ARC REVIEW 📚🥰 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers for this wonderful opportunity to read this book. It comes out September 3rd of this year. What a wonderful journey through folklore and history. if you enjoy witches through these first ten chapters discusses the different stories around the world about key figure in history that both terrorized and lift up those around them. I love it goes into detail about different types of witches curse bringers, shapeshifters, survivors, and fate turners. I did enjoy each figure being tied to one of the first ten tarot in major arcana. Each has a small highlight short story at the end of each chapter. Highly recommend for all my spooky readers and history lovers.

✨Audiobook Review✨

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫 (4.5)
Speed: 1.75x

The novel is composed of multiple chapters, each corresponding to a tarot card and connecting to a stage in the alchemical process of forming gold while telling the historical background, time period, location, & type of witch. Each chapter ends with a short story relating to that type of witch. Whether you love fantasy or not, readers will be engaged with these modern retellings of stories that have been passed down for centuries.

Highlights:
⭐️Unexpectedly, this book reads like a story. The audiobook begins with a narrator who introduces the experience as if we've stumbled into a lost library, where she tells us about different types of witches. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this, as I originally worried that this book might drag.
⭐️Engaging writing flow & layout. Each chapter begins with a description of a tarot card, the process of alchemy, the type of witch readers will hear about, and a short story. Spanning various time periods & locations across the world, the book describes multiple witches and provides a brief explanation of how these legends were passed down to people or children.
⭐️Modern retellings. I especially enjoyed the modern twists on some of the stories.
⭐️I actually learned quite a lot. I had no idea that witches were considered not only the typical figures we think of with magical powers but also vampires & werewolves/shape-shifters are considered witches as well according to some folk lore.

Pitfalls:
❌None!

The Book of Forgotten Witches is an interesting collection of folklore from around the world. The subject matter kept me interested and the narration was easy to listen to.
Some of the tales were longer than I would have liked while others that I wanted to know more of ended too quickly. I wish that there was more uniformity in the length of the tales.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.
Overall I give The Book of Forgotten Witches 3 out of 5 stars.

DNF due to format of the audio/physical book - I don't think this sort of set-up works well for an audiobook (especially with all the illustrations the book has).

Nothing wrong with the subject matter or book - just wasn't the right format for my enjoyment!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the Audio-ARC!

Give me a book about witches and I'm a happy girl. Add in some folklore and I'm absolutely giddy!

I loved this collection of folklore and the history of witches. I feel like I actually learned some things! I think readers that love all things magic and witchy will enjoy this. It would make a great gift and addition to a book collection.

The cover perfectly matches the book's vibes. The narrator does a great job of sounding serious but also mysterious at the same time.

I would read more from the authors! Thank you to NetGalley, Lilla Bolecz, Balazs Tatrai and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to read The Book of Forgotten Witches. I have written this review voluntarily.

Reading these folklores was incredibly fun for me. It’s a book I will revisit and will own a physical copy of. The narrator was wonderful!

The author goes through all parts of the world, visiting old folklores about witches and monsters alike. I had not heard some of the stories from my own state and am excited to research it some more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy.

One of the most notable traits of "The Book of Forgotten Witches" is that it feels like a novelty. You might even say it borders on experimental. Told primarily from an eventually named narrator as to someone they meet in passing it invokes the oral traditional nature that many of the subjects survived because of. It blends the mythical in historical all together as one. It waivers between encyclopedic or appendix style brevity to short stories showcasing the figure or tale to flesh out the details of a myth or entity.

In context this feels very respectful as what many might consider as myth or folklore is or was in for some peoples at some time their truth. The existence of different creatures was as real as the recorded historical figures named along side all of them. In treating them all in the same style instead of dividing them as what was "real" and what is a fantasy there isn't a degradation of respect in honor of those peoples and time.

I also have to say that I was very impressed by the breadth of entities and tales that are brought into focus. I don't think I've seen this many indigenous tales in any collection not focused on that subsection of stories in one place. It's very approachable and provides broad stroke introductions. It seems like a good starting point.

However, as someone who is not initiated including tarot and alchemy principles is perhaps a bit too ambitious with all of the other devices in play. For someone familiar with these systems it might make the organizational system even more alluring. But while the concepts are well explained, I confess it became a little muddled. It lent to the ending impression of this being both a bit too simplistic for someone with a serious interest in the topic who has some prior knowledge of some of the content and a bit overwhelming for someone who might not. I'm also not certain I was fond of how they chose to end the tale though I believe I see why.

Either way, this is a book I can see being of vast appeal to a particular crowd. A fun romp that did it best to handle the content with dignity.

This has never happened to me before but I actually preferred the book form of this book. The book form has illustrations and they were delightful! However, the narrator did a great job and I loved the story.

I throughly enjoyed the stories of the forgotten witches. I loved the added tarot of each chapter and the stories of witches that go with them. The narrator was a good pick I feel at a 1x speeds adds a spooky element.