The Witch Haven was a roller coaster of a mystery filled with compelling characters and a darker New York backdrop in the early 1900s. The story opens with a murder where a boy is thrown into the East River of New York in May 1911. I loved the opening as this is a story that illustrates the importance of the first lines as the reader immediately is drawn to find more about this boy, who he is, and why he was murdered. The story then moves to the novel’s main character, 17-years-old Frances Hallowell who works as a seamstress for Mr. Hues and lives at the facility with other girls. She is dealing with the grief from the recent loss of her brother, William, and trying to get by with her life. After her boss tries to assault her, she unknowingly uses magic to kill him.

The following morning two nurses arrive to escort Frances to Haxahaven Sanitarium with a “tuberculosis” diagnosis before she can further the interrogation by the police about Mr. Hues’s murder. The sanitarium is actually Haxahaven Academy, which is a school for those with magical powers. When she arrives at the school, she begins to think that this might be the perfect new home for her. Mysterious notes start showing up when she sleeps leading Frances to believe that there is something more going on than meets the eye. Her time at school is mixed with the mystery of her brother's murder, learning magic, and making new friendships. It was interesting following Frances along on this journey as she was a well-written character and I enjoyed reading about her growth as the story progressed. She has a lot going on as she grieves for her brother, balancing the newfound information that she is a witch, and learning to navigate new friendships.

The characters in this story were enjoyable. I loved the friendship that forms between Lena, Maxine, and Frances as they were all different personalities, but they balanced each other well. Although the reader does learn about each character, I wish there was more as both Lena and Maxine were very interesting. The three friends find a spellbook and begin to further their magical learning with the help of Finn, who also was a friend of William. As there is a spell that can help them speak to the dead, the group sets out on a quest to search for the ingredients. There are multiple dangers and obstacles to navigate with plenty of twists and turns for the reader. Along the way, the group’s friendship continues to grow and there is romance brewing for Frances.

Overall, this was an interesting read. While the building blocks of the novel are not unique and can be found in multiple other novels, such as the gifted heroine, the multiple love interests, among others, but this story does put a nice twist on it to create a unique novel. The world-building was great once Frances arrives at the school as the setting is well described. I do wish there was a little more to reflect the time period with the sights and sounds. The wording choices fit the atmosphere, but it still felt more modern than I would have expected. I am not sure if this will be a series or remain as a standalone. The ending is satisfying, but it still leaves room for a potential sequel. This was an interesting read and is great for those who love historical fantasy in an academic setting with a twist of mystery.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Simon and Schuster Books, for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

I have to say I really enjoyed the entire premise of this story. Any kind of all girl Hogwarts witch story set in the early 1900’s is delightful in enough of itself.

But with the love triangle thrown into the plot, the book ended up being just meh to me. However, I think I am in the minority of this opinion and would recommend to someone else.

Frances Hallowell is 17 and working as a seamstress when her sewing shears inexplicably end up in her late night attacker's neck. The next morning she is whisked away to Haxahaven Academy, a magical boarding school disguised as a sanitarium. Frances thought magic was going to open up a new, brighter side of the world to her. Instead, Haxahaven comes with one simple message, magic is unpredictable and dangerous.

I don't think I can properly explain how much I loved this brilliant debut novel. The context surrounding the early 1900's feminist movement added to the tension within Frances and witch community at large. I loved how this book didn't gloss over the ugly truths for women or minorities either. While the main plot centers around Finn and Frances investigating her brother's murder, I wouldn't actually call this a murder mystery.

Frances felt so appropriate for the time period, by which I mean she had accepted her hand in life. There was an eerie resolve about her to swallow her emotions and just move forward. Maxine and Lena were the kind of complex side characters that can exist on their own. However, the real star power in The Witch Haven is the sisterhood--I mean this when I say I got literal chills.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for this eARC. The Witch Haven releases on August 31st!

A delightful new YA novel! It looks like it will be a duology.
Since her brother William’s murder, sweatshop dressmaker Frances Hallowell lives in poverty and has closed off her heart. But when an assault by her drunk employer wakes her inborn magic—and ends with him dead—she’s swept away to the overgrown, walled Haxahaven Academy: a school for witches that’s disguised as a tuberculosis sanitarium. Soon, hints about William’s murder appear in Frances’s room, and his Irish friend Finn, part of a magical gentleman’s club, offers to teach her a spell to speak with the dead. But as the students’ ambitions surpass learning to dampen their magic, dreamwalker Finn haunts Frances’s sleep, and more boys die, Frances must stop the murders—and find a way to own her magic.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc.*

This was a highly anticipated book of the year for me so I’m grateful that I was so kindly sent an early copy to review!

My favorite part of this book was the setting! 1910s New York was such an interesting time period to be in, especially contrasted with the popular 1920s setting we see so often. It’s not glamorous; in fact, I would say it was downright grim for the most part. The magical school setting was not quite as gripping, which was really surprising. I usually love an academic setting, but I feel like the sanitarium/school just projected bad vibes from the start that made me instantly distrust everyone and everything. I guess that was the point of the school setting, so I’ll give the book props for that.

As a character, Frances was complicated to like to say the least. I loved her ambition, but it led her to make some really stupid decisions that took the book in directions I didn’t love. She rushed to conclusions and acted on impulse, which left all the side characters to deal with the consequences. I also felt like everything happened a little too conveniently for her and it made the plot a bit boring. I did guess the plot twist, but the end was action packed that I still felt engaged and cared about the stakes.

Overall, I enjoyed myself when reading The Witch Haven. If you don’t read too much into the plot holes, this could be a fun and quick paranormal mystery to pick up!

Buckle up friends a new secret boarding school for witches in a city with murderous happenings just dropped is going to drop soon!! I love books that surprise me—even though this one was on my radar ever since it was announced, one can never be sure if they like their anticipated releases can they? I don’t know what drove me to rate this 5 stars but I honestly had so much fun consuming The Witch Haven.

The best thing about this book was the steady pace that kept me hooked and engaged. I didn’t feel bored, just sat there and witnessed all the twists as the story took off. The worldbuilding is fairly simple. Sasha brings 1911 New York to life with simplistic, beautiful writing. I love that she chose this setting and gave justice to it. The magic system, mainly spells and control of a witch’s power were super intriguing too. I haven’t read this kind of a book in a long while so the witchy aspect was definitely refreshing.

The mystery aspect was pretty good too, kept me guessing. The Witch Haven also throws light on the inherent misogyny present in the society—how witches weren’t supposed to be too powerful. Frances and witches like her are taken away to be protected and trained meekly in a school disguised as a sanitarium. I like the way the feminist and unjust undertones were included and essential to the plot.

Throughout the entire book, Frances grieves her brother William. This is what drives all her decision, however rash they were. It’s written and explored so well with Smith’s writing bringing out her emotions to the page. Frances is full of hope and desperation, wanting one last chance to see her brother and perhaps get the closure she’s seeking.

I absolutely loved Frances, Lena and Maxine’s friendship! They form an interesting support system, helping her figure the mystery behind her brother’s death and looking out for her. Being a YA novel, I appreciate Smith capturing a teenager’s want for not only romantic aspects but also a strong friend group. found family / found friendships have my heart. The Witch Haven brought out the power of female friendships. This trio of witchy best friends who sneak out to learn magic was so fun to read about.

Apart from this, The Witch Haven has good Irish rep. I’d recommend reading this article by an Irish reader on Smith’s research and inspiration for the Irish character in The Witch Haven! I’m glad Lena’s character, as a Native woman and witch was included and brought light to, along with the inclusion of queer witches.

If I had to critique, I’d say I wish the book stressed on the 1911 New York and boarding school setting a little more. We get glimpses of it, especially of the academic setting when Frances first gets admitted to Haxahaven but I would have liked if we got more scenes relating to those aspects. There’s also a love triangle… of sorts and one of the love interests didn’t sit right with me because he was barely in Frances’ life. But overall, these points didn’t hinder my enjoyment while reading the book.

While I eagerly wait for the next book to know what happens after that turn of events and betrayal in the end, I recommend you give The Witch Haven a shot!! If historical fantasy, feminist themes, a swoon worthy boy, witches and magic interests you then this is for you.

I tend to obsess over witchy books. This book felt forgettable and like it's been done before. The love triangle felt unnecessary.

I was pleasantly surprised but this debut novel and how well-written it was! The characters are all very interesting with their own personal stories and layered personalities. I also really enjoyed how the author was able to include so much diversity within the story and really bring some heavier topics to the forefront. The feminist viewpoint was amazing! My only issue was that sometimes the plot got a little lost during the middle and the pacing felt off because of it. I wish the murder mystery portion had been explored more, as it felt just thrown in to create tension.

This book was... disappointing, to say the least.

It starts out incredibly strong, and seems that it will lean into the themes of how society controls women and their power. In fact, it even follows through to a certain extent on this. I found the premise of a magic school being used not to develop women's skills, but to control them and keep them from becoming too powerful, fascinating. However, the larger conflict of the plot, the climax, and the resolution have little to do with this. While this is not inherently bad, it left a lot to be desired. The climax of a romantic lead betraying the main character in order to use her, to me, fell flat.

The opening setting is fascinating--I loved a glimpse into the sweatshops that plagued the late Industrial Revolution period, and the mentioning of the suffragette movement (and how it was by no means intersectionally inclusive). However, we quickly fall out of that to focus on the magical powers aspect of things, which turns out to be... not very fun.

The magic system left much to be desired. What we get is often very basic magic moves, which apparently take a lot more strenuous effort than magic systems in books such as Harry Potter. While this could be very accurate, it the on-page action less engaging. Watching a character pass out after something that seems relatively simple is just not the fun of magic one might hope for. While I think this could be used effectively in some other way, such as to tie into themes, I just didn't connect with it.

The brother's murder off-page led to issues as well. When the character finally succeeds in reaching him in the afterlife, I felt... nothing. Although I wanted to, especially because her grief in that scene was particularly well-written. I suspect my lack of reaction stems partially from the fact we are never SHOWN any scenes of their affection, and instead only get to see the times he fell short as a brother on-page. There is never any time for us to feel love for her brother, for us to grow to like him and care about him. Instead, he is already dead from page 3, and thus leaves her journey to reconnect with him less impactful. This could have been ameliorated with more on-page reflections/flashbacks of times he helped her, cared for her, shared things with her... but there unfortunately wasn't enough of that, in my opinion.

Another positive: there's a lovely amount of diversity shown in this book. There are named, significant characters (e.g. Lena) who are non-white, and there are nods to trans and non-binary people in the prose (mentioning that the school is open to those who were thought to be boys at birth, and those who identify somewhere in between, etc.). It's a little troubling that the main character ends up acting in ways that affect the other students' lives in horrific ways, and yet pays nothing for it (at least in this book). While she acknowledges the effect of her actions, it felt a little lampshade-y.

(Side note: to be honest, I saw much more chemistry between Frances and Lena than I did Frances and any of the romantic male characters. Finn's main characteristic seemed to be "hot," while Oliver filled in the "nice" category. Even Frances doesn't seem to understand why she likes Finn as much as she does.)

The twist was predictable. Many descriptors and tropes lead you to know that Finn is going to be "the bad guy" long before it appears on the page. Frances need not fear being single, however, because Oliver--disappointingly bland--hangs on in the background to be the "proper" love choice in the end. The leadup to the climax makes Frances look totally silly (dunno why she thought the headmaster would have killed her brother--the stated motivations are a stretch AT BEST given that her brother wasn't even a member of the Sons), and the climax itself fell flat as Finn flattened out what little development he had into 100% creepy stalker boy (the way he talks about her brother failing her was just... ew. And not in a "compelling villain whose actions are commenting on a societal ill" kind of way.)

One of the issues of this book it rings familiar of other books that unfortunately displayed a stronger execution of similar plot points. The immediate one that comes to mind, insofar as the love triangle is concerned, is Leigh Bardugo's "Shadow and Bone," and it seems that this book is going to try to echo the Alina/Darkling connection in the later series (given that Finn survives to fight another day). Unlike the Darkling, however, I never understood the attraction Frances feels for Finn. Red flags everywhere, girl, and she acknowledges it (the double-edged sword of lampshading: acknowledging creepy behavior is creepy just leads the reader to question why in the world the main character is still attracted to someone being creepy--looking at you, dream stalking).

There are a lot of excellent premises in this book, but I simply wish there had been better followthrough on just about every point.

I loved everything about this book! Frances was such a relatable main character. She was resolved to her life as it was but always wanted more. It was so refreshing to experience her thought process and be able to compare it to my own experience at her age. Watching the girls overtake the idea that they were only intended to learn magic to make their roles as a housewife easier and move into the ideology that they were destined for so much more was inspiring. The magic, feminism, and determination make this book so magical!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of this to review! From the dazzling cover, I knew there was going to be something I liked about this book. And I am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations!

This is a historical fantasy, and overall, it’s really well done. Smith does such an excellent job crafting this world, and then slowly revealing it to you throughout the story. As Frances is learning, so is the reader. Not only does the magical world feel fully realized, but also the historical one. Smith merged them so well that the two worlds work together seamlessly.

And the characters! While Frances gets a little in her head at times, the romance and the friendships she makes add even more to the story. The mystery behind her journey also keeps you turning the pages, adding twists and turns that make the book all the more exciting. Overall, even if there were some slower moments, this book is sure to keep you hooked.

Plus, it’s coming out just in time for fall spooky season! Which will be the perfect time to read it.

Sasha Peyton Smith's The Witch Haven is one of Summer 2021's most unexpected delights, a fast-paced adventure that mixes one part murder investigation with two parts historical drama and a dash of romance, then puts it all in a magical boarding school full of young witches who are just discovering what it means to have real power of their own.

And the end result is surprisingly great, giving us a story that is like almost nothing else in YA fantasy right now. Sure, the novel borrows familiar pieces and tropes from pretty much everywhere but it combines them in such a way that still feels both unexpected and fresh.

The Witch Haven is Smith's debut novel, and it has me immediately curious to see what's next from this author - both in terms of the conclusion to this story, and whatever she creates next.

“To be a witch is to have power in a world where women have none.”

It’s been six months since seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell’s brother was murdered, and Frances is finally accepting her new reality working as a seamstress in a sweat shop in 1911 New York City. But when she’s attacked by the shop’s owner and he ends up dead at her feet with her scissors in his neck, everything changes. Frances is whisked away to Haxahaven Academy, a school for witches that poses as a tuberculosis sanitarium. At first, Frances is captivated by the magic she finds there, but she soon realizes that she longs for more. When she meets Finn, an entrancing boy who appears to her in her dreams and offers to teach her more about magic, Frances begins digging deeper into the mystery of her brother’s death. But there are darker forces at work than Frances realizes, and it soon becomes clear that she must choose what matters more: her fellow witches, justice for her brother, or her growing feelings for Finn.

Wrapped in darkness and magic, Sasha Peyton Smith’s debut is the perfect read for those who love atmospheric historical fiction and thrilling tales of sisterhood and mystery. One of my favorite elements of this beautifully-written novel was the setting. I’ve read very few books set in early twentieth century New York City, and I loved how Smith expertly brought the time and place to life. I especially liked how Smith tackled the sexist standards of the time and also included some Native American representation through Frances’s friend Lena, along with discussions of some of the injustices Lena has faced. The characters are so skillfully developed, and the pacing of the story is fantastic. However, as much as I loved most of The Witch Haven, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the disappointing ending. With such a strong beginning and middle, I was surprised when the end erupted into chaos with many blood-spattered pages and twists so shocking that they practically gave me whiplash. Still, I enjoyed this spellbinding story overall and would recommend it to those who delight in the darker side of magic.

Content Warnings: Murder, blood, death of a loved one, graphic descriptions, attempted sexual assault, violence, underage drinking, mutilation of corpses, mentioned parental abuse, moderately strong language, absentee parents, mentions of cultural assimilation school, forced institutionalization, racism, sexism

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

“to be a witch is to have power in a world where women have none.”

it’s 1911 in new york city. frances, grieving her dead brother by trying to track down his murder, finds her life upturned when the man she works for is attacked by frances herself, though she doesn’t understand how. the following day, things get weirder when she is picked up in the middle of the investigation and taken to the haxahaven tuberculosis sanitarium- supposedly. the secrets of new york unravel as frances learned she, nor the other “patients” are sick: they are witches, and haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium, it’s a school.

this book is so dark and atmospheric. haxahaven and it’s residents, honestly all dark academia queens, are formed around so many secrets and lies, and classical witches of new york is the formation for a most magical story. frances was a beautiful and strong main character, and though she made some questionable choices, the writing absolutely highlighted her character. there was also some romance in this book, a love triangle of sorts? and it was so dark and twisted and swoony, and had me aching for more.

this book is about witches, but through that, it’s about the oppression of women, especially in the past, and the strength that emerged. frances and her fellow witches gaslighted, gatekeeped, and girlbossed their way through this story, and it was a very interesting testament to the past. in the witch haven, the witches are taught that they shouldn’t be powerful, that as a women, their power shouldn’t be too strong. they were displaced from society to be controlled. the way it was written, and the connection between witches and female presenting gender in this book absolutely blew me away, it was genius.

separate from the book, sasha peyton smith talked about her inspiration for this story: her grandmother spent much of her young adult life in a new york sanitarium. the isolation of this life, the bright and scarred new york just out of reach for a lonely and grieving girl, is truly at the heart of this book. this book is so much about power and love and trust, and i highly highly recommend, it releases 8/31. i cannot wait for the sequel!!

content warnings: grief, death of a sibling, attempted sexual assault, choking, blood, murder (on and off page), stabbing, violence, vomiting, drowning, absentee parents, multination of corpses, parent in asylum for assumed mental health issues, discussion of native american boarding schools, underage drinking and smoking

Wow.... this book was a rollercoaster of emotions and I loved every minute of it! And that ending! Please tell me there is another book coming!

Reading a highly anticipated read is always nerve-wracking, but the minute I picked up The Witch Haven, I already knew I’d love it. I was hooked from the first page (which you might’ve seen on my Instagram story) and had to finish it all in one sitting. The Witch Haven broke my reading slump, and reminded me why I love reading — it’s truly magical.

Set in 1911, The Witch Haven follows seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell. Ever since her brother passed away mysteriously, Frances has spent most of her time working as a seamstress, and trying to solve his murder. When her predatory boss attacks her,she inexplicably finds him dead with her sewing scissors in his neck. As the lead suspect in a murder investigation, Frances is sure that she’ll be condemned — until two nurses show up the next day, claim she has tuberculosis, and whisk her off to Haxahaven Sanitarium. Instead of a tuberculosis sanitarium, however, Frances finds herself at Haxahaven Academy, a school for witches. Within Haxahaven, Frances learns to use her magic in a way to assist with her daily tasks, such as sewing and doing the dishes. It isn’t before long that the luxury of Haxahaven, and the safe, mundane ways of practicing magic aren’t enough to quell Frances’ curiosity. When a mysterious boy starts appearing in her dreams, and promises to teach Frances (and her friends) another form of magic, she soon finds herself caught between two different societies. The more she learns about magic, and the secret societies that make up New York City, the more clues she finds about her brother’s murder, and the more tough choices she’s left to make.

As someone whose favorite American Girl doll is Samantha, and absolutely loves Newsies the musical, the fact that The Witch Haven is a historical fiction fantasy made it even more appealing to me. The historical background, worldbuilding, and the setting of The Witch Haven were some of my favorite things, and you could tell how much research, thought and care went into creating the world of The Witch Haven.

I was hooked from the second page, and spent most of The Witch Haven torn between wanting to finish it immediately, and not wanting to leave the world of Haxahaven. There’s so much to love about The Witch Haven — the worldbuilding, found family, dark academia, boarding schools, witches, historical influences, plot twists and betrayals, dynamic characters, among many other things. But at the end of the day, what stood out to me most of all was how grief can impact you in so many ways, how powerful friendship is, and the quiet power and strength that we carry within us.

Frances’ journey is particularly shaped by her grief, and her trauma. It’s a reminder that grief is something that doesn’t just go away, but something that we get used to, and something that is always in the back of our minds. Frances is snarky, she’s kind, she’s hurting, and she’s inquisitive. Her burning desire to find out more about her magic — not for her own powers, but because she suspects it’s linked to her brother’s death, was something that had me hooked. At seventeen, Frances has had to deal with so much pain and so much responsibility, and I just wanted to give her the biggest hug. I wanted closure for her so badly, and really just wanted to see her heal.

At Haxahaven, the girls are constantly told to be in control of their power, and are specifically taught in a way that doesn’t allow them to reach their full potential. It’s no wonder that Frances starts seeking out other ways to learn magic and hone her skills, even if they’re against the rules. But by having The Witch Haven set in 1911, while survivors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire discuss their trauma, Indigenous youth describing the many ways that colonizers harm Native Americans, and (white) suffragists fighting for their right to vote, The Witch Haven is centered around power as much as it is magic — who holds power and how does that affect them, what happens to people without power, and what people can do when they’re given their rights and power to reach their full potential.

The friendships in The Witch Haven were also incredibly heartwarming. Maxine and Lena were both such fascinating characters, and the Frances, Maxine & Lena trio was just sweet to read about. Despite their own motivations and ambitions, they had each other’s backs, and genuinely cared for each other. I loved the found family vibes from this trio, and wanted to know so much more about Maxine and Lena. As much as I love romance, the love between Frances, Maxine and Lena are even stronger, and powerful than any romance that’s in The Witch Haven.

The Witch Haven is filled with twists and turns that I truly never saw coming. While I had some initial gut feelings that things weren’t just quite what they seemed, I didn’t put pieces together until right before Frances did. The Witch Haven was also darker, and more mystery-thriller than I had expected, but I absolutely loved it.

Sasha Peyton Smith’s prose is haunting and lyrical, in a way that is bound to stick with you forever. I know that The Witch Haven is a book that I’ll be thinking about for years to come, and I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel.

This was a really interesting historical fantasy type book! I actually did like it more than I thought I would. I really enjoyed the main character's development throughout the book and I also really enjoyed her interactions with all of her friends from her new school. I think that the friendships were also written really well. I also enjoyed the subtle addition of queer rep in the background. It wasn't the main focus which I feel like a lot of books could add tbh. With the love triangle I didn't really think it was a love triangle at first, this one character gets introduced at the beginning of the book and then I just kinda forgot about him until he showed up again later. I didn't really like how he was depicted although it was interesting because this first love interest that is introduced is later shown really weak and just not a very strong dude which is really odd because most authors depict the love interests as more strong individuals, usually. And then the other dude I really liked he was an interesting character and honestly with the ending, I didn't really expect him to be revealed what he did at the end, but I guess if I reread the book I would have noticed the foreshadowing more. Overall this was a really good book and super interesting!

When Simon and Schuster contacted me to ask if I would be interested in reading The Witch Haven, Sasha Peyton Smith’s first work, they used the words “The Last magician” meets “The lady’s Guide to Petticoats” with romance, magic and witch.

So of course I said yes!

And I am very happy because that doesn’t feel like a first work at all but as something that Libba Bray could have written or even Helene Wecker!



Sasha Peyton Smith did a formidable job describing a dark and gritty new York of 1911, with the new riches, child labor, deadly factories and the birth of the suffragettes movement in reply to the abhorrent misogyny! There was a real atmosphere in that book that made me think of gothic stories.





Frances is a seventeen years old girl who has lost her brother, murdered some months ago. It sent her mother to the asylum and she is now alone, working as a seamstress, exploited by an abject man, right alongside other women.

When her boss will assault her, dormant magical powers will be awoken and instead of ending up in jail she’ll be promptly whisked away by two women to a “sanatorium”: Haxhaven.

Only Haxhaven is no sanatorium but an academy for witches.



At first, Frances is amazed at discovering magic. And elated at the idea of having friends and being protected again.



The academy is busy protecting the witches, teaching them to blend in and to use their magic for household chores. This is nothing exciting and Frances becomes bored very quickly. Why have magical power if you can’t do something great with it?



She will very soon have two best friends, Maxine and Lena. Both equally resentful for the school. The school educates but corral witches too. For fear of exposure maybe given the centuries of witch Hunt.

Frances is torn between opposite feelings. She is grateful to have a roof upon her head, food and sisterhood. But she is also craving for so much more, she feels frustrated. The school that was once protection is turning into a prison.



It also doesn’t’ help that in her grief and immense sadness at having lost her brother a huge rage is also emerging. Frances craves justice for her brother. So much that while being an intelligent young woman she’ll be reckless in her actions, accepting a mysterious boy’s offer to teach her magic.

Granted Finn was her brother’s friend and he is mourning his death too. But what Frances did was still hasty and careless. She not only put her life in danger but the security of others as well.

I was often thinking “no, don’t do it!” and yet I could also understand her drive to learn more about her power and to use it to discover who killed William.



It was easy to walk in Frances’s shoes as she was a multi layered character. Lena and Maxine, her best friends, were both very interesting supporting cast. Lena being a Native American who had been taken from her family and forced to attend a government-run school, enduring atrocities reminded me of the recent shameful news.



The pace was perfect for the story, not hasty but not too slow either and the story is filled with plenty of twists and turns. I didn’t see most of them coming, only having a bad feeling about one of the characters late in the story.

I flew through that book and read it in two days. This is a very good setting for that duology and I’ll certainly read the sequel!

Great book. A little slow at points and maybe a little too long. But it was a unique and engaging story. I will say the characters weren't that greatly developed and I wasn't as invested in them as I was the storyline.

Once in awhile you come across a book that completely takes you by surprise with how engaging and entertaining it is. One that you never expected to keep you up at night reading until the very last page because you just can't get enough of it's twisty turns and new twists around every corner.
The Witch Haven is one such book.

This was such a fun read and completely one that wasn't even on my radar which is a shame because it truly has everything I love in a good fantasy/paranormal read and I can't wait to continue on with the story!