Highly recommend this book.
The woman were relatable characters and the plot was so enticing.
The building dread had me of my seat.

This tale of mysterious disappearances & witchcraft seemed like a solid spooky read. There's a triple timeline, with a trio of female narrators giving a slice of an overarching mystery. There's the current one (late 1990s) with Minerva, a student researching an obscure female writer & a disappearance of her best friend. The second one is set in the 1930s, and is focused on the disappearance of that friend, and how that affected the people around her. The third one is the earliest set one (the early 1900s), and is all about Alba (who is Minerva's grandmother).
I only enjoyed the parts with Minerva & the 1930s narrative. Minerva's parts felt like a supernaturally tinged detective story, where the young student was slowly piecing together the parts of a narrative someone had deliberately obscured through the decades. The 1930s recollections also were intriguing, with a young woman trying desperately to solve the mystery of what happened to her friend one winter day.
The parts with Minerva's grandmother Alba dragged down the flow of the story, and honestly any revelations from it could have been easily incorporated into the main timeline (I also absolutely hated reading about the relationship between Alba & Arturo, which unfortunately was strongly tied into how she overcame the evil plaguing her family).
The pacing of the book is pretty slow, and it's only really around the 80% mark that everything truly picks up, and I feel like I'm in the middle of an engaging & fast paced supernatural mystery. A slow buildup in a story is nice, but not when it takes up the majority of the book. A triple timeline maybe was too much, or "The Bewitching" just needed better pacing overall.

This eerie, multigenerational tale of witchcraft and danger is a testament to the power of Moreno-Garcia’s exquisite and beautifully crafted storytelling. Spanning three eras and weaving together the lives of three compelling women, this horror saga offers both chilling suspense and haunting emotional depth. Moreno-Garcia masterfully connects Minerva’s modern-day academic pursuit with the mysteries surrounding Beatrice Tremblay’s life and Nana Alba’s harrowing encounters with witches in early 1900s Mexico.

The gradual unraveling of dark secrets, paired with the sinister atmosphere of a campus haunted by its own history, kept me spellbound. Each narrative thread is rich with gothic imagery and emotional resonance, blending folklore, horror, and historical intrigue. Fans of Mexican Gothic will find themselves captivated by the subtle interplay of dread and humanity that defines this novel. It’s a chilling reminder that some shadows refuse to stay buried.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House/DelRay for providing an eARC of The Bewitching prior to publication.

I have read so many multiple person narratives which have become tiresome and confused details. This is not one of those times. The book masterfully interweaves the three stories. Small details carefully paced to feed into the next one. An expertly written piece. My own wish was that the ending had a few more chapters dedicated to it. The build up was so sublime. I wish there had been more.

Another spellbinding and enchanting book of witchcraft from Silvia Moreno-Garcia — “The Bewitching” is told across 90 years in the 20th century in three time periods (1908, 1934, and 1998) with each tale starring its own mesmerizing young woman who brushes against vile magic in her life.

In 1998 Minerva Contreras (our main character whose life has threads to the other two) is a Mexican grad student at a small private college in New England. She’s studying women horror authors and a famous one, Beatrice Tremblay, attended her school in the 30’s. Beatrice was also a contemporary of the Minerva’s school’s primary benefactor, the crotchety and irascible Carolyn Yates. Minerva’s subject, author Tremblay’s major work, “The Vanishing,” was partially inspired by the disappearance of a third student at the college who lived in the same dormitory with Beatrice and Carolyn. Minerva is also greatly influenced by the ethereal old stories her great-grandmother, Alba, told her before she died at 101. And Nana Alba would often say “Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches.”

Interspersed with Minerva’s story are two other POVs:
1908: Alba, as a teenager in Mexico, whose brother mysteriously disappears (gossip blamed a bewitching); and
1934: Beatrice/Betty, while she attended college, and was captivated by the girl who vanished, Virginia/Ginny Somerset, a self-proclaimed Spiritualist.

Carolyn Yates, who wasn’t much of a friend to Ginny (although she did marry Ginny’s wealthy fiancé) appears mildly impressed by Minerva’s persistence and allows her (with restrictions) to view her inherited cache of Beatrice’s papers, including an unpublished manuscript. Minerva, as a resident director, is also bothered by the absence of a student who everyone presumed simply transferred, but increasing evidence suggests he suddenly disappeared like Ginny decades ago. Both had complained of someone or something following them around campus.

As the stories progress, we get three climaxes: Alba as she fights evil incarnate, Ginny as she encounters the darkness surrounding her, and Minerva as she puzzles together the coincidences of her discoveries vs. Alba’s and Ginny’s experiences.

Moreno-Garcia writes so beautifully and intensely — we feel the growing terror of the women but each one is uniquely drawn. The three stories get entangled in an ending that is surprising and perversely satisfying. I loved the portrayals of Alba, Beatrice and Minerva. I think this is the author’s best novel since “Mexican Gothic.” 5 stars! Be prepared for a dark and spooky experience!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Alba has an encounter with some creepy green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO There is the mystery of Alba’s quickly wilting flowers once a foulness befell her home.

Thank you to Random House/DelRay and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵.

Another amazing read from Moreno-Garcia. The characters and timelines are each riveting (a hard thing to do - often one timeline in these types of novels is lacking) and though the reveals weren't shocking, the slow building dread was so well done.

The New England and Mexican witchcraft was so interesting and I loved how Alba and Minerva's stories overlapped and yet were so different.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is back with another thrilling and fantastical tale of three women in different eras encountering dangerous warlocks and witches. I throughly enjoyed this read and couldn't manage to set it down over the course of a few days, a definite recommend!

If Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes it, I will read it. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I loved all three of the different timelines, which I feel is rare for me. My one complaint was I thought Conrad would play a bit more of a role. And you know I love a little romance.

I love this author so much. They are one of my favorites and I happily and anxiously await their new release each year. This book was so good and well worth the wait. It is one of my favorite reads of the year. I love witch stories and this one hit the nail on the head with how it was done. The vibes were just so good. It was very atmospheric and suspenseful. It grabbed my attention right from the start. I loved the different points of view which were told in different time periods. I anticipated each chapter on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what was unfolding. I was wholly invested in each of the characters stories, and I loved how they came together at the end. This is one of those stories that once you start reading you won’t want to put it down because it is just that good. This is a reading experience that I wholeheartedly enjoyed.

If you loved Mexican Gothic or The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, then you will be delighted with this one.

I am a librarian and first generation Xicana with sangre indígena mexicana. Brujería has always appealed to me. I could not put this book down. The way Silvia wove the different accounts together kept me captivated. This book stirred so many emotions in me. I resonated deeply with one of the sayings Minerva recalled her abuelita Alba saying to her. I loved the strength and intellect of Minerva, the fearlessness and courage of Alba and the voice of Betty. Highly recommend. I don't want to give any spoilers but I will definitely be purchasing the physical book once it comes out and I highly recommend it! I know that just like Gods of Jade and Shadow, it's a book I will be rereading again and again.

I usually have issues with multi POV works but Silvia Moreno Garcia makes every single character and timeline so ridiculously compelling. The magic, the worldbuilding, it was so just beautiful. Minerva was my favorite character but you can't help but fall in love ( and a part) for these characters. I loved this.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It’s more a 3.5 stars. I liked the slow build up and after the halfway point I could not put it down. There is one character I particularly enjoyed and I don’t want to give any spoilers by naming them.. I wanted to know more about that character but all in all it was tied in well together at the end, it was a compelling read.

4.25 stars
What an excellent and beautiful read. A great mashup of history and horror.
I love how all three stories/timelines were told and ended up connecting so perfectly. The characters are well developed and the overall stories were so engaging and wonderful. This is probably my favorite book by Garcia now.

This book is a masterpiece! It’s a multi-layered story that blurs the lines between horror, mystery, and history; wrapped in a chilling, atmospheric narrative that pulls you in and doesn’t let go. The writing, as always with this author, is vivid and immersive, creating a world where witchcraft isn’t just a tool for scares, but a living, breathing force that shapes everything. The writing style has a haunting lyricism to it, rich descriptions that don’t just paint a picture, but evoke a visceral feeling.
The ending was absolutely devastating in the best way. Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, the plot twists, layered in perfect tension, turn everything upside down. If you’re looking for a book that challenges you to think, feel, and be haunted by it long after you close the pages, this is it.

A really great and haunting tale. I enjoyed how all of the stories came together, and the connections made between the characters.

I had a really good time with this one!!

The story was engaging and the three separate timelines were interesting enough on their own but intertwined together well near the end. Will say Minerva’s timeline felt like it was set now rather than in 1998 and it often threw me off a loop hearing her recount laptops and stuff and whilst i know laptops did exist in the late 90’s, i don’t know, it felt weirdly modern to me. But a little gripe nothing more.
The horror element was creepy and i loved that it tied into a cultural element. At times it reminded me of “mexican gothic” which i loved so much so i was super excited to get threads of that essence in this one.

Many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for supplying me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.