This was a quick, fun read, reminiscent of The Craft. I can't speak to how accurately the location was portrayed, but the paranormal atmosphere was dark and pragmatic. It felt as if magic didn't need to be invented; it simply existed in this world. I hope there is a follow-up, given the ending!

Witches and serial killers? Yes please!! This book had me hooked from the first page and I needed through it, not wanting to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Witches of Ash and Ruin tells the tale of Dayna and those around her as a serial killer enters into her small town located in Ireland. The thing about Dayna is that she's a witch and so are her friends. E. Latimer integrates celtic mythology with the classic tale of witches and throws in a modern murder mystery into this cauldron of suspense and atmosphere. The most shocking thing about this book's release is that it isn't coming out closer to Halloween.

Witches of Ash and Ruin is an outstanding fast-paced fantasy that successfully blends modern witchcraft and ancient Celtic mythology. Set in Ireland, a seventeen year old girl struggling with her somatic OCD and having just been outed as bi just wants to ascend as a witch. Another coven arrives in town with a dark history surrounding them. And soon, a witch turns up dead by an infamous serial killer after witches. Can they catch him before it's too late? The world-building is very strong and the characters are well-developed. If you enjoy YA fantasy with plenty of action, this is a book you'll want to check out!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

With a cover and a title like this, what can go wrong?

A lot.

Five POVs. Subpar twists. Way too much happening for me to focus on one thing at a time. I felt like my brain was knocking around in there and I couldn't get focused. Nothing truly shocking happens since everything is sort of upfront and in your face. I did not feel connected to the characters or the story. There was so much anger and so much confusion in the characters that in the tiny bits of breaks, it felt forced. Not to mention one POV was completely forgotten by the end of the book as if he didn't matter, which I guess he really didn't if I had to choose.

That being said, this story did have amazing Celtic folklore and I loved the setting and the family dynamics. I felt a bit of The Craft and maybe some Sabrina, but we didn't get too in-depth to feel that connection I did with characters from both of those examples.

This may seem like a scathing review, but it's not. I don't think this was the book for me and others may enjoy it immensely.

This was one of my favourite reads of 2019. Witches are probably my favourite supernatural species to read about, and combined with the Celtic lore, this added a new twist to that genre.

The story wasn't perfect and there were definitely threads left hanging, but overall it was so enjoyable and had enough unique elements to make it a 5 star read for me.

In a town with a strong church presence, there is a coven and some others practicing witchcraft at a lower level. Dayna is the daughter of one of the church's leaders, but she's also a witchling waiting to ascend to her powers. So of course when people start dying in a fashion that clearly indicates witchcraft, she and her coven are involved. And then a former member of the coven, someone who fled and formed a new one, returns. Can the two combined groups figure out who is trying to kill witches before they end up dead themselves?

So far, so normal. The addition of the Celtic gods is a nice touch, as is the way the coven has witchlings under training. And the relationships between the women and Dayna's relationships with Meiner, Reagan and Samuel are really well done. That's all the good. The iffy was that this didn't feel different than any other book in this genre outside those good things.

eARC provided by publisher.

Pub Date: Mar 2020
4.5 Like Netflix's The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, this YA fantasy deals with teenage witches coming into their ascension and their coven dealing with a big bad. Unlike it, there are Celtic gods and goddesses instead of the devil. Also, gay witches! The mysteries of what the bad guys were trying to do and the secrets that Dayna's family keeps are only somewhat answered, so I'm definitely look forward to the next book!

How do I properly begin to review this book without giving anything away? I have no idea, but I’m going to try anyway.

This book, oh my witch!, this book was amazing. It gripped me from the very first page and kept me on the edge of my seat until the last line. When I then proceeded to want to scream because I realized this would be a series which meant I would have to wait even longer for the second book.

The story of Witches of Ash and Ruin follows Dayna Walsh, a recently outed bisexual girl who happens to be a witch and is leaving in a very religious, small Irish town. Her father happens to be the Reverend and while things are tense at home, Dayna has her coven who are always there for her, but that's not all there is to it. The book has magic, it has black witchcraft, celtic gods, and a murder storline all wrapped up in one. I was almost afraid that the story wouldn’t be able to wrap up everything and connect it by the end, but I honestly didn’t have anything to worry about.

Latimer knew exactly what she was doing and she did it well. The book follows so many different characters around that it really made the ready connect with them and get into their head and while I might not have liked all the characters, they were so well written that I’m sure that's exactly what Latimer wanted from me. I didn’t see any of these twist coming. The story does such a great job at giving you the beautifully written word, that all I wanted to do was devour every piece of information that I would forget about these little clues until they were brought back up in later pages.

I honestly can't wait until the next book and to find out what's going to happen next.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Witchcraft (Yes)
Celtic Mythology (Yes)
Bisexual characters (Yes)
Fun, spooky read (Yes)

I was on such a show high after finishing the 2nd season of the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina that when I saw the summary for this book: I.HAD.TO.READ.IT.
I appreciated how connected I was to these characters and I felt like I was going through their emotional journeys with them. I wish this wasn't just a standalone!
9 out of 10 stars!

Synopsis:

Modern witchcraft blends with ancient Celtic mythology in an epic clash of witches and gods. For fans of the The Witcher and Sabrina, or a Discovery of Witches!!

Seventeen-year-old Dayna Walsh is struggling to cope with her somatic OCD; the aftermath of being outed as bisexual in her conservative Irish town; and the return of her long-absent mother, who barely seems like a parent.
But all that really matters to her is ascending and finally, finally becoming a full witch—plans that are complicated when another coven, rumored to have a sordid history with black magic, arrives in town with premonitions of death.
Dayna immediately finds herself at odds with the bewitchingly frustrating Meiner King, the granddaughter of their coven leader. And then a witch turns up murdered at a local sacred site, along with the blood symbol of the Butcher of Manchester—an infamous serial killer whose trail has long gone cold.
The killer's motives are enmeshed in a complex web of witches and gods, and Dayna and Meiner soon find themselves at the center of it all. If they don't stop the Butcher, one of them will be next.

My Thoughts:

With razor-sharp prose and achingly real characters, E. Latimer crafts a sweeping, mesmerizing story of dark magic and brutal mythology. Set against a backdrop of contemporary Ireland that's impossible to put down. So prepare yourself for this amazing and wickedly dark showdown!!
The characters are relatable, I especially liked the topic of mental illness being discussed so much and done Ina sensitive and truthful manner. Let's spread the word and break the stigma!!
Aside from amazing characters, the world building and plot were rich and full of little surprises and twists you won't see coming... I loved the LGBTQ aspect of the characters as well. But of course I liked that it was done as a modern day story!!

Dayna Walsh is a witch in a small Irish town. And what's more, she's been publicly outed as bi and has OCD. To top it all off, her father is the reverend of the local church.

Just when things couldn't get any worse, a coven of enemy witches show up. Sparks fly when Dayna meets the rival's leader, Meiner. The story is told from multiple perspectives, twisted with dark magic and local politics.

I am obsessed with anything witchy and Irish, so this book immediately called out to me. I love the cultural reprsentation, as well as the LGBTQ representation. Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting to this book. The Irish piece felt really lacking to me. There is so much rich setting that could have been used, and it fell flat for me.

There was so much that could have been done with this piece, and it all just felt a bit lacking. I'm sure it's better for people if they're not too into the Irish setting.

Thank you to Disney Book Group and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! I had high hopes for this one. Witches, killers Celtic ties, Ireland setting? Unfortunately, this really wasn't my cup of tea. I liked the setting, I loved the witchiness of the book and I loved the Celtic ties. However, I did not love the characters and felt like I couldn't relate to them. This book also had an overall atmosphere of anger and I really didn't like that. I really enjoyed the storyline and I would've totally loved this book if I felt a connection with the characters and didn't feel like the whole book was so angry. I really do think people are going to like this witchy story with Celtic vibes though!

This book was really intense, and I'm so grateful to Disney Book Group for providing me with an ARC copy to review!

I loved how much diversity there was in this book: the main character Dayna is bi and has somatic OCD and another character makes references to the fact that she has suffered from something similar in the past and takes medication, Dayna's best friend Reagan is Nigerian and has two mothers, and there is a F/F romance between two of the characters with a previous F/F romance that has happened between two characters in the past. I can't say for sure if any of the representation is accurate as I myself don't identify with any of these, but the discussions surrounding Dayna's sexuality and mental health were relevant and (as far as I can tell) accurate.

There were so many elements of this book that I loved, from the found family of Dayna's coven, to the hate to love romance between two of the characters, to the murder mystery aspect! I really appreciated the contrast between the two separate covens where one is very caring and they would all do anything for each other, and the other is a very toxic coven that has dealings with black magic.

The last 50% or so was so action packed and fast paced that I just couldn't put the book down because I was really invested in the coven and the conflict between the them and the three brothers. I also liked that the book didn't just mention that the coven was in danger, it really acted upon that and made the stakes pretty high.

There were a few things that I had wished we got more of, starting with the world building. This takes place in modern day Ireland and while there are a bunch of historic sites that are mentioned, they aren't necessarily described and the atmosphere doesn't give you the feeling of Ireland. Yes, the names of the places and people are definitely Irish, but I wanted something that really made you feel like you were in Ireland! Along those same lines, I wanted more of the Celtic mythology mixed into the lives of the characters - after all, it is a coven of witches that uses Gaelic speech in their spells! They do pledge themselves to gods and goddesses though so there is that.

There was also some interesting contrast between the witches and the church in this small town, but for a while it seemed like it was going to play a larger part in the story and it just didn't. For example, Dayna's mother comes back from "camp" and it's mentioned a few times that Dayna herself was afraid of being sent there by her father but it had no repercussions in the world after that. The relationship between Dayna and her father was also a little strange in the sense that she mentions that she's afraid of being sent away, yet she seems to hardly ever spend time at her house and her father seems to not really care too much about it until something happens to Dayna with her coven then the conflict between her and her father was brought back up again. I almost felt like there were too many ideas that were added in which meant that they weren't all fully explored.

By the end of the book there were definitely some questions left unanswered: what's going on with Dayna's mother? Where did Sam go, because he just kind of was never mentioned again? Who is the new leader of the coven? What happened with that boy that was with Cora? Why was Carman so set on destroying Ireland? What happened with the police investigation, did they just give up? I think that the way this ended left room for a sequel as it was pretty open ended, but it may also just simply be an open ended standalone!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author! Keep an eye out for this book releasing on March 3rd 2020, you won't want to miss it!

**Review will be posted to my blog (meltingpages.wordpress.com) on 1/9/2020**

For some reason I'm not connecting with this like I thought I would. I think sadly, this just isn't the read for me. I do love the witches and Celtic lore though, which is why I first picked it up.

Celtic mythology. Ancient gods. Queer witches. A sleepy Irish town. MURDER!! This book has all of my favorite ingredients, and the result did not disappoint. The witchcraft is ensnaring, the romance broody, and the tea abundant. A perfect read for a chilly October night.

Despite its basic YA title, Witches of Ash and Ruin stands out with clever prose and unique characters. The book is written from multiple perspectives, and while it is not quite Laini-Taylor-level of mastery, the world feels fleshed-out and diverse. We see events unfold from multiple distinct points of view, each character written in a way that makes them relatable and dynamic. Our main character, Dayna, has a wholesome and close-knit bond with her coven members; the female friendship featured in the story is inspiring and refreshing. The inclusion of queer characters felt natural and respectful–some YA books can feel as though they are diverse only for diversity’s sake, but that was clearly not the case here. The romance between Dayna and fellow witchling Meiner was a sweet, slow burn; the sexual tension could be cut with a knife. I really enjoyed seeing the characters interact with one another.

The plot itself is an interesting little mystery, and, as the blurb states, has a similar vibe to A Discovery of Witches. The story flowed pretty smoothly, despite some minor plot holes. While a bit slow to start, it picked up rather quickly and after that, I could not put the book down. It was sexy, spooky, and completely captivating. There is a certain aura that accompanies books like this; there is no common element, just a bit of writing craft that sets it apart (see also: Half Bad, The Raven Boys, and strangely enough, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer). I only wish the magic had been described with a little more depth, as it was characterized more by an atmosphere than a method (which I suppose is acceptable, just not my preference). I would have also liked to have seen a few more anecdotal scenes. I loved the characters and the setting–I want more description of the everyday life of these witches.

All in all, a wonderfully atmospheric read that I would highly recommend to anyone who is magically inclined. Don’t let the cookie-cutter title scare you away–this one is different.

It also just felt like this book was trying to do too much - it was trying to deal with LGBTQ issues but also trying to be a murder mystery and also dealing with weird family dynamics while also dealing with an ex boyfriend plot and also dealing with a friend who wants to take over a coven of witches despite it belonging to her best friend. Nothing really felt incredibly cohesive about this story. Part of the problem was the amount of POVs within the story; I don't normally mind changing POVs but there are so many in this story and each POV feels like a different plot line and it was hard to feel connected or interested in any of them. I wanted to enjoy this book a lot more than I ultimately did.

What a thrilling read. I think if you enjoyed LJ smith at one point in your life, you’ll probably like this book!

Full of diversity and fantasy it was an excellent read and incredibly well written. Can’t wait to see what this author has in store for us next!

Not worth a review in no way could I get through this book. Let alone the first two chapters of this. the writing the style everything was blah.

This was a good Halloween read. It might be an odd comparison, but in some ways it reminded me of The Raven Cycle, but with an all-female group of protagonists. I liked the book's pacing and that there were several twists I didn't see coming. I also liked how complicated the characters were; no one was all-good or all-bad (except for maybe Dayna), and in a way this made the story just as much character-driven as plot-driven.

Having said that, I wish there had been less switching of POVs just because I felt like it took time away from Miner and Dayna, the main characters. Sam also kind of felt like he didn't belong, just dropping off the radar at the end of the book (but I'm sure he'll come back in the sequel). I also wish the ending had stood alone instead of left us with such a big cliffhanger, but I'm sure I'll read the next book whenever it comes out.

Thanks Netgalley for letting me read an ARC of this!