be a witch within these worlds. Thank you so much to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC - it's one of the best ARCs I've had the pleasure of reading and I can't wait for others to read this collection and share their thoughts!

Strahan manages to collect a diversity of not just authors, but forms as well for this anthology. There's a really good rhythm to how the stories are laid out, and for the most part, these stories are all bangers. Special nod to Amal El Mohtar's story that closes out the anthology though, as it's a hell of an unexpected gut punch.

I've come to thoroughly enjoy books like this that include work from a variety of different authors and this book is no different!
I really liked being able to experience the writing style of so many different authors while still being to enjoy a common theme. Plus, as they are shorter stories, they do a great job of catching your attention!
A great option to pick up this spooky season :)

THE BOOK OF WITCHES is a pretty neat and diverse anthology all centered around witches. Poetry, short stories, and more, this book spans multiple genres and themes, and it does so in a way that permanently engages the reader and the anticipation never slows down. The standout story for me was the first one, "What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devahrata" by P. Djeli Clark. OMG! What a world building, emotional, incredible story! I could have read an entire novel with this world and these characters. I had a great time with most of the works in this anthology, but Clark's definitely stood out to me the most.

Witchy season is coming (or did it ever leave??) so give this one a go if you're looking for some diverse witch stories this season!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of this witchy anthology!

I loved the idea of this more than the execution, but I can definitely see other people enjoying it more. There were stories that I really enjoyed a lot, but overall it felt really long and I found myself struggling to finish reading it. I did pick up the audio to help me out and the narrators did a great job of giving each story its own voice.

Really enjoyed this book of short stories, which is unusual for me; I prefer long formats in general. Strahan's collection of witch stories is spooky and multi-dimensional. well done!