The Witches at the End of the World is a story that blends historical fiction with fantasy. It follows the lives of two sisters, Minna and Kaija, who are both witches in Norway during the 17th century. The novel is written in alternating first accounts detailing the thoughts and lives of each sister. Minna and Kaija are polar opposites and life takes them in separate directions. Kaija leaves their home, the birchwood, for a fresh start in the village. Kaija's departure fills Minna with feelings of resentment and betrayal, leading Minna to use magic to cast a curse with disastrous and heartbreaking consequences.

The themes of magic and witchcraft, combined with the pace of the storyline, make The Witches at the End of the World a wonderously cosy fall read.

Kind thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of The Witches at the End of the World in exchange for an honest review.

Witches at the End of the World is a supernatural story about two sisters who struggle against their own desires and the pressures of the world around them. With plenty of magic, strife, and the politics of a small town, this book explores our relationships to one another and how quickly people can turn on one another when times aren't perfect. I gave The Witches at the End of the World three stars out of five because I enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to a friend or read it again.

The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen is such a dark yet enchanting story of two sisters trying to find their own ways in their world. After the death of their grandmother, Kaija sets out to try to incorporate herself back into a life where being a witch is frowned upon. However, she wants to try to fit in and not feel so isolated from the rest of civilization. Minna, on the other hand, is full of rage and magic which itches at her skin to be released. After her sister abandons her, Minna's ability to temper her revenge is nearly unquenchable.
I give this novel a solid 4* for the magic and angst we see on both sides of the fence from each sister. The bond they share through trauma and isolation is a crutch to one and a limitation for the other. I was intrigued by the premise and the conflict between the sisters. I do wish I had encountered more plot but that is, perhaps, my own opinion. Overall, I think it was a strong presentation for a debut novel and I hope to see more from this writer. I think she does well with imagery and scenery, we may just need to dig a little deeper for plot and character interaction to give a more developed story.

Such an entertaining novel about sisterhood, magic, revenge and flaunting societal conventions set in ancient Norway and perfect for fans of books like The weaver and the witch queen by Genevieve Gornichec. Great on audio narrated by Liz Pearce and Amy Scanlon. While I did have trouble keeping track of which sister's story was which at times, overall this was a great look at the conflict between living the quiet life one dreams of and battling the forces that seek to extinguish women's limited power. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Happy to include this title in my recent round-up “The Haunted Bookshelf,” highlighting spooky Halloween season-themed reads for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

Incredible debut novel from Chelsea Iversen! Just in time for Halloween comes a story of two sister witches and their journey to discover the true pull and consequences of their magic.

I thoroughly enjoyed this debut novel from Chelsea Iversen. In honor of Halloween in a few days, I felt I needed a good witch story. And I got one! I read a review that said they were turned off because they felt most of the book was just thoughts in the sister's heads but, being alone in the woods for so long and then having to be alone in their heads with the thoughts they couldn't share with those around them, I felt it made sense and worked to get the events across. I look forward to reading more from this author.

There’s a lot of discussion about trust, betrayal, self reflection, growth, honoring your ancestors and paving your own path forward. Kaija and Minna are complete opposites and seeing how they balance out each others motives and personalities was handled wonderfully. Even the supporting cast of characters felt well developed.
I loved the world building and the magic use as well. The juxtaposition of the duel location story lines never felt like it was taking the momentum of tension away. There were some focal points and pacing hiccups I found that needed some finessing and that I believe, given this first example, Iversen will lock down eventually. For a debut this was pleasantly well rounded and I have no doubt Iversen could become a force to reckon with in the fantasy genre.

3.75/5 stars

Quick and Dirty ⁣
-witchy historical fiction/fantasy⁣
-1600s Norway⁣
-sister story⁣
-full of Nordic folklore⁣
-lots of social commentary ⁣
-witchy level 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛/5⁣
⁣
Thoughts ⁣
I LOVED this book y’all!! Few books hit like this one (IMO): witchy AF, full of intense emotions, complicated relationships, trauma response, personal growth/change, historical setting, and lots of cultural commentary. Fair warning: it’s slow and very character-driven, so if that doesn’t work for you this will likely be a challenge. But if you want to step into the world of 17th-century Norway when witches and Sami (local indigenous people) are hated and hunted for just existing, then this book is perfect. I really appreciated the messages about cultural assimilation vs acculturation and ethnocide. But most of all, I loved the story of the two sisters and how they lost and found each other throughout the book. The ending was SO perfect, it twists until the very end. Overall, this book scratched my witchy itch and then some. I highly recommend to lovers of The Great Witch of Brittany!

This book is definitely not plot driven; despite quite a bit happening in the story I couldn't really see why anything happened or why it was worth telling a story about. The writing and characterizations are good, but not enough motivation for the characters' actions to make me understand why they were doing what they did and why the central conflict of the story even comes to pass. There was a bit of romance but the love interests, particularly Jon, were very underdeveloped. Reads a bit more like YA than adult fantasy. Not bad for a debut but I hope future endeavours by this author have a stronger plot.

A little slower to start, this dual POV of two sisters, Kaija & Minna whose Mother was burned at the stake is a book filled with magic, sisterhood, redemption and coping with grief. The girls are forced to leave their home in search of new beginnings. Minna dwelling in the need for revenge for her mother, filled with rage and power; Kaija leaving her one night alone in the forest in search of a new life, (albeit to the same old town in disguise) even if that means its magic-less.

Opposites to their core, they both simply want to move on after their loss and have very different approaches in dojng so. Both routes of an action fraught with consequence the story picks up midway with some twists and turns and a good amount of magic.

I did have slightly higher hopes for this one - I feel like it lacked some more fuller of a story, as it felt as if it was more the thoughts and recollection of the sisters experiences rather than a full story itself.

Overall I am satisfied in what it did give, as it was written very descriptively and thus easy to fall into the forest and village surroundings. The ending played a huge role in being content with this one. It finished stronged for sure.

Really well done for a debut novel.

I felt a bit hesitant about this after I started because this has one of my biggest pet peeves, which is 2 1st person POVs. While I don'T think that particular part wasn't done to where I could say I enjoyed it, all the other parts of the story I enjoyed enough to not mind.
I really liked the plot, themes and characters and I think following 2 very opposite sisters is just something I really like.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to read this book. My usual reads have an intense plot driven story, and this was more of an internal character driven tale of two sisters, their struggles, and their bond. It's very slow, almost like a slice of life story but of one sister struggling to fit into society and then on the flip side, the other sister struggling to survive on her own. They each discover in their own way that they can't hide what they truly are, witches. Both sisters go through a transformation of sorts.

The entirety of the book is living in each sisters head, and there's hardly any dialogue. It's mostly their thoughts, fears, hopes, and honestly, a lot of naivety. Which I can understand somewhat as they were raised in the woods in isolation. But some things were just crazy obvious to me.

There is some romance but it is not heavily focused on.

The magic was interesting, and I enjoyed the different ways each sister made their magic manifest, but there were several moments where each sister conveniently "forgot" or "blanked" on their magic in desperate situations. It felt anti-climatic, and at one point I wondered what was the point of making this story about witch sisters. It very easily could have just been a story about women who choose to live different lifestyles, or were just different, or were outsiders, and were accused of being witches. After all, most of the witches who burned in history were innocent. The book even mentions those innocents that were tied to the pyre.

I was honestly just looking for more plot development from this story. It has an atmospheric setting, and the two sisters are interesting in their own ways, but I don't think that this is my cup of tea.

A story of two sisters, two sides of the same coin. Full of witches, complicated relationships and magic, perfect for spooky season. However I wish there had been more plot development.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this book!

I ended up enjoying this book, but not loving it. Yes, this is a witch book and we see wonderfully described magic cast by the two sisters, Minna and Kaija. The excel at different kinds of magic, Minna have a more "offensive" magic and Kaija having a more "defensive" magic. The book starts with the death of their grandmother, and with that Kaija feels it's time to leave and pursue a different life outside the woods. Minna has no desire to leave the safety of their home in the woods, and still bears scars from when their mother was burned for being a witch. Kaija starts a new life in the village, and Minna stays until she has a dream her sister needs her. This book is focused heavily on the relationship between these sisters and how the ones you love the most can be the ones who can hurt you the deepest. A good read for a character focused witch story.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me.

To begin with, the story is set in the late 1600s, but the language feels all wrong. Aside from the idea of witch persecutions, this could have taken place in any modern-day remote village. With stories like this, I want to be immersed in the past, which I didn’t get here.

I didn’t connect with either sister. Though the claim was that they were very different but loved one another, I didn’t feel like they even liked each other.

Nothing was really happening. Lots of time spent mulling over the same things, with endless internal contemplation. I began skimming early on, until I decided this book wasn’t for me and gave up.

DNF

*Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC.*

The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen is a fantasy, though this could be a story of two siblings who are in search of something and sisterhood.

Set in Norway of 1600's , Kaija and Minna are two sisters who had to flee with their grandmother as young children into a forest to escape persecution as witches. They are taught by their grandmother, and they do not have any contact with the outside world. Both sisters are different from each other with different wishes. Each takes a decision that has devastating effects both to themselves as well as the outside world.

The landscape of this novel is picturesque. The winters, midnight sun, and what I suspect are Aurora borealis is stunning. There is not much dialogue in this book, and it is mostly the thoughts of these characters that make up the whole story. I enjoyed this story due to the reality clash of the book. The wants, desires, and fears of people force us to make decisions we regret later on. The forgiveness that both the sisters have for each other is beautiful.

CW: This book has some sensitive topics like animal killings, persecution of women

Thank you, Sourcebooks Landmark, for this book.

A deeply engaging tale of two sisters (and witches) trying to make their way through the world in their own ways. They are continually pulled back together and their beliefs constantly challenged, yet their hope for and pursuit of what is best in this world remains true. I thoroughly enjoyed the magic in this one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
A debut full of beautiful prose. The story of the two witch sisters is gritty and explores grief/emotional pain lyrically. I really enjoyed the setting, I could feel the isolation and felt transported into the forest and village. The writing style was interesting as this took an introspective view rather than the use of dialogue. I think this added to the atmosphere by creating this quiet place the world but with inner turmoil. The start is slow but by 30% I felt the pace became steady and flowed well. A great witch book, perfect for autumn.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

This was an incredibly atmospheric witchy read. I loved the way Minna and Kaija's characters were written and the nuance of character development and plot. Overall I'm thrilled over this debut and can't wait to see what this author writes next!