The December Witches

A Month of Magic #3

by Jennifer Claessen

The conclusion to the A Month of Magic trilogy. December is Clemmie Merlyn’s favourite month as it usually begins with birthday cake and gifts. But as she turns thirteen, it begins with a Clemmie, and Clemmie alone amongst all witches, is full of magic. So full of magic she might not make it to the end of the month. As the snow spirals down, anxious Clemmie and the young hags will have to find some way to stop her exploding.

Because someone, or something, has chosen Clemmie and made her their One True Witch. But magic is meant to be shared and no-one can survive being filled to the brim with starry power. Can the Merlyn and Morgan covens finally take on the ancient twisted magic of their ancestors? And can they do it in time for Christmas?

Praise for A Month of
"This explores big, complicated feelings about identity and finding your place in the world, and is packed full of cosy seasonal details!" – Anna James

"A fresh take on witches...that is sure to leave readers spellbound" - Katie Tsang

"There’s real magic in this story, the magic of transformation and enchantment and extraordinary events, but also the magic of family and family relationships. Claessen conjures up both sorts with equal dexterity and readers will relish being in her world." - Andrea Reece, Love Reading

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

About the author

Jennifer was born in Reading and grew up a book worm. She studied literature and theatre at the University of Sheffield, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Canterbury Christchurch University and Central School of Speech and Drama. A teacher and theatre-maker, Jennifer loves stories, especially for children, whether on stage or page. Jennifer currently works in the West End, taking children to the theatre and lives in the East End with her partner, a Dutch toymaker, and their baby daughter. She loves reading, travel and ice cream. You can find her on her yellow bike or in a red velvet seat in the stalls, applauding.

Reviews

[EM WATSON]

It is finally December, which means Clem turns 13 and gets her first proper month of magic. There is joy in their house as cakes are made and gifts are given. But there is also ill health amongst the family of witches. Especially Aunt Connie, who has a terrible, worrying cough. Then with a bang, Clem is filled to overflowing with magical stars, the carriers of the magic. Things start to explode, and not just the occasional lightbulb.
She has way more than she should have. In fact, she has more than any witch could ever bear and runs the risk of exploding as her body tries to contain the ever-increasing burden and volume.
Someone, it seems, has chosen her to be the One True Witch! And that someone the hags, especially Clem, will come to know as the Stitch Witch’, the embodiment of thousands of years worth of magic being stuck in the tapestry, stewing away. And what the Stitch Witch wants is to release all the energy into a witch they can easily control, and then create Avalon, a witch’s home. This comes with a huge price tag, for the earth, witches and all of life as we know it.
It becomes a race to not only try to rescue Clem before she dies but to get rid of the malignant power before its new world of Avalon supplants all the Merlyns and Morgans know and hold dear. And let’s not forget Kerra, who is still held captive within the tapestry threads.
So, what did we think?
Wow. End of review.
OK, so we need to fill that in a bit. Whether you like witch stories or not, this, like the twelve months of the year and the twelve panels of the tapestry, is so very much more.
The relationship between the young hags of both covens and between their elders is captivating, at times fun, and rings so true of many diverse multi-generational families.
A coming-of-age adventure, this book most certainly is, and it does it well. The facts, sadness and joy of gaining and then losing family is very well portrayed, heartfelt and brings true strength to the story that hangs about Clem’s shoulders like the tapestry. It would be hard for us not to conclude the tapestry in this story is an analogy for life. Yes, that may seem obvious, as tapestries are often snapshots of a moment in time. But this one is more so. It depicts in layers the past, present and what may come if one is consumed by things; the risk of repeating destructive patterns.
As the conclusion to a trilogy, it is wholly satisfying. It brings delightful humour, and unexpected additions to the cast who all play a critical role, though both we and they may not realise it at first sight.
So, Crunch time.
A skilled, at times deeply heartfelt, but always compelling and fun adventure that is as worthy of telling and retelling as befits a modern re-imaging of the Arthurian legend and witchcraft shenanigans.

[Sifa Poulton]

I received a review copy from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinion.

THE DECEMBER WITCHES is an epic finale full of family and magical chaos.

As you might guess from the title, this is the very wintry book - and very Christmassy too! There is snow, a Father Christmas-like character (I really liked how that was woven in), and plenty of food references (alas they are too busy to eat much of it but maybe that's good for not making the reader hungry!)

I liked how the tapestry was used in this finale. It's been such a central object on the previous books and this time it felt the most active and threatening yet. It was a nice way to have thematic continuity while still upping the stakes. It all leads to a nicely epic final show down.

The Arthurian references continue, using that body of work as a jumping off point. This time, it is the idea of Avalon that is introduced - and in a little used way. The knights do return, which I liked.

In all, this is a delightfully wintry finale that hints at how things will be in the changed future of the witches.

[Chloe Booth-Dobson]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

It was lovely to be back following Clemmie and her family in this final book. As always for these wonderful witches it’s a month full of chaos, craziness, adventure and a lot of problem solving. Ive loved watching the young hags blossom into their confidence and abilities and the way that the family dynamics were explored was amazing. There were some tear jerking moments throughout which took me by surprise but made me love the story even more! I cannot recommend this series enough if you enjoy magic, coming of age stories, adventure and Arthurian legend.

I’m sad that this story has come to an end but I’m very excited to see what Jen comes up with next!

AD/PR PRODUCT (I did also buy a copy for myself too)

[Jennifer Claessen]

(I WROTE IT!)

Festive joy - even got a little donkey.

[Sam Foster]

An enjoyable end to the month of magic series. The story concluded perfectly and I loved the character growth in all of the characters. It was funny, sad and heartwarming.

[Tracey Sessions]

This was better than the second book and tied the whole trilogy up nicely.