Hocus Pocus gone dark. That's what this book was and I was THERE for it.

About the many covens that inhabit Salem and how they're far more than just potion experts and herbalists but seriously twisted murderers too.

The Original Blood Coven is one of the oldest and most powerful covens in Salem. Known to be hired for jobs that do damage and most of the time, kill, this is the coven of the Roots witches.

Vianna Roots left this life ten years ago, determined not to be bound by her family, the coven, or the darkness in which their specialties are practiced. But when she receives news of her mothers passing, she knows it's time to return to Salem to not only put her mother to rest, but bound her to the grave she belongs in.

"Memories floated across her mind, uninvited. The toe of her mother's boot tapping as she peered down at Vianna. 'I don't have time for your nonsense, Vianna. Behave. You are a future coven witch, not a child. Just like I am a witch, not a mother.' She always snarled the word mother."

Vianna's mom was an awful person, mother, and witch. She murdered whomever with no empathy whatsoever. Vianna is determined to make sure she's never released from that grave and back into the "House of Horrors" that is the Roots home. See, Vianna isn't just a witch, but a witch who can see the dead and there's already enough of that in the family home.

As soon as Vianna gets to the house, she's welcomed by the ghost of her dead grandma from the 1600's hanging from the tree and a house who refuses to let her in. Every family/witch has a familiar and the Roots family's just happens to be the house itself. The demon named Shuck has attached itself to the home and does more damage than good, or so Vianna has always thought.

"'You're not going to let me in?' The house spat the key onto the weathered porch, where it landed with a fat thwack and she clenched her fists. Dropping her belongings at her feet, she kicked at the door. 'Yeah, well, I don't want you either, but I'm all you've got.' Somewhere along twelve generations of Roots witches, the family familiar and demon had melded with the house. Now, because of nothing more than her birthright, Vianna possessed the passed-down heirloom. He seemed as pleased about the arrangement as she was."

Finally she enters home and her life begins to unravel from there as a new ghost has entered the home; Vianna’s best childhood friend, Nancy.

Even though she wants to sell the house and book it out of Salem fast, she knows she owes it to her friend to find out what really happened and release her from this death cycle so she can rest in peace.

I really enjoyed this book and am so glad to have learned that it's going to be a series! Our two main characters are two of my favorites in a LONG time!

Vianna is a bad ass who won't take anything from anyone and she truly holds her own. Even as a solitary witch, she has some real power.

Dee is a transgender witch but since she was born male, the covens refuse to involve her and she's technically not allowed to practice magic.

Being they're both disliked and shunned, the two form a relationship fast and I loved every minute of their conversations. Vianna is a pessimist while Dee is an optimist and it just works. They even one another out and bring out the best in each other.

I even liked the demon of the house, Shuck. He made me laugh with his antics of keeping people out and his warnings to Vianna proved he may not be all bad as he truly wanted to protect her. Once she finally gave into him, he let her make the changes she knew Salem needed.

The author kept true to the times and the voice of grandma Susannah proved that. The way she spoke and her likes and dislikes while mostly disrespectful, true to the ways people thought back then. I really didn't like her because of her comments at first but by the end she seemed to be getting better and I can only hope her character grows in books to come.

Knowing this is a series, I hope we get to see more of what Dee and Vianna accomplish together and their mission to make Salem better. I'd love to see the power they both have put into action a bit more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I think the characters were as real as Salem witches can get and appreciated the storytelling. This got five witchy stars from me!

I can't wait to read the next book!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the author, Cass Kay, for providing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion. This review is based on uncorrected text which did not sway my feedback either which way. All thoughts are my own.

Please check out this review (publishing 10/28) and many others on my blog, sweetbooksomine.com

If I could give this 10 stars I would. Hands down the best book I’ve read this year.

I’m all about witch stories but sometimes they get a little stale. This one was 100% FRESH.

Vienna, our main character, is back in her hometown of Salem after running away from her legacy there 10 years prior. She returns for her mothers burial only to find absolutely nothing has changed. Shunned by the other covens and unsure of what she wants to do with the family familiar she faces some hard decisions.

Jam-packed with curses, hoodoo, hexing and some seriously snarky witches this book literally has it all if you’re a fan of the witchy genre!

This was an amazing debut novel and I can not wait for the second book!

Legacy Witches by Cass Kay was freaking phenomenal!
I'm so thrilled to see this is part of a series because I'm definitely going to need more of these!

Cass Kay has written a true immersive spell-binding story.
She has a true magical way with words, worlds and characterization.
Giving us an unforgettable and determined female protagonist.
Cass has masterfully created a hair-raising story that was so hard for me to put dowm.
The setting is skillfully portrayed, as is the intricate development of the characters.
Legacy Witches has the mystery and suspense that keeps you flipping the pages to see what will happen next.
Totally riveting and filled with unrelenting tension. There is the underlying mystery that keeps the story moving.
Gripping, compelling and very intriguing... This was one book I kind of wished it lasted more.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Cass Kay,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

4.5 Stars. Bit of a slow build to the overarching conflict, but super interesting and well-thought-out plot with 3-dimensional characters. I was frustrated at times with the main character when I felt like they were missing some obvious hints, but ultimately it came together well and I am excited for book 2! (Which will hopefully have a little more romance than this one—which had basically none.)

CW: Sexual assault, gruesome violence, threats of violence, and verbal abuse (racist, transphobic, and slut-shaming comments directed at characters). Also, using “sex worker” rather than “hooker” would have been nice along with not making comments like “non-hookers wear spandex dresses” (kindle loc. 1347).

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

Nope. Didn't like it. Barely got 30% in and noped out. The writing is meh, I did not like a single character, and the grandma "only tolerating white ghosts" was an immediate turn off. I've read better. No thanks.

This was a very enjoyable read. I fell into the story from the start and worried the clues at every turn. The characters felt familiar, I think I went to school with a couple of the worst ones!!! When Vianna first decides that she will sell her home and leave her history behind, her reasoning seems solid.....and then.....Vianna becomes immersed in her family history and must find out why her mother may have killed her best friend. A real WTH moment. The mystery and suspense was there, along with some clues that I may or may not have missed. I'm definitely checking out author Cass Kay to see what else she may have that I need to add to my already huge TBR stacks.

Ahhh I really enjoyed this book! It was literally perfect for the season and I was here for all of it!

Hands down the BEST book I've read in awhile and the best witch book ever! From the beginning it kept me engaged and turning pages. This will definitely be a series to continue cause one needs to know what Vianne and Dee will get up to next!

I thank NetGallery and the publisher for the advanced copy for an honest review. And for Cass Kay, thank you for the amazing journey thus far.

For someone who doesn't really read books about witchcraft, I found this one to be exceptional. I've always thought witches were a bit overdone in the horror community. They usually tend to follow the same tropes that we've heard too many times over already.

But Legacy Witches had me cheering for the protagonist and fearing for her life as the story progressed and I was immediately captivated from the beginning.

While it's not really bloody or gory, the characters are captivating and the author has created a world of covens and witchcraft that is different from others. With some darkly humorous ghosts, a strong, stubborn, and likeable main protagonist, and a cast of surrounding characters that you're never sure to trust, it makes one hell of a fast paced and excellent novel in this genre.

I'm very much looking forward to part two and I highly recommend this book.

3.5 ⭐️

This story was so fun! It was interesting watching Vianna unravel the mystery surrounding her friends death, and not being scared when things look hard. I am looking forward to book 2!

Thank you to net-galley and the publisher for an e-book in exchange for my review.

4.5

I enjoyed the heck out of this. There's no romance, but it's a fun, witchy, urban fantasy story. After the death of her mother, Vianna returns to the home she fled a decade earlier—her own personal version of hell—then, has to rescue it and herself in the process. There's a fun cast of characters, both wonderfully diverse friends and smarmy fiends. The writing is clean and easy to read and I was invested in the outcome.

My only real complaint is that I didn't really feel the murderous part of the murderous coven, outside of Vianna's mother and the villain. Everyone else seemed too lovely to live up the author's assertion that they weren't.

The book reads as a stand-alone, but ends with an opening for sequels. I'd happily pick one up.

Vianna Roots is the last witch within her family, one of the founding families of witches in the Salem covens. She has no intention of remaining in Salem, planning to flip her family home for profit and leaving it behind. The house itself is haunted and she can see ghosts, including that of her childhood friend. In trying to find out what happened to her, Vianna is now crossing the most powerful coven in Salem. When they make an offer on the house to get rid of her, she hesitates. In solving her friend's murder, Vianna will have to make new friends and face the past she ran from.

This is the start of a fascinating new series. Witches really do live in Salem, seeing ghosts is a rare trait even in witches, and the dead can still affect the living. Plus, the haunted house has a demon that essentially animates it and gives it a sense of character in its own right, which I really love. The sass it gives Vianna when she returns in chapter one leads to some hilarious images before the creepy ghosts reliving their last moments kicks in. Finding out about her childhood friend Nancy is a shock to her system, especially since Vianna never felt like she belonged among the coven witches and didn't want to become the next witch assassin like her mother. She clearly has skills of her own, but would rather remain a solitary witch. Her old crush wanting her back in her life is suspicious, and I mistrusted all of the coven witches right away.

In addition to trying to discover what happened to Nancy, Vianna makes a new friend in Dee and gets back into doing magic. It isn't just lighting candles and saying words, which can be part of it. There are specific ingredients, bone and blood, spells, hex bags, and precise incantations. Grimoires are personal things to family lines, and there is power in legacies. All choices that Vianna makes have consequences, though she's determined to be a solitary witch and not get dragged into coven politics. Unfortunately, that means she's dragged into coven politics. Witches here are the kind that harm, hoodoo heals, and police are expected to stay far away from magical mayhem. I enjoyed seeing this version of Salem and its dangerous witches. This will be a fantastic series with lots of conflicts, ghosts, and magic in books to come.

*I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher and NetGalley, in return for an honest review; therefore the opinions expressed are completely my own.*

Rating: ★★★½

Legacy Witches is an intriguing book set in the world of witches and witchcraft, which does not shy away from the more dark aspects, grit and gore. Vienna, forced to return to home that has never been just that, is a strong heroine who finds herself entangled with a legacy she wants nothing more than to do without, yet finds herself with no choice but to untangle a web of secrets, regardless.

I found this book certainly original and easy to read, yet could not resist myself from wondering on occasion if a more classic approach to the writing style could have made the story be filled with a little more eerie ambiance and paranormal depth, yet I fully confess this is a personal preference and not something that will bother readers looking for a wondrous, spooky read.

Legacy Witches is a fun, yet dark story of murderous witches, set in Salem, Massachusetts, a place I have visited on many occasions. Salem is filled with witch-related tourist attractions, but the legacy witches of the title are part of a hidden world - away from the tourism - that reaches back through history to the Salem Witch trials.

Vianna Roots managed to escape this heritage by fleeing to Boston, but now that her mother is dead she must return and deal with her legacy. She has the unusual talent of being able to see ghosts and witnesses the ‘death loop’ of her old best friend Nancy, who must have been murdered in her mother’s house and whose ghost is now stuck there along with the ghosts of Vianna’s ancestors. This mystery niggles at Vianna and she decides to stay on in Salem until she can get to the bottom of it. She has to overcome many hurdles - the house is possessed by the family’s familiar, a demon named Shuck who has yet to accept her, an old school crush, Charles, is determined to woo her but is not exactly what he seems, a HooDoo practitioner wants to force her to sell the house to him and the coven is treating her like an outcast and determined to get rid of her.

Vianna befriends another outcast, a transgender witch named Sandeen and the two of them quickly form a bond. Sandeen was a great character and one of the highlights of the book for me. I also liked Vianna. She was determined not to be bullied by the coven witches into selling them her house or by Charles into dating him when her intuition told her something wasn’t quite right.

Legacy Witches was spooky and action-packed and I enjoyed the mystery thread, a perfect read for October

Small town magic, great character growth, fast pacing, and mystery? Legacy Witches was a great debut perfect for spooky season. I liked that it wasn't just another book about Salem witches. This story was inspired from the author's own ancestors who appear in the book as real witches from the Salem witch trials.
“Leaves rustled in the tree where grandma susannah hung. the hem of her peasant dress swayed with her legs as she swung backward, then forward, making the branch bow before the tip of her pointed boot hit the trunk.” Eerie and lyrical this book will have you hooked from the beginning!

I love this book and I can't wait for the next one.

Vianna is a legacy witch from a very old blood line, but she runs away from this life in a search for a normal life. Going back to Salem and the haunted house of her ancestors she realizes that running away this time can be close to impossible. This book made me want to light up candles all around my room and drink spicy tea.

I love the progress of Vianna's character and i really can't wait for her next adventures

Wow. 10 out of 10. This was a beautiful book to get me into the spooky season and I’m enchanted by the characters and by Salem. The writing flowed effortlessly and I found myself staying up all night to keep reading one more chapter. The story of the Roots family had me captivated and I cannot wait for book two. I was an ARC Reader through Net Galley and I 100% will be purchasing my own copy so I can reread it again.

Wow, what a great start to a new series! I enjoyed getting to know Vianna and the morally gray world that she is a part of. This world is full of old magical families, feuds, and interesting politics. It also has some great LGBTQ+ representation as well as some solid ally representation! I'm looking forward to learning more about Vianna in the other books as well as watch her come into her own strengths. She has them, she just has to learn them!

thanks to Cass Kay for providing an arc through netgalley

i will be the first to admit that i'm all for books about witches, and this was no exception! there was a variety of representation throughout the cast of characters which was wonderful to see and everything felt very well researched.

i say this in the best way- but this book definitely gave me Ghost Whisperer vibes, just a bit more witchy. a great option for fall if you're a mood/seasonal reader! can't wait to see more from this author and read the next in this series!

Vianna Roots is a witch who returns to Salem after the death of her mother. She comes from a long line of witches, who are known to be treacherous, murderers. Determined to outrun her legacy, she is forced back to the place she has run from, forced to address the house she inherited along with the dead ancestors she has the gift to see.

Overall, I am very impressed with Legacy Witches, the debut novel by Cass Kay. This isn’t your ordinary book about witches and ghosts in Salem. There is depth to the characters, story, and I was hooked from the start!