What a great book of short stories all about witches! I enjoyed this novel very much. Full of magic and mystery. Very well rounded stories, each and every one. Truly loved every story in this novel!

This is a better-than-average anthology that collects some pretty good witchy stories from some rather great and diverse authors. "Orphanage of the Last Breath" was a real standout for me, and the rest of the stories were pretty wonderful, with only a few so-so ones in the bunch. It's a solid collection overall and I recommend it.

I loved this, the collection of anthologies is great. It's beautifully put together and the way it flows goes well. The stories and poems were wonderful. I really like a lot of the prose these writers used. I recommend this for people wanting a fall read.

This collection was very meh. There were only a handful of stories that I actively liked. Very much a take it or leave it collection.



Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A really interesting collection of stories of all types of witches.
Some of my favorite stories included The Liar; As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand; and Orphanage of the Last Breath.
I really enjoyed seeing the interpretation of The Witch through a variety of cultural and social aspects. Hearing from a wide diversity of authors was very important in representing so many variations of the theme.

ARC & Final Copy provided by NetGalley & HarperCollins.

DNF: 60%

Actual Rating: 2.5 ⭐


Friends... I'm so freaking sad! This is the first ever anthology that has not only disappointed me, but my first anthology I won't be doing a full break down of and my first anthology I've ever DNF'd. This was... fine, okay? Honestly, I don't even really know how to describe how I felt about this book because there were so many times where I got bored or I would zone out. Almost every single story was a two or three star rating with only three stories that really stood out to me, as a reader. I don't know if it's the book or if it's me, but I had to dnf this book because I just wasn't having a good time. I wanted to love this book especially when I'm reading this so close to Halloween, but this anthology missed the mark for me. I think there will be many readers who enjoy this anthology, find some new authors to fall in love with, but as for me, I'll be off in the corner grieving not being able to love this book.


All thoughts, feelings, experiences, and opinions are honest and my own.

"Even in a world of witches and angels, good fortune is from what you do, not what you have."

The Book of Witches by Jonathan Strahan was a lovely collection of tales of witchcraft and whimsy from many contributing authors. These stories are accompanied by gorgeous artwork by Alyssa Winans and feature a large variety of representation for different cultures, peoples, and beliefs.

I couldn't choose a favorite among the stories! They were all so imaginative and unique and I really loved the entire anthology. I would recommend this collection highly to anyone who loves witchy fables and fantasy.

Do you like witches? Do you know what ditches do? If you read this book you will find out! Reading this anthology of stories and poems shows many aspects of witches that you may not know about. I enjoyed the variety of stories in this anthology. I have read some witch novels that exposed me to different types of witches and enjoyed them. I can’t tell you which I liked best as I don’t want to prejudice you. I believe there is a story that will intrigue you to continue reading other stories/novels by these authors.

I am a big fan of Darcie Little Badger and "The Liar" did not disappoint.
This is a collection celebrating diversity through witchy stories and poems. Some short stories I loved, but as with many anthologies there were some hits and misses. Some of the parts of this anthology I found very confusing and not enjoyable. I was expecting more from this because I love so many of the authors in it, but its a 3.5 for me.

Interesting collection of stories relating to witches. I really enjoyed the unconventional modern twists to some of the stories. I was not expecting a story of a witch who dealt with cyberspace and was pleasantly surprised by how the story turned out. A good book to read during spooky season.

I have no doubt that this has its audience and, when it finds it, they will love it. For me, this was a miss. It was not what I was expecting. I was expecting more whimsical and magical witchy fiction. This, instead, includes more folklore and stories of witchy beings. It felt more like the tales parents tell children to help teach a lesson or moral. Not for me but I do appreciate the writing and the storytelling talent these writers have.

I suppose in some ways all anthologies will contain hits as well as misses. For me, this anthology had a lot of misses, but the hits are good enough that I can’t in good conscience fully discourage picking it up.

As exposure to a broad crop of diverse authors, I found the book quite successful. Perhaps this is reason enough to give it a shot. You’ll have a better idea of which authors you enjoy at the end, and who you should follow with and read more of.

For me, the hits were:
- What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata by P. Djeli Clark
- Good Spells by Ken Liu
- John Hollowback and the Witch by Amal El-Mohtar

Finally, from reading the Editor's note, there seems a kind of implicit goal that this anthology would change (or perhaps expand) our definition of the term “witch”. Here I felt like we were on more tenuous ground. For many stories within the anthology, I was pages in before I could sus out the new definition of “witch” the story was attempting to put forth and sometimes even frustrated that they had tried to connect their story to witchcraft at all.

For a full review please take a look at my blog: https://alligatorsandaneurysms.wordpress.com/2023/09/15/unmet-ambitions-and-hidden-gems-in-strahans-the-book-of-witches/

Seed of Power by Linda D. Addison: Poem

***** What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata by P. Djeli Clark: Short Story - I loved every second of this one! It was so, so, so good!

DNF - Catechism for Those Who Would Fine Witches by Kathleen Jennings: Short Story written as a catechism - I didn't like this style. didn't know what a catechism was, apparently it's a Q&A session?

*** The Luck Thief by Tade Thompson: Short Story

** Good Spells by Ken Liu: Short Story

***** The Liar by Darcy Little Badger: Short Story This one was so spooky and good!

Escape Artist by Andrea Hairston: Poem

DNF - The Witch is Not the Monster by Alaya Dawn Johnson: Short Story

****Met Swallow by Cassandra Khaw: Short Story - A fox lives inside the body of a dying girl? Sold.

****The Nine Jars of Nukulu by Tobi Ogundiran: Short Story - This one was very good!

**In a Cabin, In a Wood by Kelly Robson: Short Story - I'm not even sure this was magical?

***What Dreams May Come by C.L. Clark: Short Story - Loved the view of a transgender witch being denied the ability to use their family's magic, but the story felt a bit flat.

She Who Makes the Rain by Millie Ho: Poem

**As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand by Indrapramit Das: Short Story I'm honestly not even sure what this was.

****Orphanage of the Last Breath by Saad Z. Hossain: Short Story So good! Deals with police brutality and how historically, medicine women were labelled as witches.

***The Unexpected Excursion of the Murder Mystery Writing Witches by Garth Nix: Short Story - This had a few interesting bits but wasn't very enjoyable.

***So Spoke the Mirror Witch by Premee Mohamed: Short Story - I wish this one had been longer

****Just a Nudge by Maureen McHugh: Short Story - A dark one!

***Her Ravenous Waters by Andrea Stewart: Short Story

**Deja Vue by Tochi Onyebuchi: Short Story

Botanica: A Song in Four Movements by Sheree Renee Thomas: Poem

****Through the Woods, Due West by Angela Slatter: Short Story

***Nameless Here for Evermore by Fonda Lee: Short Story - Another dark one.

DNF - Mask of the Nautilus by Sheree Renee Thomas: Short Story

***Night Riding by Usman T. Malik: Short Story

DNF - Witchfires by E. Lily Yu: Short Story

DNF - The Academy of Oracular Magic by Miyuki Jane Pinckard: Short Story

**The Cost of Doing Business by Emily Y. Teng: Short Story

****John Hollowback and the Witch by Amal El-Mohtar: Short Story

Overall there were some really great stories in here but there were also some that didn't interest me at all. So, a worthwhile pick up if you're looking for some good witchy short stories but just know that all of them may not work for you.

I'm just really sad to say that this anthology was a mostly a miss for me. I was really excited to pick this one up as it did have some authors I have really enjoyed in the past. Sadly nothing really just stood out this time. This book is also very long and seemed kind it could have been trimmed down.

I highly would recommend checking out other short stories or novels from these authors. As I have read some really incredible stories from them in other collections.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Collection of stories featuring witches from all over the world. I was excited for this one, as I like stories about witches, and was curious about global stories about witches.

Unfortunately, I found the majority of the stories a bit of a slog to get through. Like most anthologies, this one was a bit of a mixed bag, with a couple of the stories being very good, a few rather mediocre, and some that were just not for me.

I initially DNFed this but a friend recommended I read just a story or two in between novels and this allowed me to appreciate the short stories much more. I'm still not sure this format is for me, but I'm glad I found a way to enjoy this collection of stories.

I do think this was a good mix of stories about all kinds of witches. The stories ranged from sci-fi to fantasy to mystery and from lighthearted to quite dark. Because of this readers may not enjoy all of the stories, but every reader should find some of the stories enjoyable.

Some of the stories I really enjoyed were What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata, The Liar, The Cost of Doing Business, and John Hollowback and the Witch. I definitely would have read an entire novel based off the premise of The Liar because I found it so interesting. The story is complete and well done as is but I would love to read more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As with any anthology, this one had stories I was sucked into immediately and couldn't get enough of (couldn't they be longer?) and some that weren't exactly my vibe. All in all, it was a strong collection, and I enjoyed getting to see witchcraft depicted in different eras and cultures, all while having a string tying them together at their core. Well worth the read, particularly during the upcoming spooky season!

the book of witches is so engaging and every story is so very different, though i received an ePUB arc i also listened to the audiobook and LOVED it, there was about 10 narrators doing lots of different voices for each story it was so incredibly immersive! the stories differ so much more than you’d expect when picking up an anthology focused on specific fantasy element like witches but each author wrote something truly unique. the witches in these stories were all different genders, cultures, and backgrounds.

i found myself constantly saying “this is my favorite story, no wait this one is”. i’ve never read an anthology before, but it allowed me to read small snippets from authors i’ve never read from before, and now my tbr has grown exponentially because i need to read more from them asap!

Thanks to @netgalley for the reader copy. I really wanted to enjoy this one as I love the premise- the concept of “witch” is so rich and varied and multifaceted based on culture and background. But the story assortment comes across a little too eclectic, a little too much genre whiplash. Some of the stories were beautiful and stuck with me, some I struggled just to get through, and bouncing between such extremes just left me a little tired by the end.

I always find rating and reviewing anthologies difficult, because there's such a variety in quality when you're dealing with 28 different stories. I picked this up because I recognized quite a few of the authors—some I've read from before and enjoyed, others that have books on my TBR. Overall, I really enjoyed the project, and the focus on diverse representation and depictions of witches.

Standouts:
Good Spells by Ken Liu (5⭐)
This was my first work by the author, and I definitely need to pick up more, because this was fantastic.

What Dreams May Come by C.L. Clark (5⭐)
This had great pacing and emotional impact, which I think is really hard to do in short stories.

So Spake the Mirrorwitch by Premee Mohamed (5⭐)
The writing and premise were excellent, and I loved the twist. Mohamed is definitely an author whose shorter works I really appreciate.

Witchfires by E. Lily Yu (5⭐)
Really strong story about the persecution of anyone who is seen as "other", and how easy it is to start literal witchhunts.

John Hollowback and the Witch by Amal El-Mohtar (5⭐)
I loved the premise of this, but also everything it had to say about entitled men/incels.