The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

Like almost everyone else I've seen on social media, I've been gobbling up the creepy reads before Halloween hits. Just the title alone of The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams made this a perfect choice for this spooky season.

On the surface. Esme seems to be just a normal teenager. She loves thrifted clothes and putting together outfits. She has a best friend named Janis and a pit bull named Pig. And she has a babysitter's club. But lately odd things have been happening to her. From cars driving on their own to volleyballs changing direction, Esme doesn't know what's going on. And when the kids she and Janice babysit for appear to be in danger and a mysterious new girl shows up eager to join their club, it's a definite wake up call that something isn't right.

First, can we talk about this cover? That pastel goodness is the stuff of dreams.  The book started out strong for me, but my rating dropped lower and lower as it went on. I really liked the plot of this story, but didn't think it was original at all. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Sitters instead of Slayers, a Counsel instead of a Watcher, etc. The strikingly high amount of similarities was hard to ignore. They even mention Buffy numerous times throughout the book. Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way was that they kept calling  Esme's mom "crazy" when there are much more appropriate terms to use for mental illness. The story itself felt fairly juvenile even though the main characters were supposed to be seventeen. I really liked all the mentions of the different outfits the girls put together though, and how they themed all their outfits.

The story was fun and the book was an enjoyable read for the most part, but like I said, I felt like I had seen most of this stuff via other mediums before, and anything unique in this read was pretty forgettable. It looks like there is a second book coming out next fall, but I will probably pass on that one. This is really more of a 2.5 star read for me, but since I don't do half stars, I chose to round up just for the nostalgia factor.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

I received an ARC of this read at the ALA Annual Conference. The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams is out now!

The Furies by Katie Lowe

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I've always loved books and movies about witchy girl gangs. I love these groups of powerful women who stick together, fight for one another, and use their powers to try to right the wrongs in the world (or use their powers for evil, which can be even more fun!). That's why when I heard about The Furies by Katie Lowe I knew I had to read it. I will put a trigger warning on this one for rape and child abuse, as well as an animal sacrifice.

When Violet starts at a new school. she is immediately drawn to a group of girls: Alex, Grace, and Robin. When her art teacher Annabel invites her to be a part of a "special advanced course" she is offering, she accepts and discovers that these girls are the only other students. They learn about the occult, the history of the school, mythology, and how all these things are connected to strong females throughout history. But what happens when girls take these "history" lessons to mean more than their teacher implies? What results when the girls begin to perform rites and rituals of their own in the name of those about whom they have learned?

I enjoyed this book just fine, but was really hoping for more. With so many stories about witchy girl gangs out there to consume, I feel like any new stories need to be super inventive and really engaging, and this one sadly wasn't as strong as I'd hoped. I thought all the parts about Violet's past life and her current relationship with her mother were just extremely sad, and not at all that necessary to the plot. I mean I guess it explains why she got unhinged so quickly, but it just made me depressed. Parts of this story were a little too slow for my liking, and pieces of the plot felt a little disjointed in places.

I did love how all the girls were learning about things central to the idea of strong women, and the weird history of their school was really interesting. I also liked how the special course that the girls were taking was passed down through generations. There was some f/f rep in this story as well which I thought was a great little addition. And I really loved Robin's character, even though she was super manipulative.

Basically, this book reminded me a lot of The Craft (which I ADORE!), but wasn't quite as good. Even though this is about teenagers, I think it is technically an adult coming of age book (at least, it reads like one) but I could be wrong.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for a finished copy of this read! The Furies by Katie Lowe is out now!

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

This book has a gorgeous cover and is about queer witches. Need I say more?? The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta follows Danny and The Grays: Hawthorn, Lelia, Rush, and June. The Grays are a group of witches who are trying to get their friend and fellow Gray Imogen back after she turns up with sea glass eyes and a completely zombified personality, and have summoned Danny to the town of Tempest, California to help them. Danny, unaware that she has any powers at all, quickly becomes enamored with these girls, stopping at nothing to learn her new role in the group as a finder, or "dowser," and help them save Imogen.

I really loved this book! It was so atmospheric and ethereal, and I felt myself right in the woods with these girls among the tall and regal redwood trees. I loved how the Grays were unashamedly themselves, regardless of what the rest of their school thought about them, and how they loved each other so fiercely. There was great diverse representation as well.

The plot was fantastic. There were so many things going on at once, but they all tied well into one another. This was almost like The Craft meets The Wicked Deep meets The Blair Witch Project. 

The only odd thing about this book was how it was told. There were so many different points of view, from Danny, to each of the Grays, to the trees, and the ravens, and more, both in flashbacks and present day. This was a little tricky to follow so you really had to pay attention to each chapter's header to make sure you knew who it was about. This didn't bother me, but I can see it being a turn off for some people.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Candlewick Press for an advanced review copy of this read! The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta is out now!

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

Step right up, get your perfect Halloween read here! I knew from the minute I saw The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw that I would love it. I actually bought this book the day it was released back in March, but made myself wait until closer to Halloween to read it. And it was definitely worth the wait.

This book takes place in the small town of Sparrow. Every summer, a terrible curse befalls the town and it is forced to pay retribution for something it did two centuries ago: drowned the three Swan sisters for witchcraft. Now, each summer the sisters return from their watery grave, each inhabiting the body of a teenage Sparrow girl and luring boys into the water to their deaths. The town has accepted that this is their fate, and the "Swan season" has even become a tourist attraction of sorts. This story follows Penny Talbott during the Swan season, but this summer is different. Enter Bo, an unsuspecting visitor to Sparrow who seems to not know the danger he has put himself in by visiting during this time. 

Ugh this book, I just adored every minute of it! Both the present day plotline and the flashbacks to the sisters had me so immersed in the town of Sparrow, and I could picture everything so vividly in this atmospheric read. While I did figure out the twist (if you can even call it a twist, because it happens fairly early on), that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story whatsoever. 

My only real dislike (and not even a dislike enough to take off a star) was the unlikely romance, but if you take it with a grain of salt it doesn't distract from story as a whole. The very end threw me a bit, but it's satisfying when you realize that Penny isn't as much the main character as you originally thought.

This would make an amazing movie (which is good, because it looks like it's happening). Fans of Hocus Pocus and anything witchy will absolutely adore this read! And because it has to be said, this gorgeous, holographic cover may be the most beautiful book I've ever seen!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

When this appeared in my mailbox, I was immediately captivated. The cover is gorgeous and just drips with magic and intrigue. Reading the synopsis got me even more interested. The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose is a historical fiction intertwined with magic. Taking place after the first Wold War, the story follows Delphine Dupressi, descendant of La Lune, a famous witch and courtesan. After regaining her sight, Delphine can see people's secrets, and she has turned her gift into an almost parlor trick, painting "shadow portraits" for people on commission and at parties. After a shadow portrait goes wrong, Delphine flees New York and returns to her home in France. Here she hopes to find healing, but instead finds herself knee deep in the hunt for the writings of Nicolas Flamel.

It turns out this is actually the third in the Daughters of La Lune series, although it's said that each novel can stand on its own. I found this to be true, at least for this installment, and thought there was plenty of description and explanation that allowed this to be consumed independently of the other two books. I haven't read the other two, but now I'm so interested in the La Lune descendants that I might have to!

The writing in this novel was captivating and beautiful, transporting you right into postwar France and New York. I don't typically like historical fiction, as I simply find them boring, but the magic element completely eliminated that here.

I adored the cast of characters in this story. Delphine was strong but very human in her insecurities. Emma Calve was an outstanding side character, reminding me so much of Carlotta from Phantom of the Opera. I really enjoyed that so many famous individuals from the same era were characters, including Pablo Picasso himself. I thought the plot was good, although a little slow in the middle. 

Interspersed in the book are excerpts from Delphine's Book of Hours, where she has chronicled all her time spent with her former lover Mathieu. These were nice to read but I didn't really find them necessary overall until the last few entries. 

For the most part, the book really lived up to the beauty of the cover. With great writing, strongly developed characters, and a decent plot, I really did enjoy this read.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A big thanks to Atria Books for sending me a copy of this beautiful read! The Library of Light and Shadow by M.J. Rose is available now in paperback, so be sure to pick up a copy!

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton is one of those witchy books that just grabs you and pulls you in, enveloping you with both beautiful writing and magic. This story follows Nor Blackburn, a teenage girl living on Anathema Island. Nor seems like your typical teenager: she has a part time job, she has a quirky best friend, and she has a crush on a boy. But what's not so typical about Nor is that she's a witch. In fact, she's ninth in a generation of famous witches, tracing back to Rona Blackburn, the first female to ever inhabit Anathema. While Rona was an all-powerful witch, each of her descendants has been blessed with only one power, or "burden" as they call them...all that is except for Nor, who has all of them, just like Rona. 

Abandoned at a young age by her mother Fern, Nor has been raised by her grandmother Judd and her partner Apothia. She keeps all but the most basic of her powers (being able to understand animals) quiet, since all she wants is a normal life. She works at The Witching Hour, a store for witches famous for its tours of the island. One day a book turns up while she is working called The Price Guide to the Occult...and it's written by her mother. The book contains a multitude of spells and their prices, and Nor doesn't think anything of it until her mother becomes internationally famous for her mail-order magic. But all magic comes at a price, often much steeper than money, and soon they will all find out what that price is.

I absolutely loved this book. Walton's writing was gorgeous and poetic. Nor was a fantastic character, and you were really able to get inside her head and feel her internal struggles. I also loved all the minor characters, including Savvy, Judd and Apothia, and even the little dog Bijou. The magical realism was authentic, plausible, and very well done. My only real complaint with this book was that I wanted more. I wanted more at the climax of the story, and more follow-up at the end. You know that feeling when you finish something amazing but are suddenly let down because it's over? That was me with this book. I became immersed in Anathema and its inhabitants, and really invested in Nor and what happened to her, her family, and her friends. Plus this cover is utterly stunning, and super relevant to the plot as well!

I've heard that Walton's first work, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, is amazing as well, so now I'm going to have to pick that one up!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Candlewick Press for an ARC of this fantastic read. The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton  releases March 13th, so be sure to pick up a copy!