A Circle Outside

by Linda Rosewood

A subversive comedy of manners set in a commune of lesbian witches in Eighties California

It's the early 1980s, and a household of lesbian feminists establish a women-only commune in an ancient Californian redwood forest.

It seems a perfect place to practise the ritual magic that helps them function harmoniously as a group – even if they aren't all true believers. By getting back to the land, they can also live more as nature intended and give the finger to the Patriarchy.

That doesn't stop jealousies arising, as Wren, an artist, nurses an unrequited crush on Robin, the land's extraordinarily generous owner. Further conflict brews as Gloria, the manipulative leader of the group, disagrees with Robin about her own no men on the land.

Warm, funny and harking unashamedly back to a less toxic era, A Circle Outside is a seductive vision of a utopian dream, where the only real magic is self-transformation.

Genres: Lesbian

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2025

Reviews

[Lady Olenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The writing may be plain but the rituals, the prayers the celebration behind the rituals were on point and validates general witchcraft practices and beliefs.

The story follows a group of women/coven who refuses to live in the patriarchy with patriarchal rules, men in any form and proceeds to live and work together, basically a commune.

A chunk of the story focused on activities of daily living building their new home from scratch. It could be tedious to read at times but it was broken up by exciting and relevant witchy rituals and of course lesbian dramaaa.

[leyla · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Circle Outside was not for me. I was excited to read about a feminist coven and was hoping that this book would explore the different dynamics within the friendships of the members. I think, unfortunately, there were too many main characters and that because of that, the author wasn't able to develop them fully. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed trying to keep track of who was who at the beginning of the novel since so many characters were introduced at the same time.
While I enjoyed reading it more as I went along, I didn't really connect with the writing. It felt quite stiff at times.

While this one wasn't my cup of tea, if you enjoy feminist, queer or witchy elements in your books, it might be your perfect read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lightning Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Joanne Hale · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF'D 23%

this needs more editing. Pull this back and put some love into these characters... a group / coven of lesbian Witches buy a house and try to fix it up. The banter never stopped, I personally don't need a plot- but holy heck nothing happened except not funny banter from some 30something year old women. I had to stop because trying to keep each character straight in my head was giving me a migraine.

[ada ☽ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 15%. This reads like a badly written and developed fanfiction - no descriptions whatsoever, most of the novel seems to be boring dialogue, the writing about feelings and motives feels like that of a third grade student. The premise was highly intriguing - lesbian feminist witches, i was so excited to love this novel - but the execution is extremely and insurmountably lacking.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Michelle]

DNF.

Too much telling and not showing.

[Jackie McMillan · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a younger lesbian, I fell in love with The Hadra so was up for revisiting a book about lesbians using their power. However, A Circle Outside is about a whiny group of 1980s lesbian witches who share-house with the same difficulties faced by other group of women who live with and have sex with each other: "But don't say the lesbian community is incestuous. There's nothing wrong with women coming together and acting on their lust."

The supposedly revolutionary part of this group's practice is that this coven massages the whole body of their members on their ritual days, including genitals: "each of the Elements freely massaged their Fire women, never avoiding her breasts and vulva as massages did in Patriarchy." A coven that plays together stays together apparently...

However, as you might expect from the time period where in lesbian space projects toppled over the inclusion or exclusion of trans women, separatism rears its ugly head: "They must be talking about separatism again. Women got so political about it. Why think about men when you're on women's land?" You'll even get tired of hearing about the patriarchy (it's laboured) including the internalised patriarchy women bring into women's spaces. Maybe deciding wanting a tractor as patriarchal was a bridge too far...

The writing is pedestrian. Too many characters are introduced in one big swathe so you're constantly trying to remember who's had sex with who, and who's wearing the ridiculous ears. This impacts character development. I spent most of the novel finding Wren, the lead protagonist, annoying: "Wren never made art that challenged anyone. She thought living as a lesbian witch was enough." Wren thrusts herself onto flatmates who are not attracted to her: "Wren, you keep inviting me to do things I can't. It hurts both of us to tell you no all the time." Her flatmates are gentle about it, but do point out the way she is attracted only to women who are emotionally unavailable. It's manipulative, and I hated the ending as a result. We shouldn't reward coerced sex, even on the astral plane.

With thanks to NetGalley & Lightning Books

[Jen Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 40%

I wanted to like this. I really wish it had been properly edited.

The good bits were buried so deep it just made it so hard to read. And put in such a random order. What was the point of the chapter to introduce a character whose sole purpose was shouting random words to see if they were the right name for a potential dog?

Story inconsistencies were jarring; at the start no one believed in past lives except one. Then suddenly, without any discussion or progress, everyone remembers their past lives and shares stories. The random jump just didn't make any sense.

There are so many characters. And all have exactly the same voice. The only indication that we've changed narrator is a name at the start of a sentence.

Gave up at page 150 when one character became sexually jealous of a dog.

[Milda Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lesbian sex, drugs and witchcraft.

Some of the first reviews seem to come from the mismatch of expectations and reality of what this book is and what it isn't, so let's start with what this book is NOT:

This is not a YA adventure fantasy.
This is not a romance, or historical romance.
This is not a LGBTQIA+ story.

Whith this out of the way, here's what this book is:

It's a lesbian story, where we follow a coven of witches trying to create a women-only utopia. Having to navigate sexual attraction, rejection, different views of what an utopia should be like and the ever looming danger of patriarchy seeping in in unexpected ways.

Is this book perfect? No. I liked the idea of it much more than the actual execution, but I still think that it's worth reading despite all the flaws. It gives a glimpse into a world that would otherwise never be possible.

"A Circle Outside" is conveniently divided into three parts. In the first part, we see the witches moving in and learning to function in the new place with a new member of the coven. This part shows the yearly rituals and introduces the characters.

The second part is the weakest. If you feel stuck here, I advise you to skip it and just jump to the third part. Nothing really happens here, except for the tractor and burning of the portrait.

The third part is the best and I kind of wish the book only contained this one. We get the very real lover drama, hidden abuse, backstabbing, inviting of the patriarchy with all the righteousness.

The book ends with a cliffhanger, so I guess a second book is on its way. Seeing how the writing improved in the course of this book, I am looking forward to it.

[Joana Macieira · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes in the acknowledgements that this is an 'psychedelic lesbian feminist pagan utopia novel', and that is exactly how I would describe this book. I just felt that it dragged for too long, with too many conversations between the girls and not enough 'psychedelic' vibes for my taste. Contrary to other reviewers I didn't have any problems connecting with the characters or remembering who they were (although I did write notes in a piece of paper in the begining, but I do that all the time). I felt it was an okay book and I had fun while I read it. Also, justice for Wren and Robin was a bit of a POS.

[Thoreau Lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Wow! What a surprise. Here I am a straight man falling for a coven of lesbian witches trying to live opening and ethically in the California redwoods of the 1980s. Not only does this ensemble of women’s stories manage have something to teach all of me, but Rosewood’s narrative skills turn their struggles into something much more than a didactic women’s community coming of age story. Psychedelics help. And redwoods. But the real magic is Rosewood’s blunt, self-aware sense of humor, which makes A Circle Outside such an enjoyable read!”

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not for me. I wanted to read a book about lesbian witches akin to Juno Dawson's magnificent HMRC series, but the witch side of things was very much about taking drugs and arguing about goddesses and everything else was about the politics of setting up a commune and how patriarchal tractors are. The characters were not well realised or particularly sympathetic. The dialogue was stilted and the plot was unsatisfying.

[Aimée Fox · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF unfortunately, really disappointed. I wanted haunting and heartfelt, but got melodrama and missed potential. This book was a big disappointment for me. What promised to be a fun yet emotional exploration of feminism and gay witches (!!?!) ended up feeling forced and, frankly, a bit cheesy. It was hard to take the story seriously. I kept hoping it would turn a corner, but it never did…

[Richard Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure I would like this as books with magic aren't my thing. But this isn't wands and spells, this is ritual spiritual practises for personal growth and development, all set in a commune of feminist lesbians.
A wonderful read following the lives of a group of women setting up a new home where they can be themselves. Will they learn to live with each other? Can they make their own politics without imposing patriarchy on each other? Will they survive the personal journeys and self discoveries?
A wonderful read.