I really enjoyed this book. The world is so well crafted that it just feels like the reader has been placed in the far north of Norway during the time. The characters are beautifully written, and though they are sometimes at odds with each other, the alternating perspectives of the two sisters really made me feel for both of them. I loved the plot and the storytelling. Iversen really did a masterful job.

Sisters Minna and Kaija disagree, as sisters do, on how to go about their adult lives after the loss of their mother. She was burned as a witch, and the girls are divided over whether to hide their witchy powers and live among the villagers, or to remain in their isolated woodland home in order to hone their abilities. A curse is cast, but like most curses, it doesn't do exactly what is expected of it, and both girls will have to deal with the consequences of that dark magic.

This one was a bit confusing at first, as it just jumps headlong into the split between the sisters. I did eventually understand where the plot was going (I didn't read the synopsis) and I did enjoy the book. However, it fell a little flat for me as I didn't find myself invested in either sister's story. I absolutely loved the scene painting and all the details about a small Norwegian village life, but overall I can't say I LOVED it.

Thank you to Chelsea Iversen, Sourcebooks Landmark, Record Books, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

Thanks NetGalley and The publisher for the copy of the audiobook.
This is the story of 2 witchy sisters Mina and Kaia. One is wild and all power and the other is calm and herby and just wishes for a normal life. When their caregiver dies of old age the sisters are forced to decide their futures. Having lived in isolation their whole life for fear of persecution one sister decides to leave behind the life she knows for the life she wants whilst the other becomes isolated and uncontrolled.
The story is set in Norway during the 17th century and is an eerie tale of what it would have been like to live at a time when persecution was very real.

Thank you NetGalley for making this audiobook for me. My opinions are mine alone.

This is a story about two sisters who have taken a very different approach to the circumstances of their lives. One sister wants to move on with her life. The other one wants revenge. It’s a story about consequences. It’s a story about sisterly. Love is a story about compassion and ignorance.

Something I didn’t mind, but can bother a lot of people is there’s not a whole lot of dialogue between the sisters and the side characters. You’re more hearing their internal their internal dialogue, than dialogue between them and other people but the story still has a good flow and good pace to it.

Very different!
The Witches At The End of the World by Chelsea Iversen.
This one is about two sisters (Kaija and Minna), in the 1600’s, who are witches…and unfortunately witnessed their Mom being burned alive at the stake. Following this, their grandma takes them to live with her…
So the book opens up after the death of their grandma (mormor) and the sisters are now grown. Minna who is very good at witchery, and yet can be very forceful and evil…and Kaija who wants to get away from it all and just lead a normal life…
And so we explore all that follows once they go their separate ways…
And…there’s a lot!
Interesting to see the friends and the bonds that are formed once they separate. And sad to see how witches were treated, even when they were not even proven to be witches…at the time.

Great storyline. Great character development. Great scene painting!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RecordedBooksMedia for an ARC of the audiobook which releases on November 7th.

#TheWitchesAtTheEndOfTheWorld by #ChelseaIversen.

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounded up to 4.

Check out all my upcoming recommendations at #BookReviews_with_emsr on Instagram.

Happy Reading!! 📚📖

I tried repeatedly and just could not get into this book. I couldn’t connect with the characters or the story, even though it seemed like one I should enjoy. I found with every attempt my mind would wander and I’d have to reread the same paragraph again and again. If I set it down and switch to something, anything, else, I’m fine. Safe to say this book just isn’t for me. I finally threw in the towel at about the 25% mark.

However, if you like young adult type stories about witches grappling with their relationships with themselves, their magic, and each other, this may be a good read for you.

Thank you Chelsea Iversen, RB Media, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sisters Minna and Kaija hide in the forests of Norway, 13 years after their mother was burned as a witch. The sisters are as different as night and day. Kaija longs to return to her village and live a normal life. Minna, on the other hand, has no such desire. She is a witch, and happily embraces all that entails. When Minna leaves to live a normal life, her sister is enraged, and unleashes a curse on the village. In doing so, Minna may have condemned her sister, to the same fate as their mother. But where there

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for allowing me to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.
I am heading to Norway this coming February and I could not wait to listen to this book. I love fantasy and magic in my books. Add a detailed sense of place to boot and I’m an enthralled reader.

I love learning some traditional Norwegian words that are speckled thought the book and I love hearing about the towns and lore from the Norwegian lands. However, that being said, I was underwhelmed by this book. This felt like two separate journal entries from sisters who are disagreeing about the best way to live life.
(Typically I love a rotting narrative). At times I felt like it was a magic how to guide with far too many boring details about a specific spell being done by Minna. But this did not assist in the character differences between Minna and Kaija, I often lost interest and my mind wandered. It’s a slow starting book, that I thought would pick up and after halfway through I just realized the writing was not my favorite style. Some people love the lyrical, slow, overly descriptive books, but I was missing some action. It seemed to be buried for me.
I appreciate this is about grieving through loss and becoming who you are meant do be with adversary all around. It just wasn’t my favorite read.

The Witches at the End of the World is a melancholy story of two sister witches told in alternating first-person points of view. One sister strives to repress her inner witch and return to the village that killed their mother with its bigotry when they were children; the other embraces the witch within her and only wishes to stay in the woods where they where hidden away by their grandmother. The younger sister does not understand and even resents her sister's abandonment and so sets in motion the events that play out through their tale. The narrative move very slowly, with some plot developments being quite predictable to a point where I almost started to dislike the main characters for being so dim as to miss these things. The story had some heartwarming moments where it achieved the result of being a relaxing cozy read and the titular "End of the World" seems to be more a reference to the geographic ends of the northern Nordic setting rather than a violent end to the planet that would disturb the low-key vibe. I didn't love or hate the book, but simply wanted it to be more...more what? I'm not sure, just more.
I listened to the book as an audiobook with two very good voice-actors each interpreting the role of one of the sisters. The style of the book where the sisters alternated the narration of their story seemed to fit perfectly with the narration itself and after listening to the book, I would say that this clear distinction of voices made it more enjoyable than trying to differentiate the narration if I was reading it as text.
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, RB Media, Recorded Books) in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Medial & Chelsea Iverson for an audio arc of The Witches at the End of the World in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own and may not be reproduced (except for quotations).

“Minna and Kaija live deep in the birchwoods of northern Norway, hiding in the shadows since their mother was burned at the stake thirteen years ago.

Sweet-tempered Kaijia remembers life before the fire—the friendships, the comfort and warmth of community. Her magic is quiet, mostly charms to heal cuts and bruises. She’d happily give it up to have a normal life. Minna, though, was raised in smoke. She’s a witch through and through: full of power and unafraid of it, wrath always simmering just below the surface.

When Kaija decides to return to the village where their mother died to make a new life for herself, Minna, in a rage, releases a curse to raze the community that’s taken everything from her. In doing so, she sets in motion a plot that could destroy Kaija and the new life she’s trying to build. But you can’t take back dark magic once it’s been released, and someone will have to burn. They are witches, after all.”

I have mixed feelings on this one. It was definitely not what I expected it to be. It was more heartbreaking than I anticipated, so I’d warn readers to have tissues ready. This story focuses on the bonds of sisterhood and whether or not those bonds can weather any storm or if some things are just too great to overcome. This story also gives us an all too real glimpse at what it must have been like during the Salem Witch trials.

I want to say that most will love this story. It was touching and full of emotion. My mood was wanting more of a spooky, Halloween-ish book to end October with. But that was just the mood I was in and nothing to do with the well-written book.

I will rate it 4/5 Stars and would recommend it to others.

Such an entertaining novel about sisterhood, magic, revenge and flaunting societal conventions set in ancient Norway and perfect for fans of books like The weaver and the witch queen by Genevieve Gornichec. Great on audio narrated by Liz Pearce and Amy Scanlon. While I did have trouble keeping track of which sister's story was which at times, overall this was a great look at the conflict between living the quiet life one dreams of and battling the forces that seek to extinguish women's limited power. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!