The ending was the best part. Not a bad book, but for being a book about witch sisters, one who wants to keep away from the village that burned their mother and the other who desires to go back to the village and live, it was a bit dull for me. Not a bad book, just not as interesting for me as I expected.

I loved the premise but the execution of this book just did not work for me.

“The Witches at the End of the World” is about two witch sisters, Minna, the dark one full of rage and revenge, and Kaija, the light one who wants nothing more than comfort and security. They live in the birchwood in a remote part of Norway, caught between old gods and new ones who see nothing but trouble in strong women or anyone who’s different. One day Kaija runs away to the village to make a home for herself and Minna unleashes a devastating curse.

There was lots to like here. I thought the religious contrasts were fascinating. The two sisters were very typical of love/hate sibling relationships. I loved the feminist themes and strong female characters trying to make it in a patriarchal, still very ancient world.

But then it was just… that. The plot didn’t really go anywhere; not much happened in it. The story dragged to the point where it was a slog to get through. There was some beautiful writing describing the sisters, their motivations, witchcraft and feminism, but I felt like it was just that, a clever idea, interesting characters and a flat, kind of forgettable story. It would have worked better as a short story or novella.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Short synopsis: After the death of their mother caused by the village many years ago, two sisters (also witches) were raised by their grandmother in the isolation of the birchwood and taught the ways of their magic. But free their grandmother passes, the two sisters realise just how different they are from each other, one calm and longing for a life back around civilisation while the other is full of anger and wants to stay hidden. Told through a duel POV, you see just how the strong bond of sisters can be.

While I enjoyed this book, reading through it without hesitation or losing concentration, it definitely feels like it’s missing… something. It’s thorough in creating a image in the readers mind but some of the story gets caught up in it. I can’t help but wonder how much further the story been explored without if not for the picturesque descriptions.

If you like a slow, cozy book this could be for you. This is about a small family that falls a part due to differences, and learning to mend those relationships. The beginning of the book was very repetitive but this did change later. There were a couple parts of the story that jumped in time and it did throw me off, so I think the book would have benefited if there were headings that said “3 months later” for example. The ending was really good! It was wrapped up perfectly, and everything came back in full circle. This book personally wasn’t for me because I like a faster book, but if you like a village setting, witch craft, poetic style of writing and family dilemmas, then I think would enjoy it.

A FANTASTIC witchy read set in old Scandinavia about 2 sisters who could not be more different about how they see themselves and their magical gifts.

Thank you, Chelsea Iversen and Sourcebooks Fire, for providing me with an Arc through NetGalley! An e-book was provided before the release date in exchange for an honest review.

I was hoping to enjoy this book more than I had. Not that I didn’t like the book, but it took longer to read than it perhaps should have, given that the e-arc was only 265 pages. Chelsea Iversen has a beautiful way with words; however, the story itself falls flat. This is the author’s debut novel, so there is plenty of room for them to grow! I feel that giving the story more dialogue or a little less internal thought, especially for one of our sisters, Kaija, considering the people surrounding them.

I enjoyed how both sisters, Kaija and Minna, are fully fleshed-out characters after their things. It’s refreshing. However, the ‘I’m not like my sister’ got a little old afterwards. It felt like the love that was described initially didn’t even exist.

If your thing is historical witches, verses of description, and character lead plots, this book may be for you! I would recommend picking it up if you know this is your thing! I look forward to Chelsea Iversen’s future work!

I requested this book because the title sounded interesting, and the premise struck a chord with me.

As I began reading, I quickly realized this book was not for me due to a few reasons, all of which are personal preferences.

The story is written in the present tense and leans heavily on internal dialogue and recollection dumps. This pulled me out of the immediate action.
There was very little dialogue and repetitive subjects about the past, which detracted from the pacing.

Again, the language was very flowery and overly dramatic, a style preference.

If you are a fan of dramatic, witchy stories which lean on atmosphere and less on plot, this may be a book for you.

Thank you for the ARC of The Witches At The End of The World.

When I read the blurb for this I thought it sounded really interesting, I love a good witch story and the dark aspects sounded really interesting but it just didn't quite get there.

The writing itself was lovely, and the characters were really strong but not a lot really happened.

I read a review of a different book once that said it was 'all vibes no plot' and that's how I feel about The Witches At The End of The World.

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and Chelsea Iverson for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

I am ALL over anything witchy , spooky, dark, tense, and emotional.

This book seemed exactly the kind of book I would read just based on the cover, title, and basic blurb. The premise of this story really pulled me in wanting to read more. This one is dual POV with two sisters, and their story of their obstacles, emotional trials, and fighting for power. Two very different sisters.

The writing in this book was truly well done and very picturesque descriptions created images in my mind. My biggest complaint is that I just feel like there was too much description and not enough tension, drama to make up for the abundance of description. I just wish there could have been a little more to it so I was more excited to read and keep going, unfortunately this one did drag. I have been sitting on this one for two months now, so it’s just taken quite some time to try to finish it. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a good story, and I would recommend, it just fell a little short if what I was personally expecting, so don’t let that keep you from trying it out.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

This book was very disappointing. I think it had potential but there were elements keeping it from being good. I didn't love the relationship between the sisters, it felt very judgemental and there didn't seem to be any sensitivity between them to understand each other. The writing was beautiful but nothing seemed to really happen either.

I just can’t get enough! If you love a good witchy read, that is historic and will leave you at the edge of your seat, this is for you!!!!

A tale of two sister witches, living in the deep woods far away from the village that burned their mother as a witch. I’m torn with this book, it was equal parts exciting and boring. Kaija is soft and sweet, Minna is angry and impulsive and together they have just lost their grandmother, their choices upending their peaceful life and causing each other heart ache and pain. My two biggest flaws with this book is that there’s chapters of ordinary life that just wasn’t necessary and dragged on, also the ending leaving Olen abandoned when there was clearly a connection with Minna is frustrating. Kaija learnt her lesson the hard way and although she had something for her troubles it feels like she was more impulsive and naive than her sister a lot of the time.

I loved the premise of this book. The dual POV and witchy atmosphere is something that is right up my alley. There were moments when this book moved swiftly and things came together for me, but often it dragged. While the imagery is outstanding, there was little dialogue so it did take a long time to plow through it.

Book : The Witches at the End of the World
Author : Chelsea Iversen
Pub Date: 17 Oct 2023

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was just what I was looking for! A story about two witches who live in a forest. It gave all the good witch vibes AND if you like dual POV like I do…this is going to be the one for you.

I sat down with this book and it took a little while for me to read through but I honestly kept turning pages when I did pick it up because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. There are some twists and some turns in there that threw me through a little loop. The world building was great and the dialogue was as well but I would have liked a little more from the sisters. I enjoyed the story and the plot and thought this is the perfect crisp evening weekend read if you are looking for something a little different, eerie and witchy to dive into.

I enjoyed this book and have already been talking to some book buddies about this book and told them to anticipate the release. I cannot wait to see what this author has in store for more books in the future.

Thank you to Chelsea Iversen and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This doesn’t affect my thoughts towards the book in any way.

3.5 ⭐️

Kaijah and Minna’s journey is a wonderful tale that tells us how a bond between sisters goes beyond the separation of distance and time. Told in dual POVs, this story was driven by both longing and revenge woven by sisters’ love for each other. Both of them were equally strong and determined in their own ways, no matter how wicked and protective they may be as witches. As an only child, it was nice to read a book purely written to convey familial love and forgiveness towards a sibling since it wasn’t a feeling I wasn’t able to experience growing up. Suffice to say, this was an emotional read since both our main characters deal with their own definition of heartbreak and loss throughout this book. Yet, I stand by my rating since given that the premise signifies a lot of thrill, I didn’t feel the plot thickening since nothing really happens. I just hope there could’ve been more tension to this story besides the picturesque narration.

Nevertheless, I’d recommend this! I love how this book portrays incredibly strong women fighting for two completely different ideal futures. They didn’t really need a man towards the end and I loved that.

I was hoping to do a good review especially since this is my first on netgalley but i haveto be homest.
This book almost created a reading slump, took me a while to get through.
It was beautifully written. But honestly that's about all that's going for it. Maybe I had too high hope but it just didn't live up to what I wanted. I am willing to reread it and give it another go in the future because the writing truly was beautiful.

Posted a review on goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

What can I say? The author blew me away. You will not regret buying this one! Fantastic book. You will not want to put it down!

Five plus stars

Highly recommend.

i am very disappointed by this book. i liked the writing which is full of picturesque sentences that sound beautiful. but the book feels empty. there's barely any plot in it, which isn't to my taste.
i also found that the sisterly love minna and kaija proclaimed to have for one another wasn't really there. they judged each other and refused to understand each other. all the interactions they had with one another were uncomfortable because at times i felt like they hated each other. it was more as if they had to interact because they're blood relatives and they share the ability to do magic, rather than they want to interact with one another.
that wouldn't have been an issue to me if there was something happening in the text. i wish there was more story: that there was more plot, more dialogue, more lore. i feel like i would've enjoyed the book more then.

This one fell a bit flat for me, unfortunately. I would’ve appreciated more dialogue versus the internal monologue of thoughts. Maybe some good editing will help clean this up & cut out a lot of the extra “weight” that seems to slow the novel up. I received this eARC from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion. Thank you!

As always, I am so thankful to Sourcebooks for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't finish this one because it was JUST. TOO. SLOW. I love witchy stories but this one just wasn't doing enough for me.

However, I could see someone who loves historical settings liking it.