Historical fantasy fronted by witches using actual practice and not mystical wand waving, leading a feminist suffragette charge with nothing but their wits and willpower. I say this a lot but I truly think this book might have been made for me. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.īut when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. Trigger Warnings, taken from author’s list on GR: Child abuse, both physical and psychological parental death arrest and imprisonment mind control pregnancy and childbirth, including forced hospitalization abortion racism sexism homophobia, both external and internalized threat of sexual assault, averted torture (mostly off-the-page, but alluded to) execution (attempted) child abandonment major character death. Thanks to Orbit Books for the review copy of this book, it has not affected my honest review. I’m obsessed with everything about this book, and I now desperately need a copy of The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

I ended up highlighting over 30 passages in my first read through, and it’s going to be even worse when I get a physical copy and can tab that one. I had hugely high expectations for this book and it smashed every one of them. A wise woman keeps her burning on the inside. That temper will get you burnt at the damn stake, Mama Mags used to tell her.

The once and future witches characters