Synopsis
1692. On the outskirts of Salem, a bookstore stands covered in overgrown vines. Inside, a young woman hides a linen-wrapped journal under a loose floorboard and runs away, panicked by the sound of hounds barking in the distance. The bookstore vanishes into thin air…
Present day. Stepping inside a pale-pink house on one of the oldest streets in Salem, Dora can’t believe she’s about to finally meet the mother she thought died tragically when she was just a child. But the excitement is short-lived. Dora’s mother has fear in her eyes, and with a trembling voice she ‘my life is in danger, and now so is yours…’
Desperate not to lose her mother all over again, Dora digs into her family’s mysterious past, and stumbles upon a seemingly impossible secret: the key to their survival is hidden in a bookstore that no one has seen for generations.
Losing herself amongst thorny brackens and twisted ferns, Dora eventually finds the path that leads to the bookstore. But someone is watching her. They’ve been waiting for her.
Review
Witches? Salem? Historical fiction? Magic? Familiars? Witchy cocktails called Black Magic?
Absolutely yes, I’m in.
This book was ultimately a really fun and atmospheric read. The story itself captivated me from start to finish. It was full of intrigue, amazing strong female characters, atmosphere, and a bit of suspense. I could barely put it down to be honest.
What I liked:
- Historical Elements – The first half of this book regularly goes back and forth between present day and Salem in the 1600s. It was really fun to read both of these narratives, and then see Salem in the present day compared with how it appeared in the past for these characters.
- Salem. The atmosphere of Salem is perfection, and it was the perfect setting for this book. The detail of the people around the town, the witchy-inspired shops, the description of the landscape – it all worked for me.
- Hades! A magical talking crow familiar? Need I say more?
- Fun witchy details like the black magic cocktail. There were little details like this scattered throughout that were really fun.
- The sisters – Lucine, Sephy, and Lenny. I love them all. I want to join their witchy sisterhood and drink black magic cocktails. Is that really too much to ask?
Didn’t like:
- The dialogue felt very cheesy and awkward at times. It almost felt YA?
- The bookstore. The title of this book is quite misleading. I was expecting to see a bit more about the bookstore, but really it only had a few pages in the book. I was a bit confused by this.
- The writing was fairly repetitive at times.
- Unanswered questions. After reading this I still had some questions and there were definitely some logical gaps. At one point one character says that it would be too much for their pretty heads to understand the details of what was happening… but really after 400 years of going through something you’d think they would have figured out a few answers.
