The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

I absolutely loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January and have waited impatiently for a new Alix E Harrow novel to be published. Let me tell you that the wait was worth it ... you will not be disappointed.

It's a wonderfully mammoth read at over five hundred pages long, I devoured every page and was so sorry when it came to an end. 

Harrow cleverly mixes the familiar with an alternate reality in which witches are real but no longer exist ... officially. The reader is transported to New Salem in 1893 and it's a despondent place for women, who are oppressed in every way, that is until the arrival of the three estranged Eastwood sisters meet up again and come into their own. I loved how the fight to be a witch was intertwined with the fledgling suffragette movement.

The three sisters; Juniper, Agnes and Bella are very different characters and this is reflected in their magic too, I loved the idea that their magic is an extension of their personalties. It seems appropriate that it would be, and I wish I lived in such a world. 

There's more familiarity with the nursery rhymes and stories but they always have an interesting and unique spin provided by the very clever Harrow.

Sit back, relax and get ready for a big adventure, that you too won't wish to end, the struggle is epic and the stakes are high but you can't but have faith in the indomitable Eastwood sisters.

Thanks to Tracy at Compulsive Readers for a much appreciated gifted copy of this book.