The Age of Witches is a tale of love, ambition, desire, audacity and, most importantly, magic. The Bishop women have, for centuries, used their magic to achieve a certain end. While most are using that end to help aid others with cantrips and electuaries, potions for health and good fortune. Some use their magic to impose their will on others. Not knowing it, Annis Allington is part of this Bishop bloodline, trapped between her own will, and that of her stepmother. She soon discovers the truth and it becomes a race against purist intentions and that of the malicious.

This concept sounds fantastic at heart: a battle of witches, good and evil, centuries of power passed down from generation to generation. But The Age of Witches misses the mark. For starters, the book is a bit slow to start and takes far too long to actually get into any of the magic it promises. It continues with this slow pace even through the more intense sections. Despite this, Morgan’s characters are not lacking in passion whatsoever. The characters are beautifully crafted and each seems to compliment another in a specific way. The character that is most connected to the others is Annis. Annis and Harriet, Annis and Mr. Allington, Annis and Frances, Annis and James, and even Annis and supplemental characters. However, I felt the book focused far too much on Harriet and not enough on Annis. Especially at the beginning and the end. Which leads me to believe Harriet is the predominant protagonist, despite the growth and connections Annis has throughout the novel. For this reason, in combination with the slow pace, I felt strongly as though the book suffered some sort of identity crisis in its main character.

A special thank you to Redhook Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I look forward to the next one!

This book was really good! It has a great plot and really good characters! It was very interesting and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review

“Spellbinding” is the only word to describe The Age of Witches. Reading it was like walking into a gorgeous, living fairy tale. I just loved this book, it’s probably one of the best I’ve read all year and I’ve read A LOT of books this year.

This is a tale of magic, set in a world where one imagines myths and legends can come to life, but it also feels surprisingly grounded at the same time, almost like a fairy tale infused with a bit of realism. These elements gave the world more depth and kept it from feeling too simplistic, but they were also muted enough not to be overbearing or risk completely obliterating the magical nuances. Morgan tackles the craft of world-building meticulously and flawlessly, striking the perfect tone. I’m beyond impressed.

This book made me wonder why I waited so long to pick up something by Louisa Morgan. She writes so beautifully, with every word like an enchantment or spell drawing the reader deeper into the story. There’s a mystery here I couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of, and then as we drew closer to the conclusion I didn’t want this story to end!

Alas, it did. But I’m also glad to see Morgan writing more because I can’t wait until we can return to her storytelling.

I started reading this book and I absolutely love it. Great writing, great plot. I will add to this review when I finish reading it, but so far it is a winner.
December 19, 2019:
Today I finished reading The Age of Witches and the rest of the book was just as good as the first half. The quality of the writing is maintained throughout the whole book. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

I stayed up late reading "The Age of Witches" by Loisa Morgan. While you can see pretty much what is going to happen in the end, this was still a book worth reading. I loved reading about witches and the different lines of the Bishop witches. How one uses their abilities to help others and the other for their own gain. These two lineages are warring against eachother with two young people in the balance. While this wasn't a thriller in that I wasn't on the edge of my seat, I still found it hard to put down. I wanted to read what happened next. I would reccomend this book to fans of historical fiction and witches.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

A well written book that depicts the treatment of women with special abilities throughout history. Annis defies characterization of her time period because she rejects societal notions that she should behave in a specific way because she is a woman. Her step-mother has a streak of evil but the readers will see how she struggled throughout her life. I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it wholeheartedly.

A young independent woman finds herself in the crossfire of spells and love in the latest novel by Louisa Morgan.

It’s the Gilded Age and 17 year old Annis, the heiress to an extremely successful stove company in New York City is ushered overseas to find a husband to secure her step-mother’s status. The arrangement reeks of magicked manipulation and the story takes a dark turn when the innocent become the victims of self-interested witches.

There are dark grimoires, magical spells, amulets, and herbal concoctions, but there are also societal requirements and patriarchal rules that magic must navigate. In this story, magic is empowering because it combines knowledge with choice, something that every character in this novel has to face. I enjoyed the female characters in this story because they found creative ways to wield their powers covertly as they were constantly confronted with issues surrounding free will. Can a woman every truly be independent, no matter how much magic is cast?

The biggest let down for me was that I felt that this book was lacking a sense of mystery. As a reader, I wasn’t left guessing, because the author didn’t hide anything. I wish that I was left guessing as to whether the two main characters were magicked or if they had actually fallen in love? The first meeting between them was too brief to convince the reader that they had any feelings whatsoever. Once we learn that they are victims of an awry love spell, the rest of the story becomes predictable. Almost all of the action is about characters trying to undo spells which was a little disappointing because it lacked suspense. I wish it had more secrets and suspicions.

It’s obvious that there is a feminist message shining through about the conflict between obligation and free will. I finished this book thinking that perhaps magic is the middle-ground between the two? Maybe magic is about learning how to bend the rules using a little bit of personal power and love?

In the end we see the characters grappling with the issues around following one’s heart and following the expectations, but, like any good magical concoction, the right amount of each ingredient can make a successful and tolerable remedy.

4/5 stars from me because it was a good story that had the right amount of fantasy but it lacked a suspenseful mystery.