This is a strange book. It is vignette like, jumps around and is slow to get going. I started to skim some until about half way when it picked up. I enjoy the strong female relationships but find the males to be characters.. It is uneven but is interesting enough that I didn't DNF it. There is a audience for this but It's not me.

Cherie Dimaline’s upcoming novel VenCo promises plenty of hidden urban magic, and I’m excited to have accessed an advance copy for this review. (Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the gift!) VenCo follows Lucky St. Jones, a down-on-her-luck Métis woman living in Toronto, who discovers she’s a witch, part of a promised coven. Not only that, but she’s on a deadline to find the last member of the coven. All the while, there’s a dangerous immortal witch-hunter on her tracks.

There’s a lot to take in here, and I found my expectations subverted constantly. Not just in terms of the plot, or the character tropes, but also the worldbuilding and the genre itself.

A very soft fantasy…

Based on the blurb for VenCo, I was expecting a Very Specific kind of worldbuilding. Specifically, I was hoping to see a world like that The Rook or Her Majesty’s Royal Coven or Rivers of London. I love thinking about how a magical world could work, the infrastructure and the organization of it. VenCo seemed to fit neatly into this, with its secret witchy corporation and continental recruiting. Even the first chapter seemed to play this out, with a frankly badass intro to what seemed to be three executive witches.

But Dimaline took a different (equally fun) approach to her world building, opting for softer fantasy rules in service of the theme. In the world of VenCo, there’s no one “right” way to do magic. Instead, witches draw on local traditions, leading to an intriguing diversity of powers and approaches. The witches are similarly un-organized, resembling a loosely connected network rather than a tight-knit organization. Everything is run on intuition, vibes, and connections.

This softer magic system and world building isn’t bad, just unexpected. One element of the “soft rules” is a little trickier to judge, though. The protagonists are working against a magical deadline to find their last coven-mate. This is treated as a very real deadline, and the cast takes it seriously - but it’s never really explained why. There’s no sense of the stakes - of what could happen if the final witch remains lost - which can deflate some of the urgency.

Fortunately, Dimaline is an engaging writer, and these inconsistencies didn't stick out that much as I read. Instead, I found myself swept up with the plot and the magic and the characters. Dimaline’s more flexible approach seems optimized to deliver her themes in the most enjoyable way possible - even if it means handwaving the rules.

…with a female-centric message

VenCo is definitely a story with a perspective. Anti-corporate and anti-capitalist, the plot highlights female power and stories. Each of the members of the VenCo coven represents a different failing of our status quo, and Dimaline vividly illustrates each backstory. Each of the characters is unique and fleshed out, and I enjoyed learning about each of them.

VenCo, like many other witchy stories, emphasizes the importance and power of family - especially female family. Mothers and grandmothers have particular importance in the novel, along with both maternal and platonic love. Dimaline does this by writing compelling connections between mothers and daughters - but also by making the major villain the only male character of note.

He’s a good villain too - extremely creepy. I found myself wincing at some of the passages that included him - like a more muted version of Kilgrave. But at some point it started to feel hyperbolic - are there no good men? No good markets? No good organizations? In light of recent events with crypto, it feels like “tear down ALL old institutions” might be a bridge too far.

Still, it’s a fun read, and it’s hard not to cheer for the protagonists at the end. On the last page, I found myself satisfied and excited to read another installment. I’d be really excited to meet new witches and explore more magical traditions, and to see what a coven could really do.

Reader's notes and rating (⭐⭐⭐✨)

VenCo was nothing like I expected, but I enjoyed it all the same. It was a great journey of self-discovery and a beautiful affirmation of female support. That said, I was expecting a bit more about underground organizations (can you tell I loved Hench?). Instead, this read a little more like a great scavenger hunt adventure.

I’d definitely recommend it to feminist friends who enjoy adventure novels. It’s nice to see a road-trip novel that is so focused on feminine greatness, and it’s a fun read if you can keep your analysis at a more surface level. For me, this is 3.5 stars.

Read this if...

You’re excited by the concept of a “witchy road trip”

You’re looking for a fun feminist adventure

You enjoy stories about travel and local tradition

Skip this if...

You’re most excited about the “secret society” elements of the blurb

You want more mystery, less adventure - there’s no “solving” this one

You’re looking for hard fantasy or deep world building

AN enthusiastic pick for this book! I loved Dimaline's first book, Empire of Wild, and I loved VenCo even more. Lucky is scrabbling to get by. working temp jobs to stay afloat and take care of her grandmother with increasing dementia when they get notice they are being evicted. She finds an old "witch spoon" that leads her to a group of indigenous women, all witches (backed by a corporate entity VenCo) trying to find the sixth and seventh members to form a North American coven to fight the patriarchy and right the wrongs ttaking over the world before time runs out/and or a witch hunter finds them.

Darkly humorous and empowering, I enjoyed the folklore and the strong female characters and their various stories.

I was hooked immediately by this story and really enjoyed it. I really liked how multiple cultures’ witchiness was embraced and I loved how unapologetically woman-centered it was.

The strength lies in the characters, but because of that I had a couple jarring moments where the character presented suddenly felt like they changed to a different person. Freya was the most pronounced. She approached Lucky like a self-assured, been-around-the-block, business woman and so I had a certain picture of her in my head. Then Lucky gets to the house in Salem and Freya is suddenly a kind but childish eighteen year old. I had to completely rewrite my image of her. Jay also falls victim to this. The costumed hillbilly moment just didn’t fit who I thought he was. He didn’t need trickery (beyond his power of suggestion) in any other case. He seemed to march in, take control, torture, kill. Why did he suddenly need to just hold Lucky until the time ran out? Why wouldn’t he just overpower her and Stella and kill them? Everything else about Jay was cool and confident. That scene didn’t match the rest of him and I didn’t understand his motivations.

I appreciated the ending because the Oracle finally felt like they did something. The book started with them and is named after them, but they didn’t actually have much to do with the story and easily could have been removed without affecting the plot. I’d rather they be utilized more because the corporation aspect is interesting.

My final gripe: there was a weirdly shifting sense of urgency. After Buzzards Bay the covens one job is to get home and scrye to find the witch. Instead they ate some snacks and slept and then eventually did their job. Similarly, Meena thinks Lucky taking Stella with her could jeopardize the entire mission (which we’ve been told equals apocalypse- big stakes!) yet she’s like, “you probably shouldn’t take her… oh well!”

All that said, I actually liked the book a lot. I just see the potential for a much stronger story.

VenCo was a book that I didn't expect to like as much as I did. The story starts out honestly very confusing for what direction it is going to take. But about half way through the story, I realized that we are being put in the same position as the main character learning new things as she rushes through to make things happen in what little time she does.

The other characters are all very lovely and jump right off the page at you as real beings that are not just there to move the main character along. By the time I finished the book I found myself wishing that this wasn't a standalone book and that I could get to learn more about the world at large.

I will be withholding my review of this one till the HCP union has a fair contract. Thank you again for the arc and can't wait to publish the review in the future,

The inaptly-named Lucky is a down-on-her-luck woman working a dead-end job and trying to take care of her grandmother Stella as she slides into dementia. One night when doing laundry she discovers an old silver spoon. She is invited to a "job interview" in Salem. Turns out she has found the sixth of seven spoons needed to form a coven. Each woman who finds a spoon is then tasked with finding the next woman. Lucky must complete the circle but only has nine days to do so. So she and Stella set out on a road trip to find find the seventh witch whilst she comes into her powers. We are treated to chapters from the viewpoints of the various witches, as well as a witch-hunted seeking to stop them. The novel was an enjoyable portrayal of found family with magical overtones and I hope there's a sequel.

This book is amazing. There’s queerness, feminism, AND witches. Twists and turns. A slow start, but so worth the patience. 100% recommend.

I enjoyed the journey this book took me on. It seemed open to have another one which I hope happens.

I enjoyed the strong female characters, especially the spirited Lucky and her endearing Grandma Stella. I also appreciated the loyalty and support from those females who all seem to have overcome some difficult pasts, and the inclusion of both witchcraft and indigenous culture in the storyline.
.
But I did get bogged down in the drawn out search for the last spoon and the last witch needed to complete the coven, and felt a big disconnect between the coven and the characters of the Oracle, the Mother and the Crone.

VenCo was my first book from author Cherie Dimaline. Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to VenCo, but while the blurb seemed to tease some danger and thrill, it fell a bit flat for me in those regards, making the book a bit harder to get through than I anticipated.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars--

VenCo's strength was in its characters. Specifically, many strong, yet quirky, women who've faced various challenges. 30-something Lucky St. James lives with her grandma--who has dementia--and works at a video rental store. Her flighty, Native mother died when she was young, and her dad died of an overdose before she was born. One day Lucky finds a spoon that leads her to a group of witches who are assembling a coven while being hunted by a powerful, semi-immortal witch hunter dude. It's up to Lucky and Stella to find the final missing witch in a race against time.

I love Dimaline's Marrow Thieves books and wanted to love this one too. But for me, the plot was lagging and predictable. Likewise, I found the ending similarly unsatisfying, besides the reveal of one of the twists. I enjoyed meeting these interesting characters, but I definitely struggled to get through this book.

Many thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: mind control, sexual manipulation

I guess I should preface this with, this is my first adult novel of Dimaline's that I've read. I loved THE MARROW THIEVES and HUNTING BY STARS (both of those were 5 stars books for me). I knew this would be different in ways since it's written for adults and is not a YA novel, but what captivated me in Dimaline's writing in those books was missing in this one. It took 30% of the way in to VENCO before I started to want to continue reading this book - I was hooked from then on, but I did struggle with the beginning. Once you get through the setting up parts of the plot, the story flows better.

VENCO is a book where there's a lot of traveling/waiting happening between events so it reads like nothing really happens (even though things are happening). I didn't love Lucky, I did absolutely adore Stella though (I want more of her story!). I felt like plot points between the Oracle and the witches forming the coven got a bit murky, as did the magic system.

This is a good read, and there will be plenty of readers who love it, it just didn't capture me like THE MARROW THIEVES (which is fine, they are two entirely different types of books).

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars, rounded up for this entertaining take on witchcraft and friendship, and "hexing the patriarchy". VenCo is about a gathering of women into a coven. There are 7 witches to close the circle, and each woman must find a spoon that signifies her place in the coven, however there is an outside force determined to keep them from closing the circle before time runs out, an immortal witch hunter.

While we learn how each woman finds her spoon and is called to the coven, the main narrator is Lucky St. James, a young woman living in Toronto with her elderly grandmother Stella. The story is told in alternating viewpoints between Lucky, the witch hunter Jay Christos, and the other witches in the coven. Each character has a distinct voice, so I felt the story flowed well between each character.

This is a story about building your family and fighting the system that keeps women subservient to men. I had some niggles with a few plot points and situations, but overall, I enjoyed this book enough to round up to 5 stars. It reads quickly, and truly pulls you in and won't let you go until the final page.

Thank you to Book Club Girl, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

I am so excited by this book! I couldn’t get enough of the women led intrigue and witchery. If you like found family, mysterious backstory and generally agree with idea that women’s powers may have been suppressed because of patriarchy, put this one on top of your TBR.

VenCo has an opportunity to be a story with a bit of a supernatural element that brings a diverse group of women together against the patriarchy. Instead it feels aimless, leaving many potential storylines unfulfilled. The book starts with a trio of women – the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone – who are apparently concerned about getting a coven together in North America, and the increasingly short timeline in which to do so. Then they mostly disappear from the book except to (metaphorically) wring their hands about whether the coven will assemble in time. There’s really never any explanation in the book about why there’s a timeline for this.

Meanwhile in Toronto, Lucky, who hasn’t been nearly as fortunate in life as her name implies, discovers a spoon that triggers said coven to realize they may still meet their timeline after all, as it means Lucky is their next witch. Lucky is invited, along with her grandmother Stella, to Salem. She quickly discovers that it really isn’t for a job opportunity, but since her life hasn’t been going so well she decides, why the heck not? Now this could be the point where Dimaline goes full blown women power. Six of the seven women are together, they can look for the final witch together before the big, bad witch hunter comes to find them, right? Nope. After sending them off to a bar to get full blown drunk by a bartender that isn’t a witch herself but provides assistance to them, Lucky gets sent off on her own on a scavenger hunt to find the final witch. Since Stella is less than all there Lucky takes her along for the ride so she can keep an eye on her. Which she does not so fantastically when the two aren’t bickering with one another.

Soon the witch hunter is after Lucky, which the rest of the coven, safely scrying away (looking for the same spoon as Lucky) in their protected home, neglect to tell her about. Naturally this will lead to an epic showdown between Lucky and Jay, the witch hunter, right? Also nope. The ending of the book feels incredibly anticlimactic. There’s really no dynamic relationships in this story except for between Lucky and her grandmother. Which is really a shame. Many of the women in the coven are marginalized or abused women, so coming together as a unit to defeat the witch hunter would have been a better approach. Even a more good vs. evil dynamic between Lucky and Jay that built up of the course of the book would have been better.

It just feels like Dimaline had so many options in this story to elevate Lucky or the whole group of women, but she threw too much into the story and then chose the path that was the least interesting. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I read this book right before Halloween and it fit the witchy vibe I was looking for perfectly. This book takes on a modern vibe on witchcraft and Coventry.

The premise of this novel sounded strange and fascinating, and that's pretty much what Dimaline delivered. I loved the Maiden/Mother/Crone triad at the center of VenCo, as a conceit, and the central characters were fascinating too. I did think the book was a bit long, but I understand the desire to have this world as fully fleshed-out, in all its weird nooks and crannies, as possible.

Super fun novel about witches being called from all over the world to join a powerful coven before it's too late. Lucky St. James is holding her life together in Toronto with a dead end job and slowly declining grandmother when she suddenly discovers a silver spoon marked "salem." It's not long before the two women start a journey to locate others with similar callings, all the while working against a dark and oppressive force. Sharp and witting writing, loving and kind relationships, Cherie Dimaline is a fabulous writer and this story will stay with you for a long time. If you believe in the power of female relationships, love a sharply written tale, or just want to go on an odyssey with some like minded women fighting the patriarchy, VenCo is for you!
#williammorrow

VenCo
by Cherie Dimaline
Fantasy Paranormal
NetGalley ARC

In Canada, Lucky lives with her grandmother who is showing signs of dementia, but Lucky doesn't want to drop the old woman into a home, even though they are going to be losing their apartment. But while doing laundry down in the basement she happens upon a hole in the wall, the entrance inside the locket metal cabinet. She goes inside and discovers an old spoon with a witch and the word Salem carved in the handle.

She found the sixth spoon, so she is the sixth witch and the coven brings her, and her elderly grandmother, to Salem and into their home, then sends the two on a quest to find the seventh spoon and its witch. But there is a single witch hunter, one of the originals, who still hunts.

This book started off interesting. A tunnel in the basement, cool. The spoons were an interesting talisman, but the story was too drawn out. Past interrupted as the five other witches told their stories on how they found their spoons, along with what they were doing while Lucky was on her quest; the Oracles (the Mother, Maiden, and Crone) and how they were helping; and the witch hunter, his past and his present.

Not scary, not really magical. It just was. It was a good idea, but there wasn't much substance. Instead of working the idea and putting more descriptions of the settings, characters, and magic itself, it was a bunch of ramblings of going here and going there, and this is how I found my spoon. For a moment I thought it was going to go on the porn route, but thankfully nope, but there is still some violence and suggestions, so not suitable for readers under fourteen.

Sorry to say, but this book was not a fun or great read. The blurb made it sound fun with some danger. But nope, I was bored.

2 Stars