Happy book review day, all! And even more so, happy Spooktober!
Halloween reads are some of my favourite reads, and this is one of my favourite times of year. (And yes, I am aware that I say that about pretty much every time of year. Ha!)
To kick off my reviews for the spooky season, I started with a witchy book. These are typically my favourites as they are often rooted in magical realism, which I am rapidly becoming more and more fond of.
A Secret History of Witches, by Louisa Morgan.
This one follows several generations and a magical power passed from mother to daughter from the early 19th-century to the end of the Second World War. Five generations of women struggle with their traditions, their powers, their relationships, and their identities. The story itself is a "slow burn", told in separate sections, with each section focused on each witch - Nanette, Ursule, Irene, Morwen, and Veronica. There are prejudices, secrets, doting mothers and terrible mothers, overbearing men and supportive men... and each story is its own entity. While times change, much of each story remains the same; the craft is shrouded in secret, in fear of the danger of being known as a witch. A girl comes of age - in other words, reaches puberty. The mother passes on information to the girl. The girl comes into her power, in whatever form it is. There is some internal struggle, some question of power and identity and roles and responsibilities. There is love, or at least enough lust to produce a child. Another daughter.
Another story.
And repeat.
If you like inter-generational stories, you will likely like this one. If you don't... well, you won't.
I enjoyed it overall; I liked certain elements more than others, though. The parallelism of the stories worked in some ways, and in other places it felt redundant. I liked some characters, disliked but appreciated others, and others felt flat.
A solid first entry in my "spooky season" review list overall; not perfect, but solid. If you like magical realism or "witchy" books, and intergenerational books rooted in historical fiction, books that link history and magic, women-centered stories focused on family and tradition, it's a recommended read.
Do you read seasonally? Any "spooky season" reads to recommend this year? Comment below or via my contact page, here.