Overview

For fans of Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary and Alix E. Harrow’s The Once and Future Witches, this lush, atmospheric novel from the author of Where Ivy Dares to Grow blends witchcraft, queer love, a vibrant Edinburgh setting, and Scottish folklore for a propulsive and emotional story exploring what it means to resist the patriarchy and find your voice.

“A lyrical and hauntingly beautiful new voice.” —Hester Fox, Author of A Lullaby for Witches

In an alternate Edinburgh of 1824, every woman lives in fear that she will be the next one hanged for witchcraft. All it takes is invoking the anger, or the desire, of the wrong person. Nellie Duncan, beautiful and unwed, keeps to herself until she encounters the Rae Women’s Apothecary. There, fiery Jean Rae and the other women provide cures and teach others that they too can aid the winter deity, the Cailleach, embracing her characteristic independence, agency, and craft, in turn becoming witches themselves.

Nellie finds a place and a purpose at the shop, and a blossoming romance with Jean, as she learns about nature-based craft and a witch’s ability to return to life after death. But the Cailleach has an ancient enemy intent on stripping the power of the deity and all her witches, leaving a wake of patriarchal violence and destruction. When heart-breaking disaster strikes, Nellie flees and spends the next two centuries hiding from the world—until love gives her the courage and the motivation to come back.

Nellie’s past is waiting for her there, and hanging witches is no longer the only means of oppression. But this time, Nellie refuses to run—either from her foes, or from her resolve to awaken others to the unimaginable power that can come with fighting the patriarchy in its many forms—and finding one’s own magical inner-strength.

Review

I really enjoyed the drama in this novel.

This story starts with the hanging of a witch in the Grassmarket of Edinburgh. Nellie witnesses this horrible tragedy. The woman being hanged looked right at her. The leads Nellie to search out the Rae Women’s apothecary. These women are of the deity Cailleach. These women provide cures and treatments to other women. But they have a dreadful enemy. And when violence breaks out Nellie runs! She stays hidden for several centuries until she has to come back to Edinburgh and it changes her whole world!

I savored the strength of these women! This time period is not kind to them. But through intelligence and creativity they manage to stay alive and live to fight another day.

This is not my usual genre. It is a bit more mystical than I usually like but the characters and the setting were too good to pass up! And hey…fall is around the corner. Time to start these fall reads! And I highly recommend this one!

Need a good, witchy, historical fiction tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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