I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley (Thank you Severn House)
This is an action adventure story that focuses on colonial American history, secret societies, and ancient artifacts saving the world.

This novel is nonstop action, mixed with history and family connections. The novel focuses on. Sidney, who works for the Smithsonian but becomes furloughed. Needing to pay the bills, she gets an offer from an old colleague, Abner, who will give her $1 million if she can locate a missing artifact. She’ll need to return to her hometown to do it. But it turns out, she’s not the only one looking for it. The race is on, but can Sidney find it first, and keep it out of the wrong hands?

This novel has a combination of genres, ranging from action/adventure to mystery, and fantasy to time-travel fiction. While this is on-trend, it did make the novel feel like a whirlwind, in some places. The pacing of the novel is really quick, and covers a lot of different topics, with the majority of them relating to colonial American history. The author noted, at the end of the novel, that a couple of the characters were inspired by true people, which I thought was fascinating.

My favorite character in the novel was Sidney’s grandmother, Fiona. I absolutely loved her style, her strength throughout the novel, and love for her family.

Overall, the vibes of the novel are National Treasure and Indiana Jones, but with a dash of magic.

3.5 upped to 4
I fell in love with the cover and liked the story.
There's a lot of potential in this story and I enjoyed it as there's a likeable and fleshed out FMC, a lovely setting, and intriguing fictional historical background.
It's fast paced and it kept me reading.
It's not a 5* because there's too much going on and sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed.
That said I cannot wait to read the next instalment.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

There was just too many different themes going in this book. It felt a bit convoluted. I just couldn’t get into it. DNF’d at 70 pages in.

I took a while to get into this one. But I think that’s probably down to my expectations, rather than the fact that there was anything wrong with the book. Sidney is an engaging protagonist. Despite coming from a wealthy, highly connected family, she is personally struggling to make ends meet and her expected career path is unexpectedly cut short, when she is let go for no apparent good reason.

She returns to Robbinsville, North Carolina – the small, historic town where her grandmother lives and where she has fond memories of staying with her. There is a cosy charm around her grandmother’s home and the town itself, which works as a nice foil to the increasingly sinister events that begin to stack up. Especially as Sidney is forced to the conclusion that people she’s known for a long time must be trying to put a stop to her investigation. There is a lot of puzzling out of clues and looking at historical documents and artefacts. I found the snippets regarding the history fascinating – especially as a fair bit of it is intertwined with real people and even the myth of Queen Scota of Egypt ending up in Scotland turns out to be a thing. Apparently that’s where the name Scotland comes from!

While the steady accretion of clues initially takes the forefront of the storytelling, the aggression against Sidney begins to ramp up. And once it all kicks off, the pace doesn’t ease off until the end. There is some far-fetched stuff in the mix – but Addison’s confident writing enabled me to suspend my disbelief until the end of the book. While I get a tad weary of the Chosen One trope, Addison manages to put a fresh spin on it and I found this an entertaining read. Recommended for fantasy fans who enjoy a thriller vibe that doesn’t become too grittily gory. While I obtained an arc of An Intrigue of Witches from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

An Intrigue of Witches follows Sidney, recently furloughed from the Smithsonian and presented with an opportunity of a lifetime - to find a treasure in exchange for a million dollars. However, all is not what it seems, and Sidney sets down a path of discovery of her own history (indeed with plenty of intrigue, and yes, witches!) gaining knowledge that has the power to change the world.

This book gave me da vinci code vibes, but on a smaller scale - less traveling, more local town mystery. What is fascinating is Esme builds her novel on elements of historical fact which I found absolutely fascinating. It's one of those books where you finish and immediately want to research the characters mentioned.

A super enjoyable read!

Sidney Taylor is tempted away from the fast paced Washington DC with the chance to find a missing archaeological treasure. But is this all that it is made up to be?
The book was an enjoyable action mystery complete with good character development and a quick pace making it an enjoyable read.

I received this arc from Net Galley to read and review. Pros: witches, mysteries, strong female lead who is smart/educated, and diversity. Cons: pacing, too much explaining, the plot was over-complicated in parts, and there was some bad decisions. Overall it was a decent, quick read that has history and magic. Rated a 3.5 but rounded to a 4

DNF at 22%

Only 10 chapters in and the story is going in too many different directions to follow. Way too much of an info. dump and not focused enough on the main character. Also some major editing flaws like when she turns off her phone because of low battery but then a few pages later she turns it off, again?

I was really excited for a book marketed as National Treasure meets A Discovery of Witches, but this is not it. The politics and threat of AI in this book is weird and also so many modern references to YouTube, TikTok, and even Black Mirror which took me out of the fantasy element.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was attracted to this book because of it's interesting premise however I think the book really suffered from trying to do way too much. Not only were their witches there was time travel, royal blood lines, American president conspiracies, ancient artifacts, virtual reality, quantum physics and so much more. This book read like a first draft, I found the writing very simplistic and the characters one dimensional. The author obviously put a lot of thought into the myths and puzzles in this story but it lacked layers and nuance to be a truly strong book. I think there is potential here but I wish it had gone through many more rounds of edits. Thank you to netgalley and severn house for a free digital advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book in the Secret Society Mystery series. Of course I had to grab it up as I enjoy stories about witches and certainly need to get in on the first of a new series.

Description:
Thirty-year-old Black woman Sidney Taylor is a talented early American history professor, working in fast-paced Washington DC, with her eyes on promotion. She’s also currently persona non grata. Who knew that making an inconvenient historical discovery would see her stuck at her desk, shuffling paper?


So when she receives an anonymous and very cryptic invitation to visit historic small-town Robbinsville, North Carolina and hunt for a missing archaeological treasure – with a million-dollar pay out at stake – it’s one she can’t refuse. Besides, her beloved grandmother lives in Robbinsville, and it’s been too long since she’s paid her a visit.


Soon, Sidney's on an exciting treasure hunt, following two-hundred-year-old clues that lead her ever closer to the artefact she’s searching for. But what is the artefact? And why is Sidney starting to feel like she’s at the heart of a terrifying conspiracy she doesn’t understand?


The answer blows Sidney’s world apart, plunging her into a dark, glittering world of secret societies, ancient bloodlines, witches and magic, linked to an ages-old conspiracy that could destroy the very principles upon which America was founded.

My Thoughts:
There's a lot going on in this story which involved politics, black history, secret societies, conspiracy theories, and even a little romance. I found it hard to keep up sometimes. I enjoyed the story and the magic and time travel elements. I liked the historical aspects of the book and how it brought the story together. Sidney is a good character - very likable. I also liked the treasure hunt and the revealing of the clues. This made it fun. Overall, a good story. I will likely read the next in the series and see where it leads.

Thanks to Severn House through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House!

The first book in the Secret Society Mystery Series was a big win for me. Imagine National Treasure mixed with A Discovery of Witches, and you get a glimpse of the adventure the reader is in for. I loved learning about Sidney and her family, and can’t wait to get my hands on book 2!

“An Intrigue of Witches” is a mystery historical book by Esme Addison.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Plot: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Characters: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Suspense: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

What you’ll find in this book:
⭐️ History (lots of it)
⭐️ Witch hunters
⭐️ Virtual Reality (this scared me a lot)
⭐️ Urban Fantasy/ Mystery
⭐️ Treasure Hunt

I picked up this book because of the title and the description as I love witches and a good mystery, but unfortunately, it wasn’t what I thought. The pace is quick and the writing is exceptional but I am just not so keen on history and this book has lots of it (true or not), witches on the other hand not so much that was disappointing.

The book follows the story of Sidney, a black 30yo red hair woman who out of the blue gets involved in a historical loop and treasure hunt of an Egyptian artefact. Moving to her grandmother’s small town she will have to unfold the secrets of her family's past while staying alive. This book is the first in the “A Secret Society Mystery” series.

In the mix of witch hunts, you will find a virtual reality trope that I hope remains fiction because the thought of it becoming our future reality totally scared me.

I would definitely recommend it to all lovers of history and urban fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my early copy. All opinions are mine and sincere.

This is an absolute romp and I loved it! Forget about Dan Brown and white guys finding magic or otherwise powerful artifacts: give us a series of this amazing fantasy about--literally--Black girl magic. Sidney is asked to help search of an important artifact in her small North Carolina hometown, and in doing so uncovers secret societies, secret passageways, secret objects, secret networks, and much much more, including genetic secrets. The novel is fast-paced and smart and deals with race and passing and heritage and legacy in thoughtful ways. The characters feel real and nuanced, and while there's a very light dusting of het romance, the story is far less about getting a man than it is about coming into your own power. Esme Addison, please write some more!

There was a lot going on in this one! I liked the secret American history thriller parts, but the villain(s) and their ultimate plan were a little over the top. I didn't mind the way it ended and the twists about identities. I didn't like the AI parts and I'm not sure that I understood what the ultimate plan was with those.
Overall this was a good over the top sci-fi thriller. It was a fun read.

This is one of my top 3 favorite books of 2024. The first release in the intriquing new mystery series " A Secret Society." Thank you to the publisher , to the author and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinons are my own. This is a fascinating book you will read from cover to cover!

The author has crafted such a unique protagnist in Sidney that I was captivated from the beginning.. Sidney is a Early American historical researcher and professor who has made a new discovery that her employer wants to cover up. She is let go from her position among the cover up. She receives a proposal from her Grandmother's home town to return to work on a fascinating letter by James Madison to decifier a code that may revel Early American secrets. Sidney goes home to stay with her Grandmother and join the staff undercover at a Early American site. Soon she discovers her involvement was planned and she is involved in a multi layered mystery that she is historically part of by her birthright. As a researcher she is intriqued to find out every level of the mystery that involves Presidents, birth orders and history of many early American families. She is also finding out about her ownfamily history and the role she and many other women played in early history.

This was so beautifully written and well crafted to the history that I was compelled to keep reading to conclusion. The character of Sidney is a smart savvy educated protagnist. This is a thrilling read of ancient secrets and historical discoveries. . I loved this book and highly recommend it for your reading enjoyment. A compelling exciting read . Well done to the author. ,

I liked the author's writing style, the main character and the historical features of the novel. But the impetus for the plot (a government conspiracy) was a little to difficult to believe for me.

2 1/2 stars. This was a real mishmash of genres: treasure hunt, historical fiction, black history, women empowerment, witches, magic, science fiction, political conspiracies and secret societies to name a few. It was interesting but I felt that the author was trying to fit too much into this book. I really did love the treasure hunt aspect, black history, one of the impetus for witch hunting starting from James I of England, and women empowerment. SciFi, witches, and secret societies I didn't mind. I thought the political conspiracy was going a little too far and the AI aspect did not appeal to me at all.

I liked the strong female lead, Sidney, a black woman historian. That is a fascinating character though she was a bit flat in the beginning. The narrative was too much did this then did this. and the some segues weren't smooth.

So a mixed bag for me. There were some very strong elements but others really put me off. A mishmash of genres doesn't bother me if done well. Here I just don't think it was quite pulled off.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
This book was not for me. It's got a flare for history, puzzles, conspiracy theories, fantasy, and sci-fi. It's like National Treasure with fantasy and sci-fi take.

I loved the FMC. Her confidence and intelligence shined through. You could really feel for her. The small town felt like being in like Rosewood or Stars Hollow.

I struggled with how the history was told rather than shown as was a lot of the details. I felt like there was a lot thrown at you and it was hard to keep up for me. I don't know if it's because my brain was tired after work or this just wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Severn House Publishers, and Esme Addison for providing an e-ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

First and foremost, I found this book to be absolutely fun. There’s a mystery to solve, historical treasure to uncover, and secret societies to infiltrate. I am not certain why anyone would take themselves too seriously when reading this book because you can tell it’s meant to be a really good time. It’s light hearted and not too heavy hitting. I think it’s a great poolside read.
You do need to suspend some belief and not think about all the things that may or may not be able to happen. It’s meant to be a magical, treasure hunt. There are people with hints of innate abilities and lots of stretching of the imagination.
I think the only reason I give it 4* is because I think there was just a lot going on. It felt a little cluttered and cumbersome at times. However, once another book in this series is on the horizon, I would gladly give it a chance to see what else we may be able to uncover and what mystery we may solve.