This book has three stories - two really good ones and one decent one. The trouble is that the three aren’t woven together in a way that made me care about everyone or where it was going. I really loved Mexican Gothic and Moreno-Garcia weaves Mexican magic, brujeria, in to one of the tales in a way I wished the whole book was about. While I don’t give this a go buy it now rating, it was a good read. Maybe it just wasn’t for me.

silvia is one of my most consistent authors-- i always enjoy her books and get so sucked in by the mysteries and magic.. all of her books have been solid 4 stars for me and this was no different! a really strong book i'd recommend even though it left me wanting a little bit more.

Once again, there's much to like about Moreno-Garcia's novel. This story is told from three perspectives in three different timelines, with the first and third timelines being a direct connection between family members, and the second and third timelines being connected by place. What I particularly appreciated about this was learning about witches in the Mexican culture, who are by and large malicious entities who destroy crops and livestock, suck the blood of their victims, and generally creatures you want to protect yourself and your family from. Their folklore probably had European influence and it was probably more prevalent in the countryside vs. the bigger cities.

While I would consider this more gothic eeriness, there were some gruesome scenes in it as well, where decapitation was not the worst of it (those happened quickly). There are three stories taking place in central Mexico in 1908, and Stoneridge College in 1934 and 1998. Minerva is a thesis student attending Stoneridge College in 1998, doing her research on Beatrice Tremblay, a horror writer whose book, "The Vanishing" was presumably inspired by the school and her missing roommate when she attended in 1934. Minerva's great grandmother Alba's story about witches and witchcraft ties it all together as Minerva tries to solve the mystery of the missing roommate as well as figure out what's currently going on in her own timeline.

There were moments that were slow, as Moreno-Garcia took the time to develop who Alba and Tremblay were, but I appreciated it as we learned more about what was happening with Minerva. She skillfully drew me into all three stories and I could feel the palpable danger they each faced. I was on the edge of my seat at times, trying to read faster so I could see how they would survive. Thankfully, at least for Nana Alba, Minerva tells us at the beginning that she lived to be 103, so you know she has to somehow get through the danger, although you have no idea how and what she has to go through to do so. Overall, I liked this well written mixture of horror and mystery, and would recommend this to fans of Moreno-Garcia, gothic or dark fiction, and slow-burn stories.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a huge fan of Silva Moreno-Garcia's previous works such as "Silver Nitrate" and "Mexican Gothic" however this one fell a little flat for me. The prose is expertly written as to be expected by Moreno-Garcia but the pacing of the overall story was a struggle for me to be engaged with. I didn't grow to care about any of the characters as I had with her previous works. It felt like the three different narratives were just that, three different narratives and there was a disconnect between them all (despite being a story about how they are all intertwined.)

Overall this did not put me off her books, I will continue to support her. This is just a miss for me! Other people really loved it so try it for yourself!

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was perfect for a creepy summer read. I loved all the POVs, but especially Alba’s because it was the most messed up lol. I did guess what was going to happen with both Alba and Minerva’s POV, but I don’t think it took away from the story itself, if anything it made me more on edge knowing what was going to happen.

I’m honestly disappointed, especially after reading Bury Our Bones In the Midnight Soil and hearing such good things about Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I think it could’ve been way better, but can’t explain why. Thank you NetGalley for sending this arc though!

I love Sylvia Moreno-Garcia and her writing style. The Bewitching does not disappoint the reader when it comes to her ability to weave together a perfectly blended multiple timeline with complex characters that you will root for. The story is atmospheric and foreboding. Paced excellently, making for a hard to put down novel. Highly recommend for those who are familiar with Sylvia Moreno-Garcia but also for those who love a witchy mystery.

An advanced digital copy was read and honestly reviewed.

Dangerous witches, powerful curses, and unseen, unidentifiable entities lurking in the shadows—this supernatural tale weaves three timelines into a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you leave the lights on for a month. This is another masterful supernatural horror by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that I simply couldn’t resist. It’s gripping, terrifying, and endlessly fascinating, proving yet again her unmatched talent in the genre.

Because of course Silvia Moreno-Garcia is going to deliver another creepy and eerie book! For me, this was more spiritually reminiscent of Mexican Gothic than Silver Nitrate was, and while I did enjoy the blend of occult and cinema and the characters a bit more in Silver Nitrate, The Bewitching did have the kind of spook-factor and mysticism that has me up at night thinking about. It had me reading page to page theorizing. It provided the type of creepiness that revolves around witches and ghost stories.

It also gave me trust issues. Like damn, Silvia, I trusted NO ONE in this book.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the back and forth between the three points of view. We follow Minerva, her grandmother Alba, and Beatrice Tremblay. Minerva is a grad student trying to finish her thesis on Betty's work The Vanishing, which was inspired by the disappearance of one of Betty's friends. While Minerva does her research, she comes across mentions of witches in Betty's writing, which reminds her of the stories Alba used to tell her when she was a child. The three tales eventually connect to each other, culminating into a really cohesive story about three generations of witches and the curses that they wrought upon their victims.

I really liked that each character had distinct voices, and they were so realistic in terms of their time period. Alba was probably the most fascinating POV for me (because oof, girl seen IT ALL), but Betty and Minerva were decent narratives too, though I do find that Minerva gets a bit dull from time to time. I think this was also a slight issue I found with the MC in Silver Nitrate is that they're almost non-reactive at times; Minerva was always holding back, and she doesnt really let up even at the end. (Though tbf, again, I don't blame her, because, yeah, trust issues.)

Anyway, another solid horror story! I just...don't recommend reading it at night like I did, because now I'm neurotically checking under my bed to make sure there isnt a dead rat or something. Ugh. I BLAME YOU, SILVIA.

I am a big fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia but unfortunately found the Bewitching painfully slow to get going. Once I found myself more invested in one storyline, we're switching off to another. Fans of multiple timelines might enjoy the storytelling, but for me it was taking away from, instead of enhancing, the storyline.

3.5 ⭐️

The Bewitching blends horror and Mexican folklore into a haunting, multi-generational tale that spans three eras and three women’s lives. Minerva in 1998, Alba decades before her, and Betty in the earliest timeline are each drawn into a dark mystery that begins with a missing person and unravels into a story of witchcraft, danger, and an eerie force that links them across time. The structure is clean and deliberate, with alternating chapters clearly marked, making it easy to follow the shifting perspectives. Minerva and Alba’s arcs each have thirteen chapters, while Beatrice’s has seven, giving the narrative a satisfying balance.

This is not a cauldron-and-broomstick kind of witch story. Here, power draws from deep roots in Mexican traditions, lending a rich cultural texture that feels both refreshing and unsettling. The witches themselves appear late in the story, more as an ominous presence than constant figures, and the horror emerges slowly through atmosphere and folklore. There is no unwanted romance to distract from the plot, particularly in Minerva’s storyline, and the characters are drawn with clarity—what you see is largely what you get.

The pacing is slow at first, building the setting and tone before allowing moments of action or chilling twists to break through. At times it feels like a ghostly waltz, tension rising and then ebbing away, but when the story pushes forward it does so with force, delivering at least one shocking turn that will leave readers stunned. The academic backdrop, the glimpses of campus life, and the insight into Mexican beliefs add extra layers of intrigue. By the end, the book closes with the right balance of resolution and lingering dread, making it a compelling autumn read for fans of multigenerational occult mysteries.

This one was a slow burn…and by slow, I mean reaaally slow at the start. But once it finally got going (past 15%), the story grabbed my attention and I was curious enough to see where it would lead.

The writing is gorgeous (well, no surprise there!) and the premise is intriguing. But the mystery wasn’t quite as thrilling for me since I guessed who the villains were and figured out the ending way before the reveal.

What really pulled me out, though, was the incest. That’s just something I can’t handle in a story, and it definitely affected my enjoyment.

All in all, it wasn’t my favorite from Moreno-Garcia, but the beautiful prose and interesting concept were enough to keep me reading through to the end.

You can always rely on Silvia Moreno-Garcia for horror/fantasy weirdness with some history thrown in and this three-pronged tale of witches delivers on all counts.

In 1998, Minerva Contreras is at a small New England college researching her master’s thesis on mid-20th century horror writer, Beatrice Tremblay - her last name is one of many tips of the hat to current horror authors. Tremblay’s only novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by the mysterious disappearance of her friend, Virginia, in 1934. When a local grande dame, Carolyn Wingrave, hears what Minerva is working on, she invites her to her mansion to look at some of Tremblay’s personal papers, which include her account of Virginia’s disappearance - this makes up the second thread.

The third thread is set in 1908 In rural Mexico where Minerva’s great grandmother, Alba, lives on a farm. Her father has recently died and her uncle, Arturo, has come to stay with the family.

In all three narratives, there is a slow but steady ratcheting up of queasy tension. Mysterious happenings, unexplained disappearances and deaths, strange swirling paintings, and a very healthy dose of Mexican and New England witch lore all build in the parallel stories bringing each to a climactic, and linked, resolution.

As always with the author, the main characters are highly intelligent, introverted and slightly odd women, out of place in their social settings. The most extreme of these is Minerva, far away from home, so clearly out of place with Carolyn Wingrave but never lets it get in the way of her research, both for her thesis and into Virginia’s disappearance.

The world building around the witchery is thrilling, weaving in traditions from Mesoamerican lore, in this novel it is closely allied to vampirism, the protections against it, and the many ways in which these can be circumvented. Bringing it to New England, home of Salem and Stephen King, adds a contemporary and American twist while keeping the roots in pre-Hispanic and Mexican beliefs.

While I don’t read a lot of horror/fantasy, I appreciate the feminist and Mexican focus that the author brings to the genre. Each of her novels feels original and fresh. Recommended even if you think this sort of thing isn’t your bag.

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Unfortunately, I wanted to love this book, because I love the settings and the descriptions of scenes that Moreno-Garcia uses, however this book was really slow, boring, and the characters were not that likeable to me. I DNF'd this book about halfway through.

Sidenote- I wish NetGalley had a feature to mark a book as a DNF so that way we do not have to give the book a star rating that would negatively effect the book.

I received an ARC from the publisher. Review based on the final copy. All opinions are my own.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia can be rather hit-or-miss for me, given her tendency to genre-hop quite a bit. And with her books often being multilayered and complex, they don’t always “click” for me. But while The Bewitching wasn’t my favorite of her books, it had aspects I enjoyed, for the most part.
Moreno-Garcia is a master of creating a creepy atmosphere, and she absolutely does that here, with the variations across timelines helping them to feel distinct. There’s a subtle creep factor, and while it doesn’t rank among her better books in this regard for me, it’s still my favorite aspect of her writing.
I did more or less enjoy the three timelines. Each of the three women, Minerva, Alba, and Beatrice, shined, and each drew me in in equal measure. The connectedness between the narratives did feel a bit thin at times, particularly the 1934 storyline, however, I did get the sense that this was built as one story, not three haphazardly smashed together.
However, there’s an odd mix of the book being an extremely slow burn, yet not having enough page time to really flesh out the characters. I definitely felt my investment flagging a bit in the middle, although I did enjoy how it all came together.
This was a pleasant surprise, as Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books often are, and I would recommend it to readers in search of rich, atmospheric horror told across multiple timelines.

Silvia has a knack for writing out the most beautiful, atmospheric settings, and The Bewitching was no exception!
However...I had to DNF this one as I felt unbearably bored over halfway through. I really wanted to love this, but I just could not get invested enough to finish it.

From the publisher:
“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.

In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.

Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was released July 15, 2025 by Del Rey.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Told in 3 timelines, three women have experiences with witches that are different from what we typically read. They overlap a little bit throughout the book. Even though there are 3 timelines, in the end they are successfully tied together.

My favorite character was Minerva. I also had a lot of respect for Nana Alba. I felt that they were the most well written. The book was kind of gross at times - some of the occurrences of witchcraft were both frightening and kind of disgusting. This did not in any way take away from the story. It just was a part of it.

The pace of the novel went well. Towards the end, Minerva's story really had me flipping pages and refusing to talk to people until I finished it. There were other similar points in the other stories too, but Minerva's was the strongest.

I gave The Bewitching 5 stars out of 5. It's very well-written. It has good characters and good pacing. If you are a fan of horror, or gothic literature, or Silvia Moreno-Garcia, this is not a book to be missed.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion nor my review.

I was so excited to receive this title, but ultimately it was a DNF for me. I got just over halfway and couldn't continue anymore. Nothing of note had even happened yet! I love Moreno-Garcia, but this dragged and there were far too many characters in each timeline to adequately keep track of. Disappointed.

Three generations of women are targeted by the same dark magical force in Moreno-Garcia's newest horror novel. This book is visceral and atmospheric: the feeling that something's following you, going into your house, knocking on your door, is beyond unsettling, and Moreno-Garcia does an excellent job of laying the tension and building the fear.

Atmospheric novel with anticipatory frights. I enjoyed The Bewitching and its characters. Is this novel a little autobigraphical and will it qualify for Minerva's thesis! Go with your gut feelings on whats transpiring and you will enjoy this novel as well.