If any of the following sounds interesting to you, you’re going to want to pick up this collection: a world haunted after climate change made the seas rise, dreamwalkers, futuristic witch hunts, witches who write murder mysteries, a mirror-making witch, a nurse with a magical bloodline & a terrible neighbor, a river goddess who turns drowned women into witches, witch-burning with a mobile crematorium, or a witch employed by a factory where she essentially performs the same function as a school nurse.

The above descriptions are just a small taste of the wide variety of stories collected from a diverse group of authors that each had a very different take on the topic of witches. Although I didn’t love every single story, I did enjoy reading wildly varying tales derived from a single prompt because it was amazing to see what these talented writers came up with.

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What makes a witch? Mostly they are women, but not always. Commonly they are lonesome, reclusive figures, but nearly as often they can be found in the company of mortals or alongside their faithful familiars. Sometimes they walk among us, unseen and unremarked, while other times they are hounded and harried, or in rare instances even worshipped.

What makes a witch? and How does the world answer witches? are the twin questions which drive every short story in The Book of Witches, edited by Jonathan Strahan. This collection combines witchy stories from established authors like Sheree Renee Thomas, Fonda Lee, Andrea Stewart, and Amal El-Mohtar with new and emerging authors like Emily Y. Teng, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, and Millie Ho. 

Each of these authors has a distinct voice, and a unique answer to the collection's central questions. Additionally, the stories and authors chosen for The Book of Witches were selected to represent a diverse cross-section of cultural backgrounds and traditions. So while there are a few stories featuring Western-style witches riding broomsticks and stirring cauldrons, most of the stories in this collection have a far more unique --and thus more interesting-- answer to the question of what it means to be a witch.

Was good, the plot was well developed.. It give you adventures and mystery. well worth the read. I love the way the author define the characters and the scenes. I definitely would recommend this to other people

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for my honest opinion.

This was an interesting read compared to what I normally read. The short stories all were very different some seemed written more as true tellings of historical information about witches while others seemed fiction. I think it was well put together and had stories for everyone. A couple weren’t my favorite and I skipped to the next story. Overall, it was very interesting and I liked sprinkling in the short stories between reads. I’m not sure if short stories are overall for me but I would highly recommend this to someone who prefers that type of read or if I’m in a witchy mood and just want a little dose of witchiness.

Most short story anthologies are hit or miss, and for me, this collection was nearly all miss. I honestly didn't enjoy any of these stories, and not a one sticks out as even memorable. Just not what I was expecting, I suppose.

This short story collection put me under a spell from the moment I started it and I could hardly put it down til I was finished - fitting, for a collection of stories about witches of all kinds.

Usually, collections like this can be hit or miss, with some stories being noticeably stronger or weaker than others. I was amazed that every story in this collection was a winner for me! While some stories certainly resonated with me more than others, none of them were true misses. One of the challenges with short stories is grabbing the reader and immersing them in your world in such a short number of pages; this means that if a story doesn't grab a reader immediately, they might not be invested in the story before the ending arrives, leaving the final moments unaffecting. Every story in this collection grabbed me in one way or another, leaving me thinking about the witches in them long after I had finished the story.

I have a soft spot for fiction that explores witches, especially around themes of monstrous women - whether in truly fantastical terms or in a historical, grounded lens, looking at the ways we view powerful women. The short stories in The Book of Witches explore a wide variety of monstrous women through a myriad of different cultural lenses. This collection is incredibly diverse and it was a joy to see so many different myths and folklore explored through these stories. Some stories were rooted in history or in fantasy, others looked to the future for inspiration. They explored queerness, race, otherness, trauma, longing, desire, and revenge - no two were alike in themes or writing and it was wonderful to start a new story, excited to see what each one would explore.

All of the authors were incredible and each story brought an important interpretation to the collection, but I particularly loved Cassandra Khaw, C. L. Clark, Angela Slatter, and Toby Ogundiran's stories.

I loved this so much that I'll probably purchase a physical copy - I'd love to annotate it, to dig deeper into the types of witches the stories follow and break down all the angles of what it means to be a witch within these worlds. Thank you so much to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC - it's one of the best ARCs I've had the pleasure of reading and I can't wait for others to read this collection and share their thoughts!

Strahan manages to collect a diversity of not just authors, but forms as well for this anthology. There's a really good rhythm to how the stories are laid out, and for the most part, these stories are all bangers. Special nod to Amal El Mohtar's story that closes out the anthology though, as it's a hell of an unexpected gut punch.

I've come to thoroughly enjoy books like this that include work from a variety of different authors and this book is no different!
I really liked being able to experience the writing style of so many different authors while still being to enjoy a common theme. Plus, as they are shorter stories, they do a great job of catching your attention!
A great option to pick up this spooky season :)

THE BOOK OF WITCHES is a pretty neat and diverse anthology all centered around witches. Poetry, short stories, and more, this book spans multiple genres and themes, and it does so in a way that permanently engages the reader and the anticipation never slows down. The standout story for me was the first one, "What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devahrata" by P. Djeli Clark. OMG! What a world building, emotional, incredible story! I could have read an entire novel with this world and these characters. I had a great time with most of the works in this anthology, but Clark's definitely stood out to me the most.

Witchy season is coming (or did it ever leave??) so give this one a go if you're looking for some diverse witch stories this season!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of this witchy anthology!

I loved the idea of this more than the execution, but I can definitely see other people enjoying it more. There were stories that I really enjoyed a lot, but overall it felt really long and I found myself struggling to finish reading it. I did pick up the audio to help me out and the narrators did a great job of giving each story its own voice.

Really enjoyed this book of short stories, which is unusual for me; I prefer long formats in general. Strahan's collection of witch stories is spooky and multi-dimensional. well done!

This was excellent! I loved the diversity of the stories and the different formats and interpretations they took on. CL Clark is also one of my favorite authors, so it was truly a pleasure to discover one of her short stories in here. The only reason this got four stars and not five is because in my mind there is no reason for a short story anthology to be more than 300 pages, and honestly over 250 is pushing it. It’s just hard to digest that many different stories in an anthology, you know?

rep: resisting the urge to say all of it - disabled rep, BIPOC rep, trans rep, queer rep

spice: none

Stopped reading around 10-15%

As much as I LOVE witches, I think this book just wasn’t for me. I liked the intro because I love history about witches, but I didn’t really resonate with the stories that followed.

I had to keep forcing myself to pick it up until I finally accepted that it wasn’t the book for me.

I’m sorry I wasn’t the right reader for this. I really appreciate you allowing me to read this as an ARC. Thank you so much ❤️

Summary:
In this anthology of short stories collected by editor Jonathan Strahan, “The Book of Witches” showcases stories of witches, crones, hag and fierce women. Some of the passages are lighthearted, some are horrifying with wonderful twists, and most have feminist and social context that keep you hooked to the stories, page after page.

Title: "The Book of Witches"
Author: Jonathan Strahan
⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5
🌶️ 1/5

Tropes:
Magic
Witches
Otherworlds

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, and loved watching the world building come to life through the authors in very few pages! I personally enjoyed the delightfully spooky stories (like bracelets that cause glamours to hide mutilated body parts) and the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ representation within the anthology. With stories of unrequited love, vengeance and feminism, there is something for everyone in this book.

I thought the concept of this collection was so interesting. Witches are always fascinating to read about. However, I had a hard time fully getting into this one and didn’t finish it.

Witches- Check
A Great Title- Check
Beautiful Cover Art- Check
Being a witchy lover of all things, this book had me before I even started. The writing was beautiful and we will be ordering a copy for our patrons.

Unfortunately, this collection was a disappointment. I think if you go into it with different expectations, you may like it more than I did. Most of these stories didn’t feel like they were about witches. There was magic, sure, but this didn’t feel like a witch collection. The stories were hit or miss but more miss than hit for me. I ended up skimming some. However, Amal El-Mohtar’s story was brilliant, and I very much enjoyed the story by P. Djeli Clark.

The cover is fantastic but kind of inaccurate given how non-witchy most of these stories feel. You may like it more than I did. It’s out now. Thanks to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is an anthology of short stories and poems about witches. I found it really enjoyable! There were familiar tropes, like the Maiden/Mother/Crone, and novel twists, as well as some interesting sci-fi twists on witchcraft. I particularly liked the stories by P. Djeli Clark, Ken Liu, Darcie Little Badger, Cassandra Khaw, Tobi Ogundiran, Garth Nix, Premee Mohamed, E. Lily Yu, Emily Y. Teng, and Amal El-Mohtar. All the authors that made me excited to pick up this book, plus a few new names to look into.

Representation: POC characters and authors, LGBTQ+ characters and authors

TW: homophobia, transphobia, sexual assault, gore, domestic violence (mentioned)

I’ve always loved witch-related stories, but only a few in The Book of Witches stood out to me.

For a short story anthology, The Book of Witches is long—and I felt its length. It features a range of authors I love, including Fonda Lee, P. Djeli Clark, C.L. Clark, and Cassandra Khaw, and includes poetry, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and contemporary fiction. The editor’s note set my expectations high, as it deconstructs the notion of the witch as a solely Western tradition. However, only a few of the selections convinced me that their worlds could exist beyond the confines of a short story.

Above all else, I wished the stories had leaned into their witchiness more. I wanted much more magic! For a collection that was supposed to take witchiness in many directions, the stories felt tame and rather similar overall; the majority of them feature witches who hide or reject their abilities for various reasons. I love speculative fiction of all kinds, so I wasn’t bothered by the genre-blending but rather by the lack of intensity and magical intrigue.

A few days after finishing the anthology, these are the stories that still linger: P. Djèlí Clark's What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata, Cassandra Khaw’s Met Swallow, Tobi Ogundiran’s The Nine Jars of Nukulu, and E. Lily Yu’s Witch Fires.

Thanks to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

The Book of Witches features a variety of stories that includes very few of the style one might expect of high fantasy witches. The magic ranges from technology to heavier more traditional magic, keeping things interesting. A few barely include any magic.

I especially enjoyed two stories by my favorite authors, P Djeli Clark and Ken Liu. Their stories stand out from the rest. I enjoyed how Liu focused on machine learning and Ai. Sprinkled throughout are some short poems as well.

Overall this is an enjoyable collection of stories from a diverse group of authors.