I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

Ananda Lima's debut short story collection is a beguiling blend of magical realism, horror, and intimate character studies. Craft showcases Lima's talent for infusing the mundane with the fantastical and extracting the deeply unsettling from the seemingly ordinary. While the tones and narratives vary widely, the stories are unified by their gorgeous prose, sly wit, and underlying exploration of power dynamics. Lima's vivid imagination conjures everything from haunting folklore to dystopian nightmares. Some tales feel more fully realized than others, but at its best, this collection announces Lima as a unique new voice in speculative fiction with the ability to captivate and unsettle in equal measure.

I'll admit, I don't think I was in the right mood for this, and I really struggled through the first 30% - there's a lot happening, and I was just kind of confused and not sure if I wanted to keep going (it doesn't help that the narrator talks REALLY fast - I usually listen to books at 1.25 speed but I had to put it back down to 1 for this). But then around 30% something finally happened that grabbed me, and I was invested in the story from then on.

This is not a romance book - the characters are queer, but romance is not a focus. The mystery and big-bad are intriguing, and I think if you're a fan of the Honeys or Beholder by Ryan la Sala this book might be a good one for you.

So 90s nostalgia and witchiness? I’m in. This book was so much fun and I ended up binging it in a day. Our little gang of friends is so dang lovable. And the bond between them and the deceased? Beautiful. The villain is also just the right amount of creep. The audio of the villain literally has be shivering 🥶 Even though this is a YA novel, I dealt with some pretty deep issues. And overall I just loved this one

A gorey queer murder mystery horror that keeps you on edge with major stephan king and vc andrews vibes!!
Nesbit Nunez is devastated after his secret boyfriends body is found devoured and mutilated
The coven they were apart of must now work together to find the murderer and solve the mystery of the Red Gloved demon Mr. NOOSE
Has so much representation, terrifying and sad moments.
This would be a perfect horror movie!

This book was very enjoyable, even if the pacing felt a little jumpy at times, especially in the beginning. The characters were enjoyable, even if they did often act like the teenagers they are. I wasn't expecting so much of the supernatural witch element, but I thought it was done well. Overall, I don't think this book is a must read for everyone, but if someone is into YA horror, supernatural mysteries, or queer found family, I do think this would be a fun read.

*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I wanted to like this, but the writing dragged right after the intro. It wasn't the atmospheric 90's book I thought it would be. The narrator did not fit well. The characters were way less mature than their ages. The book leaned into the witches aspect more than I would have liked. All-in-all, I can't say this added anything to the young adult horror genre for me.

This book is YA gold standard. Absolutely adored the characters, their personalities, friendships and feelings are just spot on. The horror element is supernatural with plenty of mystery surrounding it. There is peril but also humour creating a great atmosphere. The setting is perfect with the 90s nostalgia creating a vivid scene. Definitely gives The Craft and IT vibes. The romance is really lovely as well and just connects you to these characters so much. Highly recommend, even to those who may not read YA. The audio was engaging throughout and definitely helped with adding tension. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

NOW, CONJURERS is a queer, arcane carnival of a novel that reads like the craft by way of twin peaks and stephen king's IT, with a dash of scooby-doo. to say i adored it is an understatement—it's a terrifying and brilliant love letter to the 1990s, to found family, and to the unspeakable and courageous things we're willing to do to for those we love. kölsch's debut is a campy, tragic funhouse that i happily got lost in and i can't recommend it enough. i can't wait to see what she writes next.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an audio ARC! I greatly appreciate it!
While this didn't grab me the way I was hoping it would, I had a good time with this story! There were too many characters, which is to be expected for a coven, but the writing was pretty good, and man, what a title! It was the title that got my attention, actually! The narration was really good, too! And the 90s nostalgia! As a 90s baby, I always appreciate that!
Three stars out of five for Now, Conjurers!

This is a very fun story about queer found family in the form of a coven of unlikely witches.

The story follows Nesbit Nuñez whose boyfriend and fellow coven member, Bastion, is found brutally murdered and days later is forgotten by everyone in town other than his fellow witches and the boy who found his body.

As Nesbit and the rest of the coven investigate, they find that Bastion was dealing with forces much larger than himself and that the killing wasn't random. The town lore, inventive villain, and bond between the characters made for an immersive read.

Now, Conjures presents its story in a way that can be quite confusing at first. But once your acquainted with the world and several HUGE answers come into play it becomes almost too simple. Quite a few of those answers show up only half-way through the read. The narrator did a great job presenting the story. My issues is that never found the charm from the beginning or that amazing cover presents. I still enjoyed following the lives but by the end I started to ask myself this hadn't ended yet?

Overall I'm giving it a 3.25⭐'s and would highly recommend to people who enjoy movies such as the Craft.

My personal rating for this audiobook is 4.5 stars. Spoiler-free review:

This is a wonderful debut novel with a teen coven and a horrific threat.
I relished the characters and enjoyed following Nesbit North Nuñez' journey. His coven experience gave me a great fantasy of having the friends I wish I had in high school.

Now, Conjurers combines witches coming of age, love, LGBTQIA found family, thrilling monster horror vibes, heroism, and redemption. Even the most flawed foes are impressively multidimensional.

The strong sense of place--enhanced by local lore and history--creates a suspenseful atmosphere. The selective details of school life, home life, and hangouts add to this novel's immersive magic. I particularly enjoyed the cemetery and carnival scenes. There's some clever foreshadowing and fun Easter eggs, too.

The interplay and loyalty between the coven members and their allies elevated the toughest situations. Kölsch portrays characters of all ages and disparate social standing with respect and empathy.

Because the book is so strong on characterization and imagination, issues with pacing and moments that break the story's spell weren't too distracting. The book would have benefited from using more action beats to identify who was speaking, instead of being so heavy on 'he said' and 'she said.'

The narrator, Giordan Diaz, did a good job of minimizing that problem. He gave an expressive reading, with distinct voices for the many characters. There are a few clunky moments, but the small flaws don't detract from the performance too much. His youthful voice suits the material. Although this book includes depictions of homophobia, parental abuse, grief, drug abuse, and more, it's an affirming book.

Now, Conjurers comes to a strong and satisfying conclusion. One of its feats: The novel remains true to the depth and realistic handling of painful life problems while being suffused with heart and hope.

This is a terrific audiobook to savor for Pride and beyond.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I knew nothing about this book going in besides that it had a cool cover and LGBTQ+ rep. This book was all about witchy teens in the 90s trying to survive an evil that is infecting their town. I was intrigued from the beginning and I love that I was struggling to figure out what was going to happen next. That is what I want from my horror and thriller books.

I will definitely be interested in reading future books by this author. The narrator also killed it and I had a great time listening to the narration.

A group of unlikely friends and secret witches are sent through a tailspin when one of their own, Nesbit’s boyfriend Bastion’s body is found mangled. Bastion’s sister, Dove, and their two friends Drea and Brandy work with Nesbit to figure out who killed Bastion - and why.

There was a few things to note about Bastion before he passed away. He couldn’t say I love you and started his sentences only with words that started with N.

As the group of four learns more about the murder and the background of where their powers are coming from, they uncover much more than they bargained for and are set with the task of avenging their friend and cutting off the long running bargain.

W O W!! I loved this book so much and I’m absolutely going to be getting a trophy copy when I can because again… WOW.

Thank you so much to Freddie Kölsch, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for the ALC 🫶

3.5 ⭐

intriguing, weird and fun! It gave me all the same vibes as those late 90's paranormal movies give me. It reminded me a lot of movie the Craft with having a group of friends getting involved with magical occult things. There were a lot more layers to the story than I was expecting.
I don't wanna dive into the book too much since I think it would be easy to accidently spoil the book.

I do think this is a very strong debut novel. The writing is very well done, kept me interested in the characters and the plot for the whole book.

overall a fun and quick coming of age YA horror full of found family, witches, grief and more!

Thank You Netgalley and the Publishers for the Audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

The gorgeous cover art for Now, Conjurers immediately caught my eye while I browsed for my next read. Unfortunately, I just could not get into this book.

The writing style really isn't a good match for me. The characters communicate at a less mature level than I'd expect for 15-to-17-year-olds. I also prefer more concise writing. Even if this style is an appeal to younger readers, the book could use paring. I stuck it out hoping that the writing would grow on me, but that wasn't the case.

As far as the audio goes, I like the narration overall. There was one memorable moment of confusion with homonyms...When Nesbit mishears one word as another, I could not tell the words apart, either. Because different spellings do not translate to audio, I missed an important bit of foreshadowing.

I'm grateful for the chance to check out this audio ARC for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

This book was a delightful young adult horror piece. It brought me back to the 90's in a fun way. Now, Conjurers is a story of a mismatched coven, consisting of a popular jock, the new kid, a semi-popular girl, a goth, and someone with a religious mother. The story begins when the one member of the Coven is murdered and the rest have to work out what happened. Along the way, they discover the truth of the town's lore, including a horrible thing that has existed for centuries. The story is mostly told from the third POV of the MMC.

Now, Conjurers reminds me of Sabrina (original and Netflix versions mixed together), The Craft, CW's Riverdale and oddly enough Stranger Things. Some of you may not like the pacing of the book, nor may be okay with the ending. But the ending seemed to be the right ending, the one we needed not necessarily the one we wanted. Now, Conjurers is arguably a love story too, cute and tender, coming of age in a world that homosexuality is still not well accepted. This book is honestly a lot of things, and it does it's best to fit it all in: thriller, paranormal, horror, "crime," LGBT, mystery, historical fiction-lite, and one could possibly argue a bunch more genres it may fit in. No matter what else I write in this review, For me, it boils down that this was a fun, fast paced book that I would recommend to others.

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media (and Union Square & Co.) for allowing me to read this for a review.

I will be posting to Instagram, Goodreads, and Storygraph

This was a very fun and creepy read. I enjoyed the way the story was told but I would have enjoyed getting some of Bastian’s POV from the past timeline. This definitely hooked me from the beginning and kept my interest the whole time.

I’d recommend this one to fans of dark stories!

Now, Conjurers by Freddie Kölsch
Narrated by Giordan Diaz

Thank you so much Dreamscape Media + NetGalley for the free audiobook.

Blurb:
November 1999. North Dana, Massachusetts.

Nesbit Nuñez discovers the partially devoured body of Bastion Attia: star quarterback, secret witch, and Nesbit’s even-more-secret boyfriend.

✨ My thoughts:
I really really wanted to love this one but honestly, I had a hard time with the narrator… I wanted to tell them to calm down, the excitement was making me anxious, and I’m so sorry I felt this way!! This is 100% a me problem because the story was so good! I wish I would have read this as a physical book because I think my rating would be different. I love witchy reads and it’s soooo perfect for year round spooky season. Giving all the 90s vibes, it’ll even have you laughing! The story itself is enjoyable and I’d recommend the book over the audiobook. Now, Conjurers is out 6/4/24!

Happy reading

Nesbit discovers his boyfriend's body partially devoured. He and his coven vow to find out what happened to Bastion. A creature with red gloves dwells in an ancient mausoleum in the local cemetery. This was absolutely a wild ride consisting of magic, an evil creature, Noose, who has been around for a very long time, and Bastion's strange behaviors that popped up. It was fast paced, and I enjoyed it. Set in the 90s, it gave me nostalgia for the days when I was in high school and college. This book felt a bit like the Craft (with references in the book to the movie) and Stephen King's IT. The creature and its history was absolutely a great touch because I love a backstory.