Set in Haelsford, Florida, a town that is a hellmouth, The Witchery follows Logan, a baby witch who is struggling to control her powers as she arrives to the witchtown to begin a new school year at a magical academy. Immediately taken under the wing of an infamous group of witches, the four decide to break the town’s curse that causes the Haunting Season, a time where Wolves rise from the swamp to feed on the town’s inhabitants. Meanwhile, with the Haunting Season drawing nearer, two boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches to stand under their protection—but as they become involved with the witches’ plans to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers threaten to resurface and a race against the clock begins.
The premise of this story was so intriguing—a cursed town that experiences the annual Haunting (which is basically a wolf trying to murder everyone in their way) and a group of powerful witches deciding to take it upon themselves to rid the town of the hex—and The Witchery definitely delivered all the dark, tension-filled vibes.
While it takes a while to establish the ‘voices’ of the six different POVs we get (yes, if you don’t like switching POVs, this might not be the best book for you), once you get into the book and its unique storytelling, it’s quite fun to switch back and forth and get everyone’s own perspective on what’s happening. As with every book that has multiple POVs, there are some I absolutely didn’t care for and thought were unnecessary while I kept flipping the pages to return to those characters I wanted to learn more about. That being said, the cast of characters is so diverse (we have an asexual character which made me super happy and sapphic relationships though they’re not the happiest depiction) which makes up for the fact that some of them are just a tad underdeveloped—but again, it’s hard to have six characters be fully fleshed-out considering this is only one book.
As for the characters, I really loved that we got to see a group of witches take on a hex created centuries ago. The magical elements and learning about the history of the town made for a great reading experience and though the magical system wasn’t really explained, it was all straightforward enough to not feel like you were missing out on anything. While I sometimes felt that Logan was a bit…unnecessary considering she spends the majority of her time lamenting the fact that she can’t do magic and had a hard time fitting in with Iris, Thalia and Jailah who were an established group of friends beforehand, I did love seeing the other characters interact with Logan in different ways and approaching a relationship from different angles. It was also pretty cool to see inside the boys’ heads and have mystical elements—such as the tether between two characters—influence their actions and feelings. As for the pacing, you’re definitely not going to get bored watching these witches do everything in their power to save the town.
If you’re up for a witchy story featuring an amazing cast of black and queer powerful witches, twists, secrets and a dash of dark humour, then The Witchery is the perfect read for you!
The Witchery is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 26th 2022.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A bewitching debut by S. Isabelle, perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, Zoraida Córdova, and Leigh Bardugo!
THE HAUNTING SEASON IS HERE AND THE WOLVES ARE AWAKE.
Haelsford, Florida is a Hellmouth. Or at least, that’s what Logan, a baby witch struggling to control her powers, thinks as she arrives to the witchtown to begin the new school year at Mesmortes Coven Academy. She is immediately taken under the wing of the infamous Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch who wants nothing more than to break the town’s curse; Jailah is one of the most powerful witches at the academy but her thirst for power may lead her down a dark path; and Thalia, the talented greenwitch, is on the run from her religious family and a past that still haunts her.
Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two Hammersmitt boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection. But as they become involved with the Mesmortes witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait.
The cost to break the curse may be greater than any witch or human could ever know.
