Reviews

Witches on the Road Tonight, by Sheri Holman

okk's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

skyroxy's review against another edition

2.0

I love Sheri Holman's other books. This one was strange. It was like the author started and stopped three different stories and then did it again. I thought it would all come together...nope.

scribal's review against another edition

3.0

Holman can tell a story. She can put you in a place with smells and sights and sounds. And she has believable, complicated characters. Some of them she understands and lets you in on what makes them do the things they do, like Sonia in this story. Some seem more resistant, like the author is still trying to figure them out. This is no criticism in my opinion.
Reviews seem divided on this book,bit of a love/hate situation. Someone asked why there wasn't more buzz about it. Here's my speculation on the reasons for both those things. Witches on the Road Tonight does not easily fit a genre or category. I'm always amazed how many people prefer to know exactly what's in a book before they read it. I do not. That being said, the flaw in the book for me (not 5 stars) is that it didn't allow the reader just a little more identification and sympathy with one character they could follow through the book. It wouldn't have taken much. It seems to be Eddie's story but he remained distant and unreadable for me.

mossygelfling's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

amyextradot's review against another edition

3.0

The story of three generations of family--possibly "witches" is told in a very intricate manner. I just wish things would have been tied up better.

mirk's review against another edition

3.0

I liked much of it, but I'm really allergic to books that foreshadow, flash-forward and then back-fill. I get it as a story telling device, and I understand that people enjoy it, but it drives me bug shit.

noide127's review against another edition

3.0

I really couldn't get into Tucker's sections, and that made me drop this book about 3 times before I finally powered through the first one and found there was a mystery and interesting characters in there as well. Although every character in the book is deeply flawed and very human in the sense that they don't redeem themselves immediately (or at all), I was really repelled by Tucker.

Once over that, I liked Jasper's mystery that was enticed by the title of the book and the fragments of the story that were left more open to interpretation (Willis' spells, Cora and her family and what happened to Tucker).

Some segments were too heavy on the descriptions.

I'd love to watch Captain Casket's show.

icameheretoread's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I very much wanted to love this book, and I just didn't. There are multiple stories going on in multiple time periods and that was fine. It was the writing style, I think, it just didn't gel with me. I had many questions about the "how" of the "nightly rides". I thought I understood some of the characters (like Sonia) but then they act completely out of character and I was lost and I hated young Wallis and didn't want to spend anytime with her as an adult. Also a death is foreshadowed very early on in the story and then that character is brought to the brink of death multiple times and it's a false alarm.
I loved the WPA angle, and I loved the Captain Casket bit, I just didn't like any of the players. I don't need to love a character to love a book, but I can't be repulsed by all of them as well. 

hopesmash42's review against another edition

2.0

I don't know what this book was, but it was certainly not what I expected. When I read the synopisis I figured it would be an interesting history of three generations of witches. A little bit fantasy and little bit creepy. Instead I had to push my way through the most confusing, flip flopping story because I am stubborn and needed to finish it. I found it hard to get into the book at first and keep track of who was who. There also really wasn't much of a storyline outside of the parts with Cora. If the whole book had been just about her and Eddie as a kid it would have been much better (but still weird). The whole section with Panther Gap and Tucker Hayes was odd to say the least. The writing and phrasing was good, even beautiful at times, but unfortunately I really didn't care for the rest of the book. I finished it feeling confused and wondering "what was the point?".

miajmu's review against another edition

1.0

I really liked the 1940's story, but I hated the rest. Just not for me.