The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

The Once and Future Witches

by Alix E. Harrow

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.

But when the three Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote - and perhaps not even to live - the sisters must delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

There's no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Reviewed by Berls on

4 of 5 stars

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I'm really glad this was a book club book, because I probably wouldn't have ever picked it up and I'm almost certain I would have DNFd it before it got good. This just isn't the time period I would typically pick up and it was a SLOW start. But damn did it get good!

Okay so I think most important thing to note about this book is that it is an EXTREMLY slow start. The characters were difficult to get attached to (for me) at the start and as we jumped from each sister, I just didn't fully get/care what was going on. But there were tendrils enough of potential to keep me going - especially since this was a book for book club and I wanted to be able to engage in the conversation.

That being said, once it really got going it got incredibly good. It's extremely infuriating to be almost 200 years in the past and still seeing women fighting for basically the same rights and protections that we are currently fighting to hold on to. In our current political climate, that made this book all the more poignant. Women's rights - suffrage, abortion, protection from abuse, equality with men - all show up in this book. Some under the guise of witching, but really being a witch feels synonymous with being a woman with any kind of personal power in this book. That's not to say the magic in this book was anything less than exciting - it was exciting and fascinating as they were learning to understand and rebuild witching.

I really enjoyed the diversity in this book - we have everything from different races, to a lesbian couple, to a trans individual. And it's all done so naturally -- not like "here's some diverse characters" but instead "this is the fabric of life, so I'm including everyone." Just the way I like to see it. I loved the sisters once I got to know them, but it was really the others in their life that made this book. The relationships between the sisters and the others they grew close to had me choked up and tearing a few times.

The audio was a bit challenging unfortunately. I think the narration was fine, though I really would have liked to see a bit more distinction in the sister's voices. However, the musical interludes that appeared as a backdrop to the different witch stories/tales was very distracting. To the point that sometimes I couldn't quite hear/understand. I think the audio actually contributed to my considering a DNF at one point. But I would definitely listen to Gabra Zackman again, as I think she did ultimately deliver a good performance.

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  • Started reading
  • 4 August, 2022: Finished reading
  • 4 August, 2022: Reviewed