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Witches of Merchant City
Have you ever forgotten something important?
Holly Winter is jaded, disgruntled and recently unemployed. There’s something missing from her life.
When her flatmate vanishes in a home-made magical ritual, she starts to remember what she’s lost.
Uncovering magic she’d buried away will have Holly using the Glasgow Underground as a banishing circle to send a demon back to hell.
She’ll fight with her coven against the Witch Queen of Elf-hame.
She’ll follow a path she’s felt on the periphery of her whole life.
The path of the witch.
But to uncover those memories, Holly needs the help of a little bookshop in the middle of Trongate.
She needs the Coven of Merchant City.
Holly Winter is jaded, disgruntled and recently unemployed. There’s something missing from her life.
When her flatmate vanishes in a home-made magical ritual, she starts to remember what she’s lost.
Uncovering magic she’d buried away will have Holly using the Glasgow Underground as a banishing circle to send a demon back to hell.
She’ll fight with her coven against the Witch Queen of Elf-hame.
She’ll follow a path she’s felt on the periphery of her whole life.
The path of the witch.
But to uncover those memories, Holly needs the help of a little bookshop in the middle of Trongate.
She needs the Coven of Merchant City.
230 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 6, 2021
This was a lovely wee fantasy romp around the streets of Glasgow with a coven of queer witches. Who wouldn't love to spend a bit of time like that?! I'm reading 'Witches...' having just finished some pretty complex high fantasy and this was really what I wanted in-between meaty reads.
Touching on a lot of issues that Scots (and queers) today find themselves grappling with regarding their identity - alongside a healthy dash of folklore - I flew through this book in just a couple of evenings. It was the right mix of magic and recognisable characters/places for me, and while the final couple of chapters tried a bit hard to wrap things up neatly and hit the nail on the head, it still put me in mind of city-based classics Neverwhere and Lanark in the ambition.
The author does a particularly good job of keeping the dialogue natural and realistic for contemporary Glaswegian patter which was a delight as this isn't something I've found done well by others. Also a bonus point for making libraries, archives and oral histories such a key part of the story; my librarian geek heart is full.
I'll be interested to read future work from this author and would definitely check out the next in the series.
Touching on a lot of issues that Scots (and queers) today find themselves grappling with regarding their identity - alongside a healthy dash of folklore - I flew through this book in just a couple of evenings. It was the right mix of magic and recognisable characters/places for me, and while the final couple of chapters tried a bit hard to wrap things up neatly and hit the nail on the head, it still put me in mind of city-based classics Neverwhere and Lanark in the ambition.
The author does a particularly good job of keeping the dialogue natural and realistic for contemporary Glaswegian patter which was a delight as this isn't something I've found done well by others. Also a bonus point for making libraries, archives and oral histories such a key part of the story; my librarian geek heart is full.
I'll be interested to read future work from this author and would definitely check out the next in the series.
May 12, 2024
4.5 stars
I absolutely adored this book. And I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. I think sometimes we don’t give self published books enough credit but this one was, no pun intended pure magic for me.
The author is genuinely so clever how he has used Scottish puns and witticisms so perfectly throughout the whole plot, it had me cackling away. He also captures magic in a way that had me genuinely wanting to fist pump the air like “yes this is how I feel”.
I think the only criticism I have is, the book could have been longer. I did feel in parts we were just getting tastes of one thing or another before we were getting whipped away to another part of something else.
This book was so queer, Scottish and witchy that I will absolutely not only read again but I will absolutely continue to read the series.
I read this in my book club and I also enjoyed having a wee debate in the club over the use of Scot’s dialect not only in this book but in Scottish fiction in general. For me, this is something I love in a book. This is our language and I’m proud to be a Scot and any book in Scot’s is a belter for me.
This quote from the book I want to highlight because I honestly keep thinking about it because I find it brilliant for anyone who practices witchcraft. It was talking about doing tarot and chanting and you affect your outcome.
“Humans, by their nature, affect change. Working together, we can affect change on an unprecedented scale. We defy chaos just by existing. Surely you must see how that’s magical.” That’s why it’s important to always be present in your decisions.”
I absolutely adored this book. And I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. I think sometimes we don’t give self published books enough credit but this one was, no pun intended pure magic for me.
The author is genuinely so clever how he has used Scottish puns and witticisms so perfectly throughout the whole plot, it had me cackling away. He also captures magic in a way that had me genuinely wanting to fist pump the air like “yes this is how I feel”.
I think the only criticism I have is, the book could have been longer. I did feel in parts we were just getting tastes of one thing or another before we were getting whipped away to another part of something else.
This book was so queer, Scottish and witchy that I will absolutely not only read again but I will absolutely continue to read the series.
I read this in my book club and I also enjoyed having a wee debate in the club over the use of Scot’s dialect not only in this book but in Scottish fiction in general. For me, this is something I love in a book. This is our language and I’m proud to be a Scot and any book in Scot’s is a belter for me.
This quote from the book I want to highlight because I honestly keep thinking about it because I find it brilliant for anyone who practices witchcraft. It was talking about doing tarot and chanting and you affect your outcome.
“Humans, by their nature, affect change. Working together, we can affect change on an unprecedented scale. We defy chaos just by existing. Surely you must see how that’s magical.” That’s why it’s important to always be present in your decisions.”
May 11, 2022
Rounded up to 4
I enjoyed reading about my city as the characters travelled around it. Characters and storyline were decent and I’d be intrigued to read more about them. It felt a little bit clunky in places. I’d love to read more about the Librarian, great character!
I enjoyed reading about my city as the characters travelled around it. Characters and storyline were decent and I’d be intrigued to read more about them. It felt a little bit clunky in places. I’d love to read more about the Librarian, great character!
April 30, 2022
This book starts off so strong. I was hooked on the first chapter and excited to read it. Unfortunately, somewhere around the middle it started to fall apart. I was really enjoying getting to know Holly as she discovered magic. The second half seemed way too rushed. All of a sudden all kinds of creatures and realms are thrown at the reader without allowing the reader to become explore them deeply. It felt like a sudden gloss over of so many events and creatures that could have been really interesting. I think Holly and her story have great potential, if things were slow down or pages were added to allow the reader to become absorbed in her story.
October 28, 2021
I loved this book! The descriptions of Glasgow are so vivid I could see it all as I read. The characters are so full that they could walk off the page into the real world without anyone batting an eye. The story was great and full of mystery. I was completely entranced from page one to the end. Thoroughly recommend, a Great Glasgow Book!
February 6, 2022
a wee bit lightly copy-edited in places, but overall a cracking story and a great read. If you're familiar with Glasgow, particularly some of the queer bits of Glasgow, this is a treat, but you don't need to be to enjoy the book
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews