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The Once and Future Witches 🧹

  • Writer: The_Secret_Bookreview
    The_Secret_Bookreview
  • Jun 30
  • 3 min read

⭐️⭐️⭐️


"I am fearful and I am something to be feared. Behind every witch is a woman wronged. Every woman draws a circle around herself. Sometimes she has to be the only thing inside it".


In 1893, witches are nothing more than a distant memory. Once feared and powerful, their craft has been reduced to harmless charms and nursery rhymes. For modern women, the only path to power lies in the ballot box.


When the Eastwood sisters—James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna join the suffragists of New Salem, they uncover lost words and forgotten magic that could turn the fight for women’s rights into a battle for the return of witches. However, dark forces are watching, determined to silence them. Shadows creep closer, sickness spreads, and those who would see witches erased will stop at nothing.


Magic may have been forgotten, but the Eastwood sisters are ready to bring it back.


I had high expectations for The Once and Future Witches, hoping for an enchanting and powerful read. I was drawn to the idea of women reclaiming their power through witchcraft while fighting for their rights. Sadly, the execution did not quite live up to my hopes.


It took me six months to finish this book, and I sometimes came close to putting it down entirely. Even now, I find it difficult to recall every character or the full scope of the plot.


Despite my desire to love this book, I lost interest about a quarter of the way through.

The Eastwood sisters, while each distinct in personality—Bella, the timid one; Agnes, the determined one; and Juniper, the wild one felt distant, making it hard to form a deep connection with them. While their responses to childhood trauma are portrayed in different ways, Bella becomes self-doubting, Agnes withdraws, and Juniper channels her anger, these character developments remain relatively simple. Rather than adding nuance, their flaws often became more frustrating.


Agnes was by far the most engaging of the three, but Bella’s passivity and Juniper’s lack of dynamic presence left me wanting more. Moreover, the tension between Bella and Agnes, which had the potential to add depth, felt unresolved, as if it was sidelined rather than meaningfully explored.


The magic system, though intriguing, was not as well-defined as I had hoped. Magic in this world is accessible to anyone with the right words and tools, which fits with the book’s themes of equality. However, this also made the characters’ struggles feel somewhat redundant—If magic is so powerful, why isn't it used to resolve conflicts more effectively?


The pacing was another challenge. The heavy exposition bogged the book down at times, drawing out the narrative rather than enhancing it. Some sections felt unnecessarily long and could have been trimmed to maintain the story's impact.


However, the book does have its merits, it kept me engaged enough for it to not be a DNF. It is undeniably well-researched, and the author’s attention to historical and political themes is impressive. The setting of 1893 New Salem is rich with potential, and the integration of real-world struggles with the magical elements provides a thought-provoking backdrop.


Despite these strengths, my lack of connection with the characters, the excessive detail, and the uneven handling of its themes made this book a slow and, at times, frustrating read. While many readers have loved this book, I found it to be a struggle. It had all the right ingredients to be something extraordinary, but it never quite came together for me.


An ambitious work with strong themes, but ultimately, not the right fit for my tastes.




Hand holding "The Once and Future Witches" book by Alix E. Harrow in a library. Colorful bookshelf background. Cover shows plants and scissors.

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