This is book three in the White Haven Witches series and I wish I had managed to read the first two books first, as I really enjoyed this one! You don’t have to have read the previous books as the author fills you in with the backstory. The huge unleashing of magic around the local area of White Haven, Cornwall, has caused a lot of strange occurrences to happen. The search of Avery and her fellow witches, for their family grimoires and the battle that happened under the Old Souls Church, has led to something escaping from the spirit world. What that was, they aren’t sure. What they did, released the binding spell keeping dangerous souls imprisoned and their action unleashed huge magic to the area.
With the large wave of magic that was released, powerful supernatural creatures were attracted to the magic unleashed. Some were the daughters of Llyr, what we would call mermaids, and they need human men to take as husbands, to produce the next generation of mermaids and mermen. There are also the creatures that came through from the underworld, through the opening beneath the church! Avery, Alex and their friends have to also contend with the Witches Council of Cornwall. Not something they had ever been a part of, but maybe something they should have been invited to. If they had, maybe they wouldn’t have done what they did. Nor did they know what the ramifications of their actions would have been.
After the magic had been unleashed, the Witches Council invited Avery and her fellow witches to become the thirteenth coven in Cornwall. Some of the Witches Council members hate them for their actions and their family history. The Faversham family and their friends, cannot forget their defeat and the death of the head of their family, a man many saw as a bully who controlled all of the covens. A few welcome Avery and she manages to make a few friendly connections from other local covens.
There is plenty of action in this book, with the addition of the presence of a ghost hunting group of students, and the witches of White Haven that find friends amongst some other witches and use the help of the humans who know about their secret life. They have a fight on their hands. First with the beings that entered through the church when they broke the binding spell. Then with a fight against the mermaids who are taking young fishermen from the local area.
They have run-ins with both of these groups and find that the Witches Council is not exactly wanting to assist them. It was them that caused the problem and they say it’s up to them to sort it out. Alex finds he can link to the beings that escaped the church and manages to get them to stop their violence and even to come and help them. The mermaids however, are very aggressive and are not going to stop doing what they must. A big showdown on the beach is a visual highlight of the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The main characters are varied and interesting. You have ghost hunters working with a group of witches and finding out a lot more than they maybe thought they would. A new coven of young witches, who are just coming into their powers, and learning what they can do. What they will be able to do with their powers, with all the magic hanging over White Haven, will be fun to see in any future books. I look forward to reading any future books and also the first few to catch up on. I received an ARC copy of this book from the author and I have freely given my own opinion above.