I confess, this masterful debut took me a while to read, though only because I never wanted it to end. I felt as if I were engulfed in the magic as I read and listened. The narrators, Liz Pearce and Amy Scanlon, were perfect choices and captured my attention immediately. I can not recommend reading this gorgeous tale of Witches, the Sami, and Norwegian people in north Norway. Chelsea Iversen has written a masterpiece! 5 stars just isn't enough!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Witches at the End of the World is a very atmospheric story of two sisters born with magic. When the sisters are driven from their community, they must make a choice about how to proceed in the world. The writing here is very descriptive and beautiful but the plotting is sparse. For fans of stories that are more about the bond of the characters and the setting, less for an intricate plot.

This book started out a tad slow because of world building and some back information that had to be explained. With that said, the world building set up a beautiful winter setting in the woods. At times, this was a very cozy read.

I loved the mention of Norse Gods and the exploration of witchcraft and magic in different ways throughout the book.

The relationship between sisters being tested and grief were the main focus of the story and in my opinion carried it the whole way. There was a little side romance or two but I actually like that the focus wasn't romance... I know so not like me 😄

This was a great debut novel and I'm so happy I had the privilege of reading it ❤️

If you're looking for something with magic or sisterhood, this is definitely a book for you.

The story narrates the lives of two sisters who grew up together in a fishing village in Norway. Kaija and Minna have different memories of their early life. Kaija remembers when her mother was burned alive and their father before running off to the woods to live their lives as witches. Kaija wants a normal life and moves back to the same village where her mother burned. She meets a man and falls in love, but people keep suddenly dying and there are no fish. Kaija does not realize that her sister cursed the village, but the town soon reverts to the old ways and Kaija can see the witch hunt brewing.

The book is interesting as it has some Norse mythology woven into the story. The narration and the different pronunciations of words used in Norway add to the flavor of the book. However, the pacing was a bit slow for this reader's liking. Though the differences between Kaija and Minna and their life experiences were evident, it felt a little too easy for them to get through the hard times and find each other in their grief.

In conclusion, the story is touching as it shows the characters and the different ways they grieve, and the sisters learn that they can take their magic too far and how that changes them. It is also a tale of how grief impacts people differently and the bond between sisters. However, the pacing was slow, and there wasn't much beyond surface emotions. In the end, everything turned out okay.

THE WITCHES AT THE END OF THE WORLD by @chelseaive was just a magically stunning historically rooted tale of two Sámi sisters with opposing demeanors living in the wilds of Norway with their grandmother around the 1670s. Their mother was burned at the stake as a witch requiring them to flee their village at a young age where they learned their own witchcraft while living in the outskirts of humanity. When their grandmother passes away, the girls have very different ideas of what to do next. Kaija, 23, remembers her friends and the camaraderie of living in a village and takes off to the village in hopes of re-integrating in the guise of a niece of one of the villagers and vowing to renounce her magic. Minna, 19, is still very bitter about their mother's treatment and her magic is an integral part of her life. Now, with her sister's betrayal, she swears to ruin the village and make the villagers pay.

This story had so much of what I love: witches, magic, sibling rivalry and love, historical elements, dual-POV storytelling, etc. It was both enchanting and sorrowful. I loved each sister in their own right and the way they tried to individually deal with the trauma from their past. The story has a modern fairytale feel and just engulfed me from the get. One of my favorite fantasy/historical reads of 2023 for sure!

And the audiobook narration of this one was the real chef's 💋! @lizprc and @scanlonsounds were both positively enchanting to listen to as the voices of the two sisters!

Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and the publisher, @recordedbooks for the audio-ARC.

What is your favorite witchy book? Or what is one on your TBR?

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#bibliophile #booknerd #bookish #bookreview #witchesattheendoftheworld #chelseaiversen #historicalfiction #netgalleyreviewer #netgalley

This story was a bit boring and I did listen to the audio version and some of the pronunciations did not match what I would envision them to sound like in my head. I didnt mind the story so much but it felt very "blah"

Witches At The End Of The World follows two sisters who are witches with very different desires. It takes place in Norway with a backdrop of witch trials and a melancholy tone. The book explores grief, familial bonds, and what humans will do driven by fear and loss.

Since their mother was burned for accusations of witchcraft, Minna and Kaija have been raised in solitude on a mountain by their grandmother. When their grandmother passes, Kaija decides to return to the village where they were born, which prompts Minna to cast a curse in anger that sets off a dark series of events.

I enjoyed the audiobook with its dual narration even though the story felt a bit slow moving. I wasn’t sure where the book was going or what it was trying to say a lot of the time, and I think whether someone enjoys it or not will come down to personal preference.

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.

This wonderful book borders on perfection! We're it not for the first few chapters where I had a hard time getting into it, this would have gotten 5 stars, but I will settle on 4,5.

I loved how the focus was nor in the plot but on the two sisters and their path through life, away from and towards each other. Men were sidecharacters that came and went, what stayed was magic, womanhood and a journey towards self acceeptance.

A must read for every witching out there

I kinda want to be a witch now but also don't want to murder by people who are afraid! This was a good read and I will definitely pick up another book by Chelsea Iversen!

#TheWitchesattheEndoftheWorld
#NetGalley

"The less control you have over the ritual, the less control you will have over the consequences "

"You can't cook mothers alive and not expect their daughters to pay."

The family dynamics explored between sisters living with trauma takes a seriously explosive emotional turn in the introspective The Witches At The End Of The World by debut author Chelsea Iversen. Trauma leaves scars and feelings of anger and bitterness. When you are witches with trauma it can have devastating results.

Kaija and Minna live deep in the dark forest in Norway after being driven from their village for being witches; their mother burned alive. When their grandmother passes away the quiet contemplative Kaija, tired of living in solitude, decides to live a "normal" life in society, hiding her true identity.

Her sister Minna, still bitterly angry over the horrific death of their mother, feels betrayed by Kaija's decision and casts a curse over the village that has dire consequences for the living; and unbeknownst to Minna, may cost Kaija everything.

The drama, the loss, and the grief expressed by voice actresses Liz Pearce (as Minna) and Amy Scanlon(as Kaija) is viscerally real. As Minna screamed her curse out to the universe I felt her pain. When Kaija realized the depth of her sister's vengeance I heard the deep sorrow she felt in her soul.

The story is mostly a narrative within the minds of the sisters on how they're dealing, or not dealing, with their losses, it does slow the pacing but the second half is more dialogue and action. The writing during the curse scene was so descriptive that I didn't just hear it, I saw it. These witches will leave you with no end to their emotional journey.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from #rbmedia via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I liked this book. It felt . . . empty compared to typical fantasy books, but the prose was so well written that I still enjoyed every second of it. I didn't really care that the plot was barely there because what was included was so well worded that I had a lot of fun. I liked the setting and I felt like I could really see everything that happened.

This was a classic case of it's not you, it's me. I've completely reacged saturation points with witchy stories where burning, hanging or torturing women makes up a significant part of the plot. While I am not for a moment suggesting it didn't happen, very few writers ever seem to bother to really research the history beyond lurid details and therefore present the most extreme or even factually incorrect cases. This seems to be doubly so when fantasy draws on the perceived history 'everyone' knows. So I'm afraid this had a strike against it from the start - probably unfairl because this is Norwegian set fantasy.

However, I might have got on better with this book if there had felt like there was a genuine bond of sisterhood between the two main characters. It didn't work for me. When a book is as low plot as this, I need to adore the characters or the setting or the worldbuilding. Unfortunately for me, these were all just ok. Honestly, I think this would have been right up my ally when I was 13 but several decades have lapsed since then and my perspective has shifted dramatically. What I want from a witchy read is women who are powered up (not empowered which suggests that power was grudgingly doled out by a sexist regime), curious, clever and above all have a sense of fun, even if they're facing disaster. I don't need sexism completely removed, but I also don't need 2020s version of sexism imported. Basically take me on a fun and perilous journey. This was not that. At least not for me.

That said, if you prefer low plot and little description, then you might well love this because the writing is beautiful and the characters are interesting enough. Ultimately, this just wasn't for me.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

awesome story about two sisters who grow apart just to come back to find each other again. it is amazing to see how, when apart, both sisters change in ways that make them more like the other sister, and they start understanding the other. their relationship was ugly and beautiful at the same time, and their story was awesome.

i was expecting the story to be more about terrible witchcraft and scary events, but really it is about family, and i think that thats beautiful.

the audio was awesome as well, the voices really matched the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced listening copy of this audiobook.

I very much enjoyed The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen, especially the dual narration of Liz Pearce and Amy Scanlon, who perfectly captured the personalities of witch sisters Kaija and Minna. After their mother is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake by their fishing village, the sisters are whisked to remote and hidden birchwood by their grandmother, who teaches them runes and spells and magic. However, when their grandmother passes away at the beginning of the book, Kaija decides to return to the village and live amongst her former neighbors, hiding the witch within her. Enraged that her sister has abandoned her for those who murdered their mother, Minna curses the village. What follows is a tale of survival and redemption for sisters whose love runs deep.

The Witches at the End of the World is full of Kaija's and Minna's various emotions as they navigate their lives apart for the first time. Each sister carries grief and love and intense power, though Kaija tends to use her witchcraft to heal and protect, and Minna uses hers for more destructive ends. I really liked the descriptions of casting spells and of the day-to-day life in the fishing village.

Overall, this was an interesting, character-driven story, with plenty of magic and danger to keep me wondering what would happen next.

I want to start of by saying that I love the cover of this book, it was one of the reasons why I wanted to check this book out.
Secondly, the plot of two sisters living in the woods of Norway using magic piqued my interest even more.
It start off very solid using the magic as the plot between two sisters and their past and present. However, somewhere in the middle I got confused, The monologues were good but when introducing other characters I felt disconnected.
I still am interested in seeing what else this author can write and I will be putting it on my tbr lists

Minna and Kaija have spent the last 13 years with their grandmother in the birchwood, all alone. After the village they were born in burned their mother at the stake, they all fled, since the accusations were true: She was a witch, and so are the three remaining women. Whilst Minna is happy where she grew up, her only proper memory of her birthplace being her mother's execution, Kaija has dreamt of going back and living a normal life for some time now. Of course, she'll have to hide her magic, but that's only a small price to pay for some normalcy and the company of other people. After their grandmother's death, she finally decides to make the journey. But her sister doesn't agree with her choice and the disagreement sets things in motion that no one could have predicted.
I really really liked this story! Told from both Minnas and Kaijas perspective, the reader (or listener, in my case) gains insight not only into each character and their thoughts and feelings but also into their respective perceptions of loss, family and home. The characters were well written and the plot was well thought through. I could feel with and for both and I loved the author's style. Special mention to the way she wrote the relationship between the sisters - it felt very realistic. This was a lovely and heartbreaking story about love, loss and sisterhood. Would definitely pick up another book by her!
I listened to this on audiobook, the narrators did a wonderful job.

I really enjoyed this setting, in a historical version of Norway in small villages and the wilderness. It really contributed the ambiance of the book, and made it feel like a good wintertime read. I also enjoyed the writing style quite a bit.

I struggled to connect with the characters here, unfortunately. They felt immature and unlikeable for the majority of the book. I also had trouble buying into the relationships - between any characters, but especially between the sisters. It felt like they just really didn’t like each other.

I also felt like this book suffered from saying instead of showing. We got a lot of internal monologue and time jumps, followed by a lot of descriptions of what the characters did during the weeks and months we skipped past.

This was a great concept that was not executed in a way that I loved. A lot of the story was told through the thoughts of the two sisters, so while I felt I got to know them well, I didn't feel connected to the other characters that these sisters cared for. It felt like it was neither character nor plot driven, so I felt a bit lost. The writing was great, so I see a strong future for this author, I was just not fully connected to this one.

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.