Told from multiple timelines, this story weaves cultural and supernatural elements into a new take on witches. I found the story intriguing as an avid fantasy reader and loved the novel take on the magic in the book.

Such a rich and beautifully told book about intergenerational love and pain, and how the characters are tethered to, but separate from, each other.

This book has some magical realism, some time travel, lots of family stuff, even a bit of political commentary. It was an interesting and sometimes odd mix. A second odd thing is that magic doesn't seem to be good for very much in the book. I wonder if these characters needed to be witches at all, honestly.

The author knows their Texas history, and those who worry obsessively about brown people who speak Spanish and will both come to take their jobs and commit horrible crimes might benefit from reading about characters that feel very true to life, Latino characters who are accomplished, smart, and whose families have been here longer than white colonists have. In a way, this book was a love letter to the rich history and culture of these people.

The reason that I didn't rate the book higher is that it didn't really have much of a plot. There's the modern day slice of life and then the wtich/nun story that takes place in the past. A lot of the story felt kind of soapy, and it was a little too slow for me. The story is circular and that meant that I never felt a lot of tension. But I think this author has a lot of skill and I'd be willing to try another book by them.

What a fun, spooky, witchy read! I loved the themes of this book - life and death; boundaries and liminalities; the power of family and nature; etc, etc. The complex relationships between women were especially moving to me - I love reading family focused supernatural fiction, and the complexities of these women really made this prose shine. For a male author, the "constant unease" (as another reviewer put it) evoked by men is masterful. Honestly, I don't have any major complaints! If you enjoyed any of the comp titles, I would highly recommend this.

It's been a difficult week for reading (for me) so it was nice to hit a book that had such female strength, love, and compassion. I liked learning about the family, the lineage and to read the back and forth. It was a good story, one that I wasn't instantly drawn to but slow burn brought into. The flipping back and forth is a little jarring at first but I found myself finally settling into it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This one was hard for me to get into. I tried, but nothing was keeping my engaged long enough to remember what happened and I was never excited to pick this one up. I liked the way Jaramillo wrote, so I might give it a shot another time, but right now it's just not the right book for me.

I really liked this book up until the ending. I liked how it started, with the dual time periods changing. I felt like my aunts or grandparents were telling me a family story that has been passed on for generations. Going back to the ending, I felt like there could have been more to the story. Did they encounter with La Vista again? Did they win against Soto? I really liked it but the ending left me hanging.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating The Witches of El Paso, and it was absolutely worth the wait. This book blends historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary magic in such a captivating way that it demands to be savored, not rushed. Despite being under 300 pages, it’s packed with an intricate plot and rich magical elements that are easy to get lost in if you’re not fully immersed.

The story spans multiple timelines—from modern-day El Paso to the 1940s and even further back into colonial Mexico. In the present, we follow Marta, a mother and lawyer who discovers she’s also a witch. Marta begins working with her great-aunt Nena, a powerful witch in her own right, to find someone who’s been lost for years. Nena's past also unfolds, with glimpses of her teenage years in the 1940s, when she was caring for her sister’s children and longing for freedom. Her journey takes a magical turn one night with the arrival of Sister Benedicta, who leads her into a world of ancient magic in colonial Mexico. Here, Nena learns the power—and the cost—of her abilities.

The magical elements in this book are mesmerizing. From the spellbinding potion-making scenes to the richly detailed settings across time, The Witches of El Paso offers an immersive and enchanting experience. At times, I found myself needing to slow down to appreciate all the details—there’s so much depth and care in each chapter.

I’m giving this book 4 ½ stars (rounded up to 5) for its lush storytelling, magical realism, and satisfying ending. Thank you, NetGalley and the publishers, for this ARC ebook!

Jumping back and forth between past and present, this is a tale of time travel and witches told through a magical realism lens. I wanted to like this one, but the pacing was too slow and the story a bit repetitive. Thank you to MetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

The last 1/3 of this book was so disjointed that I actually wonder if I got a bad Kindle download or something. The dual timeline was ok, although I strongly preferred the historical timeline. But by 75%-80% I was wondering how they were going to wrap up all the storylines by the end. Turns out, he didn't. It was just the absolute weirdest feverdream of a "resolution" to the Nena/Rosa thing and ZERO resolution to Marta's lawsuit and the whole La Vista thing. Seriously... did a section of final book get cut from my Kindle download? Was there some Sister Benedicta/Pablo conflict that I missed?

I'll give it 2 stars for the first 50% being decent.

This books follows generations of an El Paso family and their women who are witches (maybe, kinda sorta, but not like you’d think). There’s also time travel! And a force that comes over the women that makes them *passionate* and *full of desire* (rolls eyes, this was the part that make me side eye the male author writing women). That would be a lot, but there’s also a modern plot point exploring a sexual assault case in El Paso. This part gets very little attention due to the aforementioned threads of time travel and *passion* (lol).

For me, there was too much going on, and the jumps in time should’ve been marked to make it more seamless to follow. The audio narration would’ve benefited from multiple narrators as well. Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy!

3.25 stars — liked it okay enough, but it didn't grip me. I enjoyed Nena's storyline when she was younger in colonial Mexico much more than present-day Marta's chapters. The premise is interesting, and while I have read many novels about witches, I have not yet read one about Mexican witches with this particular gift. If this were a book entirely about Nena in the convent in the 1790s, I would have enjoyed it more. One thing I did love was the descriptions of El Paso/Juarez, as those are not places I am familiar with and I enjoyed learning about the history of the region.

Title: The Witches of El Paso
Author: Luis Jaramillo
Narrated by: Raquel Beattie
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: Approximately 9 hours and 50 minutes
Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio. Thank you!

Do you like to read books for the Halloween season? If so, what are your favorites?

The Witches of El Paso is a brand-new book that was just published in October. It features a family that can travel through time with their inherited magic. Nena is a teenager in 1943 El Paso, Texas. She takes care of her sisters’ children, but she longs for her own life and adventure. She prays for help and the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives in response. She then travels back in time to 1792 where her gift of “La Vista” is calling her. There she lives in a convent until the day that a mysterious illness kills many and she is sent to care for a sick family member of one of the nuns and her life is changed forever.

In the present day, Marta is a civil rights attorney living in El Paso with her husband and children. She helps her old aunt Nena on her quest to find her missing child. Marta also finds her own “La Vista” along the way.

My thoughts on this novel:

• This was a multigenerational family drama, and I greatly enjoyed it.

• I loved the magical realism of the story. There wasn’t too much magic, but I did enjoy how both Marta and Nena found themselves and their magic.

• I enjoyed the glimpse into Hispanic culture and the history of El Paso.

• I really enjoyed Nena’s time in the convent in the 1700’s. The history and day to day life was fascinating to me.

• I also enjoyed Marta. As a mother, wife, and attorney, she feels herself pulled in many directions. She also cares for Nena and through Nena, Marta is finally able to find her authentic self.

• It was also interesting comparing the life of a woman in the 1700s, 1940s, and current day.

• Raquel Beattie was an excellent narrator and made the story very enjoyable.

Overall, The Witches of El Paso was an interesting magical realism, family drama, and time slip novel that was perfect fall reading.

Marta is a middle-aged lawyer who cares for her elderly great-aunt Nena. Nena claims to have a child she lost in the past. Marta is stuck in her career and personal life. Together, the women discover truths about themselves and their families. And the common threads they share are premonitions and music. Can the witches of El Paso find the truth about their family and their past?
This story unfolds in dual-timeline, which was a little confusing when I returned to the book after a reading break.
I also didn't care for the graphic sexual content. The book contains some profanity and emotional abuse, too.
I really like that the women in the book come to life. They find their voices and become empowered. Even though this empowerment stems from magic, this ability is available to anyone.
My favorite quote: “For too much of life we’re asleep. Don’t you give me that look. I’m not criticizing. You do good work, helping people. You have a beautiful house. You have two handsome and smart boys. But being comfortable isn’t the same as being happy.”

This was a fascinating story. I enjoyed the different timelines and the fact that this was family history brought down through the ages. I am looking forward to more works by this author.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This sweet fantasy book moved me so much more than I was expecting! While I'm a little late reading it (perfect for October), I highly recommend picking this up before 2024 ends - this will likely be in your "best of "stack.

This book was weird and unique. It was a singular take on witchcraft that I particularly enjoyed in that I also live in the Southwest. I feel like it’s more common to read about New England witches, so I liked that part. I also like the historical perspective. The plot was a little slow/loose… I wasn’t quite sure what the characters were trying to accomplish in a lot of cases, both in the past and in the present. I liked the magical system and the setting. I would recommend this but it’s not a super strong recommendation.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this! The descriptive language was a little confusing at times, but overall - a fast paced read and entertaining!

Time travel books are not my favorite, but I wanted to give this a try to make sure I still felt that way—I very much do. Jaramillo is a skilled storyteller but his prose dragged on and on for me and I found this to be slow and boring in many parts. This attempts to weave together family, witches, magic, and history and while I enjoyed the family aspect, the rest didn't quite work for me. For such powerful witches they seemed to miss a lot of important details. The themes explored were wonderful!

3.5 ⭐️s
Thank you to Atria Books, Primero Sueno Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

I'd give this one 3.5 stars. I loved the idea of it, but the time travel left me with questions that were unanswered. Like if she time traveled and came back, did no time pass? It seemed like that was what was implied as no one questioned where she was... they only listened to her story and put her in the mental health ward. On that same train of thought... if she said she went to another time and gave birth and came back with symptoms of having given birth, how was that not addressed or at the very least questioned in a medical facility? I mean I understand that even in the present time of her youth it is our past time so medical/mental health ideas still had some evolving to get to where we are today, but still. No one thought huh, her story sounds crazy but it DOES look like she gave birth? I mean even her granddaughter was more inclined to believe her and she didn't SEE the symptoms.

Anyway. Looking past what brought up more questions for me than it did answers, the story itself was wonderful. The generational discovering of who you are and who your grandparents and ancestors are can be powerful. Sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ways, but powerful. I don't have the same heritage as our main characters but I very much enjoyed those aspects of the story. I would recommend it to others to read.

On a side note, it did not affect my rating and I assume it's an ARC issue that will be fixed in the print edition... I had two chapters in a row that were the same. :)