Welcome to Litsy!

As World War I rages, there are evils-living and dead-that only a witch can see. Petra Kurkova, a born witch, has the ability to capture the dead on film. She is recruited to join a team of sorcerers headed to the frontlines, where the bloodshed has resurrected foul creatures.

Great blend of historical, fantasy, and horror. I highly recommend.

The Order of Seven Stars Book 1 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#SeriesLove2024 #ReadAway2024
#ReadYourKindle (March #16)

Enjoyed this re-read for #bookspin but had forgotten how bloody long it is! Not quite as good as the witching hour, but good to get more of Lasher‘s history, and also hear more from Julian, whom I LOVE

For most of this book I thought it would be a pick—and maybe it still should be—but I found the last couple chapters disappointing. The first 11 trials are real, riveting historical witchcraft trials, chosen to both be representative of other trials of their time and to illustrate turning points in the history of witch trials. But trial 12 is a fictional trial that represents the horrible treatment of “witches” in southern Africa—couldn‘t she…

Another irritating error. The Wiccan symbol is a pentacle, not a “pentangle”—seriously, how do you study witchcraft and get that wrong? Also, the symbol isn‘t approved for current service members (I don‘t even know whether that‘s a thing). It‘s approved for placement on grave markers of service members, after years of work, which hardly supports her assertion that the US government theoretically allows freedom of religion including witchcraft.

Hmm… no, it didn‘t. That wasn‘t added to the dollar bill until the 1950s. 🤔

I hate finding errors like this in books. It makes me suspicious of all the research. 🤨

It‘s nice to start a weekend trip with a new book!

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/EJZpDpJLa1s

Enjoy!

1. Nothing special. Normal week for me.

2. Coffee. I don‘t really snack while reading.

3. Usually a bookmark.

4. Also reading Jane Eyre, Carrie, and Flashback.

#MotivationalMonday

For my IRL book club: canceled by a snowstorm! I expected fluffy: it actually tackles serious issues about gender and trans identity, mutually supportive women‘s communities outside mainstream culture, aging, and, of course, magic. Resilient women brought together in childhood have all developed their own specific powers, internal tensions, and affiliations, to find that their property is threatened with destruction and they need to fight back.

With a slightly academic tone, Gibson examines 13 witch trials throughout history….spoiler alert, only one of the dozens of mostly women (there are just a couple men highlighted) were never or not self-proclaimed witches. I‘d love to say “see how far we‘ve come,” but as Gibson shows in her last case from the 21st century, accusations have evolved but the underlying causes remain. Politics. Socioeconomic. Nonconformity to religion. Recommended!