Did not finish.

I started reading this yesterday, got about 80 pages in, had to put it down and have no inclination whatsoever to pick this book back up. The idea I had of this book, it being promoted as buffy meets the babysitter's club, are not even remotely met. The characterization in this first bit were cringey at best. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind that Esmee is more of an unlikeable mc and I think the basic tone was very young teen. But the constant chat speak while in Esmee's head was too much. And I realized that I was just not the right person to read this book for review and as such won't write a review for it on my blog. I did post these same thoughts on Goodreads.

The cover, OH.MY.GOSH. THAT COVER!!! Plus a witchy book, yes please! This was such a fun book to read. I loved Esme and Janis. Especially Esme. This book has a bit of everything. Action, paranormal phenomenons, funny moments. I absolutely am looking forward to the next book in this series.

The Babysitters Coven starts out as a really fun book, but a whole new world is introduced about halfway through, which is jarring and hard to follow. The ending has some good tension, but overall, the story feels very basic. 2/5 stars.

I was really excited to read this book. It said it was Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Plus the cover is absolutely beautiful. So I really thought I was going to enjoy this one. Sadly I really couldn't get into this book at all. I feel bad because the author was so nice to send me some goodies since I was part of the blog tour. I just really wasn't a fan of the writing. There were all these just weird comparisons that just didn't make sense and just felt like she was trying to hard. Plus I just couldn't find myself getting into the story. I found it very dull. It's such a shame because this book has such a great concept but just wasn't executed well.

3.5 Stars

When I first read the concept of this book, I wanted to read it immediately. Babysitter's Club meets Buffy? Yes, please! While the book did meet that brief, there were some aspects that I didn't love. I really enjoyed all of the great pop culture references (Labyrinth, Buffy, Harry Potter and more) as well as some of the discussion surrounding difficult issues such as Esme's mom's condition and how the town/school treated her because of it, as well as her internal dialogue about her worries and fears. Esme's voice/point of view is rather harsh at times, which could be considered unlikable or polarizing, but for the age of the character it is understandable.

I do wish that some things had been a little more descriptive. At times the relationships between people didn't seem to be as close as they were described. Also, a lot of the characters (granted, more minor characters) could have used more description to differentiate them from each other. That being said though, this was mostly with characters that only appeared a few times and I'm sure that if they show up in future books they will be fleshed out more.

The last half of the book was jam packed with action and went much faster than the 1st half, which I really enjoyed. There were definitely a lot of twists and turns that were surprising, but there were also many twists that were pretty predictable. There were times that I had a hard time liking Esme and Cassandra (mostly Cassandra) because of their decisions, but I could see some of those things being addressed in future books. In that respect this book set up future conflicts really well.

All in all I did enjoy this book and as I said the last half was really quick paced and enjoyable. If you're looking for books that have great pop culture references, lots of mystical and paranormal content and babysitters who have to protect the world, then you'll probably enjoy it. It was definitely a fun book with a lot of quirks and capers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so excited to get an arc of this book, and man. It did not disappoint!

This was such a fast, intriguing debut novel. Esme and her bff, Janis, are fashion queens. I loved the descriptions of their outfits and the names for them. They’re just trying to get through high school then make their way out of their small town. Then something crazy happens. Esme learns she has telekenesis and things.get.cray. I was a babysitter when I was younger, so I loved that so much of the book revolved around that. I loved the magic and spells. Cassandra was iffy at times, but in the end I really liked her! The friendship between Janis and Esme reminded me of me and my highschool friends. We still talk to this day, and I feel like that’s the relation ship they have!

This is a perfect fall/Halloween book! Curl up with it, a PSL, and a nice blanket and you’re in for a good time! This was a super fast read that kept me intrigued the whole way through. I can’t wait to see what happens to our Sitters in book 2! (Coming fall 2020. SO FAR AWAY!)

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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3,5*
Pros: Super refreshing bg idea. Funny and relatable situations. Witty banter. Original and interesting magic system, similar to witchcraft. Loved the fashion and movie references. Talks about living and dealing with mentally ill family members.
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Cons: Clunky plot sequences. Overlooked secondary characters.

This was just okay for me. I liked the magical elements and I really liked Esme a lot as a character, but I had trouble connecting to the problems and scenarios in the book. I think it was more a matter of my own age (far from high school age) rather than anything on the author's side. I can really see high schoolers going through similar experiences loving this!

I wanted to love this book that promised to be a modern Sabrina the Teenage Witch meets The Babysitter's Club. I really expected to at least like this book, but sadly that's not the case. It had a promising start with the writing style overall liked however, the overuse of slang, girl on girl hate, and insensitive cultural statements made me DNF this book around 20%. I just can't recommend this books. I received a copy of this digital arc from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

As a self-professed "Babysitters Club" fanatic, I was definitely excited to read a YA book that claims to be inspired by that series mixed with Buffy. The story centers around teenage Esme who is struggling with normal high school drama (a bully, driver's ed, etc.), who then also learns she has telekinetic powers. After teaming up with the mysterious new girl, Cassandra Heaven, the two discover they're part of an ancient order to protect the world from evil. There wasn't a ton of action until the last 15 percent of the book, but I do think it was the perfect set-up for a series. It might seem a tad boring to get introduced to the characters and the mythology behind this world, but that probably means that subsequent books will be much more exciting. Esme makes a great protagonist because she's snarky and relatable, so it'll be fun to see how her personality changes as her powers develop further. My only true pet peeve (and this is minor) was the repetitive mention of everyone's outfits. It totally took me out of the story when a whole paragraph was about a person's fashion choices (especially because they all sounded like atrocious outfits, in my opinion). Other than that small issue, I enjoyed the humor in this book and the many pop culture references (Buffy, the Halloween movies, etc.). I'll definitely check out the second book when it comes out to see how this story progresses.

IMHO: the Babysitters coven
The first half of the Babysitters Coven is all about Esme's life and its downward trajectory as mysterious things keep happening and Cassandra integrates herself inside it. It takes that long to get past the blurb & into new territory but there's always something happening so I honestly didn't notice until I wrote this review. The we get some training, a PowerPoint demonstration, and a racing against the clock show down on Halloween.

Here's the run down:

Cute.
Snarky
Vintage fashionistas BFFs
BFF is the one local black girl who's too cool for her
Not an angel heaven & demon hell set up
Doing the right thing is innate feels simplistic and naive to this jaded adult but I understand the appeal. Hopefully this will be fleshed out later, especially given the differences between Esme and Cassandra
Stupid boys are stupid
Mean cheerleaders
Small town football
Unexpected ending.
Old spellbooks
Hot older brother love interest
Single dad
Horror movie fans

If there's any negative, it's that I would've gone with different explanations for pop culture "coincidences". But there's a lot more going on here obviously and that opinion of mine might change with the next installments

The Babysitters Coven is a fun romping adventure perfect for fans of YA paranormal like Undead Girl Gang and A Blade So Black with content recommendable to the younger end of the YA readership.

I went into this hoping for the perfect 90s witchy throwback: all the retro feels of Babysitters Club with the kickass vibe of Willow and Tara from Buffy mixed in.

I really liked Esme. She was the kind of person I would have been friends with in high school. She’s funny and very self-deprecating. She hates gym class (same!) and lives with her dad and her adorable dog. I thought her observations on her life were often very funny.

But for me, the overall pacing of the book felt off. The first three-quarters of the book seemed like a very long period of set-up.

We watch Esme babysitting and going to school. Hanging out with her friend. Going to school again. Talking about what she and her friend were wearing. Visiting her mother in a psychiatric hospital. I kept getting the feeling that something might be about to happen, and then … it wouldn’t. The plot didn’t really get going until the last quarter of the book, which meant that a lot of action and explanation had to be crammed into not enough pages.

So while I was definitely charmed (haha) by this at times, I wanted more consistent suspense and excitement.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I’m excited for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, because this is book 1 of a series, there was quite a lot of world building and set up for the following books. Due to this, I didn’t really get into the book until about 60%, when the action actually picked up (but then I was hooked). I was laughing throughout the entire book because the humor is on point and the book is filled with snappy one-liners that made me guffaw. Also, I love how the characters acknowledged the similarities between them and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. To say the least, I’m looking forward to seeing what other Sitter shenanigans Esme, Cassandra, and Janis get into next.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was not what I expected it to be — and it turned out to be the best thing for me.


Let me just start by saying that I’ve never seen the comp titles for this book. Yes, I’ve never seen Buffy. I know, I know. I’ve also never read The Babysitters Club as a child, though this one was definitely something I wanted to get my hands on (does watching one episode on Netflix and thumbing through the graphic novel reincarnations while handing them to customers count?)

Despite knowing, albeit vaguely, what those series entailed, I still expected this book to be much darker, akin to the reboots with dark twists we’ve been seeing lately. Folks, if you’re picking up this book expecting that, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, the book is a whole lot of campy fun. The spells are quite silly and the ingredients are made from every day items you can find around the house. The main character and her best friend are fans of 90s and early 2000s movies (am I that old), and there are tons of references to faves peppered in — yet not enough to annoy me. There are lots of descriptions of outfits, following the girls’ thrifting trendsetter attitudes.

Basically, don’t take the book too seriously and you’ll have a good time!

Every scene was full of just the right amount of silliness. Esme was just the right amount of awkward. I found myself laughing a lot and highlighting my favorite lines (“They said I’d never need this PowerPoint,” he said under his breath, almost as if he were talking to himself. “But I knew it would come in handy.”)** I kept thinking about how much fun it would be to watch this as a movie!

I also think it skewed a bit towards the younger side of YA, which is actually pretty nice to see. We’ve been getting so many hard-hitting and dark books, and they’re great, but it doesn’t hurt to have fun books like this to help teens transition into the older reads. It’s already pretty hard finding books that fit this category, but I’m hoping this will ease the struggle!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and loved every time I picked it up to read more. If you liked the fun of Undead Girl Gang, I think you should give this book a try!

When I read the blurb for “Babysitter’s Coven”, I knew I had to check it out! I mean “Adventures in Babysitting” meets “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”? Yassss!!! Sadly, the book fell a little flat. Ok, it was more than a little flat, it was disappointing all around. The book started strong but I soon discovered that the plot was severely lacking. It almost felt disjointed for lack of better words. The characters seemed younger than they were supposed to be and underdeveloped. Overall, this book was very challenging to finish. I won’t be continuing with this series, sadly.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a little late reading and reviewing my ARCs but I'm hoping to catch up quickly. Fortunately for me a few are already out as audiobooks on Scribd. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams is one of them.

However, while I wish I had great things to say about this book, I didn't really enjoy it. I feel like this book was just not for me. I didn't really care about anyone, anything. The plot and world were lacking and unbelievable. Also, the humor didn't make me laugh me all that much.

This book follows Esme, a seventeen year old babysitter who discovers she has some powers and need to "save the world" from demons and things like that. That's basically it, I guess. Honestly, I'm not really sure what else to say because I don't feel like a lot happened especially when the characters are supposed to save the world or whatever. I don't really like middle grade books and this one reminded me a bit of that.

(Thank you for giving me an ARC via Netgalley)

I loved this book. It was so fun to read. Esme Pearl has a babysitter's club, but when she turns 17 everything changes. She is able to do things she was not able to do, she has met a new friend that can do extraordinary things, and weird incidences are happening when she babysits kids. She is confused and excited at the same time. She is trying to hold it together for her senior year, but she feels like she is losing everything, and everyone, including her mind. I loved this read. I could not put it down. This may be a good middle school YA read, but high-schoolers will love it also.

Wow, this book was such a great quick spooky read! Growing up I loved reading the Babysitters Club...but always wanted it to be spooky or have a witchy vibe. The Babysitters Coven gives you everything you want! Funny, creepy, and of course a little witchy! Read it! Buy it for a friend!
5/5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of The Babysitter's Coven by Kate Williams in exchange for an honest review!

First & foremost, I’m so glad that I never made it all the way through Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because wow — I can understand why fans of the show would be so disappointed by The Babysitter’s Coven. Considering it a tale of Adventures in Babysitting Meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one thing, but blatantly ripping it off is totally another. Honestly, since I’m not huge into BTVS, I wouldn’t have even noticed if it wasn’t for my book reading pals. With that being said, if you’re not a fan of BTVS, this book may still be a winner for you.

But maybe not, because I still have more to say.

I swear, there are some pros to this book; at least, there were for me. At times, The Babysitter’s Coven feels like a Disney Channel Original Movie — you know the ones. Cheesy acting & ridiculous story line, but holy heck it’s so much fun. I love cheese as much as the next person & you bet your bottoms that when Disney+ comes out, I’ll be over here with a tub of popcorn & carton of Oreos binge-watching all of the Disney Channel Original Movies offered.

The Babysitter’s Coven is a very easy & light adventure. Kate Williams’ clearly meant for this to be fun. & even thought at times her humor doesn’t land for me, she did do an alright job. I, at least, seen what she was trying for, even if it wasn’t executed well. Once it got to about the 60% mark, action started to pick up & I was able to rush through the rest of the read.

Of course, I don’t want to dive into spoilers, but The Babysitter’s Coven gives us a talking dog. & the spell ingredients? Absolutely ridiculous. Legit, one of the bigger spells in the book calls for VAPE PEN JUICE, LIKEWUT. There’s a lot of other cheese-factors, but again, I don’t wanna get too much into spoilers.

Our main character, Esme & her best friend, Janis are fashionistas. I absolutely adore Janis’ fashionable ways & would love to take a dive into her closet. They throw titles onto their outfits & one was called Lydia Deetz goes to the beach & obviously, that spoke to me.

Oh, and that cover? Absolutely gorgeous. But now, I unfortunately must talk about the negatives.

Whew. Okay, so. Somehow, I must have skimmed my eyes over a particular scene, but Taylor brought the fat-shaming to my attention. Our high school bully is a fat girl who the main character describes as a hippo waiting to charge. Um? Gross much?

I also found myself extremely uncomfortable with a scene with the coach; I can’t dive too deep into this portion, because MAJOR SPOILERS. Without context, it sounds worse than it really is — however when this particular line is thrown out, the reader doesn’t have much positive context to go off — so it’s originally meant to sound this messed up — “I’m going to force you to do a lot of things.” WHAT THE WHAT. No, thank you.

I also wasn’t a fan of the acronym use. Esme tends to talk in LOLs, NBDs, AFs & many other acronyms. Which, listen cool. I do it too sometimes, but there’s such thing as over-doing it. This may not be a problem to other readers, but it definitely caused me to cringe a few times.

When I saw this cover (omg I want a tattoo like this) and the title (I used to read The Babysitters  Club), I was like "yes, please!" Witches, babysitters, and a secret?? That's my jam. But The Babysitters Coven was a little different than I expected. It's still about teenage girls and babysitting and witches, but the twist near the end kind of threw me for a loop (in a good way). But before I say too much, let's get to the review!

Esme is just a normal teenage girl trying to get by until she can leave her boring hometown. She hangs out with her best friend, Janis, they obsess over fashion, and they babysit. It's a pretty normal life.

But then weird shit starts happening.

During driver's ed, the car moves on its own and while playing dodge ball in gym class, a ball meant to hit her in the face veers back in the direction of her bully.

And then Cassandra Heaven and her brother, Dion come to town and Cassandra seems to know exactly what's going on with Esme.

Turns out, the strange things that keep happening to Esme are her own doing. She has powers. How does Cassandra know all this? Her mother left her a note and her journal filled with spells. And Cassandra is a witch herself.

While Esme can move things with her mind, Cassandra can set things on fire. Together, they practice spells and figure out what they can about the dark being that keeps coming around when they babysit.

But witch-training isn't the only thing on Esme's mind. Dion just so happens to be hot af and seems interested in Esme. They have a few dates together and seem to have a connection, but before anything really starts, the whole witch thing gets in the way.

And as it turns out Esme and Cassandra aren't the only witches in town

Their gym teacher, Coach Davis, happens to be a teacher'/trainer for new witches and he helps them hone their powers. And they need all the help they can get because one night, while Esme and Cassandra are babysitting, the little girl they're watching is taken and sucked up into a portal. They must figure out how to get her back and how to defeat the evil villain who came through the portal from the other side.

This book was such a fun read. I loved going on this journey with Esme and Cassandra (and  Janis once Esme finally tells her what the hell is going on). I especially liked the fashion element. Esme and Janis are total fashionistas and picturing their outfits based on the book's descriptions made my fashion-loving heart so full. Two descriptions I especially loved were "Sylvia Plath goes to prom" and "art teacher on a bender." LOL

Oh and that twist at the end I was talking about? Well, no spoilers, but lets just say, don't expect too much romance. Dion turns out to be kind of an... idiot and Esme (thank god) has standards.

Also, don't discount Esme's mom. There's a huge secret behind why she is the way that she is and I hope, since it seems like this will be a series, that the next book has her gaining her freedom.

The Babysitters Coven is a fun, delightful, and magical book that I needed after reading so many sad/dark stories. Sometimes, you just need a a light read and that's exactly what this was for me. I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars. If you like witches, fashion, and girls fighting off evil together, this is the book for you.

The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams is out now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.