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A review by marziesreads
The Witch's Kind by Louisa Morgan
4.0
3.5 Stars
I want to like this book so much more than my intellectual reaction to it. It wasn't the book I thought it was going into it, though I grew to love the two protagonists, Aunt Charlotte and her niece Barrie Anne Blythe. I also enjoyed Willow and Emma. My main question is... Is this really a book about witches? I'm not 100% sold on the idea.
I found the historical aspect of the story (post- WWII) to be of interest (how people recover from war), and I liked the slow revelation of witchery and the lesbian aspects (really, how many people are in total denial about their spinster aunts, I wonder?) but some of the secondary characters, in particular, Will, are just so two-dimensional and obvious that I occasionally felt annoyed. (You could see Will for who he was from the very beginning! No depth!)
I've seen some reviewers compare this novel to [b:Practical Magic|22896|Practical Magic (Practical Magic)|Alice Hoffman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490354120s/22896.jpg|4030671] by Alice Hoffman, and that's just a disservice to Morgan's writing here. While she explores relationships, magic, and love, the strongest aspect was the alien aspect for me, rather than any conventional witchcraft theme. It's not the X-Files exactly, but I'm not sure that readers picking up this book are going to get what they anticipated. Not that that's always a bad thing... Yet the story flows and I found the interrelationship between Barrie Anne, Charlotte, Willow the Dog and Emma to be a moving one.
A pleasant read if you don't go into it expecting some intergenerational family witchcraft story by Alice Hoffman!
I received a Digital Review Copy from Redhook Press in exchange for an honest review.
I want to like this book so much more than my intellectual reaction to it. It wasn't the book I thought it was going into it, though I grew to love the two protagonists, Aunt Charlotte and her niece Barrie Anne Blythe. I also enjoyed Willow and Emma. My main question is... Is this really a book about witches? I'm not 100% sold on the idea.
I found the historical aspect of the story (post- WWII) to be of interest (how people recover from war), and I liked the slow revelation of witchery and the lesbian aspects (really, how many people are in total denial about their spinster aunts, I wonder?) but some of the secondary characters, in particular, Will, are just so two-dimensional and obvious that I occasionally felt annoyed. (You could see Will for who he was from the very beginning! No depth!)
I've seen some reviewers compare this novel to [b:Practical Magic|22896|Practical Magic (Practical Magic)|Alice Hoffman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490354120s/22896.jpg|4030671] by Alice Hoffman, and that's just a disservice to Morgan's writing here. While she explores relationships, magic, and love, the strongest aspect was the alien aspect for me, rather than any conventional witchcraft theme. It's not the X-Files exactly, but I'm not sure that readers picking up this book are going to get what they anticipated. Not that that's always a bad thing... Yet the story flows and I found the interrelationship between Barrie Anne, Charlotte, Willow the Dog and Emma to be a moving one.
A pleasant read if you don't go into it expecting some intergenerational family witchcraft story by Alice Hoffman!
I received a Digital Review Copy from Redhook Press in exchange for an honest review.