The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith

Title: The Witch Haven

Author: Sasha Peyton Smith
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: N/A

Hardcover, 448 pages
Publication: August 31, 2021 by Simon and Schuster BFYR
Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.
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In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.

Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.

Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?

My Thoughts

Books with witches are my jam. Combine it with the early 20th century period and a boarding school setting and you have the perfect trifecta. We all know the history of witches. People fear what they don’t understand but what’s even more terrifying is an intelligent woman with powers. Smith did a great job incorporating that theme and picking the perfect setting of 1911 New York. While it was the turn of the century full of expansion, it was also a time of oppression of the lower-working class and women. The world building was pretty straightforward and very easy to understand. 

The world is divided into the haves and have-nots, those with power and without power, and male and female. Frances, our heroine falls in the later. After a triggering violent attack Frances discovers she’s a witch. Immediately she gets whisked away to Haxahaven Academy. Haxahaven teaches its students’ that their place in the world is in a home. The magical spells learned revolved around domesticated routines in the home such as cooking, cleaning and sewing. It comes as no surprise that Frances yearns more in life than becoming a dutiful housewife. As her brother William once said, she was destined to change the world. And that’s exactly what Frances set out to do, but as with life, things don’t always turn out how we thought they would. 

 Frances is your typical seventeen-year-old, curious, rebellious and thinks she’s invincible. I liked that she did anything she set her mind to and never took no as an answer. It was easy to see her growth and transformation from beginning to end. I thought it was done well and best of all, actually believable. All the secondary characters were also well developed and memorable. I adored Frances’s confidantes Maxine and Leah. They embodied loyalty and sisterhood. I normally am not fond of love triangles but I kinda liked Oliver and Finn. They were the complete opposite, the old childhood friend and the mysterious dream boy. But unlike other cookie-cutter YA love interests, these guy had substance and piqued my interest. The somewhat biggest surprise of all was Finn. I guessed how everything was going to end but Smith definitely shocked me in the last chapter. Talk about a cliffhanger! 

 The Witch Haven exceeded all my expectations. I went in thinking it was going to be a regular ol’ story about a boarding school but it was so much more. The story had a natural progression throughout the entire book and ended in an explosive climax that I think will surprise the reader and have them frantically turning the pages. I flew through the last third of the book. The Witch Haven is a great debut encompassing self discovery and acceptance, sisterhood/friendship, and of course a lot of heart. I absolutely enjoyed The Witch Haven, it was one of my most anticipated read...and it didn’t disappoint! I can't wait to see what’s in store for Frances and her friends.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Title: Serpent & Dove

Author: Shelby Mahurin
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Series: Serpent & Dove #1
Audiobook, Unabridged
Publication: September 3, 2019 by HarperAudio
Source: Personal Library
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Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou's most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

I’ve been waiting for a good witch/witch hunter story for ages! Serpent and Dove sounded like the perfect remedy. The synopsis had me right off the bat; a witch marrying a witch hunter? Hell yes, sign me up A.S.A.P! The story started off very promising with the hustle and bustle of the city life as readers are introduced to Lou and Reid our main characters. But suddenly the story took a hard left leaving me lost and confused. It wasn’t till the very end that the story started to get better but honestly, it wasn’t enough to redeem itself from the haphazard middle/execution.

I’m going to start off with what I enjoyed. I liked that the story was centered only on the witches and chasseurs (witch hunter). There were no monsters, vampires, or werewolves to crowd the storyline, just two distinct factions. Although the witches were divided into specific covens, depending on their abilities. In Serpent & Dove, we were introduced to the Dame Blanc and Dame Rouge was briefly mentioned (which will be seen in-depth in the sequel). I also liked that there were many laugh-out-moments. Reid’s reactions to Lou’s outgoing, wild nature was priceless.

Unfortunately, the flaws outweighed the good. With so many amazing reviews, I was expecting to be blown away, or at least get buffy vibes. I got neither. The writing, world building and characters all fell short and left me feeling underwhelmed for most of the book. The writing left much to be desired, it didn’t flow nor have that captivating spark seen in most debut novels. I felt the writing needed more time to develop and given more time I’m sure it would’ve been better. The world building was a hot mess, or lack of a world building. While Mahurin never stated the time period, it isn’t too farfetched to assume that the story took place during the 16th century (time of the witch trials) or latest 17th or 18th century which is when the word, chasseurs was coined…or at least around those time frames. The descriptions of the setting also supported this assumption. Then there was the dialogue…things turned messier. Lou and Reid's vernacular kept bouncing back and forth to 16-17th century and present day. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have words like F*ck or B*tch back then. I could be wrong. I don’t have an issue with curse words, it’s all gravy. But my point was it didn’t sound right. Mahurin should have picked and stayed in one lane because the combination of the setting and language timeline/style was ridiculous and took me out of the story on more occasions than I can count. 

And finally, we have the characters. I’m not a fan of Lou or Reid as you can guess by now. Perhaps Mahurin was going for an independent feminist in Lou but Lou wasn’t likeable, period. She’s vulgar in the worst ways, the kind of girls you see drunk and belligerent at the bars. Which many can imagine, low-class (ironic, since she's the coven princess) trashy and annoying. Reid wasn’t any better. He was all about rules, rules and more rules. He had a stick so far up his ass, I was surprised he was able to run at a drop of a hat at the mention of a witch nearby. Reid apparently had no clue Lou was a witch till the very end. ZERO. I find that unbelievable, especially when it was said countless of times that witch magic gave off an unpleasant odor. And Reid and Lou got personal so many times, I lost count. Give me a break, I didn’t buy any of it.

Serpent & Dove fell way below expectations. The cover, while beautiful and eye-catching did not match with what was inside the book. And if you haven’t read this novel yet, avoid it, especially the audiobook. The audiobook had one of the most annoying narrators I’ve ever listened to. With that said, do yourself a favor and skip Serpent & Dove, this isn’t the witch story you’ve been waiting for.

 

 

Seriously Hexed by Tina Connolly

Title: Seriously Hexed
Author: Tina Connolly
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: Seriously Wicked # 3

Hardcover, 304 Pages
Publication: November 14, 2017 by Tor Teen

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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Cam has resigned herself to being a witch. Sort of. She s willing to do small things, like magically help her boyfriend Devon get over his ongoing stage fright. But tangling with other witches is not on her wishlist. Joining her mother s wicked witch coven is right out.

New acquaintance Poppy Jones is a Type A, A+ Student of True Witchery. She s got all the answers, and she s delighted to tangle with a bunch of wicked witches. She doesn t need any reluctant witch getting in her way, especially one who knows less than a dozen spells, and has zero plans for witch college.

Then a coven meeting goes drastically awry. A hex is taking down all thirteen members of the coven, one by one putting both girls mothers in jeopardy. Now the two teens are going to have to learn to work together, while simultaneously juggling werewolf puppies, celebrity demons, thirteen nasty hexes, and even nastier witches. They may have to go through hell and high water to save their mothers but they also might find a new friendship along the way.

This series gives me major Sabrina the Teen Witch vibes, a show I loved growing up. In the third and final installment of the Seriously Wicked series we continue to watch as Cam balances life as a witch and teenager in high school. At the start of the story, Cam is getting ready to be initiated into her mother’s coven except things go wrong the night of initiation when her mom disappears. Things go from bad to worst when a nasty hex starts targeting coven members. With the help of a fellow witch, Cam sets out to find out who the culprit is and to find her mom before the hex hit her next.

This series was so much fun! I loved Cam and her friends. Connolly did a great job showcasing cam’s witchy side and all the normal things teenagers had to deal with such as school, friendship and the dreaded process of applying for college…that despite being a witch, they were all pretty normal like the rest of us and had the same problems. In Seriously Hexed, we found out a lot more about the coven witches, Sarmine’s past and finally…what happened to Cam’s dad! One of the biggest mystery since the first book.

I really enjoyed Seriously Hexed, and the entire series overall. If you’re looking for a good witch series that’s light, fun and all around feel-good then I highly recommend picking up this series, starting with the first book, Seriously Wicked.

Devils & Thieves by Jennifer Rush

Title: Devils & Thieves
Author: Jennifer Rush
Genre: Paranormal, New Adult
Series: Devils & Thieves # 1

Hardcover, 336 Pages
Publication: October 3, 2017 by Little Brown BFYR

Source: I received a review copy (arc) from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. 

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Power corrupts. Magic kills.

Eighteen-year-old Jemmie Carmichael is surrounded by magic in the quiet town of Hawthorne, New York. In her world, magic users are called “kindled,” and Jemmie would count herself among them if only she could cast a simple spell without completely falling apart. It doesn't help that she was also recently snubbed by Crowe—the dangerous and enigmatic leader of Hawthorne’s kindled motorcycle gang, the Devils’ League.

When the entire kindled community rolls into Hawthorne for an annual festival, a rumor spreads that someone is practicing forbidden magic. Then people start to go missing. With threats closing in from every side, no one can be trusted. Jemmie and Crowe will have to put aside their tumultuous history to find their loved ones, and the only thing that might save them is the very flaw that keeps Jemmie from fully harnessing her magic. For all her years of feeling useless, Jemmie may just be the most powerful kindled of all.

Devils and Thieves is what you’d get if you mixed Sons of Anarchy and The Covenant. Has anyone seen the show or movie? It’s pretty good. I loved the SOA show and all things witches, so I was more than eager to read this new series. But to be honest, I had some trepidation before starting Devils and Thieves. There were more negative reviews than positive, and I had such high hopes for this new book…I mean, come on, magical biker gangs?! How awesome does that sound?

The world of Devils and Thieves is comprised of multiple motorcycle gangs, all with their own powers that’s past on from one generation to the next. The ability ranges from locating/hiding animate and inanimate objects, controlling peoples’ feelings and thoughts, talking to animals, visions and communicating with the dead, to changing peoples’ perception, etc. The world set-up was interesting but it was poorly developed and executed. There were twelve different types of magic and the author just rattled them off and went in to a very basic and brief explanation of each which left me lost and confused for half of the book. The author tried to distinguished each set of magic with smells and colors, which can only be seen by Jemmie…but all of it still got lost in the shuffle. Another issue I had was there were way too many characters. With the annual kindled festivities, all the MCs came into town and it was difficult to remember which person belonged to which charter. I think the information would’ve felt less chaotic if there were only 1-3 types of magic and charter, because sometimes less is more.

Jemmie took awhile to grow on me, it wasn’t until the end that I found her less annoying. She came off as whiny and clingy at the start of the book. And for the majority of the time she was constantly moping about Crowe; all because they shared one kissed and he dismissed her right after. It’s been a year…she should of moved on. But she didn't. Jemmie isn’t the greatest of female leads, but she definitely redeemed herself in the end. Many also complained about a love-triangle in the book…I’m not a fan of those either. However, it oddly didn’t bother me like it normally does. Probably because it wasn’t really a love-triangle. There was never a doubt who Jemmie loved and wanted to be with. Sad to say but other guy was just a rebound/distraction, she barely interacted with him beside face-timing  and seeing him at the festival for 3 days.

Devils and Thieves is a flawed New Adult (not sure why it’s labeled as YA since the characters are 18 and over) but it still provided a quick, engaging and good read. For the most part, I enjoyed it. Yes, the romance aspect was predictable, but the mystery surprised me. The kidnapper in the book was the last person I’d suspect! The ending was a game changer and has me curious to see what happens next with Jemmie and Co. With that said, it you like witches, or the show SOA; I suggest checking out Devils and Thieves…you might enjoy it!

Seriously Shifted by Tina Connolly

Title: Seriously Shifted
Author: Tina Connolly
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy
Series: Seriously Wicked # 2

Hardcover, 240 Pages
Publication: November 1, 2016 by Tor Teen

Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

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Teenage witch Cam isn’t crazy about the idea of learning magic. She’d rather be no witch than a bad one. But when a trio of her mother’s wicked witch friends decide to wreak havoc in her high school, Cam has no choice but to try to stop them.

Esmerelda is the mean girl of the witches. Valda likes to drop anvils on people’s heads. And Malkin—well, Malkin is just plain terrifying. Their idea of fun is a little game—they each pick a student from Cam’s high school and compete to see who can make their teen the most miserable. But Cam suspects one of the witches may have an ulterior motive…which means someone at school could be in worse danger yet.

Now Cam’s learning invisibility spells, dodging exploding cars, and pondering the ethics of love potions. All while trying to keep her grades up and go on a first date with her crush. If the witches don’t get him first, that is.

Can’t a good witch ever catch a break?

I had the pleasure of reading Connolly’s YA series, Seriously Wicked, last year and enjoyed it. I thought it was a fun and cute read. It reminded me a lot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch…a show I loved as a kid. Seriously Shifted, the second book in the series was just as fun as the first book! In the last book our protagonist Cam stopped The Witched Witch from wrecking havoc on her school and taking over the world. And in this sequel we found Cam taking on three evil witches determined to turn her school into a play ground. Each witch targeted a specific classmate, where misery was the goal and a mental breakdown meant winning. With the help of Jenah, Cam’s mother A.K.A. The Witched Witch and new friends Henny and Leo; Cam is on a mission to outsmart and out-witch the Do-Badder-Club Witches.

Cam is learning to embrace her witchy side and is finally willing to learn the ins and outs of witchcraft. Not only does Cam not want to be like her mother, she is determined to be a good and ethical witch; which was a little harder than it seemed when she’s surrounded by evil witches hell-bent on creating mayhem and tricking Cam into using non-ethical ingredients like Pixie Bone or Goat’s Blood. All the while, Cam is still trying to balance school, friends, and romance with the endless chores and lessons Sarmine kepy stacking on Cam.

I adored Cam and her friends. I loved that Cam wanted to use her magic to help and protect others. At sixteen, teenagers are usually more self absorbed and can only think of themselves. But not Cam; she went out of her way to help everyone…even people she barely knew. As for Cams friends, they were very supportive of Cam and had her back no matter the situation. They were just an all around great and unique group of people.

I definitely enjoyed Seriously Shifted. It was another fun and cute addition to the series and I am looking forward to reading more of Cam’s adventures in spells and high school. If you’re looking for a light, fun or quick read, I highly recommend picking up this series, beginning with Seriously Wicked.