The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a fun and engaging read, perfect for fans of the movie Hocus Pocus. The chapters read quickly, the stakes are high, and the characters are supremely lovable. Best of all, Bianca Marais crafts a plot that explores important and topical themes that kick this novel up several notches. Plus there’s a Harley Davidson broomstick so… 😏🧹️🧙‍♀️

The central characters—six octogenarian witches (why do all other descriptions say five??)—are the heart and soul of The Witches of Moonshyne Manor. Each character feels distinct, driven by their own motives, desires, dreams. Queenie is the de facto matriarch and heavy is the head that wears the crown as she tries to save the witches’ home from foreclosure. Queenie’s smarts and resourcefulness make her a compelling leader and inventor, but she has a bad habit of shouldering all burdens herself that leads to some sticky situations. Her right hand is sweet and brilliant Ivy. Tabitha the animal-whisperer is equal parts enduring love and searing resentment after a lethal run-in with police brutality. Jezebel is the hilarious seductress and household mixologist, prone to turning men into pigs. 

And finally there are Ursula and Ruby. Ursula has pined for Ruby for as long as she can remember, waiting lovingly in the shadows while Ruby fell for someone else. Ruby, a gender-fluid witch with the innate power to change her appearance, is the beating heart of the novel that catapults the story from funny and mischievous to heartwarming. I can’t stress enough how much I adore Ruby’s journey—this book is worth reading just for her. And really, for the beautiful story of how these six women support one another.

The witches by far receive the most character development throughout, but I do wish we were shown more than told, especially at the beginning, which feels a bit slow. Ruby’s story is done well, as we’re shown the most of her journey, but the other characters seem to suffer for it. This is particularly obvious with Queenie, who we’re told is incredibly smart but who makes a series of nonsensical decisions. How does Queenie let them slip so far behind on their mortgage payments? And why does she keep it a secret? Without regular cash flow, how have they paid any other bills or for food? Is it through magic, and if so, why can’t magic help solve their money problems?

For those characters outside the coven, I want more depth. Persephone comes across a bit like a caricature of a Gen Z teenager, one I didn’t ultimately connect to. She feels shoe-horned in as an obvious feminism mouthpiece even though the coven of witches represent feminism just fine on their own. The villains and even most men in the town seem fairly one-dimensional—evil for evil’s sake. And the intriguing, powerful Charon feels supremely underused. Overall, I want a bit more exploration of the moral gray rather than just black and white good and bad characters.

As I mentioned earlier, the triumph of this story is the themes it explores in depth: gender identity, racial biases, feminism, ageism, found family. The plot doesn’t rely on magic to solve all problems and I like the idea that magic gets harder as you age (although that leads to some plot holes itself). There are also cute inclusions of spells and drink recipes that don’t necessarily add to the story, but do help build the magical atmosphere.

With a little more on-page character development and less hand-waving around the plot holes, this would be a 5-star read for me. As it is, 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 for the enjoyable and heartwarming ride with this amazing group of women. Would definitely recommend, especially if you like character-driven urban fantasies. Do yourself a favor and read it now, then read it again around Halloween. At least, that’s my plan.

Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Mairais is just delightful. Such a fun, engaging story. It was different getting to read about 80 year old women and I liked their points of view. However, Persephone was my favorite. The dynamic that she added to the story elevated this book for me! This book is a mix of Golden Girls and Practical Magic so if that’s your bag, you’ll be very happy with this.

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a sharp departure from Bianca Marias' previous books, serious, realistic explorations of apartheid and its legacy on South Africa. This novel instead focuses on a group of witches fighting to prevent their house from being repossessed. Marais was clearly inspired by the discussions of feminism, sex and gender from the past few years. I could have used a lighter touch — but progressive readers will likely find a lot to lvoe.

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a hilarious and heartfelt novel about aging, fighting the patriarchy, and finding the family that completes us. I loved every page of this delightful, insightful, and inclusive twist on the witchy rom-com.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Couldn’t connect with the odd, unfocused writing style or with the witches. Many POVs and not one that grabbed me. A lot of focus on sex for eighty-year-old women. Found it a little hard to believe.

Thank you to MIRA for sharing a copy, but this story isn’t for me.

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais is an odd witchy tale. There are witches, a crow, a ghost, and a lively teenager. The story has a unique beginning (nudity and intimate relations) as we get to meet each witch. The point-of-view switches between the sisters and Persephone. The author created some unique characters including a transgender woman. The witches are in their 80s with all the aches and pains that comes with that age. We learn about each sister which includes the secrets they are keeping. I loved Persephone. She is a precocious teenager who wishes to help the octogenarian witches. Persephone provides levity and charm. The pacing picks up in the last quarter of the book as the action and suspense ramp up. There are sisterly squabbles, the reading of tea leaves, a fiery game, a frantic search, reuniting with Ruby, and magic spells. The resolution was a little too neat and easily accomplished, but there was an unusual component. There is a part that is clever, and I like the revelation near the end (I cannot say more because it is a spoiler). The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a book that I would never have chosen to read if I could have read a sample first. I found the first chapter to be a turnoff. I struggled to get through the book (skimming was involved). I am not a fan of reading about eighty-year-old having intimate relations or satisfying themself. I do want to let you know that the story does contain an excessive amount of foul language, intimate situations, nudity, and self-love. The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a peculiar tale with a clever crow, a talented teenager, sister witches, mad men, a self-righteous relative, a sizzling sport, a ticking clock, and a panicky pursuit.

Witches of Moonshyne manor is a fun witchy romp with significant representation of characters of all ages. A cast of characters centers around a group of senior witches, one who is about to be released from jail and hopefully will be able to save the manor. All does not go as planned, as in the case of many seniors, memory loss and confusion have befallen the inmate Ruby, a quirky witch whose magic likes to switch between genders. I thought this was a unique way to introduce this character which leads some to hilarious antics as the story goes between the night before she was arrested and present times.
The recipes for each spell discussed in the book are sprinkled throughout the story, which I found more distracting than helpful and would prefer they be at the end of the book. The witches are in a real struggle to save their home and make some severe stumbles as they try to navigate the best way to keep the manor, but in the end, they find their way.

Despite buying their *spirits* from the Moonshyne Manor distillery, the men in town want to tear down the manor, clear the land, and build a temple to toxic masculinity--a type of "men only" theme park. Faced with eviction from their beloved home, the coven of five witches struggle to find a solution to their dilemma by consulting the Moonshyne Manor Grimoire and receiving a little help from local teen Persephone and her Italian greyhound Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Persephone stole the show for me. I love that the main 5 witches are all in their 80s, but feisty and tech-savvy Persephone kept everything fresh, modern, and fun. Some of the best lines in the book were generation gap cluelessness and "who's teaching who" type moments between Persephone and Queenie.

Overall this book is a fun story of friendship and sisterhood, but it should not be written off as a fluffy, nonsensical read. In addition to feminist witches, The Witches of Moonshyne Manor puts identity and sexuality at the forefront with LGBTQ+ and sex-positive storylines.

A fun read that reveals its secrets slowly. The women of Moonshyne Manor are witches- they each have a particular thing - and the mob is coming for them in the form of a developer who will take the Manor if they can not pay their mortgage and taxes in 9 days. These octogenarians have lived together since they each were brought or made their way to the manor as children and now, when it's threatened, they've put their hopes on Ruby, who has been gone for 33 years. Ruby's story is spooled out in bits so no spoilers from me. Queenie, the titular head of the group, has also made a deal with the devil that is dependent on Ruby. And then young Persephone, daughter of the mayor, turns up and helps them in ways they couldn't have anticipated. Queenie, Ivy, Ursula, Jezebel, Tabbty, and Widget the crow (I loved Widget) are all standout characters. I liked this much more than I expected because it was unexpected in all the best ways. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Yes, it's about the family we make but it's also got some serious spirit. Oh- and there are recipes, some of which are for cocktails, some of which are for magic.

This book wasn't for me. I liked that the characters loved themselves and embraced their qualities as they've aged. However I just felt like the plot was really not for me. It was really hard to hold my attention and I think the topics that were discussed are just things I don't care for when reading. I really wanted to love the book. I think if you're into the witchy culture that is so often seen on tik tok now a days, or into feminism you might really love this book so please give it a chance if you are into that!

All I could think about while reading this book is....if the Golden Girls were witches this would be their story LOL. A group of 80 yo witches, friends for decades, now run a distillery and are at risk of losing their house...

These women are funny and this book is a quick fun read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC of this novel. I am an Indigo employee and this review is my own.

So this is one of the few books I did not finish reading this year. I just couldn't get into the style of writing which I found jarring and did not captivate my attention. I tried on several occasions to pick up and continue the book but it held very little interest due to the prose. I think the concept and the overall storyline holds great potential had the author chosen a different manner in which to write. More show and less tell is the key here.

I hope other readers will find amusement in this book.

This was so fun! Persephone is my absolute favorite. Some parts may have been a little on the nose, but there were definitely some twists I didn’t see coming.

The answer to the question, What if Golden Girls but a coven?
Delighted to include this title in the August instalment of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see review at link)

Clever and unique riding on the tail of female empowerment, this was a great addition to the "witch fic" trend we've been seeing as of late

The witches of Moonshyne Manor are content living together in their own little world and sharing their liquors with the nearby town. When the men in the town decide that they want the land, they storm the manor in order to tear it down because of the witches debt. The witches were not expecting a teen child on their porch wanting to help “fight the patriarchy.” Persephone quickly worms her way into the lives and hearts of the witches, and wants to do everything she can to help save the manor. Meanwhile the witches are just waiting for Ruby to come home and fix it all.

Bianca freaking Marais. That’s it, thats the review. Just kidding. I swear everything this woman writes is gold. I was going to say turns to gold, but that’s not right….she makes it gold. From the synopsis, this book seemed so different from her first two books, so I will be honest, I was a bit nervous. I think you all also know that fantasy isn’t my main genre. Much like The House In The Cerulean Sea however, this was so much more than just fantasy. I picked this one up half asleep after finishing another book and got like 3% in before falling asleep while also thinking “what am I reading?” Well, the next time I picked it up I stayed up way too late reading for my super early meeting the next morning, and as soon as that meeting ended I was right back in it. I honestly don’t even know how to review this book. My last 5 star read was Carrie Soto, and I have been slumping hard since then. Thank god I had Bianca to pull me out of the trenches. This book is unique, witty, and takes some very fun jabs at the patriarchy. I think that was one of my favorite parts, all the little political zingers that were just ever so slightly mentioned but in the best possible way. Bianca could start a cooking blog where you have to read 8 pages before she gives you the recipe, and I promise you I would read all 8 pages three times over. I adored each and every one of the witches and their own unique personality traits. It made me want to be Persephone going to visit them and forcing myself under their wings! Gah, I seriously can’t think of how else to rave about this book….but do yourself a favor and pre-order this one!

I can’t get into this one. It was described as Practical Magic for octogenarians but it’s a little too silly for me. I didn’t dig it but you might.

A feminist teenager endears herself to the six witches-one a ghost-of Moonshyne Manor. The witches are in danger of losing their home to a proposed men only resort. Young Persephone brings her feminist ideas to the six octogenarian witches and combined they blend to work their magic.
I loved the character and personalities of the six witches, each with strengths and weaknesses and each very different from each other. Persephone is a breath of determined fresh air.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This was one of my anticipated reads and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Entertaining and engaging, the story touched on a number of interesting themes including sexism, ageism, female empowerment, and the sustaining bonds of friendship.

The story was a bit slow to start as the focus was on setting the stage and introducing the seven main characters. But I really enjoyed learning about the interesting characters and in becoming immersed in the story’s setting of Moonshyne Manor and the lives and back stories of the witches. I felt that I was part of the setting throughout the novel.

The novel flowed well and was easy to read and I was never bored. I loved that the story was about strong, powerful senior citizen women who did not put up with the male-dominated society in which they lived. I highly recommend this novel - it was magical!

Thanks to Harper Collins and Harlequin Trade for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Witches is out August 23.

4.25 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Living in Moonshyne Manor are five witches, Queenie, Ursula, Ivy, Jezebel and Tabby. Only Ruby is missing, gone for many years. Ruby is expected home soon, though, and not a moment too soon. For a bit of time now, the profits from the Manor’s distillery have been down. Bills have not been paid. Ruby just may be the only hope the witches have to save their beloved home.

Persephone is a 15 year old who no longer has a mother. Her father is the town’s mayor, but father is a loose term, as he hasn’t paid much attention to Persephone since her mother’s passing. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is Persephone’s constant companion - though this RBG has four legs. When Persephone learns of the witches troubles, she is determined to come to their rescue, no matter what that entails.

Nothing happens quite as any of these women expect. Ruby is not the same person she once was. The Manor is in peril. It’s all they can do to try to keep everything together, including their sisterhood.

This book was described as Practical Magic for a new generation, but I think it’s very different than that. There is a more rollocking sense of wickedness to this book, after all, Jezebel’s magical gift is seduction. It’s a very fun novel, and while taking a page from Practical Magic, is definitely its own kind of magical sisterhood.

There are times that the book read rather slowly, mostly at the beginning when we are learning of each of the witches and their fates. The book does pick up speed. I could barely put it down in the second half. The elderly witches are complemented by the young Persephone. I can absolutely see this story continuing in a series (which I certainly hope it does!)