Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Witch Haven

“Women are supposed to be competent at everything, but experts at nothing. Haven’t you heard?”

The book is slow paced, things happened gradually and not suddenly. The book follows 17 year old seamstress Francis Hallowell taking in 1911 New York City. She is in the process of grieving her brother who was mysteriously found dead and she is unable to search for answers as to what happened. While working one night an act of violence causes law enforcement to be involved and Francis thinking she will be hauled away by them, she was correct that she was being hauled away but it was to a sanatorium in Queens instead of prison. The sanatorium isn’t what she originally thinks it is, it’s an academy for witches and Francis had triggered her magical ability.

The book is well written, it took me a while to get into it around 100 pages they only reason it's loosing .5 stars in my opinion but once the world was built, the magic became known and the characters started to grow. Once I emerged into the story I could not put it down, their emotions felt raw through the pages and I hurt for them or laughed with them. There was love, and heartbreak, a coven, spells and betrayal and I couldn't have asked for more with this book.

I highly recommended this book to anyone who loves magic and history.

Content Warnings

artimas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

tranquiltides's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

With the exception of a couple chapters at the beginning and end (and only because I have a family to take care of and a day job) I darn near devoured this book in a single sitting.
I’m in my early 30s now, and YA fiction doesn’t always capture me the way it used to. It’s hard to find the protagonists relatable when they are half your age.
But this book. Man… This book sucked me in. I wanted to do nothing but read it.
The story was well written and engaging. There were little twists and turns through the whole thing, and while I never claim to be the kind of person who can smell a plot twist from a mile away, the twist at the end of this book really truly and genuinely caught me by surprise.
A great book to get lost in, cozied up under a blanket with a hot tea. High recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, fantasy, magic, and mystery.

Content Warnings

aesthetic_bookreader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

jlothian's review

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adventurous mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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courtnoodles's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book gave me The Owl House meets coming-of-age meets grief processing vibes and I loved it. The world building felt a bit slow to start for me, however once Frances's magic kicked in, the story picked up well. Once at Haxahaven, I chafed against the "boring" magic they were being taught along with Frances, Lena, and Maxine. What's the point in having this great and awesome power if you're just going to use it for chores?? But I also kept having to remind myself that, as said in the book, "The world doesn't like powerful women." Especially not back in the early 1900s.

To have a magic system that manifests in it's users after a traumatic experience was a powerful choice, and given the time frame the story is set in, traumatic experiences (especially for women and girls) abound. Frances's story was likely a similar and common one, unwelcome sexual advances by an older man, but then hearing stories like Lena's with the Indian school and being ripped away from her family like that; my heart ached. "What's the best way to kill an entire people? Take their children." And her response later in that scene when she "reclaimed" or at least restated that she was of her people (I listened to the audiobook, so I don't have the exact line to share), what a visceral moment. I started to tear up a bit in the car as I listened.

And the quasi-romance subplot with Finn and Oliver. Oh Frances, what options! Like Frances I, too, was taken by that sweet Irish brogue, mischievous smile, and sparkling eyes. But Oliver was such a solid choice too; steadfast, honest, and knew everything she'd been through, and had been just as heartbroken by losing William. Also the casual queer rep in the lovely kitchen witches as well as Maxine was lovely to see, even if it was swept a bit under the rug (which I also give a bit of a pass because, time period)

When Maxine told Frances "I don't trust him." (meaning Finn) I started to have some suspicions, since the sisters of Haxahaven always had each other's backs, especially when the chips were down. I wanted to trust Finn so much, and hearing he had been seeing Frances in his dreams for years had such a romantic air when he first shared it with her. And their date to Coney Island? So sweet!! But then when he just had the binding spell at the ready after the resurrection spell didn't work when Frances tried it alone, and when he didn't repeat the final binding words back to Frances, only for him to STEAL HER POWER FOR HIS OWN GAIN?? Readers, when I tell you I was LIVID and SEETHING on the couch as I listened to the complete change in character as he described his new world order. I was dumbstruck!! I raged with Frances and LOVED how the power of sisterhood was what ultimately brought him to his knees after the final fight at Haxahaven. That she ripped his power from him just has he had her, through the power of love and support from her coven.

I was so glad everyone survived, and that Frances and Oliver will have his time to convalesce to let her bring him up to speed on everything and what that means for them as a couple/pair in the next book. And then that epilogue??? The letter from Finn!! I'm at the same time, thrilled, terrified, and furious that he survived the final encounter and have no idea if his magic will be back the next time we see him, but I can't wait to find out!!

Content Warnings

graciejames's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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