4 solid stars

Just the kind of witchy book I’ve been craving! I like that these witches are dark. I love the writing a lot as well, it totally brings you into the story. This was unputdownable.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was immediately hook from the first sentence. The book cover was initially the reason I was intrigued to read the book but the story did not disappoint. I can’t wait for the story to continue.

“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.”

I love this book. It has everything that gripped me by my soul and had a need to read it. Witches. History. Action. Myster. Humor.

Vianna Roots is forced back to her ancestral home to not only bury her mother but to face her past trauma and to decide what to do with her future as she is the only remaining witch in the Roots family legacy line. The characters are written beautifully - the house is my favorite 'character'.
I truly enjoyed this story and look forward to more from Cass Kay.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Legacy Witches is full of lore, haunting ghosts, danger, mayhem, creative spellwork, and a few twists and turns!
I love when an author takes the world we live in and give it a fictional twist that makes you believe it just might be possible and this book certainly deliveres. From start to finish it's a page-turner, I got sucked in and didn't want to stop reading. There's just enough backstory for the main character to give her depth and it's parsed into the story in such an artful way that it's not like getting a history lesson but just seems like a natural flow of accumulated knowledge. By the end of the book you want to know more and I can't wait to read the next one in the series!

I received an ARC of Legacy Witches in exchange for an honest review. Read the full review at https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/

The market on urban fantasy and witchy protagonists is arguably glutted these days. Witches are cutesy, they’re sexy, they’re demon huntresses and vampire lovers and all sorts of fun combinations of back-cover blurb buzzwords, but something that truly sets Cass Kay’s Legacy Witches above the rest for me is that her witches are DARK.

Vienna Roots’ ancestors and peers deal in moldering corpses, gruesome deaths, and necromantic rites as a matter of course, and while Vienna herself shies away from the murder edges of magic, Kay seems to revel in the gory details. As something of a connoisseur of gory details, thank you PhD in Frankenstein, I appreciate the unflinching approach to maggots and skeletons and what a pain in the butt it is to rob a grave on a rainy night.

I appreciate that Kay doesn’t try to redeem the terrible things that the Roots witches have done in the past, and the lengths they will go to to protect their own.

A story of generations, and rewriting the scripts of eras come and gone, Legacy Witches is more than just one more urban fantasy with a witchy protagonist. This is a novel with heart, a story about growth, and acceptance, and magic far darker than most authors in the genre dare dabble in from a writer who obviously knows her craft. In a market that has long been saturated by the cozy, the sexy, and the action-y, and the overly romantic, Legacy Witches dares to be something different, and as a reader, I appreciate that too.

I loved the whole premise of this book; it definitely does not read like just another book about Salem witches.

Vianna Roots finds herself back in the world of witchcraft, hoodoo, ghosts and covens that she ran away from many years ago. She gets wrapped up in solving a murder and thrust back into her role as a legacy witch.

The relationship between Vianna and Dee was my favourite. I loved Grandma Susannah's protectiveness but I had a difficult time reading her outdated racist comments; I understand why they are there as she would have felt that way in her time period so of course her ghost would feel the same. But, given the rest of the book, the context of the comments felt unnecessary. As the book continued, the writing style and flow definitely improved from the beginning.

I am very much looking forward to continuing with this saga as it continues and will definitely be watching for book two.

This one was alright. I found I didn’t love the main character which made it hard for me to really connect with the book. The storyline was great, I just was never 100% invested so it ended up taking me a few days to finish.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book started off a bit slowly. At first, I couldn't connect with the main character.

I think it was with the introduction of the character, Dee, that the book sparkled. Her growing friendship with the MC is delightful.

I sincerely hope there will be a second volume.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the free ARC. This is my honest review.

This is a story that fills the yearnings of witch lore and family ties. Vianna is a very likable young woman and her journey is an interesting one. Whether to give in to family duties or stay away from it all? Her abilities are intriguing. Love her friendship with Dee and I hope we see both wade through more adventures in the next book!

I absolutely loved this book. It has all the witchy drama, feminist vibes, and childhood trauma. Vianna Roots takes back her life and her legacy and makes it her own. She doesn't let her ancestors' history of violence dictate how she lives. I can't wait for the second one to come out!

⭐️3.5/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley & the author for providing the ARC for my honest review.
This is the perfect fall, spooky season book, especially for anyone who was a fan of Sabrina the Teenage Witch reboot. You know, the darker one. And coming from someone naive on the subject, you can really tell the author is knowledgeable regarding witchcraft and the Salem Witches. Apparently her family can be tracked back to one of the witches. Now, it might be because my family traces back to one of the judges of the Salem Witch trials (sorry, but his great grandson did write the Scarlet Letter), that might have to do with why I didn’t love this story. I enjoyed, it was a fascinating premise and felt different. Like the whole different covens and legacies and seeing death loops and talking to the dead thing was interesting. However, there was something missing, but I couldn’t tell you what. There was just something that made me think, oh this was an interesting read but not something I loved. Still, I will be recommending this book to anyone in search of witchy, spooky, talk to the dead vibe books to fit with the autumn weather

[tw: death, violence, gore]

“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.”

barely two sentences into the book & i have already lost myself into it. how a story begins in such creepily-captivating way, i have no idea. but if these two lines aren’t enough to prove my point, the book further plays with centuries-old covens, small-town grandma ghosts, and one secret murder—legacy witches is //that// easy, horror read i’ve been looking for & probably one of my best, thus far.

the story gives us a rebellious, runaway witch in the person of vianna roots who refuses to be part of a coven which her mother, grandmother, & her lady ancestors have been founders of. but then, her mother dies which eventually, forced her to go back to salem for funeral arrangements as well as the settlement of the estate ( mainly consisting of an eyesore for a garden that badly needed weeding & a demon-possessed, dilapidated haunted house that has been passed on from one roots witch to another like a precious family heirloom).

the pacing of the story was good & the banters between legacy witches were full-on rainstorms but, i especially fell in love with sandeen—the trans daughter of the coven librarian who loves her sugar treats & has the level of loyalty+wit+fashion anyone would want from a best friend/partner.

i also liked that you can feel from how the events panned out that there are more stories to be told (i.e, probably future interactions with officer grayson & vianna’s childhood best friend, tucker, charles’/barton twins’ revenge, mother’s ghost, etc.) & how such red herrings somehow made me feel giddy for the books that will follow.

thank you netgalley and ingram spark for sending this e-book arc for review consideration. legacy witches will be out on october 11, 2022.

Wow, this book delivered!

I came for the cover and stayed for the story. Always a sucker for a witchy novel, this one was decently paced to keep me turning those pages without skimping on character development and descriptions of the world.

For her debut novel, Cass Kay has done remarkably well, and to find out that she's drawn her inspiration from her own ancestors makes it more meaningful.

Furthermore, I really enjoyed the underlying themes I've picked up on of not being a blind follower, being the change you want to see and journeys of self discovery.

I'll be eager to be able to add a physical copy of this to my shelf and see where future books take Vianna next!

Thanks to Ingrams Park and Net Galley for this ARC. This is my honest, unbiased review.

I thought this book was definitely a good read, but it was not exactly what I was expecting. I was expecting a more horror, fast paced read, but instead it almost feels like a creepy comedy. There are definitely some creepy elements to it, but it wasn’t the all out horror that I was expecting. Still a great read though and I think a lot of people will really enjoy it! It just wasn’t my personal cup of tea. Recommended to friends that enjoy this type of book though!

I really enjoyed Legacy Witches. Vianna is going back to Salem after leaving home 10 years ago. She must contend with her mother's coven, ghosts, a persistent suitor, and a house with its own agenda. Along with all of this, she is also trying to solve a mystery.
The book has a good pace, and I am particularly fond of the transgender character and the friendship with our heroine. Looking forward to the next book!

4.5 stars

The only thing I didn’t thoroughly enjoy was I felt it was a slow burn for most of the book until the end. I’m more of a page turner type of reader so I struggled a little. With that being said, I loved this book so much. First of all, props to Cass Kay for self publishing this book. Thank you. Second, not only did I love the more dark/realistic side of witchcraft but when I found out it was based on her ancestry I loved it even more.
The characters she created we’re so realistic that you either loathed them entirely or we’re rooting for their success. No one blurred into the background. I was on my toes guessing the whole time what direction the storyline would go down. Like Vie, I trusted no one. Unlike Vie, I would’ve woken up and chosen violence every day to deal with Charles and anyone who came after me.
I cannot wait to read the next book!

Thank you Cass Kay for not only writing a dark witchy book in time for Halloween (Samhain ;)) but for also allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC via Netgalley.

Vianna Roots is a Legacy witch returning to her home in Salem after more than a decade. She faces challenges both new and old in a captivating and new take on witchcraft.

Personally I love witchcraft stories and read a lot of them so when I say this is a unique take I really mean it. The book drew me in from the first pages and I got annoyed when I had to stop reading. Honestly this is a wonderful story and I can't wait to read the next one!

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

Legacy Witches by Cass Kay is a action packed tale of a reluctant witch who is called home after the passing of her mother. At 18 Vianna Roots ran away from home and vowed to not carry on in the family's traditions. Her plan is to attend her mother's funeral, pack things up, get the house sold and be on her way back to her normal life. Unfortunately nothing in Vianna's life has ever been that simple. The harder she works to make a quick getaway the more people and things that pop up to keep her in place.

This story was full of action, mystery and strong characters to both love and hate. My favorite parts of this book were the characters and the suspenseful situations. I also like how the past unfolded at the same time as the mystery played out. I felt fully engaged from beginning to end. I really liked how the main character stayed true to her convictions throughout. I want to read more about Vianna and her friends and am happy that this is just the beginning of a promising new series.

What a fantastic book about a young witch, Vianna, who is forced to return to her ancestral home in Salem to face her past trauma and her future as the only remaining witch in the prestigious Roots family legacy line. Vianna is a strong woman who won't kowtow to the snarky ghost of her Grandmother who haunts her demon possessed house, the local founding covens with their antiquated ways, or her high school crush who thinks he is all that and a bag of potato chips. Throw in a sassy and fashionable trans best friend, some potential flirty vibes with a SPD officer, the unsolved murder of her childhood friend, a little hoodoo and voodoo and this story has it all!
I highly recommend this read to anyone intrigued by the paranormal, it has definitely piqued my interest to visit Salem in all its glory. I absolutely cannot wait for the next one in the series!

When Vianna Roots mother dies she has to do the one thing that she’s avoided doing for 10 years—going home. What should be a simple trip home for a funeral of course couldn’t be easy when you’re a legacy member of a coven of witches in Salem. Vianna now has to contend with covens of witches she never wanted to be a part of who just might want her dead, the ghost of her twelfth great grandmother who does not approve of these modern witches, a demon house that loves to play tricks on her, and the potential murder of her childhood friend.

This book was a wild ride! I never quite could tell what was going to happen but I loved every step of the way. Vianna is such a lovely awkward heroine who you find yourself wanting to fight alongside if needed. There are so many great side characters (I’m looking at your Dee!) that help fill out this magic world of murder and mystery. A perfect spooky, witchy read for Halloween.