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Witches of Castle Clair #3
To Catch a Witch
Return to Castle Clair for the final chapter of the St Clair story.
It's three hundred and fifty years since the famous witch's leap happened in the North Yorkshire town. Riverside Walk is swarming with eager tourists, wanting to pay tribute to the legendary Blaise St Clair. It's also Christmas Eve, and the family has gathered to celebrate an eventful year, and to look forward to even better times ahead.
But a shock event changes everything, bringing a whole lot of trouble to the door of Castle Lodge.
For something big is happening in Castle Clair. Strangers are arriving, a prophecy is unfolding, a mystery is deepening, a reckoning is coming ... and someone's getting rather too fond of Mrs Greenwood's baking.
The past is colliding with the present, and the future is in jeopardy. No wonder the High Council of Witches is a bit miffed.
Will the St Clairs have enough strength, courage ~ and chocolate fudge cake ~ to see them through?
Or is this the end of the world as they know it?
It's three hundred and fifty years since the famous witch's leap happened in the North Yorkshire town. Riverside Walk is swarming with eager tourists, wanting to pay tribute to the legendary Blaise St Clair. It's also Christmas Eve, and the family has gathered to celebrate an eventful year, and to look forward to even better times ahead.
But a shock event changes everything, bringing a whole lot of trouble to the door of Castle Lodge.
For something big is happening in Castle Clair. Strangers are arriving, a prophecy is unfolding, a mystery is deepening, a reckoning is coming ... and someone's getting rather too fond of Mrs Greenwood's baking.
The past is colliding with the present, and the future is in jeopardy. No wonder the High Council of Witches is a bit miffed.
Will the St Clairs have enough strength, courage ~ and chocolate fudge cake ~ to see them through?
Or is this the end of the world as they know it?
496 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2020
38 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 3, 2021
Celeste, the third of the St Clair sisters, had always been drawn inextricably to Blaise St Clair, their distant ancestor who famously leapt to his death 350 years ago from what has a since been named Witch’s Leap. Despite her sisters’ efforts, badgering her to date, she’s happy just working at Castle Clair’s museum.
"They’d worn me down with their incessant nagging until I’d given in and agreed to meet up with what they termed a suitable man. Suitable to whom? Not me. I didn’t need a man, and I wished my sister would accept that. Their flourishing love lives had convinced them I wouldn’t be without a partner, but they were wrong. I was fine as a single woman."
A momentous event takes place on Christmas Eve revealing the untapped power of Celeste’s magic, bringing trouble to the St Clair family and causing them to come under the highest scrutiny, while at the same time setting in motion an old prophecy. Celeste finds out the hard way that dreams and reality are rarely one and the same.
This third and final episode in the St Clair trilogy is full of drama, taking the legend that Castle Clair is built on and turning it upside down and throwing everyone into a possibly predetermined future.
As with the first book these are also well structured with unexpected twists, romance, humour, lots of wonderful magic and a perfect ending.
"They’d worn me down with their incessant nagging until I’d given in and agreed to meet up with what they termed a suitable man. Suitable to whom? Not me. I didn’t need a man, and I wished my sister would accept that. Their flourishing love lives had convinced them I wouldn’t be without a partner, but they were wrong. I was fine as a single woman."
A momentous event takes place on Christmas Eve revealing the untapped power of Celeste’s magic, bringing trouble to the St Clair family and causing them to come under the highest scrutiny, while at the same time setting in motion an old prophecy. Celeste finds out the hard way that dreams and reality are rarely one and the same.
This third and final episode in the St Clair trilogy is full of drama, taking the legend that Castle Clair is built on and turning it upside down and throwing everyone into a possibly predetermined future.
As with the first book these are also well structured with unexpected twists, romance, humour, lots of wonderful magic and a perfect ending.
May 2, 2020
Crossfiction between Doctor Who and Bewitched, only better.
That great storyteller that is Sharon Booth has produced yet another amazing story that'll have you hooked form the first chapter. You'd think it wouldn't be possible to outdo the two previous books in the series but this (sadly) last instalment leads us onto another (much higher) level.
The characters keep revealing themselves throughout the narration and nothing is never as it seems. Twists, turns, comedy, mystery, suspense and romance are perfectly balanced in a fine blend that only this talented author can produce.
It's been wonderful to be back to Castle Clair and being revealed the truth about the St Clair family. My only regret is that the author declared this is going to be the last one in the series.
Definitely recommended and although it can be read as a standalone I suggest you read the previous two first in order to appreciate more the final revelations.
That great storyteller that is Sharon Booth has produced yet another amazing story that'll have you hooked form the first chapter. You'd think it wouldn't be possible to outdo the two previous books in the series but this (sadly) last instalment leads us onto another (much higher) level.
The characters keep revealing themselves throughout the narration and nothing is never as it seems. Twists, turns, comedy, mystery, suspense and romance are perfectly balanced in a fine blend that only this talented author can produce.
It's been wonderful to be back to Castle Clair and being revealed the truth about the St Clair family. My only regret is that the author declared this is going to be the last one in the series.
Definitely recommended and although it can be read as a standalone I suggest you read the previous two first in order to appreciate more the final revelations.
May 5, 2020
Great conclusion to this fun series. There are lots of twists and turns as Celeste finally gets her turn as the heroine with a very unlikely hero (well, maybe not if you've read the first two books). Celeste is the caretaker of the museum in Castle Clair that displays exhibits about witchcraft and features Blaise St Claire, one of their ancestors. She's always had a not-so-secret crush on Blaise and the 350th anniversary of his leap into the icy river provides a chance for her to meet him, courteous of a little time travel. However, that also starts the family prophesy/curse? in motion.
This has been such a great series. There's a lot of all the St Clair family here and a lot of loose ends are tied up in a very satisfactory conclusion. I admit I was hoping for Celeste's romance to work out the way it did though I never saw how that was going to happen. As always, the writing is sweet and funny, peppered with lots of Yorkish colloquialisms, love, and laughter.
This has been such a great series. There's a lot of all the St Clair family here and a lot of loose ends are tied up in a very satisfactory conclusion. I admit I was hoping for Celeste's romance to work out the way it did though I never saw how that was going to happen. As always, the writing is sweet and funny, peppered with lots of Yorkish colloquialisms, love, and laughter.
May 21, 2020
I really, really mustn’t tell you too much about the story that unfolds in this book – you do need to discover it for yourself, so I’ll just say that I found it absolutely enchanting. And although “enchanting” might be one good word, it’s also an amazingly imaginative story so perfectly delivered (the author’s never written better), exceptionally funny, most definitely a little bit quirky, but it also manages to be a really gripping read, with quite a few moments of high drama, and one of the very loveliest of love stories. Goodness, you can’t ask for much more than that, can you?
Well, the characters are thoroughly excellent too. If you’ve read the earlier books (and it’s not essential – there’s plenty of gentle catching up, and the story’s quite complete in itself), you’ll already have met Sky and Star, and know all about their special gifts. In fact, you’ll be as delighted as me to meet again so many of the characters you’ll have loved as much as I did, behaving just as badly as ever.
I just love the whole extended family too, every one of them so well drawn with their quirks and foibles, their various relationships beautifully nuanced and developed. The author really does have a particularly special touch with dialogue, using it both to move the story on – and this one’s perhaps the fastest paced of the series – but also to give depth and character to her wonderful cast.
This time it’s the third sister, Celeste, who takes centre stage. That’s somewhere she’d really prefer not to be: she’s far happier disappearing between the pages of a book while working at Castle Clair’s museum – dedicated to the legend of ancestor Blaise Sinclair and his legendary leap into the waters of the River Hrafn below. But it’s much more than a nice legend and a bit of a tourist attraction to Celeste – although her sisters try so hard to fix her up with a suitable partner, it’s difficult to find anyone who could possibly compare with her dark and brooding ancestor.
In one really dramatic moment, she finds that she has a magic that surpasses that of anyone else in her family – and its consequences draw the attention of the highest magical powers-that-be, seriously threatening the St Clair family and the very foundations of time.
All sound a bit surreal – even maybe a tad frightening? No, you’ve forgotten the humour – and, at all times, it’s quite perfectly judged. Celeste appears before the High Council of Witches, where there are some quite wonderful over-the-top characters – several of them were familiar from the earlier books, but I will admit to a particular soft spot for poor long-suffering Bob. The humour’s often in the small detail too – the challenges of contemporary clothing, the joys of Yorkshire tea, the references to Doctor Who – all done with a distinctive Yorkshire touch and a wonderful feel for the ridiculous.
The drama is real, the threat considerable, all knotted up in myth and legend, fate and destiny – the more dramatic scenes are ever so well written, and I must say that the author’s one of very few that’s made me suspend all disbelief for a while and really believe in magic. I certainly know a lot more about familiars than I knew before (every one of them – cat or raven – just perfectly drawn): but there are times when the magic’s confined those little everyday things like zapping around without the need for travel, the production of large meals at a moment’s notice and that’s just… well, just magic really!
And maybe one of the features of this book that I enjoyed the most was the romance – it might not be quite what you were expecting, but the book’s ending was just so totally perfect, a lovely technicolour wide-screen moment that warmed my heart and brought a real tear to my eye.
But it might just be that the tear was also because I’ve come to the end of a series I’ve enjoyed so very much – I’ll never visit Knaresborough (the inspiration for Castle Clair) again without hoping to catch a glimpse of the sisters who’ve entirely won my heart.
Well, the characters are thoroughly excellent too. If you’ve read the earlier books (and it’s not essential – there’s plenty of gentle catching up, and the story’s quite complete in itself), you’ll already have met Sky and Star, and know all about their special gifts. In fact, you’ll be as delighted as me to meet again so many of the characters you’ll have loved as much as I did, behaving just as badly as ever.
I just love the whole extended family too, every one of them so well drawn with their quirks and foibles, their various relationships beautifully nuanced and developed. The author really does have a particularly special touch with dialogue, using it both to move the story on – and this one’s perhaps the fastest paced of the series – but also to give depth and character to her wonderful cast.
This time it’s the third sister, Celeste, who takes centre stage. That’s somewhere she’d really prefer not to be: she’s far happier disappearing between the pages of a book while working at Castle Clair’s museum – dedicated to the legend of ancestor Blaise Sinclair and his legendary leap into the waters of the River Hrafn below. But it’s much more than a nice legend and a bit of a tourist attraction to Celeste – although her sisters try so hard to fix her up with a suitable partner, it’s difficult to find anyone who could possibly compare with her dark and brooding ancestor.
In one really dramatic moment, she finds that she has a magic that surpasses that of anyone else in her family – and its consequences draw the attention of the highest magical powers-that-be, seriously threatening the St Clair family and the very foundations of time.
All sound a bit surreal – even maybe a tad frightening? No, you’ve forgotten the humour – and, at all times, it’s quite perfectly judged. Celeste appears before the High Council of Witches, where there are some quite wonderful over-the-top characters – several of them were familiar from the earlier books, but I will admit to a particular soft spot for poor long-suffering Bob. The humour’s often in the small detail too – the challenges of contemporary clothing, the joys of Yorkshire tea, the references to Doctor Who – all done with a distinctive Yorkshire touch and a wonderful feel for the ridiculous.
The drama is real, the threat considerable, all knotted up in myth and legend, fate and destiny – the more dramatic scenes are ever so well written, and I must say that the author’s one of very few that’s made me suspend all disbelief for a while and really believe in magic. I certainly know a lot more about familiars than I knew before (every one of them – cat or raven – just perfectly drawn): but there are times when the magic’s confined those little everyday things like zapping around without the need for travel, the production of large meals at a moment’s notice and that’s just… well, just magic really!
And maybe one of the features of this book that I enjoyed the most was the romance – it might not be quite what you were expecting, but the book’s ending was just so totally perfect, a lovely technicolour wide-screen moment that warmed my heart and brought a real tear to my eye.
But it might just be that the tear was also because I’ve come to the end of a series I’ve enjoyed so very much – I’ll never visit Knaresborough (the inspiration for Castle Clair) again without hoping to catch a glimpse of the sisters who’ve entirely won my heart.
June 23, 2020
I absolutely loved the first two books in this series, focusing on the two younger St Clair sisters, so was very excited to read about the elder sister, Celeste, in To Catch at Witch. The final trip to Castle Clair did not disappoint. An unexpected event causes major upheaval at Christmas and could spell disaster for the St Clair family, especially as it seems a 350-year-old prophecy might be about to come true. This is a proper page-turner with several twists and turns along the way. As always, Sharon Booth writes with warmth and humour while masterfully creating suspense. The ending was very satisfactory and beautifully tied together all the threads. If anyone hasn't read this series, I'd highly recommend it
October 8, 2020
I was mesmerised by the other two novels based in Castle Clair which tell the stories of Sky and Star St Clair and pre-ordered this one, eager for its release but delayed reading it until now. Why? I did not want the series and the magic to end. Mistake. Big mistake, I could have reread the entire series by now. What was not a mistake was the timing. Celeste’s story begins on Christmas Eve, the 350th anniversary of Blaise St Clair’s death at Witches Leap, making it an ideal book for October with the preparations of both Halloween and Christmas. Witches and Christmas, my favourite things make it a winning combination.
Sharon Booth’s wonderful storytelling invoked the Christmas spirit and drew me into the St Clair’s world. The opening chapters are upbeat, quirky, and full of laughter as well as trepidation of what is to come. The many references to Dr Who to describe the situation made me smile and added to the festive atmosphere. Like the Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Dr Who specials make Christmas.
Celeste fast became my favourite witch with her innocent, romantic view of love, believing she will meet the one. Her gentle and kind nature makes her the ideal match for Blaise, the 17th century witch. I enjoyed watching him grapple with the steep learning curve of fitting in to the 21st century, including the changing roles of women and zippers. That scene is one I cannot get out of my head.
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
To Catch A Witch is witchy escapism wrapped up in an uplifting romance that also revisits the other St Clair sisters. With many twists and turns, it was a joy to read and is firmly one of my forever shelf with the rest of the series. This has become my favourite, but it would be wrong to read it again without the others. I can feel a Halloween tradition brewing
Sharon Booth’s wonderful storytelling invoked the Christmas spirit and drew me into the St Clair’s world. The opening chapters are upbeat, quirky, and full of laughter as well as trepidation of what is to come. The many references to Dr Who to describe the situation made me smile and added to the festive atmosphere. Like the Muppet’s Christmas Carol, Dr Who specials make Christmas.
Celeste fast became my favourite witch with her innocent, romantic view of love, believing she will meet the one. Her gentle and kind nature makes her the ideal match for Blaise, the 17th century witch. I enjoyed watching him grapple with the steep learning curve of fitting in to the 21st century, including the changing roles of women and zippers. That scene is one I cannot get out of my head.
WOULD I RECOMMEND?
To Catch A Witch is witchy escapism wrapped up in an uplifting romance that also revisits the other St Clair sisters. With many twists and turns, it was a joy to read and is firmly one of my forever shelf with the rest of the series. This has become my favourite, but it would be wrong to read it again without the others. I can feel a Halloween tradition brewing
May 4, 2020
I loved it! Glad that Celeste got to have a starring role, the other two books tell of her sisters Sky and Star. We do get to know Celeste a bit through their stories - mainly that she is obsessed with her great great great x a lot uncle Blaise St Clair from 1669. In this book, Celeste learns just how powerful her magic is. Of course, there is romance and family drama. Celeste learns that 'History is written by the winners' - how true! Also true - be careful what you wish for! I think that you could read this as a standalone, but I am recommending the whole series.
December 1, 2020
A wonderful escapist trilogy
I have now read all 3 of the Witches of Castle Clair books and totally enjoyed them all. I've become so attached to the characters as they are so vividly described with their individual personalities and abilities that I'm really going to miss them! I also would love to go to Castle Clair for my holidays as it sounds so idyllically magical! Seriously though for a delightfully romantic read to escape from the crazy world we find ourselves in at the moment I can definitely recommend these books.
I have now read all 3 of the Witches of Castle Clair books and totally enjoyed them all. I've become so attached to the characters as they are so vividly described with their individual personalities and abilities that I'm really going to miss them! I also would love to go to Castle Clair for my holidays as it sounds so idyllically magical! Seriously though for a delightfully romantic read to escape from the crazy world we find ourselves in at the moment I can definitely recommend these books.
November 30, 2021
Having read Ms Booth's other 'witchy' books, some in kindle form and the other as a paperback I was sad to reach the final in the trilogy. Ms Booth always writes a beguiling tale and To Catch Witch is no exception. Having established a rapport with the characters (human and animal!) in the other books I was anxious to learn how the story ended. I needn't have worried, the author rounded everything off nicely and although I can only visit Castle Claire in my dream now I look forward to reading her next book. Which, coincidently, I have already pre-ordered.
June 5, 2020
I loved this book so much. In fact the whole series is brilliant. I was so engrossed in this one that I was up till 4.30am till I finished it. There was nothing I didn't like I was absolutely captivated. I'm hoping for another one in this series???
October 24, 2020
A story with many surprises
I absolutely loved being a part of Castle Clair and being a spectator witnessing the truth behind the legend. As always, I loved the characters and enjoyed being a part of their lives. Thank you, Ms. Booth for another lovely story. 5*
I absolutely loved being a part of Castle Clair and being a spectator witnessing the truth behind the legend. As always, I loved the characters and enjoyed being a part of their lives. Thank you, Ms. Booth for another lovely story. 5*
November 1, 2020
Just magical.
This genre is far from my normal books, however, I took a chance and downloaded this three book series and I have to say I thoroughly loved them xxx
Sad tho that I've finished the series, would have loved to have had another book to read more about Celeste and her family
This genre is far from my normal books, however, I took a chance and downloaded this three book series and I have to say I thoroughly loved them xxx
Sad tho that I've finished the series, would have loved to have had another book to read more about Celeste and her family
November 10, 2021
Sad to have finished this trilogy, really enjoyed it. Loved the mixture of romance and magic! Thought it was well written and a good storyline. Want to read more by Sharon and hope her books are like this.
August 16, 2021
I love Sharon Booth's books - she's a superb storyteller who very gently draws you in, weaves her tale softly, softly until you're so hooked you just have to read on and on, till the wonderful and usually very happy ending. To Catch A Witch is no exception and delivered beautifully.
Having met some of these characters before, I knew about the sisters special gift, and some of their extended family's naughty traits - hilarious! But for me the magic of the historical love affair interwoven with some very everyday problems was an absolute delight. Thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful, multi-layered fantastical story with characters so real, I was sorry to let them go. Highly recommended.
Here's the link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/.../ref=cm_s...... via @AmazonUK 5
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews