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A review by whatyoutolkienabout
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais
5.0
As always I want to start by saying that I was given an ARC of this to review. My review is honest and left voluntarily and all thoughts are my own. Thank you to Harper360ya for giving me access to this.
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor was honestly a joy to read. I honestly adored seeing older women taking centre stage it was so refreshing. After introducing five of the coven of modern-day witches the novel starts with a bang as an angry mob try to march on Moonshyne Manor, demolition crane and all, due to them having fallen behind on their mortgage repayments. All seems lost even with their aging magic when a young feisty TikToker, who happens to be the mayor’s daughter, agrees to help them smash the patriarchy. What ensues following this tense opening is a heartwarming, sometimes heart-breaking, funny and endearing tale of sisterhood, magic and aging.
As I already mentioned I adore the fact that the novel deals with older protagonists (barring Persephone the TikToker). Some people may find it weird or odd but honestly I found it empowering. I hope I am half as cool as some of these ladies when I am in my 70s and 80s! And while my mother is not exactly near those ages I could see a lot of her spirit in these still powerful women. Marais manages to capture and portray that despite age a person doesn’t really change in spirit while their body may not allow them to do things they once did to the same level their minds are more than willing. It’s a tender and uplifting tale and reclaims this idea and sprinkles in other elements along the way including a magical heist!
There are many micro narratives within the novel including secrets, drama, love and betrayal. Each one ends with it’s own beautiful conclusion and allows closure not only for the characters but the reader as well. As always I don’t like to spoil anything but I will say the that Ivy and Ruby had me close to tears at the end. I truly enjoyed this book and will definitely be getting a physical copy as well. Marais tries and manages to do a number of things in their novel and honestly it was an absolute joy to read.
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor was honestly a joy to read. I honestly adored seeing older women taking centre stage it was so refreshing. After introducing five of the coven of modern-day witches the novel starts with a bang as an angry mob try to march on Moonshyne Manor, demolition crane and all, due to them having fallen behind on their mortgage repayments. All seems lost even with their aging magic when a young feisty TikToker, who happens to be the mayor’s daughter, agrees to help them smash the patriarchy. What ensues following this tense opening is a heartwarming, sometimes heart-breaking, funny and endearing tale of sisterhood, magic and aging.
As I already mentioned I adore the fact that the novel deals with older protagonists (barring Persephone the TikToker). Some people may find it weird or odd but honestly I found it empowering. I hope I am half as cool as some of these ladies when I am in my 70s and 80s! And while my mother is not exactly near those ages I could see a lot of her spirit in these still powerful women. Marais manages to capture and portray that despite age a person doesn’t really change in spirit while their body may not allow them to do things they once did to the same level their minds are more than willing. It’s a tender and uplifting tale and reclaims this idea and sprinkles in other elements along the way including a magical heist!
There are many micro narratives within the novel including secrets, drama, love and betrayal. Each one ends with it’s own beautiful conclusion and allows closure not only for the characters but the reader as well. As always I don’t like to spoil anything but I will say the that Ivy and Ruby had me close to tears at the end. I truly enjoyed this book and will definitely be getting a physical copy as well. Marais tries and manages to do a number of things in their novel and honestly it was an absolute joy to read.