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A review by thelilbookwitch
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
5.0
“Those averse to magic need not apply.”
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay follows the lives of three women, Beatrice, Adelaide, and Eleanor. Each of them a witch in her own right, though at various stages of their magical development, and each of them discovering what it means to them to be a witch. Set in New York City in the late 1800’s, vices are being protested, votes for women is being established, and anyone paying attention to the strange things have been happening is surely in the path of something stranger yet to come.
Beatrice, 17 and eager to start a life of her own after being raised by her guardian and aunt, has set her sights on Manhattan after seeing an advert for a shop girl in a local paper. She knows in her bones that the job is hers, and her new life is just a train ride away, but little bumps in the road keep cropping up. Mysterious men in suits, large statues from distant lands, and visions in fire.
Adelaide Thom, the one-eyed cartomancer and palm reader with a tragic past has been making and remaking herself for years, and with the assistance of her business partner and friend Eleanor, she’s finally succeeding with their joint tea shop venture, Tea and Sympathy. It’s a pity her mother’s ghost won’t stop hanging around the shop, or that the landlord wants to evict them.
Eleanor, the eldest at 31, is the most experienced witch in the trio, yearns for the quieter life of her childhood cottage located in an unnamed woods by an unnamed village. She was raised by her mother and the family’s seemingly ageless raven, Perdu, who still lives with her in the tea shop she and Adelaide have opened.
Unfortunately for these ladies, but fantastic for readers, the quiet life is not to be had at Tea and Sympathy, as mysterious and dark forces lurking in the city are whipping religious groups into a frenzy, the word “witch” on their tongues as the devout begin their hunt.
Check out my full review, or read the short summary below.
The Witches of New York is everything I expected it to be: magical, transportive, and transformative. McKay has built this book like a finely brewed tea; subtle hints of magic, vices, and religion at first, and then a full bodied story uniting all the flavors. It is not a book for those easily offended by the concepts of female autonomy, witchcraft, and love affairs between two women (however brief and sensuously written). It is a historical fiction laced with modern concepts and morals, things that surely existed back then and were far more subversive and controversial than the book can do them justice, though it does try.
The language in this book flows in a way that is both familiar and foreign, and it entranced me almost from the first sentence. In reality, it only took until the second paragraph. It feels like entering into a city that is shrouded in fog, the lantern of the narrator showing you the snippets you need to see to gain a feel for the terrain. It is not all pleasant.
Scenes have the right amount of detail without overloading the dialogue, and it isn’t until near the end of the book that creepiness overtakes the mood of wonder about everything that’s happening. The characters have their defined histories that make them each survivors in their own ways.
This book is perfect for older teens looking to branch out into something other than YA (Alex Awards are a thing), as well as people who enjoy historical fiction that mixes with fantasy. I might have read it in a night, but it’s a book that can also be read at a more leisurely pace as well. I think I may also buy my own copy of it and then pray for a sequel (borrowed this one from my library).
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay follows the lives of three women, Beatrice, Adelaide, and Eleanor. Each of them a witch in her own right, though at various stages of their magical development, and each of them discovering what it means to them to be a witch. Set in New York City in the late 1800’s, vices are being protested, votes for women is being established, and anyone paying attention to the strange things have been happening is surely in the path of something stranger yet to come.
Beatrice, 17 and eager to start a life of her own after being raised by her guardian and aunt, has set her sights on Manhattan after seeing an advert for a shop girl in a local paper. She knows in her bones that the job is hers, and her new life is just a train ride away, but little bumps in the road keep cropping up. Mysterious men in suits, large statues from distant lands, and visions in fire.
Adelaide Thom, the one-eyed cartomancer and palm reader with a tragic past has been making and remaking herself for years, and with the assistance of her business partner and friend Eleanor, she’s finally succeeding with their joint tea shop venture, Tea and Sympathy. It’s a pity her mother’s ghost won’t stop hanging around the shop, or that the landlord wants to evict them.
Eleanor, the eldest at 31, is the most experienced witch in the trio, yearns for the quieter life of her childhood cottage located in an unnamed woods by an unnamed village. She was raised by her mother and the family’s seemingly ageless raven, Perdu, who still lives with her in the tea shop she and Adelaide have opened.
Unfortunately for these ladies, but fantastic for readers, the quiet life is not to be had at Tea and Sympathy, as mysterious and dark forces lurking in the city are whipping religious groups into a frenzy, the word “witch” on their tongues as the devout begin their hunt.
Check out my full review, or read the short summary below.
The Witches of New York is everything I expected it to be: magical, transportive, and transformative. McKay has built this book like a finely brewed tea; subtle hints of magic, vices, and religion at first, and then a full bodied story uniting all the flavors. It is not a book for those easily offended by the concepts of female autonomy, witchcraft, and love affairs between two women (however brief and sensuously written). It is a historical fiction laced with modern concepts and morals, things that surely existed back then and were far more subversive and controversial than the book can do them justice, though it does try.
The language in this book flows in a way that is both familiar and foreign, and it entranced me almost from the first sentence. In reality, it only took until the second paragraph. It feels like entering into a city that is shrouded in fog, the lantern of the narrator showing you the snippets you need to see to gain a feel for the terrain. It is not all pleasant.
Scenes have the right amount of detail without overloading the dialogue, and it isn’t until near the end of the book that creepiness overtakes the mood of wonder about everything that’s happening. The characters have their defined histories that make them each survivors in their own ways.
This book is perfect for older teens looking to branch out into something other than YA (Alex Awards are a thing), as well as people who enjoy historical fiction that mixes with fantasy. I might have read it in a night, but it’s a book that can also be read at a more leisurely pace as well. I think I may also buy my own copy of it and then pray for a sequel (borrowed this one from my library).