Amazing as always from this author. She can write well in every genre and always has such memorable characters and stories. I love everything witchy and this hit the spot perfectly
Evenly paced and plotted with an interesting storyline and realistic characters this would be great for spooky season.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

The Bewitching follows three women across three timelines, spanning nearly a century.

Minerva, a student researching the history of horror literature, sets out to study Tremblay’s novel The Vanishing in the context of the Great Depression. But her academic pursuit shifts as she tries to uncover whether the story hits closer to home than she ever expected. The University in Massachusetts casts a dark cloud over the characters, and with bated breath, I followed Minerva as she descended into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of “Ginny,” Tremblay’s former roommate. As a dark academia lover, I appreciated how the university setting created an ideal setting for suspense — a place where people live in forced proximity, where boundaries exist yet are easily crossed, and where intense feelings can flourish.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia introduces us to the Quiroga family with a mix of warmth and tragedy. It is here the book also transports us to early 1900s Mexico, where Minerva’s great-grandmother recounts her tragic life — one touched by witches. Throughout the chapters set in the 1900s, I could feel the characters’ growing desperation as their situation worsened. Nana Alba, in particular, stood out to me as the most memorable of the three women. Her character captures the raw confusion of youth. It was fascinating to watch her wrestle with her perception of her uncle Arturo — her curiosity about his secretive life added depth to her character. Moreno-Garcia does a wonderful job developing Alba as someone torn between a deep-rooted bond with her land and family and an insatiable yearning for something beyond.

As the story progresses, the timelines begin to blur. Shared experiences ripple across generations, and an eerie sense of dread builds. The deeper you get, the more the novel feels like being put under a spell.

Themes of sin, love, witchcraft, supernatural, academia, friendship, and evil are intricately woven through the novel. If you enjoy multi-generational stories brimming with mystery then this book is the one for you!

Thank you to Quercus books for an early copy.

The Bewitching takes place in 1908, 1934 and 1998. It follows three women, one of them being Alba in 1908 who has a terrifying encounter with a witch. 1998 follows Minerva who is Alba’s great-granddaughter as she investigates a manuscript by Beatrice Tremblay who wrote macabre tales. Tremblay’s most famous novel called The Vanishing was inspired by a true story where her friend went missing. Minerva suspects events are somehow connected and aims to find out what is really going on but it’s dangerous when witchcraft is involved.

I’m giving this 4.5 stars rounded up to a 5. This was really good. I loved how atmospheric this was and I loved the vibes this gave me. I really liked every timeline but my favourite was Minerva in 1998. The story was intriguing and whilst the witchcraft was the main part of the story there was some interesting character development too. It feels more historical than fantasy. I would recommend this for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s other works, the vibes were similar but the story completely different and I just had a great reading experience.

This book had me enthralled from the first page until the last. Spanning three different timelines, the story follows three women and their encounters with witchcraft and the supernatural. Eerie, suspenseful and thrilling, I enjoyed the pace and the seamless transition between the storylines.

I have read Silver Nitrate and the Seventh Veil of Salome by this author so I knew how good she was by reading these novels. I was not disappointed in this novel either. The characters, particularly Minerva, were well drawn and the story was excellent.
I recommend this book highly, and thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.

Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga. This story weaves class and history where every uncovered secret is fraught with intrigue and creeping horror. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 | 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐨-𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚

Feisty women, witchy occult, disturbing creatures,
1998: Minerva is a graduate student at Stoneridge College focused on the history of horror literature, researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of writing witch tales.

1908: Tells the story of Minerva’s Nana Alba, an eldest daughter living on a farm desperately trying to keep afloat as soemthing starts haunting her family.

1934: Betty reveals her own student days at the college Minerva attends, telling the mystery disappearance of her friend which inspired one of her stories.

Moreno-Garcia excels at interweaving generation stories that connect in eerie ways, delivering a satisfying finale that normally carries a gut-punching message.

<b>“Maybe they felt they had to tell them. That it would be dangerous if they were forgotten,” she said.
</b>
Admittedly, I saw the twist for every single one of the timelines which took away some of the momentum.

Moreno-Garcia keeps the pace tense, the occult haunting, and the idea of telling stories at the forefront.

Arc gifted by Del Rey.