Dimaline is an award-winning Canadian author of Metis descent. Her previous books include the YA book "The Marrow Thieves" and an Indigo top book of the year "Empire of the Wild". This new book is contemporary feminist fiction and involves witches, a male witch hunter and the need to find and reunite 7 witches before a deadline passes. We meet the characters of Lucky, a young Metis woman who is struggling to support both her and her feisty grandmother, Stella, who has the beginnings of dementia. Lucky's journey begins when she finds a silver spoon with the word Salem on it and she finds out she is one of the seven witches. While the book obviously has a touch of fantasy, it is really just great fiction and I cannot help but hope Dimaline plans a sequel. I really enjoyed it.

I always enjoy a good story about witches, and this definitely tastes highly amongst those I've read. Funnily enough I figured out who the 7th which was before the characters, which I didn't expect to be right.

I really liked all the characters, each was so unique in so many awesome ways. The writing of the characters and settings was such that I could see this being a movie or a TV series.

Review withheld as per HarperCollins Union strike requests. Will post when striking workers remove this request.

“It was all-or-nothing time. She already had nothing, so instead she chose all.”

QUICK RECAP 🖊️
Lucky St. James is struggling with an mentally ailing grandmother and now being evicted from their home she’s unsure where they’re going to go. Until she is told a story that leads her to a old tunnel where she finds a spoon and for the first time it feels like everything is going go workout.

FINAL THOUGHTS 💭
Thank you NetGalley this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I loved this book from the beginning. Different from what I’ve read from Cherie in the past but just as captivating. The focus on women finding themselves while telling their backstories. I loved focus on sisterhood and working together for the greater good.

VenCo is a fun, heartwarming feminist journey. The story was well plotted, it’s simplicity stood as a nice backdrop for the real star of the book; Lucky and Stella’s relationship. Their relationship was authentic, tense at times, ridiculous at others, but beautiful.

The rest of the cast of characters, while diverse, felt somewhat one dimensional, with the exception of Jay and Meena. I would’ve loved to see more development of all of the secondary characters, but it’s a small gripe compared to the pacing. The beginning of the story dragged, without substantial progress in the plot to keep my interest. The climax felt rushed, overall, I feel like the story needed another 100 pages dedicated to a substantial side plot involving the secondary characters, OR shorten the beginning by about 50 pages, give those to the development of the climax.

The season of the witch is still upon us, and I think it may have saved the best for last. Cherie Dimaline, the Métis writer behind The Marrow Theives returns yet again with VenCo, a novel about a coven assembling in modern North America. After an autumn where there was a veritable deluge of witchy books, I’d forgive you for thinking “really? another one?” then smack you upside the head and say if you were going to read one new witchy book this cold season, this should be it.

Cherie Dimaline’s book is an undeniable page turner, especially given the time-crunched nature of our girl squad’s quest. But where others have handheld witch-loving readers through obvious character assessments, Dimaline embraces nuance and subtlety in letting her characters speak for themselves and show you who they are, rather than tell you.

And like everything else Dimaline has written, VenCo has all the fun, intrigue, and pacing of the best NyQuil-fuelled fever dream you’ve ever had.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

VenCo is a story of a group of quirky and diverse women being brought together to form a coven secretly. Lucky (the FMC) is a young Indigenous woman who lost both of her parents when she was young is taking care of her elderly grandmother with dementia who lives with her. Stella is her entire world, and Lucky can’t see how they’ll continue to survive while she works dead end jobs, and they are about to be evicted. When she finds a secret tunnel in the basement and a mysterious spoon from Salem, strange things start happening and she and Stella embark on a trip that changes their lives.

I loved the various characters we meet. The women in the coven have fun personalities and we learn a little about their backgrounds and what brought them to the group. Through this group of witches, Lucky is no longer trying to accomplish everything on her own and begins receiving help from these other women.

However, I found this book difficult to get through. It took until 30% before I was committed to the story, but it was still difficult to read due to formatting. I’m not sure if it’s just because the ebook didn’t transfer well to my kindle, or if some serious formatting needs to be done to fix things before the release. There was jumps to other characters without saying (this was especially confusing when we would jump to The Crone, The Mother, and The Maiden). For a while there was lots of spacing that would put single words on an entire line randomly that made no sense at all. With every new chapter the first letter would sit on it’s own and the rest of the word would be in another line (I’m assuming that is some sort of imaging you would see in the proper book that doesn’t translate in the document on kindle). All of these things made it very frustrating to keep going through the book.

I also struggled to understand why Lucky split from the rest of the coven and embarked on a journey alone with Stella, which left her with little support again and seemed counterintuitive to me. When part of the point of the book is that this coven means women supporting each other and being a community together instead of individual women struggling to survive and keep things together with a lack of support, then why did the women leave her for a large chunk as they fought against the clock with Lucky having no knowledge of her magic, the system, the history, and what to do? And why did she have to travel so far between points if these people were so important to the journey and for the coven to become complete? In these areas the plot really needs some more work in my opinion for this to be a book that could be a high seller. The story also ends abruptly considering the plot had really just started getting somewhere.

This has great potential, but could use some serious work to get there first before release. I was left wishing it was more.

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline is a powerfully imaginative novel that casts an enchanting spell on readers. It tells the story of Lucky St. James who discovers a tarnished silver spoon that reveals a secret society of witches and sets off on a road trip across the United States to find the seventh spoon and complete a magical circle. Along the way, she faces off against Jay Christos, a powerful witch-hunter determined to keep witches hidden in plain sight forever.

This novel is both subversive and feminist in its approach to traditional fantasy storytelling. It critiques the gender inequalities that exist in our world while also celebrating the power of its female characters. The narrative is full of humour, adventure and unexpected twists, making it a delight to read. Dimaline's prose is lyrical and evocative, transporting readers from one magical location to another with ease.

The novel ultimately gives us an uplifting message about the power of female friendship and solidarity. Dimaline masterfully weaves an engaging tale that will keep readers captivated from start to finish, leaving them wanting more! Highly recommended for fans of fantasy, witches and strong female protagonists. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Canada for the advance review copy.

Lucky St. James' name feels like an ironic joke. She's stuck working temp jobs, her crush doesn't reciprocate, her grandma is getting more and more forgetful, and she's about to be evicted. Then one day she finds a small spoon with the word SALEM engraved on it, and her whole world starts to change...

Wow! I loved this book! First of all, very happy to see such a positive, non-sterotypical representation of indigenous women. There were so many strong women in this book, and all of them so likeable. I really liked following Lucky's growth through the book, and her coming into her own with her powers.

I was worried that Malcolm would play a bigger role in the book and drag down Lucky, but that was not the case. It was nice that this book did not focus on romantic relationships and instead focused on empowered female relationships.

I was so worried at the end that a certain loose end would not be addressed and that I would have to wait for a sequel. Fortunately, the epilogue clears that up.

I stayed up late to finish this. I had to force myself to put it down, but I would have read this in one sitting if I had the time for it.

Excellent story! Looking forward to reading more from Dimaline!

I always enjoy the descriptions Dimaline gives her settings. For a concept driven by sci-fi/fantasy, she did a great job of setting up the scenes for the reader picture! I found that parts of the story were glazed over rather quickly and other parts dragged on a touch too long; I struggled with the pacing in this one. It really picked up on the last 10% of the book, but I wish there was more of this throughout the book. If you’re a mood reader, this would make for a great October/Halloween read. Think Roald Dhal’s “The Witches” (but with fabulous witches) meets bounty hunters for vengeance instead of bonds.

"VenCo" is the latest novel from writer First Nations writer Cherie Dimaline, part of the Georgian Bay Métis Nation. The protagonist Lucky St James shares her heritage as the daughter of a Métis woman, and is an orphan. She lives with her grandmother in a rundown part of downtown Toronto, and they have financial struggles. They're about to be evicted from their apartment. She has a connection to magic that reveals itself in surprising ways, mostly revealed by other characters who know more about this situation than she does, including The Crone, and another character Meena Amari Good, a descendent of 'West Indian sorceresses' as well as the witches that the Puritans failed to burn in Salem. Meena thinks that Lucky might be the sixth witch that is crucial to the coven of witches that she's in, but only has seventeen days for this all to converge.

Jay Christos, the main villain, is someone who is very old--he describes himself as having been around for a very long time, but his appearance doesn't reflect that. He feels that he is rare, and takes great lengths to keep in shape with exercise each day and strict measures on what he eats. He claims that he spent years amassing a fortune. He can also link to the dreams of someone he targets. He has learned it from a witch who nearly killed him in the past. He doesn't like that he can't link in "real time," as the visions come to him later, with 'spotty reception' and irregular speeds. Nonetheless, he savours this ability. If he himself is not a witch, he definitely has magical powers, and states that his goal is to keep witches from assembling, because he needs to 'keep the old guard safe and the prosperous and male.' He is seeing visions that Meena is getting further ahead with this convergence of witches and the sixth witch needed, and needless to say, he's not happy about this. Like Meena, he also needs to head to Toronto for this convergence but his intentions are less than altruistic. Eventually, he'll be led on a wild goose chase across different cities in pursuit of Lucky so he can stop the convergence that Meena's coven needs.

As anyone who is frustrated with Toronto's ridiculous rental prices for apartments knows--and really, anyone who does this in a major city--it's very tough out there, and a basement apartment is not an option for Lucky and her grandmother, because they're loud at night and would be kicked out soon.

One of Meena's associates, Freya, gets to Toronto and talks to Lucky about recruiting her for an organization called VenCo. She presents it as a job for a writer looking to join a boutique female-led publishing house, and not 'come and join our witch coven' and the catch is that Lucky would have to come to Salem, Massachussets;

When Lucky eventually does make it to Salem, she meets other witches in the coven even though she's introduced to them as having specialties in languages and history among other things, so no witchy talk quite yet. Wendy, who is Meena's wife, is another of the witches in this coven, a kind of facilitator. She tells Lucky that she is from Canada, Anishinaabe, "...more pre-Canada and post-Canada," although she's not Canadian exactly.

Although I enjoyed the story very much, at times it was hard to keep track of how many characters there were, especially in the coven, with some of them coming across as more distinctive than the others. The alternating viewpoints are also something I struggled with, and generally with few exceptions, I can find challenging to get through depending on the novel.

The characters I wanted to see from, like Lettie, the witch from Louisiana, did get their share of page time, although I would have liked to see more. Dimaline does a great job making most of them very distinctive and moving the plot forward. Some readers may prefer the epic scope, so to each their own. One of the things that I wanted to feel more distinctly is why Lucky is this sixth witch that the coven is so convinced that she is. What makes her this distinctive and crucial link? Don't get me wrong--I'm not saying that I wanted Michael Bay levels of point and shoot, or the certain Wizarding World of an author who I would rather not mention, but I wanted to get a more distinctive sense to fully grasp what Lucky's hidden powers are, or just more reveals, for lack of a better term.

Eventually, the plot takes them to New Orleans (although it takes them a while to get there, and from the description, this was what interested me the most so I was anxiously looking forward to it).

It's definitely a challenge to have a multi-city, epic adventure that leads the main character and others along for the ride on a high-stakes story, with the reader anxious to know what happens. Some settings, as a result, come more alive vividly than others, like Toronto, while the American parts of the book, while described very well so absolutely no slights intended toward the amazing Dimaline, were a bit lacklustre for my taste. Then again, to be fair, it is challenging, as I said, to pull off a multi-location narrative, so kudos to the author for taking Lucky and her grandmother on such interesting travels.

One of my favourite lines was from a woman, Claudia, that Lucky meets in New Orleans. She says that: "People get it wrong. The magic's not in the person. The magic is in the place. It just takes the right kind of person to pull it up."

Fans of Rebecca Roanhorse and Stephen Graham Jones as well as Erika T. Wurth will enjoy Dimaline's supernatural urban fantasy tale.

SPOILERS:

I really liked this book! It is plot-based as opposed to character-based, which I think is a missing opportunity. The characters could have been fleshed out a bit (a lot?) more and it would have led to a higher enjoyment for myself. I also think the lack of on page magic felt weird, super lacking, that when Lucky uses it at the end it felt really strange. I wish we had some more on page just so when she did it we could know how incredible it was that she was able to do it without training. The last act was also way too fast and I felt cheated of the coven finally being together.

That all being said I still really liked it, Cherlie Dimaline is a great writer. But I wanted a bit more in some areas.

"Witches were never capitalists. We were the thing that stood in the way of capitalism, which is just the engine of the patriarchy, after all. Witches were not all killed by fire. We are the fire."

"...Something passed down to my mom from her mother."
"They were witches?"
"Better, they were Indigenous women."

A unique witchy story, full of heart. Women are wisdom-keepers, imparters of power, re-writers of history, protectors, and dreamers that can shape societies and futures.

A light, but meaningful read from Cherie Dimaline! With a colourful array of characters who may be damsels in some level of distress, but who know full well that they can save themselves, and the world.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Having read most of Cherie Dimaline's previous works, and hearing about the plot for this book, I was excited.

This book delivered, with great storytelling and character development.

Cherie managed to make the characters feel fresh and familiar at the same time, For fans of American Horror Story: Coven, this will feel familiar and easy to fall in. For those not familiar, Dimaline makes it easy to fall into the story, writing accessibly yet detailed.

Definitely a recommendation.

I loved this book! It was so smart and fast paced and all the characters were so well thought out. The novel was so dynamic and I kept wanting to read to find out what happens, is the objective achieved and the twist at the end I did not see coming at all. I don't want to spoil anything but if you know what I'm talking about, you know. I always enjoy Cherie Dimaline's novels and I'm pretty sure my business will be including this novel in our upcoming book box!

a wicked, wild, wonderful story. easy to love and easy to read. the kind of book you get other things in life one must do finished quickly so you can return to its world.

there are no rough edges here, no ends of string left untucked. a modern tale of witches but also of coming-of-age, Indigenous wisdom, and generational strength. like many others, I read and loved Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves, and I'm not sure I'd classify this book as YA (although it's been a while since I have been a young adult, and I don't read enough of it to be able to classify the swearing and mild sexual themes). I quite enjoyed those elements, and the tension builds up to an end I found both satisfying and surprising.

despite her name, Lucky hasn't had it easy, and is an orphan caring for her grandmother when she is pulled, Potter-like, into her new identity as a witch. there's a bad guy, a new group of friends, and loads of historical details and interesting places. a mystery keeps the plot driving, and the magic is just mystical enough to be sorcery while staying grounded in women's stories and ancient knowledge. it's hip to lgbt, Black, and non-binary representation, and Lucky forges connections with her mother's (and her own) Métis existence as she comes to know herself.

one of the best books I've read in a while, highly recommend, and never forget to hex the patriarchy.

thank you to Netgalley for an ARC e-book.

VenCo is a profoundly feminist novel with a cast of strong women characters who look out for each other and fight against the systems and people who would hold them back.

Lucky was a compelling main character who is struggling to find a home and her place in the world. Her grandmother, Stella, was a riot and I adored her. She was so free-spirited and strong, and it was so heartbreaking to see her struggle with losing her memories.

The pace of this book is quite slow, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I personally found that I wasn't always invested to keep reading. This book definitely felt like it was a lead up to a sequel, so there were some things that I would have liked to see explored more that I will probably have to wait on.

I also really enjoyed the casual representation throughout the book. Seeing a Métis main character is always awesome, and there was great sapphic and trans rep, as well.

I'd recommend this book to those after a witchy read with a strong feminist message.

Lucky St. James life isn’t so lucky. She works in temporary jobs, is barely able to make ends meet and she and her grandmother are about to be evicted from their apartment. Then she finds a tarnished silver spoon and it sets her off on a life changing adventure.

This is the first novel I’ve read from this author and am glad to say it was a satisfying read. Its a book about overcoming adversity, discovering inner strength and the connection of community, with a smidge of revenge tossed in. I quickly engaged with the plot and characters—there were times when I laughed, sighed in frustration and teared up. I think this novel would be a good book club read.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for review.

This is a book that will stay with you after you finish it. The story is well written and the characters are engaging. I also really appreciate that this book is exploring deeper concepts like patriarchy, colonialism, divinity but that it does that without losing the story. It’s like a glimpse into a world I’d like to live in filled with quirky people I’d love to call friends. I will reread this book and find new things to be delighted in and enjoy because there’s complexity to the story and the details. I will be recommending this book a lot in the months to come.
ARC provided by NetGalley

Rating: 2.5 / 5

DNF at the halfway mark (50%) because by then the plot STILL hasn't picked up and nothing has happened.



So...here's the thing about good exposition--the rule about good exposition, if you will.

THE GOLDEN RULE OF GOOD EXPOSITION IS THAT IT DOES NOT PASS THE 30% MARK.

Heck, even the 20% mark is kind of pushing it, unless you're interlacing everything with action along the way.

You know, action? As in...things happening?

Just to make our definitions clear, you know.

Except...it doesn't matter, because 200 pages and 50% in...and this book doesn't have anything happening in it.

Not anything worth the 50% mark, anyway.

Not anything worth the depth or description and flowery language describing things and characters experiencing things that need to be described.

None of that.

It just isn't worth it.

______________________________

Points given where they're deserved, I really like how Cherie Dimaline has gone her research into Witchcraft faith, culture, and practices. As a Wiccan, I was happy that I already knew all of the references she made, even while at the same time I didn't quite appreciate all of them--because, just to be clear, the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone are all one and the same being, in the spiritual figure of the Goddess, and so treating them as as separate wasn't a-okay with me and my spiritual beliefs, but I tried to ignore it.

Ultimately, everything with regards to witchcraft was treated with respect, if not with an obvious pro-feminist take on everything.

Again, that's okay though, because I felt that the message was well and good.

______________________________

It's just too bad that the story was maybe 20% message, 50% description, and left only 30% for the plot to actually happen, which I assume it eventually does by the end.

It's too bad that I lost my will to care to find out, eh?