Member Reviews

This book is an atmospheric slow burn that weaves together two stories -- a nineteen year old girl suffers in a burn unit after a hiking trip with friends went horribly wrong and the a woman is accused of witchcraft four hundred years earlier. It took a while for me to get into this one and I definitely found the historical scenes more interesting than the contemporary ones even if I didn't know enough about the daily life of the Orkneys in the sixteenth century to fully understand what was going on. (The author's note at the end cleared a lot of things up for me.)

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C.J. Cooke's writing always hooks me and this was no exception. Loved all the witchy details and the supernatural vibes it evoked.

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4.5/5
Pretty much any book set in Scotland is immediately on my tbr!

The Book of Witching was one of those cases where I started reading the ARC and pre-ordered a physical copy. Dual timelines, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction? Yes, please!

I was able to visit Scotland last year and was so sad I didn't have enough time to visit Orkney. It is at the top of my list of places to visit! The history is just so fascinating! While I always love a bit of mystery in my books, the 16th-century timeline in this story had me in a chokehold! It is heartbreaking to read this and know women experienced these very real trials.

Read this if you like:
- Stories set in Scotland
- History of witch trials
- Supernatural mysteries

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This was a great read for spooky season loved the characters and story telling. Would recommend, thank you for the advanced copy.

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This book had me in a grip! I love a good dual timeline story and C.J. Cooke kept the tension high while transitioning between them. Both timelines feature strong women who are going through it! In the present, Clem’s daughter is in intensive care after a hike with her friends goes terribly wrong. Once she wakes up, she acts like a completely different person and won’t answer to anything but Nyx…which is not her name. Centuries before, we follow the story of Alison as she is wrongfully accused of witchcraft. (Or is she?) Alison is faced with ridicule, torture, and torture of her family as the courts try to tear free a confession.

How do these two stories intertwine? Well, I’m going to let you figure that out for yourself but let me tell you, it is shocking! The old school witchy vibes are vibing and there are even a few sprinkles of culty activities. This is another book that is perfect for your spooky season TBR!

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DNF at 10%. I had a hard time getting into this one and following along with the storyline/worldbuilding. I also recently had a baby so books with missing children/children involved in horrible accidents (even as teens) are suddenly really hard for me to read so this could also just be a me problem!

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3.5 stars

Two storylines—modern day, Clem finds out her daughter Erin is critical condition in the burn unit following a fire on Erin’s trip to the Orkney Islands. Erin’s boyfriend is dead and her other friend is missing. Orkney, 1594, Alison is accused of witchcraft and is imprisoned despite her innocence.

The two stories intertwine as Clem investigates what really happened to her daughter and Alison grows closer to her inevitable fate.

I liked the Orkney Islands setting & always enjoy a nice book about witchcraft. The book is missing a little something but it was still interesting.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

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The following review was published or updated in several Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia newspapers and magazines in November and December 2024:

Booking a full year of reading

Review by Tom Mayer

If only us readers could just spend our days … reading. What would a year look like? Here, the editors of Home for the Holidays present their yearlong list of books, culled from the past 12 months of reading and reviewing. A few of the titles you’ll immediately recognize, and you’ll likely have more than few in your own library. But just in case you missed a title or two, we’re showcasing the whole year’s worth of books that we’ve read and reviewed, month by month.

Except for the first title, the list is simply a list. To find the reviews of many of these titles, visit our newspaper parent, The (Athens) News Courier at enewscourier.com — with a slight caveat. Our newspaper webmasters are currently working overtime to improve our content management system, the foundation of any website, and while many of our archives are now found there, it may be a few weeks before everything is fully re-uploaded — including the most recent editions of Limestone Life and Home for the Holidays. For now, though, enjoy our literary stroll through 2024.

And about that first title: Not every college professor can make statistical analysis approachable, let along interesting to their students and the general population, but Athens State University emeritus professor of psychology Mark Durm is not every college professor. After spending nearly five decades teaching thousands of students, the “ol’ psychology professor” decided that he’d best get around to writing the one book out of his nearly 100 published pieces that’s he always wanted to write. Call it a legacy piece, but what it really is is a “best of” Durm’s peer-reviewed, book reviews, non-peer reviewed and magazine articles from his 47 years in higher education.

The result is “Professional Publications of an Ol’ Psychology Professor” (Dorrance) with full previously published articles ranging from studies on the effects of glasses on a child’s self-esteem to his ever-popular parapsychology pieces, Durm presents his internationally recognized efforts with a twist.

“It’s a different kind of book because it doesn’t talk about the research, it presents the research,” the professor says from his second-career office at Durm Properties in Athens, about a half-mile from where he first presented that research in person. “I’ve spent hours on all of these articles, especially in the peer-reviewed journal articles.”

And so, articles on divorce, sex, religion and other topics now populate the pages of Durm’s most recent book in an effort to both continue his teaching and satisfy what has been a lifelong wonderment.

“You know, most people don’t understand statistics, so it’s all in there,” Durm said. “What I’m trying to do is a more critical approach to ‘just don’t believe everything you’re told.’ … It’s things that were in my life that I wanted to see if they were so, by using a psychological analysis.”

And like any good professor, Durm didn’t do that research on his own — or take all of the credit. Among the co-authors of many of his articles in the book were students — many of who he’s lost touch with, but all of whom who he credits by name in his acknowledgements and for each of who, if they look up their ol’ mentor, he has a signed book ready to hand over. For the rest of us, you can find the book at any online bookseller — just as you can with the remainder of our list, presented by the month in which the book was published, read and reviewed.

JANUARY

Unbound (Blackstone) by Christy Healy NG/F

The Devil’s Daughter by Gordon Greisman NG/ARC

FEBRUARY

Almost Surely Dead (Mindy’s Book Studio) by Amina Akhtar NG

The Chaos Agent (Gray Man 13) (Berkley) by Mark Greaney NG

The Lady in Glass and Other Stories (Ace) by Anne Bishop ARC

A Haunting in the Arctic (Berkley paperback) by C.J. Cooke NG

Ghost Island (Berkley) by Max Seeck

MARCH

Hello, Alabama (Arcadia) by Martha Day Zschock

The Unquiet Bones (Montlake) by Loreth Anne White

I am Rome: A novel of Julius Caesar (Ballantine Books by Santiago PosteguilloMarch 5: Murder Road (Berkley) by Simone St. James

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry (Holiday House) by Anna Rose Johnson

Ferris (Candlewick) by Kate DiCamillo

After Annie (Random House, Feb. 27) by Anna Quindlen

Crocodile Tears Didn't Cause the Flood (Montag Press) by Bradley Sides The #1 Lawyer (Little, Brown and Company) by James Patterson, Nancy Allen

Lilith (Blackstone) by Eric Rickstad

Life: My Story Through History (Harper One) by Pope Francis

APRIL

Matterhorn (Thomas & Mercer) by Christopher Reich

Friends in Napa (Mindy’s Book Studio) by Sheila Yasmin Marikar

City in Ruins (William Morrow) by Don Winslow

The House on Biscayne Bay (Berkley) by Chanel Cleeton

Two Friends, One Dog, and a Very Unusual Week (Peachtree) by Sarah L. Thomson

For Worse (Blackstone) by L.K. Bowen

A Killing on the Hill (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Dugoini

The Clock Struck Murder (Poisoned Pen Press) by Betty Webb

The Book That Broke the World (Ace) by Mark Lawrence

The Forgetters (Heyday Books) by Greg Sarris

Lost to Dune Road (Thomas & Mercer) by Kara Thomas

Warrior on the Mound (Holiday House/Peachtree) by Sandra Headed

Pictures of Time (Silver Street Media) by David AlexanderBare Knuckle (Blackstone Publishing) by Stayton Bonner

Murder on Demand (Blackstone Publishing) by Al Roker

Home is Where the Bodies Are (Blackstone) by Jeneva Rose

MAY

Matterhorn by Christopher Reich

The Hunter's Daughter (Berkley) by Nicola Solvinic

The House That Horror Built (Berkley) by Christina Henry

In our stars (Berkley) by Jack Campbell

Freeset (book 2) (Blackstone) by Sarina Dahlan

Southern Man (William Morrow) by Greg Iles

Camino Ghosts (Doubleday) by John Grisham

JUNE

Specter of Betrayal by Rick DeStefanis

Lake County (Thomas & Mercer) by Lori Roy

Serendipity (Dutton) by Becky Chalsen

Shelterwood (Ballantine) by Lisa Wingate

The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle (Holiday House) by Dan Gutman

Jackpot (Penguin) by Elysa Friedland

The Helper (Blackstone) by M.M. Dewil

Winter Lost (Ace) by Patricia Briggs

Shadow Heart (Blackstone) by Meg Gardiner

Lake Country (Thomas & Mercer) by Lori Roy

The Out-of-Town Lawyer (Blackstone) by Robert Rotten

Love Letter to a Serial Killer (Berkley) by Tasha Coryell

Sentinel Berkley) by Mark Greaney

JULY

Three Kings: Race, Class, and the Barrier-Breaking Rivals Who Redefined Sports and Launched the Modern Olympic Age (Blackstone) by Todd Balf

The Night Ends with Fire (Berkley) by K.X. Song

Echo Road (Montlake) by Melinda Leigh

It’s Elementary (Berkley) by Elise Bryant

You Shouldn’t Be Here (Thomas & Mercer) by Lauren Thoman

Back In Black (Blackstone) edited by Don Bruns

The Recruiter (Blackstone) by Gregg Podolski

AUGUST

You Shouldn’t Be Here (Thomas & Mercer) by Lauren Thoman ARC

Not What She Seems (Thomas & Mercer) by Yasmin Angoe NG

Fatal Intrusion by Jeff Deaver/Isabella Maldonado

Death at Morning House (HARPERTeen) by Maureen Johnson

Fire and Bones (Scribner) by Kathy Reichs

Some Nightmares Are Real (University of Alabama Press) by Kelly Kazoo

The Brothers Kenny (Blackstone) by Adam Mitzner

Blind to Midnight (Blackstone) by Reed Farrel Coleman

The Wayside (Blackstone) by Carolina Wolff

Enemy of the State (Blackstone) by Robert Smartwood

You Will Never Be Me (Berkley) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (W.W. Norton) by Adam Kirsch

We Love the Nightlife (Berkley) by Rachel Koller Croft

Talking To Strangers (Berkley) by Fiona Barton

An Honorable Assassin (Blackstone) by Steve Hamilton possible interview see email

Dungeon Crawler Carl (1 of 6 but see next two months) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

SEPTEMBER

Fatal Intrusion (Thomas & Mercer) by Jeffrey Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

When They Last Saw Her (Penguin) by Marcie Rendon

American Ghoul (Blackstone) by Michelle McGill-Vargas

First Do No Harm (Blackstone) by Steve Hamilton

A Quiet Life: A Novel (Arcade) by William Cooper and Michael McKinley

One More From the Top (Mariner) by Emily Layden

No Address (Forefront Books) by Ken Abraham.

Tiger’s Tale (Blackstone) by Colleen Houck

An Academy for Liars (Ace) by Alexis Henderson

Rewitched (Berkley) by Lucy Jane Wood

Gaslight (Blackstone) by Sara Shepard and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Counting Miracles (Random House) by Nicholas Sparks

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society (Ace) by C.M. Waggoner

The Hitchcock Hotel (Berkley) by Stephanie Wrobel

In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King

Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (2 of 6 see next month also) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

OCTOBER

The Hushed (Blackstone) by K.R. Blair NG

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer (Berkley) by Maxie Dara

On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice (Norton) by WSJ Weekend review editor Adam Kirsch

Framed (Doubleday) by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

This Cursed House (Penguin) by Del Sandeen

The Puzzle Box (Random House) by Danielle Trussoni

Two Good Men (Blackstone) by S.E. Redfearn

Dark Space (Blackstone) by Rob Hart and Alex Segura

This Cursed House (Berkley’s open submission)by Del Sandeen

Vindicating Trump (Regnery) by Dinesh D’Souza

The Book of Witching (Berkley) by C.J. Cooke

The World Walk (Skyhorse) by Tom Turcich

The Waiting Game by Michael Connelly  ARC, possible interview see email

Beyond Reasonable Doubt (Thomas & Mercer) by Robert Dugoni

Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (3 of 6, with bonus material) (Ace) by Matt Dinniman

Frozen Lives (Blackstone) by Jennifer Graeser Fronbush NG

Vincent, Starry Starry Night (Meteor 17 Books) intro by Don McLean

Paris in Winter: An Illustrated Memoir (PowerHouse Books) by David Coggins

NOVEMBER

The Waiting (Little, Brown) by Michael Connelly

The Teller of Small Fortunes (Penguin) by Julie Long

Shadow Lab (Blackstone) by Brendan Deneen

Trial by Ambush (Thomas & Mercer) by Marcia Clark

Devil Take It (Heresy Press) by Daniel Debs Nossiter

SerVant of Earth (Ace) by Sarah Hawley

All the other me (Blackstone) by Jody Holford

The Perfect Marriage (Blackstone reissue re-edit) by Jenny Rose

DECEMBER

Trial By Ambush (Thomas & Mercer) by Marcia Clark

The Close-Up (Gallery Books) by Pip Drysdale

The Silent Watcher (Thomas & Mercer) by Victor Methos

Leviathan (Lividian Trade HC) by Robert McCammon

The Silent Watcher (Thomas & Mercer) by Victor Method

Assume Nothing (Thomas & Mercer) by Joshua Corin

One example link:
https://enewscourier.com/2024/11/29/in-review-booking-a-full-year-of-reading/

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Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and C.J. Cooke for the opportunity to read an ARC for the Book of Witching, This is my honest and unpaid review of the book. This was the second book I've read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It had the right amount of eerie suspense and historical happenings that I was hooked from the start. I loved the way the stories from the past intertwined and complimented the storyline of the characters from the present. I hadn't read a book about witches in Scotland so it was great to learn some new things.

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This was intense but fantastically written. There are heart in throat moments, particularly in the historical time frame, and the intensity of a mother's love rages through. There is a good balance of the horror and witchy parts with the more mystery type story line, and both Clem and Allison are excellent characters to carry the story.

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The kind of book I read in one sitting, staying up until 3am. This tells the stories of women 400 years apart. In the past, Alyson is imprisoned, wrongly accused of witchcraft. In present time, Clem gets the call that her 19y/o daughter Erin is in the ICU with severe burns & her boyfriend is dead after they were away on a hiking trip. When she wakes up, she doesn’t remember who she is. Somehow, a mysterious book and visions of the past and present haunt both timelines. The ties that bind them could be a coincidence - or something more sinister.
I couldn’t stop reading this book and was immediately drawn to both storylines, anxious to find out what would come next. This is a beautifully haunting story blending folklore, fantasy, and mystery. Can’t wait to check out the rest of this author’s works.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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4 stars

2024: Harried mom Clementine gets the worst kind of phone call - her daughter Erin, who was recently vacationing in the Orkney Islands in Scotland, is fighting for her life in hospital after a terrible accident that's left her boyfriend dead and her other friend missing. Clem can't understand what's happened, especially because once she wakes up, Erin keeps insisting she's someone else and doesn't seem to recognise anyone.

1594: Alison Balfour: healer, devoted mother, loving wife, and soon-to-be accused-as-witch. Her only crime? Being in the wrong place at the wrong time approached by would-be killers. Even though she refuses to help with their murder plot, she is arrested regardless and accused of witchcraft in order to protect the legion of men who actually plotted against the Earl of Orkney.

And the throughline here is the Book of Witching, a powerful spell-book with a mind of its own and tied to a caretaker from a witching group that's existed over the millennia.

The plot moves back and forth between these two timelines as it gradually becomes evident how these two sets of families are linked. Overall it was a pretty good read but a very slow burn. If you like witchy vibes, dark historical atmosphere, and a mystery with a magical slant then grab this book!

Thanks to NetGalley, author C.J. Cooke, and Berkeley Publishing Group for granting me access to a free digital ARC of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided here voluntarily.

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I loved this book. I could not put it down. I found the mystery to be the perfect amount of eerie and realistic. I really liked the characters. My only note would be that I wished the book was longer. I feel like if it was an extra 100 pages, the characters/backstory could have been fleshed out more. 4.75 stars

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A fascinating tale of witchcraft and trials of witchcraft in Scotland, coupled with a modern day mystery that needs to be solved. When Clementine gets the call that her daughter, Erin is in the burn unit at the hospital, she is confused. Erin was supposed to be hiking the Orkney Islands with her best friend and boyfriend. As Clementine prays for Erin to wake up at the hospital, she is not expecting her daughter to wake up as someone else entirely.

Allison Balfour is a wise woman and healer in Orkney at the end of the 16th century. At some point, she runs afoul of the evil and much disliked Earl of Orkney who has her tried for witchcraft. What follows is a horrible account of the torture and brutality she faced while on trial.

Told in alternate timelines, we hear from Clementine as she rushes to find answers to what happened to her daughter and from Allison to witness the trials and tribulations she is facing from being accused as a witch. Absolutely fascinating and propulsive.

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A solid historical fiction/witchy read! I really enjoyed the duel timeline and POV. Highly recommend.

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A powerful, well-researched story that draws you in from the start. A compelling and rewarding read from cover to cover.

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This one was told in multiple POVs which I always enjoyed to gain the perspective of each of the characters. I actually liked Allison’s POV which was coming from the past more than Clem’s from the present day. The journey finding out what happened to Erin and her friends kept me in the story wondering how her present day events connected with the past of Allison. There were times that I felt the story was a bit confusing and going in different directions. However… I did enjoy the story, the atmosphere, and the narration. The ending kind of left me wanting a tad bit more and with questions, but the authors note was a great added touch to the story. I loved the narrations and the narrators accent as it placed me more into the story too and added a good feel to the past of Allison.

Read this one if you’re looking for
* Witchy vibes
* Historical fiction
* Atmospheric feels
* Cultish stories
* Magic

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I was very intrigued to read this, but it turned out to be so-so. I absolutely loved it from the beginning, and I was invested immediately but as the story progressed I started to lose attention. The pacing was quite slow for me, and this stopped me from fully immersing myself. I did enjoy it, though!

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I don't read a lot of paranormal fiction or historical fiction but decided to grab this for the Spooky Season and I really enjoyed it!

With a past/present timeline and a spooky Scottish island setting, The Book of Witching was the perfect October read. The historical psrt of the book took place in the 1500s, as King James, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, reigns over the United Kingdom.

Steeped in history, filled with witchy magic and feminist vibes, The Book of Witching is a title I highly recommend.

Full review linked below!

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CJ always does such amazing work with her books. The vibes in this book were great as usual and made me want to move back to Scotland. She does a wonderful job mixing the two timelines and it keeps you on your toes until the very end.

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