This was an enjoyable and great read during the fall/Halloween season. The characters, setting, and atmosphere all kept me in the story. The story itself felt pretty generic and bland.

Persephone, an outcast, drifting through the foster system, finds herself strange. Invited to North Carolina, perhaps this time she will find not only herself, but friends that understand her powers.

3/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I have to admit that this book was not for me. The writing just wasn't there for me. I also just wasn't the biggest fan of the general plot. I just expected more of an emotional magical read. I didn't connect with the story at all. As stated this just wasn't the book for me.

Feelings run deep in The Orphan Witch, along with intrigue, betrayal, and some romance. I was first reminded of the Sweep series by Cate Tiernan, a lifelong favorite of mine. A woman who is a witch by blood discovers that she’s a witch and finds family and friends who help her discover her magic. She is extraordinarily powerful and has the power to change the course of history. I expected a younger protagonist, given the title, but Persephone is quite a bit older, in her thirties, if I recall correctly. She sometimes acts like a child, perhaps because of her isolated life due to the fact that bad things keep happening around her, especially when she looks people in their eyes. The plot is hard to follow at times, as it references happenings from several months before the main plot. I’m still not entirely sure how Persephone and Hyacinth met. It’s also quite repetitive, with Persephone quickly reaching a plateau in her magic and never quite connecting to it or truly gaining power. She tries to understand and tries to reach her magic, but can’t for the longest, longest time.

Perhaps the whole book is that way: the idea is interesting, if obvious. Long lost relative is the subject of a prophecy that will save the whole island. And she has magical access to ether, an element that no one else can access. It’s a bit too Mary Sue and I couldn’t help myself as I kept reading and I picked apart anything that made her just a bit too different, too ‘I’m not like other girls.’ Also, the only male in the book, Dorian, the librarian, is also Persephone’s love interest. And it’s instalove. This isn’t the only relationship: Hyacinth is a lesbian, which is neat; I appreciate the queer rep.

I would have loved more about the Library of the Lost and about Dorian. Instead of Dorian being a love interest, it would have been neat to see more of his past and his role at the library. The first chapter drew me in and I would have liked more of that, Persephone’s ancestor, rather than her.

In the end, the characters had promise, outside the context of the story. The plot and the pacing had me stuck, slogging through certain moments and sending me rushing to finish reading, and not in the way where I’m so engrossed in the book that I hardly notice the pages turning.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this title.

This was a nice story, with an unusual premise and plot. I appreciated that the characters were so fully drawn, and the storyline did work its way to a satisfying conclusion. However, there are bits of the plot were the author lost me, and I wasn't sure just what she was describing or where she was going with it. Those bits weren't enough to upset me enjoyment of the story .... but they were truthfully a little bit irritating.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher

A deeper magic.. A stronger curse. A family lost and found.

Very magical and interesting book. Imagine being 30 and still don’t know where you belong, but possess very strong powers. I enjoyed this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

This was an interesting read, but overall the history and magic system and worldbuilding felt a little... fuzzy and unclear. I'm sure some of that was due to wanting an air of mystery and not falling into the habit of overexplaining magic to the point of taking the magic out of it. But a bit more clarity would've been called for. As it stands, I was intrigued but ultimately left a bit unsatisfied because of that.

This book was a flop for me. I just could not get into it, I felt it dragged on and I just never felt compelled to pick it up. I would probably have DNF’d it except it was a NetGalley copy and I wanted to be able to give a full review. Many of the ideas and concepts in this book were interesting but fell flat in execution.

The book begins with Persephone an lonely young woman, every time she looks someone in the eye they quickly go mad/try to kill themselves. Seems like an interesting premise.

After causing another person to lose themselves under her gaze Persephone decides to start over and visit one of her few friends, Hyacinth, who she mainly knows via email, who has been begging her to visit her on Wile Isle where she lives. Persephone goes and we learn she is a witch, one of a family of cursed witches. She starts to learn of her powers, about breaking the curse and her part in it from Hyacinth and her older sister Moira. At this point the whole making eye contact and people going crazy element seems to be just completely abandoned. It's briefly explained as part of her being a untrained witch but after that never really comes up again. Why create that element of her "magic" to just abandon it, she just as easily could have been a lonely orphan without the curse who never really made friends and therefore moves around a lot.

In the meantime Persephone also finds out she is a walker between worlds and often ends up walking between them while on the island, mainly to the Library of the Lost, a living library, guarded by its captive Dorian. The library is probably my favorite part of the book, its a cool idea/place and has an interesting role in the story and I enjoyed the fact that it was hard to decide if the library was good or bad. In the end I'm still not quite sure on it. I found the romance between Dorian and Persephone lacking, I did not feel it, part of this is I think Dorian could have used more fleshing out, I wanted more of his story, the bits we got were interesting but not enough and not enough between the two of them of build the romance/feelings they develop IMO.

As things unfold and Persephone learns more about her power and past, she also learns more about the island and its other residents. Most importantly, their “enemy” and cousin witches, Ariel and Ellison Way. These two are also cursed witches from another branch of the family. We have a few unfriendly run ins with them and there is clearly a lot of history between all the women. As Persephone learns more about the past with the help of the Library, she learns things are not all as they appear. This leads her to the home of the Way sisters where she joins with them, at this point I had trouble following along with the why behind all of this. Eventually in the end they must all come together to end the curse that haunts their family.

I liked that the ending wasn't perfect, there was a lot in the book about magic and its cost. In many books at the end a lot of times characters get out of paying the cost of magic, Persephone does not, though she still gets a fairly happy ending.

Overall this book was just not for me, the whole time I felt I was slogging through it, I couldn't get into it or connect with it. The story had moment of interest but mainly it dragged on, didn't always make sense and left me wanting more.

If you enjoy found family, strong sense of place and witches you may enjoy this book, but I find myself unable to recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy

this was just a hot mess that dragged. all of the characters were very flat. Persephone was stupid throughout most of the book and then at the end she is the one who thinks and fixes everything. I also rolled my eyes every time the word SPINE was mentioned.

I feel the author wanted to put everything into her book and she did, but it just didn't mesh well. I also have questions. Why didn't Persephone have a sister? This book was about sisters who are witches. There was three main and each one had two daughters. Where is the other sister? PLOT FAIL!

also, the relationship between Dorian and Persephone was unnecessary. There were no other men involved in the story at all. Just leave him as a guardian and the love of the family would have been enough for Persephone.

I went in not really knowing much about this book and I think that is a good way to go into this. It was a fun and fast read that I really ended up enjying more than I expected. The main character was really interesting and I think the story as a whole was really well fleshed out.

This is a beautiful told story. About family, secrets and answers, love, trust, a curse one hundred years old, a family feud and what you are capable of.
Really enjoyed this book, one of the best stories I’ve read this year.

This book was a bit dry and slow for my taste. I liked a decent part of the book, the characters were fun, the plot had promise, but something ultimately fell short. That led to me putting the book down more than my want to pick up and continue. Overall, I just felt lukewarm about the whole thing.

From the publisher:
A deeper magic. A stronger curse. A family lost...and found.

Persephone May has been alone her entire life. Abandoned as an infant and dragged through the foster care system, she wants nothing more than to belong somewhere. To someone. However, Persephone is as strange as she is lonely. Unexplainable things happen when she’s around—changes in weather, inanimate objects taking flight—and those who seek to bring her into their family quickly cast her out. To cope, she never gets attached, never makes friends. And she certainly never dates. Working odd jobs and always keeping her suitcases half-packed, Persephone is used to moving around, leaving one town for another when curiosity over her eccentric behavior inevitably draws unwanted attention.

After an accidental and very public display of power, Persephone knows it’s time to move on once again. It’s lucky, then, when she receives an email from the one friend she’s managed to keep, inviting her to the elusive Wile Isle. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. However, upon arrival, Persephone quickly discovers that Wile is no ordinary island. In fact, it just might hold the very things she’s been searching for her entire life.

Answers. Family. Home.

And some things she did not want. Like 100-year-old curses and an even older family feud. With the clock running out, love might be the magic that saves them all.

The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher was published September 28th, 2021 by St. Martin's Griffin.

My thoughts: I almost DNF'd this book. But, I did finish it. I found it confusing in places. And the number of descriptions of smiles dragged me away from the story. I had to re-read the ending twice. And I had trouble getting invested in the characters.

On the plus side, the cover draws the eye. And the notion of Persephone May having magical reasons for not making eye contact is interesting. I liked the Library. It was like a character itself. And it was interesting how the magic worked. "There's always a cost."

Overall, I give The Orphan Witch 3/5 stars. It's an interesting book. If you enjoy witchy stories, you might enjoy this one.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This review is my unbiased opinion.

I really liked this story. It kept my attention and was interesting. I love reading stories about magic and this was no exception. I liked the characters and was intrigued by the Library of the Lost.
I did feel at times that the story got a little muddled for all the details and a bit
Confusing but overall it was very good.

Crutcher created a breathtaking, atmospheric story about love, sacrifice, and magic. The omniscient POV generally isn't my favorite but in this novel it truly helped me empathize for every character, even those that were supposed to be villains. The themes of the story are wonderfully woven throughout the book. I loved reading this, but agree with another review that the ending felt drawn out at times. In the end that was mostly positive as it mostly added the intricate detail of the story. Definitely for fans of Erin Morgenstern and Deborah Harkness.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A captivating tale of magic, loss, family, and the history that binds all the characters within these pages.

THE ORPHAN WITCH is a blend of magic and history made only better by intricate relationships and a 100-year curse. Crutcher breathes life into the tale of Persephone May and her newly found family.

The one thing I loved about this tale is the characters and the way they have such unique personalities. When we first meet the women on this Isle, the reader will make judgments and assumptions on who the cast is. Then as the story progresses perspectives change. There is a beautiful way that the author constructs her narrative around the development of these women.

With all this being said, the curse is the driving force for this novel. It allows Crutcher to create a world of magic deeply enriched by the lore of the location and how the curse came to be. Having Persephone learn her history and how she is part of a larger picture allows the reader to find out all the nitty-gritty details craved within a novel like this.

There is magic, a love story, and a heroine who has to decide how to save her newly found family. What more can you ask for? A dazzling read.

Sisterhood, curses, magic spells, witches + another worldl called the Library of the Lost. This bok was exactly what I wanted in an October read. This book is about finding your place in the world and how to live your purpose, a theme I definitely love reading about.

Big thanks to netgalley and the author and publisher for letting me read an ARC of this book. It wasn't what I had expected, but I think it will be a hit, especially with those who love books such as Practical Magic.

The cover is so pretty! (And from reading some reviews - I think many agree with that!) For whatever reason (maybe because so many people tagged it young adult?) I'd expected the story of a young girl who was orphaned and growing into her powers. Instead, the main character is in her 30s, although I guess that is pretty young to me anymore :) I think the theme of wanting family and to belong is still relevant though - it certainly doesn't have an age limit.

I liked the island and seeing the different witches at work. I thought the four primary witches on the island were interesting, and how things evolved wasn't predictable. I was a little detached from things emotionally the whole time though - exactly how I felt when I read Practical Magic - but intellectually I was involved.

The Hook

I wanted to read The Orphan Witch by Paige Crutcher was because I like the idea of a story of an orphan finding their family. Add in a magical twist and I couldn’t wait to read The Orphan Witch. The thing that kept me reading is that I connected with the main character right away. The loneliness of the main character, Persephone, is the thing that kept me hooked. Now, I am not saying that I am lonely or anything. I have a family that I am close to and I’ve certainly never been through any of the traumatic experiences that Persephone had to face. So why did her loneliness call to me? It’s possible that I just really wanted to see her find her family, or it might be that I am lonely in my own way.

The Power

Early in the book, we get a look at the power that Persephone possesses. Her power seems to be a big part of the reason she is so alone. I choose to take this power as a metaphor for women’s power, seeing as all the main characters but one are women. Women who possess super-natural powers are displayed heavily and are a great source of jealousy. It made me think about how we are always having to fight for power in our personal and professional lives. So much so that when we see others with what we believe is the power we want we covet it to an unhealthy point.

The Love

Love is a big part of the story of The Orphan Witch. Not only in the way that you might imagine. Yes, a romantic love develops between Persephone and Dorian, and it is so romantic because it was practically predestined. However, love appears in many other forms throughout The Orphan Witch, between sisters, and cousins. In the end, familial love is what connects most of the characters and in many cases moves the story along.

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“The library is a warehouse of magic.”
— The Orphan Witch
The Library

In my opinion, the best thing that Paige Crutcher created in The Orphan Witch is the Library. A magical library where Dorian, the man that Persephone falls in love has been trapped. With Persephone, we stumble into a library that is a character itself. A place that attracts lost souls and holds the information of anything you can imagine. It also has a mind and rules of it’s own that makes itself known in usual and sometimes extreme ways.

My Conclusion

The Orphan Witch is a book that can easily hook you in with its extraordinary characters. With the island that seems practically abandoned with magic spilling out of it. It brings to mind the book and movie Practical Magic. The sister love and similar landscapes bring out the magic in both stories. However, the adventure brought forth by The Orphan Witch consists of more overt magic and magical scenarios that come to life with the words in the book. I would suggest that you read The Orphan Witch, and take on a magical adventure full of love and the unexpected in every corner.

I'm not really sure how to rate this. I liked the story and I thought the writing for the most part was lovely but for some reason I just had trouble connecting to the words on the page. I can see that a lot of people would really like this, it definitely has Practical Magic vibes which is a good thing. Normally I'm a sucker for anything witches but something just didn't click for me. It's not bad, just not for me.