This Spells Disaster

 This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin, 368 pages.

Morgan Greenwood is a disaster witch with a massive crush on Rory Sandler, who recently quit professional spellcasting to mix up magical cocktails in Morgan's hometown. Her family isn't thrilled about this decision, so Morgan agrees to be her fake girlfriend for the upcoming regional witch festival to convince Rory's family that she's happier with her life now. Unfortunately, the "disaster" part of "disaster witch" appears in the form of Morgan messing up a perfectly normal relaxation potion and potentially giving Rory a love potion instead, leaving her trying to break the effects of the spell with as little collateral damage as possible.

I really expected to like this book. The blurb really sold me, and I was ready for a light, funny book for Halloween. Unfortunately I found it very difficult to read because most of the plot could have been avoided if Morgan didn't constantly make the worst decisions physically possible for no obvious reason. There's an amount of suspension of disbelief usually inherent to fake dating (it's usually a larger-than-life kind of premise), but there was an amount of frustration involved with the choices of this book that made it very difficult for me to get invested in finishing it at all. I could clearly see all of the plot twists of the last fifty pages coming from before Morgan even suspected she gave Rory a love potion, and given that it's in first person it feels hard to believe that Morgan didn't even consider any of the many ways there may have actually been no problem. Although I'm sad to say it, I don't think I can recommend this one. 

The Familiar

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo, 385 pages

Luzia is a servant in the home of a spiteful (but not particularly wealthy) mistress in 16th Century Madrid. While most of the world sees Luzia as the lowest of the low (she does sleep on the floor of the pantry, after all), Luzia has a secret up her sleeve: she can perform little miracles like mending tears in fabric and un-burning the bread. When her mistress finds out, she puts Luzia's abilities on display in the hopes of climbing the social ladder. But soon, Luzia's miracles have grabbed the attention of Antonio Perez, the disgraced former secretary of King Philip. Perez puts Luzia in a perilous competition against three other so-called miracle workers, pitting them against each other under the watchful eye of the Inquistion. Complicating things further is the titular familiar, Santangel, a mysterious man who has been tasked with helping hone Luzia's talents.

I loved the character of Luzia, a woman who is intelligent, talented, and ambitious well beyond the bounds of her station. The way this book unravels keeps the reader guessing at what will happen next, and it's never clear who Luzia can trust, if anyone, as her skills and power grow. An excellent, if somewhat dark, fantasy, set against an unexpected (but somehow perfect) backdrop. Highly recommended.

Lolly Willowes

Lolly Willowes, or, The Loving Huntsman by Sylvia Townsend Warner  222 pp.

Set in the early twentieth century in England, spinster Laura Willowes, nicknamed Lolly within her close and controlling family, is taken into her brother's household after the death of her beloved father. Lolly lives a quiet, genteel existence assisting her sister-in-law with the children and household tasks. Once the children are grown, she realizes the need to get away from her stifling family and moves off to a tiny village of Great Mop where she rents rooms from a widow and begins a life of rambling the countryside and doing as she pleases. She eventually decides she is a witch and embarks on a supernatural journey with other townsfolk. When her nephew Titus comes to stay and she is once again stifled by family, she uses witchcraft to send him on his way. This somewhat odd little book is considered to be an early feminist classic and its author is known for her feminist writing.

The Lighthouse Witches

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke, 368 pages

When single mom Liv gets commissioned to paint an odd mural in a remote lighthouse in Scotland, she packs up her three daughters and moves them to a nearby house. However, strange stories of witches and changeling children abound in the village, and before long, two of Liv's three children have disappeared. Twenty-two years later, one of them turns up — but instead of being 29 years old, she's still the 7-year-old she was when she went missing. This is creepy, and haunting, and twists and turns in ways that I truly didn't expect. A lovely atmospheric tale.

The Hour of the Witch

The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian, 405 pages

In 17th Century Boston, unhappily married women have very few options when it comes to divorcing their husbands, particularly when the man has not been unfaithful or deserted her. But that's exactly what Mary Deerfield would like to do after five years of increasingly violent outbursts from her much-older husband Thomas. The final straw comes when Thomas takes one of the newfangled three-tined forks (meant for eating, not carving, and imported by Mary's father) and stabs it through her hand. But even with an injured hand, the divorce trial is difficult, particularly since so many of the Puritan magistrates see the weapon as "the Devil's tines" rather than an eating utensil. Mary must walk a fine line to seek an end to her marriage without bringing a charge of witchcraft down upon her head.

This is a fascinating exploration of the limitations upon women in the 1600s, as well as a pointed look at how little things have changed over the past 400 years. It's well-researched, well-written, and has a compelling plot that moves it along much faster than your average 400-page historical fiction novel. No wonder it has so many people waiting for it at UCPL!

We Ride Upon Sticks

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry, 384 pages

It's 1989 in Danvers, Massachusetts, and the varsity field hockey team is having their first winning season in AGES. The team's turnaround dates roughly to their summer camp, in which the goalie wrote a dark pledge and signed her name in her Emilio Estevez-adorned journal, soon pressuring her teammates to do the same. Are the two related? The team certainly thinks so, given their town's history as the original location of the 1692 witch trials. But is it that or just young women starting to stand up for themselves?

This is a funny, sharp, and surprisingly complex look at teen life in the late 1980s. Barry follows each team member for a chunk of the book, by the end, giving the reader a full scope of their lives. It's equal parts The Cruicible and My Best Friend's Exorcism, with a bit of Heathers thrown in, and it's absolutely fantastic.

Jilo

Jilo (Witching Savannah Book 4) by J.D. Horn   368 pp.

I recently blogged about the last book in the Witching Savannah trilogy. This book, while called the 4th book is actually a prequel to the other three. This book is essentially the biography of Mother Jilo, the Hoodoo Root doctor featured in the series. The Taylor family who are the focus of the trilogy have only a small part in this story. Jilo is one of a family of magic practitioners who was born with powerful magic. However, her grandmother tried to shield her from her powers and Jilo grows up knowing nothing of her abilities. It is only when evil threatens her and her family
that she takes up the mantle of magic worker and becomes Mother Jilo to the city of Savannah. This episode was better than the third book but still seemed to be lacking something I can't quite explain.

The Void

The Void (Witching Savannah Book 3) by J.D. Horn  322 pp.

In this third (and final?) installment, Mercy and her husband, Peter, are awaiting the arrival of baby Colin. However, Savannah has been rocked by the dismemberment death of a woman whose body parts have been found in seemingly random parts of the city. Soon demonic beings from the previous books reappear and it is clear that someone or a group of someones want to destroy Mercy and her baby. The Taylor family must join forces against those intent on destroying them. The ending is less than satisfactory with history changing so that Mercy never existed but the baby does as the child of her twin sister. And then Mercy returns. It seems the author was unable to decide on an ending and mashed together multiple options to a unfortunate conclusion.