I absolutely love the atmosphere of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books. She is such a strong writer. Even if I'm not loving the plot of one of her books (a rare occurrence) I still enjoy it because of the way she writes. This plot, however, was definitely one that I love as it focuses on women, witchcraft, and myth.

This book follows three women from separate time periods: Alba, Minerva, and Beatrice.

Alba is a young woman in 1900s Mexico. After more than one tragedy strikes her family, the village believes they're cursed. Even though her uncle, recently arrived to help, refuses to believe these rumors, Alba won't stop trying to save her family, even if it means seeking help from witchcraft. Years later in graduate school, Alba's great-granddaughter, Minerva, studies horror stories. She focuses her work on Beatrice, a horror writer, who studied at the same college as Minerva years ago. Minerva reads a never-published manuscript written by Beatrice about her roommate who mysteriously disappeared one December evening. The three stories from the perspective of each woman connect as they all face similar, mysterious situations.

I could not put this book down, even when I was reading too late at night and began to be very spooked by the story! Genuinely scared! You can't help but devour this book and I look forward to her next one!

1998: Minerva is struggling to write her thesis about obscure horror author Beatrice Tremblay for lots of reasons: depression, lack of access to vital Tremblay papers held by a local business magnate, and the sudden uptick in eerie phenomena at Stoneridge College. 1908: Minerva's great-grandmother Alba's family farm is beset by deaths and animal mutilations which her mother refuses to admit are supernatural. 1934: Beatrice “Betty” Tremblay's time at Stoneridge is marred by her roommate Ginny's growing paranoia, culminating in her disappearance. Straddles the line between horror and mystery. The blend of Mexican and New England folklore is fresh and terrifying. Thanks, Netgalley.

My favorite Silvia Morena-Garcia book to date! It is spooky and mysterious. Three timelines are even together and all are engaging. A must-read for anyone who enjoys horror with mystery and witches.

The Bewitching is on the spooky end of the Moreno-Garcia spectrum and it is done well. My cynical brain thought the blurb was being figurative. Was Minerva just having a little menty b from academic stress? Maybe. Was the disappearance really just a runaway elopement? Is the 1908 story just a marker for intergenerational trauma or hereditary evil? There were so many signs pointing to absolutely rational explanations but Moreno-Garcia conveys the pervasive unease so well. It kept me uncomfortable even though I kept turning the page. In terms of content warning, I should note that there's human death, animal death, and an instance dubious consent mixed with incest.

We begin the story with Minerva, living in New England working on a thesis about an author she loves while attending the same school that the author, Beatrice, attended. Minerva is stuck in how to proceed with her novel since Beatrice was a little known author with not a lot left behind in archives. The Vanishing, the novel Minerva is examining is about witches and a missing girl, mirroring the missing roommate Beatrice had herself while attending that school.

As we join Minerva on her journey to uncover more about the truths, lies and over exaggerations about what exactly happened, we are spirited back and forth between her great grandmothers own encounter with witches in Mexico, Beatrice's experience living on campus and what really happened, and Minevera's journey as all those worlds collide.

The atmosphere, the setting is amazingly set as Minerva begins to piece things together and paranoia sets in, you feel yourself being trapped in this mystery with her.

I only give it four stars because multiple point of views can put me off to a story sometimes but this novel does it right. Comparing and contrasting experiences as mysteries are unraveled in all three women's story into one.

I love a good witch story and this one did not disappoint. This book is told across three periods of time and brings in a lot of Latino culture. Moreno-Garcia does a great job of weaving stories and characters together.

Three women from different generations bonded by witchcraft. An eerie, supernatural story with Gothic elements that fascinated me from start to end. Feisty, strong, intelligent female characters and nods to folklore endear the storytelling more. Despite the malevolent witchiness and curse business, there was something warm and comforting about it too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC!

“The Bewitching” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia tells the story of three young women from three different eras as they face dangers of the supernatural kind. There is Minerva in 1998, who we follow as she works on her thesis discussing the work of Beatrice Tremblay (no relation to Paul Tremblay, if you were curious), whose story we learn through her last manuscript. And of course there is Nana Alba, Minerva’s great-grandmother, living in rural Mexico, 1908.

I really enjoyed this book, especially its portrayal of witches. These days you’ll mostly see sympathetic depictions of witches, which certainly have their place too, but I much preferred this version of them, monstrous and evil.

I liked the characters generally speaking, however I wouldn’t say that they felt super distinct from each other, and if you showed me something from the perspective of all three without any other plot indicators, I’m not sure I could tell you who’s who. However, I would argue that this almost makes sense, as these characters go through shared experiences (just years apart), so in a way it is satisfying to see their similarities.

The mysteries of this book are rather easy to figure out, so don’t expect to be surprised, but as this setup is well done I don’t see much of an issue there, and I prefer this over authors who want to pull a plot twist from nowhere.

I know Moreno-Garcia is often praised for her writing, and I must agree. The three settings are definitely quite distinct (yes, even though two are the same, just 60 years apart) and she managed to make each of them feel real, making it easy to picture the environment these characters are living in

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for witches as monsters, atmospheric writing and a satisfying mystery. I’m certain if you’ve enjoyed Moreno-Garcia’s other work you will like this one too!

4.5 stars, rounding up.

THE BEWITCHING, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a horror/historical fiction blend that focuses on three separate timelines, each dealing with witches.

"Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches."

This is what Minerva, studying at Stoneridge College in 1998, Massachusetts, remembered the most of her Nana Alba's tales. Minerva is studying an obscure horror writer, whose one novel was said to be based on a true disappearance in 1934, at the same college she now attended. The mystery of Virginia "Ginny" Somerset is another timeline, but one we experience alongside Minerva as she delves into it. The earliest timeline concerns Nana Alba, when she was just a young woman in New Mexico, and her encounter with a real "Bewitching".

Of the three, Alba's timeline was the most riveting, in my opinion. Due to the earlier time, and the living conditions in rural Mexico, this part of the story had the most gruesome parts, and really set the stage for how we saw the "future" witchings. The characters there were ones I truly felt for, even if, at times, I wanted to shake some common sense into them. While I felt the "twists" regarding the cause of the Bewitching was rather easy to figure out early on, I was still glued to each page to see how it played out.

Minerva, herself, was a bit more difficult for me to connect to. While she tried not to socialize much, being busy with her work-study and thesis, her personality seemed almost non-existent at times, except in relation to when she would be thinking of her Nana's story and teachings about witches. The third time-line, that of Ginny's disappearance, and Beatrice's thoughts that there was much more to it than she ever knew, we learn as Minerva uncovers clues from the late author's personal papers, and living friends.

The first third or so felt slow-paced to me, but once I started to get a feel for the characters--especially Alba--my interest spiked. As I mentioned earlier, the twists were easy to see coming, but didn't hinder my enjoyment of the journey to get there. While Alba's was my favorite, the ending of Minerva's was one that will keep me thinking for some time.

Overall, a little slow to start out, but definitely made up for it further on in the story. The linking up of the three storylines worked very well, and the way in which they collided felt seamless.

Recommended.

*I received an E-Arc of this title from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are uniquely my own.*

The characters are featuring three different women's POV and this reminds me of Practical Magic but more modern, women, and horror/gothic.
The pacing was easy to read and relatable.
The plot kept thickening and thickening to the point where I didn't know what was going to happen next.
The writing was lush and beautiful just like Silva!

Perfect if you love:
Horror/Halloween/Fall
Who hurt you?
Witchy Magic
Generations transcending time!

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this arc!

I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books, this one included. It's historical fiction blended with folk horror and told in three timelines. Two of the characters are related, two were in the same place when their stories occurred, and all three dealt with real witches.

The thing that kept this from being a five-star read for me was the unevenness of the pacing. I kept getting sucked in by creepy maybe-magic and great suspense building, and then it would level off for a while before building again in another of the timelines.

All three stories were very interesting, and I enjoyed the characters. This is definitely a novel I'll be recommending at the library.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia hits it out of the part again with atmosphere of Bewitching. Moreno-Garcia has this amazing way of pulling you into a setting that feels rich and immersive without bogging you down with unnecessary detail that takes away from the story. overloading you with detail. Just like with her other novels, there are darker elements but if you're okay with these elements you won't have a bad time with this book.

(Trigger warning: incest)

I've enjoyed Silvia Moreno-Garcia since I read Mexican Gothic and this book is no different. I think if you're background is of Latino/a heritage you do get a deeper connection to her writing and references but anybody can enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed this book —definitely a four-star read for me!

The atmosphere is what hooked me first. Moreno-Garcia has this amazing way of pulling you into a setting that feels rich and immersive without overloading you with detail. The tone is dark and a little mysterious, and it kept me wanting to know more with every chapter.

I didn’t give it a full five stars just because there were a few spots where the pacing dipped a bit for me, but overall, it was a captivating read. If you like stories with a gothic feel and a touch of the magical, I’d definitely recommend this one! Thank you, NetGalley!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia really has a gift for dark/horror/thriller books. There were so many points in this book where I had to remind myself to breathe. The story is told through three POV and three different timelines that all connect to the central story. I love how while the central story takes place in New England (where witch culture is popular), the readers still get the experience of Mexican folklore and witchcraft which is more prominent in the story. This is not your typical “scary witch story.” The Bewitching is full of mystery, New England and Mexican culture, dark and beautiful imagery, and new perspective of witchcraft. Even down to the last page it kept me guessing.

Three women connected over several generations by witchcraft and vanishings. From Alba an innocent young woman under the thumb of her mother and controlling uncle to college students in the 1930's and a grad student researching the work of a famous female horror writer at a New England college. The feeling of someone unseen standing near you, hot breath on the back of your neck and mysterious disappearances pepper this gothic horror tale. Silvia Moreno-Garcia expertly weaves Latin mythology and folklore from her own family into a frightening story of magic and monsters. The alternating chapters through three timelines could make the story hard to follow but it doesn't and instead works well to show the connective tissue between the characters and events. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was absolutely captivating as always. Everything this author touches is just a dream. I cannot wait to read more from them! What a treat!

Haunting and beautiful story of history, magic and personal relationships both past and current. So vivid and creepy and enchanting, all at the same time. Absolutely wonderful.

Thank You for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I was not disappointed at all. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is officially one of my favourite authors now. The Bewitching was haunting, atmospheric, and exactly what you’d expect from her. I was spellbound and completely engrossed—it pulled me in and didn’t let go. A must read!

I don't feel like I wasted my time reading this. The writing is very good. I just don't this genre(?) is for me. Instead of creepy and spooky, it was just meh, and it felt like nothing really happened for the first 3rd of the book.