A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers follows Helen as she travels through time and many lives to find out who she is. The story starts out relatively strong, but the middle drags and the different "lives" are a little hard to follow when they switch back and forth or she has a dream. Not much magic, as I was expecting from a book with Witch in the title. The book was decent, but not one that I will find myself raving about.

{3.5 stars}

Helen is a thirty something going through a divorce. Her husband is putting together an art exhibit and she finds herself mesmerized by the artist who he is highlighting. She begins dreaming about the young female subject of his art and finds herself seeing the world through the girl's eyes as tragedy strikes. She realizes that the actions in that life time have cursed her to an eternity of love and loss and she needs to relive all those lives to figure out how to break the curse.

This one reminds me of The Time Traveler's Wife. I loved the historical fiction aspects and the tragic romance throughout time. What I didn't love was that there wasn't really enough magic, for the story to be about a witch, I expected more. I also didn't like how helpless our girl was generation after generation, that made sense for the earlier time points but not the more modern ones. Read this one more for the romance than the magic.

Thanks to Redhook Books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own. Apologies for taking so long to read and review.

This book has the dreamy type of feel captured by “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.” I loved the descriptions of the different lives Helen/Juliet lived and felt the relationships were well defined. I wanted more detail on Luke and their relationship. I also wanted more about the curse. Nonetheless, this was a captivating read and I would read this author again.

This novel started out promising. However, I did not like the love affair. It seemed to be a bit creepy. Still, I recommend this for fans that love The Memory Painter and Life after Life.

Juliet LaCompte, a 16-year-old French girl, has a passionate romance with her neighbor, the painter Auguste Marchand. When Juliet's mother finds out about her, she performs a ritual to curse the painter, but unwittingly from her, she links her daughter's fate to that of the painter, condemning her to relive the affair over and over again.
In this book, the author tells us the story of Juliet and her reincarnations Nora, Sandra and Helen and Lucian / Luke Varner, a demon in charge of guarding and preserving the terms of the curse. A very well written book, with a novel and interesting plot and well developed characters. I especially liked the description of the different eras in which the protagonists lived and the way in which their stories are interrelated despite the time that separates one from the other.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to read this book. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Of late, I've drifted to "witchy" titles and time-travel is always my favorite. this story did not disappoint and I have recommended it to many of our readers.

Do you believe you are destined to love one person throughout time? After reading this book you will be a believer in true love.

Holy disturbing. I DNF'd this book so fast that I tried to give it another chance, But, I am not against the age gap in historical romance, however, this book was just not for me.

I wasn't able to read the book but I will be featuring it in a series called "I Wish I'd Read That." Text below:

I love the concept of A Witch in Time, combining multiple time periods alongside a magical world and a curse with unintended side effects. I was impressed by the author’s scope and excited to see how the same character was written in three vastly different worlds. The underlying examination of self was especially compelling to me and I’m bummed I wasn’t able to read it. I’d love to hear what you all think of this one and how the author connects the different settings! Read more about the author and book below, or purchase a copy for yourself. And of course, a big thank you to Redhook for the free review copy!

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I enjoyed the story itself and wanted more.

If you like historical fiction, you have to read A Witch in Time. If you're a fan of Practical Magic, this is a book for you. This is like Practical Magic meets Philippa Gregory.

I tried to give this book a chance multiple times and I couldn't get into it. All of the characters are unlikable and the plot doesn't make sense to me. I really wanted a witch story, but there wasn't as much magic as I hoped for. Overall, I didn't see much to love in this book. Nonetheless, I can see how some people might enjoy it so I won't be posting any reviews.

A young woman in Belle Epoque France is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist.

In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet LaCompte has a passionate, doomed romance with the married Parisian painter Auguste Marchant. When her mother — a witch — botches a curse on Marchant, she unwittingly binds Juliet to the artist through time, damning her to re-live her affair and die tragically young lifetime after lifetime as the star-crossed lovers reincarnate through history.

I expecting a great magical read and instead, this was more practical magic than anything else. I also had a very time liking Juliet. Most of the time I wanted to slap her because she was just so silly. I wanted to be swept away by this magical story about witches, but it was really hard for me to continue reading to the end.

‘#A Witch in Time by Author #Constance Sayers is her Debut novel that is very riveting, original and
fresh. This is a story of magical, loves lost through time and a curse. From Paris 1890 to Los Angeles
in the seventies as a rock star this Historical fiction is so appealing.
Thank you,
#Netgalley, #Constance Sayers, and #Redhook Books

I thought this was a very interesting novel. I thought the plot was unique that starts with Helen who is starting to have flash backs to previous lives. Juliet was the first who was in love with The Merchant and her mother who was a witch and she put a curse where it binds merchant and Juliet. After Juliet dies in the late 1890s then comes Nora in 1930s Hollywood and the Sharon from 1970s. With all of the lives there is a protector, a demon named Luke and with each life he is there to help and guide. During Helen's life she learns not only about all of her past life, but how the curse works and maybe just maybe she can finally do something.

A Witch in Time is a historical novel, love story, and mystery all rolled into one. The intertwining of the characters throughout the time periods and the connections between them creates an interesting and engaging exploration of what it means to love and the power of the soul. I loved how the story progressed with each version of the main character, and that each incarnation was a whole person as well as a part of a whole. I do wish that there was a little more introduction of each woman throughout the book, as by the time we got toward the end and met the last incarnation, I had a momentary struggle to psych myself up to meet an entirely new person. However, this hesitation only lasted about 10 pages until I was fully engrossed again. I very much enjoyed this novel and look forward to more works by this author.

I put Constance Sayers’ A Witch in Time aside as a DNF the first time I picked it up. Helen Lambert bored me to tears, and I cared so little about her love life that I could not push through the beginning of chapter three. I had no intention of returning to the book, but I left it on my kindle and ended up cracking it open on the heels of a heavy nonfiction, thinking it would serve as a mindless transitional read. You know, something to pass the time as I looked for something I could lose myself in.

My second attempt started much like my first, but I pushed through and found some traction in chapter four when the story transitioned to Juliet in 1895. Juliet is, admittedly, not my favorite character in the novel, but I liked the L'Inconnue de la Seine vibe of her storyline and found the relationships she shares with her mother and guardian more than a little intriguing.

I know playing favorites is dangerous, but I fell hard for Nora in the 1930s. I love Hollywood history and while I cannot speak to Sayers’ inspiration, I delighted in noting parallels between Nora’s story and the lives of Billy Wilkerson, William Desmond Taylor, and Natalie Wood. I had been half-hooked by Juliet's story, but I was utterly swept away by Nora's.

Sandra, in the 1970s, was the most challenging protagonist for me to read. I flat out resented her for not being Nora, and while that initially frustrated me, I grew to appreciate how my reaction to Sandra mirrored the themes of her storyline. I also liked the intensity of these chapters and how the course of Sandra’s experience illustrated the curse to which she was bound.

I do not know if Sayers reads reviews for her books, but on the off-chance she stumbles across mine, I would like her to know I enjoyed this particular serving of crow. I tossed A Witch in Time aside on what I still feel its weakest points, but my second pass proved I dismissed the novel too soon. Sayers' historical cast and their experiences have haunted my imagination for weeks, and I am grateful for the stupid assumption that prompted me to give it another chance as the story proved well-worth my time and attention.

With all the covid-19 news, I have been struggling to read. I picked up A Witch in Time and devoured the majority of the book in one long sitting! This is the deeply intriguing story of a doomed love story cursed to repeat time and time again. Reminiscent of The Time Traveler’s Wife with a bit of The Mayfair Witches series mixed in. Constance Sayers has written a brilliant debut

As a thank, you to Netgalley and the publisher Redhook for a copy of Constance Sayer’s “ A Witch in Time” I write this review. As a debut novel about doomed love, reincarnation, and the power of fate this novel certainly did not disappoint. Throughout the novel, you are taken to three different eras 1890’s Paris, 1930’s Hollywood, and 1970’s Los Angeles. Through many lifetimes we are shown the tangled lives of a muse and artist whose doomed love affair started over 100 years in the making. Once Helen Lambert a witch in Present-day Washington D.C. learns of her past lives does the novel set in motion a countdown in which she will die on her birthday. As each reincarnation of women live and dies are we have shown the final years of her life and the circumstances around her death that play out due to the curse placed on her years ago. The novel's tone was clear, concise, and assessable. The plot did not feel rushed but believable given the circumstances of the novels. I enjoyed this novel and felt invested with its characters. Out of five stars on GoodReads, I give this novel a high four-star rating. I recommend this to fans of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.

<b>3.5 stars rounded down</b>

Recommended especially for fans of “Fallen” by Lauren Kate.

“A Witch in Time” is the story of lovers doomed by the mistakes of a well-meaning mother scarred by her own past.

Trigger warnings: adulterous sex with a “willing” minor, rape and urination on the rape victim, unwilling prostitution, suicide, domestic assault, and graphic gore.

The novel progresses across four separate timelines: Juliet, the artist’s muse in 1895; Nora, the streetwise and scrappy actress in Hollywood’s Golden Age; Sandra, a young and hip keyboardist for an up-and-coming rock band in the 1960s; and Helen, a boring and uninteresting character who mostly sleeps during her 2012 interludes or whines about her ex-husband’s hot girlfriend.

Each iteration of Juliet is unique and has interesting-ish life experiences, with Juliet and Nora’s sections being the most engaging. The way that Juliet and Marchant are pulled toward each other and certain careers was enjoyable and kept my interest, barring Sandra and especially Helen’s sections.

The main problem with the novel is the poor writing. Any time an iteration of Juliet has clothes on, there is at least a solid page dedicated to explaining exactly what it looks like and how much she loves her outfit. I don’t care.

There’s also a problematic and poorly explained secondary love interest whose initial interactions during Juliet’s lifespan both don’t make sense and don’t track with what happens afterward. He seemed one dimensional, and I never believed in the attraction between these two characters.

The actual blood magic sequence to initiate the curse was fascinating and very engaging. I’m sad this wasn’t an ongoing thing, and that later blood magic incidents were boring and short.

Overall, the novel felt unbalanced but had redeeming moments, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to fans of “Fallen” in particular.

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.