I am so sorry but I had to DNF this title. I read to 54% and it still hadn’t grabbed me. I had no interest in the fates of the characters or what happens to them next. I guess there was no emotional connection. I’m sure it’s an amazing story for someone else. Thank you for the opportunity.

Wow, where to begin. Witches are my favorite trope, so you bet I jumped at reading this one. I had no idea what I was going into or what it was even about but I’m so glad I picked it up. Alix Harrow is now on my watch list for everything she writes. The way she weaves her words are, well, magical.

I don’t consider myself a feminist but I guess I am more than I thought because I was rooting for these characters through the end. They fought for what they believed in no matter what tried to stop them.

Three sisters long abandoned each other over a difficult past. Brought together by something bigger than they can even imagine.

Witches won’t be tolerated. Especially a woman witch. But the sisters are destined to change that, together, despite everything.

I don’t usually read books with such heavy.. political stances.. but it works here.

Slow clap to Alix Harrow.

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for this eARC!

This book felt prescient, a bad, damaged, and powerful man using scapegoats and the most vulnerable to keep his position, a pandemic, misinformation, persecution and anger and resistance, and a feeling that history repeats all told on a funhouse mirror version of Gilded Age America. It isn't prescient though, not really, because we are often in moments of extremis (some more extreme than others). History, change and steps forward met with harsh backlash, two steps forward, X steps back, is a circle, or at least the spiral staircase in a hidden library. It did help me remember that we can help control how hard this backlash hits.

Alix Harrow, after this book and <i>The Ten Thousand Doors of January</i> is quickly becoming one of my authors to watch. I love her rich writing, her fierce women and men, and the way she lets just a little magic into the cracks of the world. Just one criticism, I think this book could have been a little shorter (though it really only took me so long to read it because of my attention span these days). Also, I am mad it isn't already an absolute epic TV show.

Finally, please, please, please vote, and not for the damaged narcissist.

It’s the late 1800’s and there are no more witches. Three sisters are reunited and begin to look for the forgotten words. June, Bella, and Agnes all have their own reasons to look for the words. They also distrust each other. This story was slow to get going. I would say the first 30% of the book I kept reading because I hoped the author was taking me somewhere. Ultimately she did. What lies in children’s stories and fairy tales are answered in this book.

I received an ARC of The Once and Future Witches from Redhook Books in exchange for an honest review.

Alix E. Harrow’s debut, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, made it clear that she was a writer to watch. Her follow-up, The Once and Future Witches, doesn’t quite capture the same magic—but calling it a sophomore slump doesn’t give it enough credit. Imagine someone goes to an art museum and takes a picture of a remarkable painting. The picture isn’t great: the painting isn’t fully in frame, and it’s slightly out-of-focus. You feel like you can’t fully appreciate it without seeing it in person, but you can still recognize the artistry. The Once and Future Witches is the picture of the painting—the scope is a shade too small, lacking crucial context, and the stakes and the characters don’t quite click until late in the novel. But they do click, and the shaky footing upon which the book begins stabilizes into a strong story as it enters its endgame.

That story, which takes place in 1893 in a world where witchcraft is real but largely extinct, follows three witch sisters: James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna (they loosely adhere to the archetypes of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, although Harrow somewhat undermines this). Connecting to these characters was difficult for me because they inhabit a liminal space between fable and reality—sometimes the sisters feel as if they stepped out of a fairy tale, and sometimes they feel like people you would meet on the street. The arc of the novel makes it clear that Harrow’s intent is bring these characters from the realm of reality into the realm of fable, but they pinball between both from the beginning and I struggled to penetrate the carapace of archetype and really get a sense of who the sisters were as people.

This is at least partially a symptom of the awkward chapters which open the book. I can’t quite decide if the story starts too late or too early; it’s hard to get a read on the relationship between the sisters because the novel opens after that relationship has fractured, but it’s also unclear what type of story is being told until 25% into the book, and the plot doesn’t start moving until 50% (which wouldn’t be as big of a problem if the first half had been spent digging deep into the characters, but most of those pages are empty calories). I’m thus inclined to believe the story starts too early—cutting at least a quarter of the novel would have done wonders for the book.

There’s still a lot to like about The Once and Future Witches. Harrow’s prose is heightened and stylized, but it rarely strays into garishness (rarely, not never). And the last 25% of the novel is strong in pretty much every respect: the stakes and the characters are finally in focus, and it feels like the story becomes what Harrow wanted it to be all along. If the whole book was on par with its climactic sequence, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. That said, even though I am hesitating, I am still recommending it. I love the gloriously diverse worldview of this novel—even cis men can be witches!—and Harrow is clearly having a lot of fun subverting the tropes of witchcraft with some legitimately clever twists. I know Harrow can do better because she already did in The Ten Thousand Doors of January, but if any of what I’ve said here appeals to you, and if you like your prose more lush than functional, The Once and Future Witches will likely be a winner for you.

The writing in "The Once and Future Witches" is stellar, the storyline is provoking, the character list a mile long, and the ultimate message "GIRL POWER!". While this book is considered fantasy, I believe many girls and woman will be able to relate to any of the three strong sisters. Five stars. READ IT

Alix E. Harrow is back with another escape into the past, infused with the magic. The year is 1893 and the town is New Salem. Old Salem was burned, supposedly with all the witches in it, although vestiges of witchcraft have lived on. Women fight for suffrage, and many fight for better labor conditions. In a search for power to make change, the Eastwood sisters, Bella, Agnes, and Juniper, unite to bring back the Lost Way of Avalon. This is not without complications, but they find help in some wonderful allies. These characters are the book's greatest strength. They are all complex, and each of them grows over the course of the book. There is romance, and there are even some familiar tales mixed in. The plot gets twisty, though, so this book is best read in longer sittings in order to understand how all of the moving parts are working together. This was a much-welcomed escape read.

The Once and Future Witches is my first Alix E. Harrow book. I get it now.
If this were a true review I would give this book a 3.5, but I opted to round up for reasons I will go into later.
The book takes place in 1893 and follows three sisters (Belladonna, Agnes, and Juniper). The witches of history have already been burned. The "ways, words, and wills" of witches have been scattered and lost over time. The Eastwood sisters had a wonderful grandmother who shared more spells than the average family member. Circumstances of youth and a tough dad separated the sisters. Yet they are united by chance and their futures and the futures of all witches are thrust into their hands.
There aren't many "witch stories" out there with full flushed out stories. We all know the fairy tales and songs about them, but I don't think I've ever read something so complete about a witch or the witch tales. The only thing I can compare the book to is "The Crucible" and that's a period of my high school required reading that I would rather forget.
Harrow is a very skilled author and wordsmith. The characters and the way the words come together are lovely. The book is also told in a rotating third person perspective that gives life and feeling that I didn't expect in a story like this.
I love the way she pulls the themes together. The literal sisters, community of sisters, and women. The story is told alongside a town's fight for women's voting rights. The comparison between voting and witch ways was such a compelling and original idea for me. I so wished to see it continue through the book.
My biggest complaint for this book was the length, but I'm not sure if that could be cut without losing something to the story or the characters. Maybe it wasn't so much the length but the way the story is told. The point in the beginning of the narrative switches around several times. Maybe if some of the plots were more succinct or something.
It's such a good story. I had to round up because of it's originality, character development, and the writing itself. Harrow is fun and I'm glad to read it. Worth a casual read, but you won't be flipping pages constantly to find out what will happen next.

This book was received as an ARC from Redhook Books in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

At first I did not know what to expect as I read this book. Thinking that it was going to be a fantasy novel but it the plot took a new turn incorporating history with fantasy with women's suffrage and salem witch trials combining with the practices of witchcraft. Most of all, I love the sentiment of sisterly bonds and love James, Agnes, and Beatrice through these tough times of revolt and threats they had from everyone fighting their right to vote and threatening for their lives. A lot was learned throughout this book with a little added excitement.

We will consider adding this book to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

The Once and Future Witches is the must-read book for the spooky season! This historical fantasy, full of gorgeous imagery and prose, is the perfect book to curl up with on a cool night. In 1893, three sisters are reunited in New Salem, and they take on women's rights and a devil in tailored clothing. Alix Harrow's new twist on female archetypes and myth is true genius! Highly recommended for those who enjoy excellent, character-driven writing with a slower pace. Thanks to Netgalley and Redhook for the librarian preview. I can't wait to buy the hardcover for my personal collection!

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of The Once and Future Witches. This was a well thought out, finely crafted novel. I cannot even wonder how this story came into fruition. Bravo! Highly recommend!

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow is the book I want to tell everyone about and hold close at the same time. It’s genre bending story can be described as fantasy, historical fiction, magical realism, or women’s fiction. I want to put it in readers hands and say “Read this, trust me”. It’s a story told over one hundred years ago but change a few minor details and it’s happening right now, today.
Three sisters, Juniper, Agnes, and Bella, grow up with an abusive father after loosing their mother during Juniper’s birth. Their grandmother, Mags, was a Hedge witch, a wise woman, who taught them simple rhymes and tricks. This was a common tradition handed down from grandmothers, mothers, aunties, to young girls in kitchens and homes, birth rooms and gardens. The burning of women, witches, their books and knowledge quieted it all hiding it often in plain sight. In survival instinct, betrayal, two sisters leave one behind.
All three sisters find themselves in 1893 in New Salem amid a suffragette movement. As Juniper is perused for a crime the sisters are drawn together by bonds that have been weakened, but held strong despite years of mistrust, anger, and resentment. They forge together with local women from mills and factories in a movement parallel to the suffragettes to return witchcraft. Their quest is both to vanquish a foe and find the knowledge left to them by past generations. Alix E. Harrow uses the same gifts she did in The Ten Thousand Doors of January, giving physical power to words themselves. She honors both written words and the oral traditions of stories handed down. At turns her moving, lyrical, simple words tell how stories are coveted and feared, sought and destroyed, fought for again and again throughout time. I urge readers to ignore genre labels. I highly, highly recommend.
A special thanks to Netgalley and Redhook for the Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review The Once and Future Witches. All opinions are my own.

Salem has been burned to the ground. New Salem has no place and no use for witches. New Salem is modern; there is electricity and work for all. Order abounds. That order may favor men, especially white, straight men, but it keeps society clean and bright. Until one day shadows begin to swallow other shadows.

The powers that be are being disturbed. Not only are suffragists afoot, but three sisters have been pulled in to their orbit and the struggle for equal power. Can they harness the power of magic and become witches themselves? Will they be able to reclaim power for women all over New Salem?

I am a sucker for anything having to do with witches and even more so if the story feels as though it takes place in the real world. Harrow’s characters are gritty and real. Sometimes likeable and sometimes not, these women seem like people I would know and could be friends with. I highly recommend The Once and Future Witches, especially to fans of Alice Hoffman who wouldn’t mind a rougher, more grounded witch story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital ARC for review purposes.

After falling in love with Harrow's "The Ten Thousand Doors of January", I jumped on the chance to read this ARC (thank you, NetGalley!). Also, witches are my favorite, and the 19th century is my favorite, so it already felt like this book was made for me.

BOY WAS I RIGHT.

Magic. Spells. Fairy Tales. Feminism. LGBTQ+ characters. Commentaries on race, wealth, gender, family, motherhood, relationships, standing out in a world that wants you to blend in. I was blown away by how much Harrow was able to say through a handful of incredibly well-developed characters and witchy happenings. It didn't take me long to feel like I knew the three sisters like old friends, cheering their victories and screaming at their too-risky plans, feeling the tension and love between them.

Harrow's writing style is the absolute best kind. In the vein of Madeline Miller and Erin Morgenstern, she forms the most beautiful, melodic sentences without it ever turning into purple prose. She chooses her words so carefully, and they flow like a river.

This story made me feel powerful. It made me feel like I can walk into an old bookstore, open an ancient recipe book, and find a spell to cast. It made me feel like fighting even harder for women and minorities and all the marginalized people in the world trying to find their place in it.

I absolutely fell in love with this book, and I imagine I will read it again. Alix E. Harrow can write me a story every year for the rest of our lives as far as I'm concerned. She has solidified her place on my list of favorite authors ever.

Highly, highly recommended.

Alix Harrow's debut novel, "The Ten Thousand Doors of January," captivated me with its lyrical storytelling and put Harrow on my list of fantasy and science-fictions writers to watch. And so, even though - typically - I am not drawn to stories about witches, I requested the ARC of "The Once and Future Witches" as soon as it was offered on NetGalley. Ultimately, unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much.

"Witches" is a historical fantasy set in 1893, New Salem. In this alternate version of our history, there once were witches in the world, and there was magic, but it went largely extinct after the purge and destruction of Old Salem in the 1600s. Witching now only survives as simple charms that womenfolk secretly employ to make their daily drudge a bit easier. It's also the time of the suffrage movement, the only possible avenue for women - in male-dominated society - to regain some of their power and control over their own lives.

Such are the circumstances under which we are introduced to three Eastwood sister - Bella, Agnes, and Juniper - who set out to transform the suffrage movement into a witches' movement and bring about a full reawakening of magic. On a personal level, when we first meet the sisters the relationship between them is very raw as a result of it being broken by their cruel father. Healing the broken bond between the three of them soon becomes an integral part of the story.

"The Once and Future Witches" is a feminist story about sisterhood, and fighting for women’s rights, but fundamentally it's about social justice - and included under the umbrella of those the sisters are fighting for are poor women, black women, sex workers, and LGBTQ+ persons, which are all the groups that the historical suffragist movement excluded.

"The Ten Thousand Doors of January" and "The Once and Future Witches" have many things in common, and one of them is the importance of storytelling - eminent in "Witches" in the bedtime stories the sisters recount in their quiet moments. Harrow is really skilled at weaving those fairy-tales, and in narration itself - her prose is lyrical, beguiling, almost entrancing. It's another of the novel's strong points.

The novel is a heavily a character-driven story, the three sisters are very different, with distinct personalities - it's the novel's another strength. The only weakness - but a deal breaker for me - is the pacing. There are some moments when the reader breathlessly turns page after page, trying to keep up with the action, but those are not very frequent. The majority of the plot moves in too languid, too ruminating a pace to have sustained my interest. I put the book down too many times, and in the end made only some progress over a span of almost two weeks. In the end, I moved on.

Proof that Alix E. Harrow's first book was no fluke. Her second is equally good, no way I could rate one over the other, except maybe after re-reading. Great characters, great plotting, magic mixed with political thought, although I'm willing to admit I may have read some things into it not intended by the author. Highly recommended, and Alix now goes on a list of writers to follow wherever they lead next.

In 1893 New Salem witches are non-existent, or they're supposed to be however through myths and fables minor magic is still around. Three estranged sisters wind up in New Salem during a magical event where a legendary tower appears out of thin air. The sisters realize that it is the fabled Tower of Avalon, believed to be the seat of all witchcraft and the sisters set out to find the tower and reclaim the power of witches for themselves and all the women of New Salem and beyond. Alix Harrow's books are turning out to be slow burners, they start out at a glacial pace during the world building but still draw you in, then everything speeds up and you're racing towards the end and the Once and Future WItches is now exception. The first half of the book is slowly paced as you learn about the three sisters, witchcraft and women's lives in 1893. There is quite a bit of social commentary/issues as the youngest sister gets involved with the suffragette movement, there is a good depiction of what working conditions were like for women and children and one of the few male characters is involved in unionizing. This is the second book I've read by Alix Harrow and I thoroughly enjoy her world building and female led stories.

I just loved this book from Alix Harrow. While set in an alternate history where magic exists, it still spoke to clearly to women's roles in society (both past and present). Harrow has a way of making her characters come to life and makes you care about every single one of them. She could write short stories about all of the minor side characters and I would love to read any of them.

I finished this book yesterday, and I just had to digest what I read. This will be the perfect read for those who like witch stories, someone looking for a great Halloween read, and those who want women's rights stories. As far as I'm concerned, that is more of what this book is about. Women being treated as second class citizens and the fight for our rights.

The story is quite engaging in parts; a real page-turner. But then, at times, it devolved into an overly wordy page filler.

There are a couple of issues I had with this tale, and those are the usage of modern-day slang during the late 1800s and the fact that I didn't get enough back story. I was never able to figure out just what the sister's father did to them -was he also a witch, or was he a child abuser, pedophile. I felt like I missed some chapters or that I was just stupid for not understanding what was evident to everyone else that read this book.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and author. My thanks to both.

The Once and Future Witches, a historical feminist fantasy, will delight fans of author Alix E. Harrow's previous, highly lauded, The Ten Thousand Doors of January. As in that book, The Once and Future Witches draws heavily on the (quite literal) magic of storytelling and the ways in which control of the narrative is power, in terms of gender, race, money/class, age, knowledge... in the case of The Once and Future Witches, it's primarily a question of gender, as the 19th century aspiring witches are suffragettes fighting for (white) women's right to vote as well as the ability to work spells on the world, to get some power, some control over their stories. That paranthetical is doing a lot of work here, as the character Miss Cleo Quinn, a Black woman, journalist, and magic-worker herself, would point out, and the historic failings of the women's suffrage movement are not ignored in this magical treatment, any more than is the question of who has the right to define womanhood and "women's magic."

The Once and Future Witches is a story of stories, and the language reflects this...to perhaps an occasionally overwhelming degree. The stylistic choices to pepper the novel with once-upon-a-times, the significance of threes, and "...but in this story, the witch didn't have to burn" types of lines works, but at over 500 pages, there's a lot of it; likewise, Harrow's taste for alliteration ("wild and wayward women" is a too-frequently used phrase) can get a little much, even for this fairy tale of a novel. Don't get me wrong - it's beautiful, and Harrow has a truly magical way with prose. It's just that the heightened style stands out more and feels a little more technical than in The Ten Thousand Doors of January, but it really does work...it's just far from subtle.

But does subtlety always matter? The analogy between witchcraft and magical power, and the literal power of political and financial independence, is something of a hammer, but that's because it's barely even trying to be a metaphor. Magic is power - voting is power. Who needs it to be subtle? These women, abused, oppressed, erased at every turn, are taking back control of their narratives, by whatever means they have at their disposal. In the case of the Sisters Eastwood and their comrades in witchcraft, those means are magical.

Thank you NetGalley and Redhook Books for the advance review copy!

CW: Sexual abuse, child abuse, kidnapping, traumatic pregnancy/birth, medical trauma, mind control, transphobia, torture, racism, police brutality.