The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow: Book Review

The Once and Future Witches is the most recent book from Alix E. Harrow, with a new one scheduled to be released in the fall of 2021. The Once and Future Witches was released in October 2020 by Redhook. It has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards-Fantasy in 2020 and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy in 2021.

We are introduced to the three Eastwood sisters in New Salem in 1893. For the most part, two are trying to keep their heads down and avoid drama. The third wants to fight for what is rightfully hers and has been taken by men. She also wants to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. Along the way, the sisters find each other and fight for the past, present, and future of all women.

Synopsis

It’s 1893 in New Salem, women are fighting for the right to vote. Some are fighting for other things.

James Juniper Eastwood is a woman on the run. From her past, from her future. She is also running for her life, to fight back against those who have oppressed her her whole life.

Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood is a woman happy in words and books. She feels a void where her sisters used to be a part of her life, but she fills that space with more words and more learning.

Agnes Amaranth Eastwood is a woman just trying to survive. She is tired of fighting, she just wants to survive.

The estranged sisters come together in a random cycle of events after being estranged for seven years. They all know some binds have been broken, but each is unsure what to do about it. They also know that they need to work together to fight the same fight against an unknown/unseen force trying to tear the city apart.

But will they succeed?

Positives

The female characters, of which there are many, are strong and fierce women. Even mild-mannered, stuttering Beatrice.

The tension in the story is palpable. You can feel the desire to fight that June feels. You can feel the fear the Gideon Hill spreads throughout the city, though no one really understands why they feel that way.

The fact that there was LGBTQ+ representation was a surprise to me. While it is not a main factor in the story, it is nice to see it in a story set in the 1890s. It is actually part of the backstory for one of the main characters. Along the way, there is also a side story of a transgender character.

Negatives

While reading the story, you know rather quickly who the antagonist is. The reason for their anger and desire to destroy isn’t learned until the last quarter of the book, which is good. I think learning who the antagonist is would have been more satisfying if drawn out a bit more.

I feel as though the resolution of the conflict was a little too “neat and tidy.” Don’t get me wrong; you know that good will triumph; it just has to. But the way it triumphed was a little too easy. I was still saddened by the way it happened.

My Opinons

I listened to the audiobook version of The Once and Future Witches, and I honestly think it helped me enjoy the story that much more. Sure I would have enjoyed it if I read a physical copy, but the audiobook made it more immersive. Gabra Zackman was a fantastic narrator for this tale, and I may have to search for more books that she has read.

I feel as though Harrow did a great deal of research into the words she associated with the witching. Many were ones that I have heard and even recited, many times without ever thinking about where they came from. But as the story says, they were words handed down from mothers to their daughters. And that is where I heard many of them.

In the three Eastwood sisters, I found a bit of me. I found my desire to survive and fight for my kids in Agnes. In Beatrice, it was the desire to research, read, and be surrounded by words and facts. In Juniper, it was the fight for what’s right that I used to have when I was younger. And it’s a fight I hope to find in myself again.

In the story, I found myself transported to the setting of New Salem. I actually found myself more absorbed in the story when I was out in nature. Is that the witch in me trying to come through?

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.