Welcome to Litsy!

OK @BookishMadHatter - I'm not really sure how you know me so well?! Salty treats are my jam and these pretzels are beyond addictive - and you picked out my favourite flavour! Also, peach tea - another favourite of mine! The bookmarks, stickers, bag, notepad, ear warmer (our 4 yo has already taken it as hers) - you are too generous!

The books are such an autumn vibe - I'm so excited to dive into these! Strong women characters always win with me!

Love this quote. This speaks to me on a spiritual, soul deep level.
#AlixEHarrow #TheOnceAndFutureWitches #equinox #solstice #moonlight #wildwomen #wildheartedwomen #outdoors

This is quite a big book and took some reading but I very much enjoyed it. I loved the three main characters, the rhymes and spells at the beginning of each chapter and just how it was written overall. It‘s a story of women‘s rights and witches and combines historical fact with fiction. Vividly written, it‘s a gripping, compelling and absorbing read. 5⭐️

Reading with my online book group, the Reading Loft on Groups.io

Witches, feminism, questions of both gender and racial equity, suffrage, twisted fairy tales, and spells hidden in everything from lullabies and nursery rhymes to scholarly tomes and newspapers: this book has it all and then some! The pacing was just a bit slow for me in places, but overall I loved it!

#witches #alternativehistory

I don‘t know if anyone else feels this way about NYC in particular, but Juniper‘s comment is an absolute, constant MOOD.

#JoyousJanuary round-up! I am all caught up with my reading for my busy January. I decided to give up Peach Blossom Spring for this month because I am on the verge of being #overbooked and think I‘d rather read it later, not rush.

This week: Love Medicine, The Once & Future Witches, & Middlemarch

This was my IRL book club‘s pick for November—women‘s suffrage & witchery felt right for an election month. I really enjoyed this mix of fantasy, fairy tale, & alternate history, with a healthy dose of female empowerment. I loved how the sisters grew—both on their own & together as sisters—and how fierce each one was, in her own way. The writing was clever & the cast of supporting characters was wonderful as well—from love interests to villains.

Such an excellent book, I also really enjoyed being able to switch seamlessly between audiobook and ebook

500 pages+ 4⭐️
It‘s 1893. No witches. Welcome the Eastwood sisters who join the suffragettes of New Salem and begin to learn the forgotten magical words that turn the womens movement into a witching movement.
The writing is this books greatest strength, traditional yet vivid. It really showcases sisterly bonds but it has issues of pacing.
Patience is needed to see the story through but is well worth it for the inspirational and empowering read

This was an amazing read! I think reading it yesterday during the election felt especially apt and gave it more weight. This has been sitting on my kindle waiting to be read all year. I think something about the description and cover art convinced me it would be a dense read that I was never quite in the mood for, but it wasn‘t that at all. It was a fun lively story with vibrant diverse characters and a great revolutionary spirit.

#pockestsarepower

Suffragette witches, led by a trio of sisters who charmed me with their messy bonds, fierce love, and cohesive rage. Adored this one.

And as I finished it during the first hour of Dewey‘s #reversereadathon, I completed the first part of the readathon‘s Book Reports Challenge (draw a picture that shows what your book is about) with this doodle of Beatrice Belladonna Eastwood.

Fitz is using it as a head rest 😅 Better read something else until he wakes up

Clocking in at just over 16 hours, this is one of the longest fiction audiobooks I've read...and it was amazing! The narration was beyond incredible. I am confident that I would have enjoyed the book even if I'd read this in print form, the story is so much more compelling and entrancing than I imagined it would be. That said, I cannot emphasize enough how it became an actual *experience* to have Gabra Zackman deliver this tale to my eager ears.

I loved this book. It's alternative history told like a fairy tale. Three sisters who are witches use the suffraget movement to bring witchcraft back into the world 🪶
#RoaringWolf #Gold @Roary47 @Littlewolf1
#BookSpin @TheAromaofBooks
#WickedWords #New @AsYouWish
#BBRC #GrowUp #AlternativeHistory @LibrarianRyan
#TheSupernaturalYear #Witches @AkashaVampie
#Pantone2022 #Potpourri @Clwojick

This was so great. Witches, feminism, suffrage, twisted fairy tales - I had so much fun with this book. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much. And I thought the writing was excellent - so visual and evocative.

📖 My Goodreads goal is 175 but I always make that flexible.
🤫 Quiet — I really need quiet in 2022.
📖 I‘m reading The Once and Future Witches, and I‘m enjoying it.
#thoughtfulthursday

Soooo good! A villain we can all hate. Women we can all root for. Magic we would probably all like to have! Definitely worth picking up.

Charity shop mini haul today ❤️

One witch you can laugh at. Three you can burn. But what do you do with a hundred?

There's no such things as witches, but there used to be.

(Started this one today 🎃)

#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

So, I misunderstood the open date and thought it was today, but my goodness… such amazing gifts. Really can‘t wait to test out the sticker pen. I‘ve never heard of those before. The book picks are just perfect! Thank you so much @Twainy especially for diligently trying to figure out tea!💜 #hhs

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This was a book club pick, & honestly not one I would have chosen on my own, but - and this is why I love book clubs - I loved it. Harrow‘s writing is beautiful, & I found myself often wishing I owned the copy I was reading instead of it being a library book just so I could highlight her words. It was a slower read for me, so I was glad I gave myself time to really sink into it &enjoy it. Feminist suffragette witches? It‘s a yes from me.

Book #53: I really wanted to love this book because I love the concept - witching in 1893 x the suffrage movement x sisterhood - but it took me a while to get through. I still liked the book but there was something missing for me, maybe in the pacing or POV. Love this cover!

I call this haul "I blame my local Barnes and Noble worker who convinced me I need them"

I'm really excited about this one! I've seen a TON of great reviews. And reading outside between classes is paradise.

This book is so good! Only halfway through but I feel like it may be getting close to best book of the year for me.

This is a good but not great story of three sister witches at the end of the 1800s. The women‘s suffrage movement is happening while the estranged sisters find each other again and try to find their way forward. I liked the distinctiveness of each sister and watching their interplay. The audio is well done.

So this is why women's dresses lack pockets! Love it! 🤣

What an amazing story about magic and family and women‘s empowerment! I loved this book! 🙌🏻🖤

This is seriously well written fairytale. In 1893, witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters―James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna―join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement.

Took a little bit to get going, but excellent character development, intriguing plot, and great writing! I particularly liked that all the witch spells were nursery rhymes and common songs.

#TBRPile 📚 “There‘s no such thing as witches, but there used to be.”

i gravitate toward sibling stories and this i thoroughly enjoyed. it was a story and family (blood and self-made), rites of passage, growing pains, love story and the list continues.

Idk about witchcraft but this coffee in a can business is definitely magic 🙀

Started this one last night 😍

My #BookSpinBingo card for April. 😃

#BookSpin : The Once and Future Witches
#DoubleSpin : White Sand Vol.2

@TheAromaofBooks

The plot of this was magnificent. The weaving of history, magic, and fairy tales was unexpected and perfect. A little wordy at times (especially in the first half for me) and the characters were meh to me, but so, so worth reading the whole thing. Magical.

Hmmm...

Thank you so much Allison for the wonderful #BookCupidSwap goodies!! I love everything! I can't wait to read this book! And I already broke into the sea salt caramel chocolate 😂 sooo good! 😍
Hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day! 💖

Thanks for hosting Brooke! ❤️

Unpopular opinion time! I was disappointed with this one. The story dragged for me, making it really tedious to get through to the point that I almost bailed. The characters were so tied to their tropes that they didn‘t develop beyond them enough for me to care, especially when their decision making was implausibly bad. The story was all over the place in general. There are better witchy books out there.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a beautiful story of sisterhood and girl power. I loved seeing them trying to make witchcraft a thing and women being powerful. The villain of the story was well done too. I liked the tales and spells that were thrown into the story. The only thing I was not a fan of was the slowness of the story. Overall it was good and I recommend it.
#bookstagram #bibliophile #litsy #littens #bookreview #review

I finally finished this one on this rainy Saturday night. It started slow for me, but I wound up liking it more that I thought I would when I was half way through. I‘m glad I stuck with it. And now I kinda want to know what happens to the characters after the book ended.

1. Tagged!

2. The stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Breathtakingly brilliant and the only adaptation I‘ve experienced that was better than the book.

3. Harry Potter! I saw the first two movies as a teenager before finally reading the books.

#WeekendReads @rachelsbrittain

An incredibly well-written, magical story that is ridiculously creative. Characters with distinct personalities, well-demonstrated flaws, & individualized motivations. Even supporting characters had dynamic development. The world-building was amazing with little historical nods & Easter eggs throughout the narrative, making it immensely fun to read. Despite the fact that it is a lengthy read, not a bit of the plot felt wasted. Beautiful & amazing.

I loved loved LOVED this book. Even more than I loved The 10,000 doors of January. Alix E. Harrow can really craft a magical story with just enough realism to make it so that you want it to be true.

I loved this book about witches and magic but more about women and sisters. I especially loved that the middle sister (out of three, like I am) was not evil.