This book was a disappointment for me. The cover and the title captured my attention, but it's sad to say those were the most exciting parts.

The inner monologue narration was not it for me and it dragged the story down. Which to be honest, the story was already a drag to read that it didn't need to be dragged down any further. The bonds of Sisterhood were not enough to keep me invested in the story and I ultimately DNF'ed this one.

I love witchy books, but that certain magic spell that draws me to them was lacking in this one. I wish there would have been more action and communication between the sisters. This book had a great set up and setting but lacked the emotional depth I was looking for.

I really enjoyed this story. I Loved the old world setting and the way that the author made it feel almost like two stories in one. The relationship between the two sisters felt genuine and I liked the messages in the story as far as being careful what you do out of anger in the moment. I liked that this wasn't just a happy story and that there were real struggles and emotions behind some of the things that happened. I also appreciated the way that the author handled sensitive subjects. I will definitely be watching Iversen to see what she writes next!

The bonds of sisterhood are at the forefront of Chelsea Iversen’s historical novel The Witches at the End of the World. Kaija and Minna are witches, forced to flee their home and live in the birchwoods after their mother was burned at the stake. Yearning for a fuller life, Kaija returns to their former village while Minna stews in the anger and hatred she harbors from the past. As curses are cast and decisions are made, the course of fate will be altered forever.

The way Iversen sets the scene is atmospheric, placing readers in the heart of Norwegian woods, shores, and villages. I enjoyed reading about the sisters’ day to day lives in both the birchwood and the village and was interested in the community dynamics that took place in these differing areas.

Much of the story is told via Minna and Kaija’s internal thoughts and I wish that we had seen them express these sentiments and have tangible interactions with each other. This caused much of the middle to feel slow because it lacked action sequences. Towards the end, the action did pick up and a few plot twists occurred that had me invested, needing to know the outcome of Kaija and Minna’s stories.

All in all, this is a fairly solid debut novel and I will be looking out to see what the author does next.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for letting me read an ARC of this book! I really enjoyed reading this one, to me it felt very atmospheric and I was sucked in each time I picked it up. The writing was well done as was the character development, I could also really feel the emotions of the characters while reading. The only critique I have is that at times it felt a bit long or drawn out, but overall I had a great time reading and give it 4/5 stars!

2.5 ⭐️ This story and the characters in it reminded me so much of versions of myself over the years - a younger me full of rage, a past me entirely engaged with finding myself and trying to decipher what I truly enjoyed and needed in life versus what I imagined for myself. And with that being said, I think that might be why I struggled to become immersed in this story as much as I wanted to. I found myself getting too bogged down with the character flaws of the two main characters to allow myself to simply enjoy the story. Due to this, I am left wondering if I would have liked this story more if I had read it at another time. In one hand I am impressed that a story could allow me to see versions of myself in the characters so clearly, but on the other hand, it was in their flaws (and growth) which left me not truly enjoying the story.

This story follows two witch sisters: impulsive, rage-filled Minna interested in embracing her power and thwarting the nearby witch-burning village and soft-spoken Kaija seeking her ideal of a life full of community away from magic. As they diverge and follow their own paths, they soon find that this paths are on an collision course that will meet in unexpected ways as they discover what kind of witches they will become and what kind of d of lives they truly seek.

Overall, this story seemed like something I would like, but I just couldn’t get fully into it. I appreciated the characters flaws and growth and the depiction of the struggles of sisterhood, but it just was missing something for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this read.

Slower than I would have preferred but I’m a sucked for a witch story. Writing was beautiful just wish it had more!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

Dark and witchy. Sisters Kaija and Minna have lived for years in the middle of the woods with their grandmother, ever since their mother was burned at the stake. Now their grandmother's time has come, and it's just the two of them. Minna is happy to continue their life in the woods, but Kaija dreams of the comforts of village life, even if she has to hide her gifts. In a powerful rage, Minna curses the village who killed her mother and stole her sister away. Unfortunately, curses are easy to cast and much more difficult to take back. Will the bonds of sisterhood and magic be enough to bring these two back together?

This was a slow paced, emotional read. It's told via the two pov's of the sisters, Minna's more vengeful, and Kaija's more gentle. Until of course they grow and come to see things a bit more evenly. All things in moderation. I really enjoyed both sides of the story. They are equally compelling narrators in my eyes. Sisterhood is a strong bond and the most important element of this story. The ending is quite powerful. Would recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I specifically wanted to read The Witches At The End of the World by Chelsea Iversen because I knew a little about the author. It is not a book I would typically read, but I enjoyed it and would definitely read other books by her. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my opinions.

Absolutely haunting. The elements of family love coupled with generational trauma create a story I won't forget. I enjoyed the atmosphere created and how the story unwound.

This was an interesting read, with two sisters who chose different paths at its heart. We get to see the story from alternating POV, switching between sisters. Everything is told in first person, and while I think just following each sister might've helped things moving a little better, I don't hate getting to know their inner thoughts as we go. I liked how we get to see the way their views differ, but at times the story felt like it moved a little slow. Overall, I loved the plot, and thought Iversen did a great job with the world building. I'd definitely read more by her!

First I'd like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

So this story is a very interesting with the setting which if I'm not mistaken (and I could be due to memory issues) in Nordic? Which you always read about the witch stories in America, mostly Salem, Mass. which is a very popular topic. To get a story outside of that, granted this is fiction, I liked seeing a different setting for a change and this gives you a glimpse into a town filled with traditions with both those nonmagical like the villagers as well as said witches.

You see two sisters, one who wishes to walk away and lead a normal, mundane life of a village woman and a younger sister who thrives in her magical upbringing. It's almost like two sides of a coin in what steps you take in life.

This does drag a little here and there in pacing but at the same time I can understand you're trying to keep with a timeline of each sister and where they are currently. I will not comment to much on the ending but I will say, I was scratching my head a bit. Needless to say, overall, I did enjoy the story and would likely read from the author again.

My Rating: 3.75 (rounded up)

I love stories about witches and was excited to read this one, especially since the setting is Norway, an unusual setting for books for me. The sisters are not what I expected - it's a slow burn more than a page-turner, which is fine, but definitely know that going in.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

omg, this book blew me away. elemental , ancestral magic from the north of europe , traditions and their deeply rooted imprint on ones soul, gave the immaculate vibes of this book. what everyone is disappointed by is what I loved. I loved staying with the main characters and to dwell into their minds and the entirety was a vibe. I cant recommend this enough for those who crave the earthy kind of magic and who are a sucker like me for traditions and religions long forgotten.

The Witches At The End of the World by Chelsea Iversen is well written and deeply tragic. I feel for Minna and understand her motivation despite it being mishandled. I couldn't really connect with Kaija but I loved how each sister's life seemed to connect to the others and parallel theirs despite the separation between the two. I enjoyed the setting of the book., it made me think of Shadow and Bone.

It was just an okay book. I wanted to adore it but some of the themes just repeated so often it was hard to concentrate on anything new.

Unfortunately I had to DNF, and I very rarely do that. I got 40% of the way in and felt as if the book had zero plot, and just overall dragged and was boring :(

This b0ok was alright. I didn't find it super original but I guess its a little hard to come up with an entirely unique story about witches. It was beautifully written but it wasn't very exciting and it could have been a little shorter as some of the chapters were very repetitive.

This was just so slow and boring. Nothing fun really happened, and when it did it was 50% into the book, Which is why it took me so long to read this. It was also pretty predictable but on the other hand it threw some curveballs... I did enjoy the ending though and as a scandi it was fun to read about a book set in Norway.

There was nothing wrong with the writing, but it’s nothing incredible. I didn’t feel as if i knew the characters either, it felt like i was watching them through a screen rather then reading about it. We never learn a lot about the characters, so when the stakes are emotional, I didn’t care. The ending was meh, like you forgave your sister for “accidentally” killing your husband bc “family is everything” weird.