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The Witchery #1
The Witchery
A bewitching debut by S. Isabelle, perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, Zoraida Córdova, and Leigh Bardugo!
THE HAUNTING SEASON IS HERE AND THE WOLVES ARE AWAKE.
Haelsford, Florida is a Hellmouth. Or at least, that’s what Logan, a baby witch struggling to control her powers, thinks as she arrives to the witchtown to begin the new school year at Mesmortes Coven Academy. She is immediately taken under the wing of the infamous Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch who wants nothing more than to break the town’s curse; Jailah is one of the most powerful witches at the academy but her thirst for power may lead her down a dark path; and Thalia, the talented greenwitch, is on the run from her religious family and a past that still haunts her.
Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two Hammersmitt boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection. But as they become involved with the Mesmortes witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait.
The cost to break the curse may be greater than any witch or human could ever know.
THE HAUNTING SEASON IS HERE AND THE WOLVES ARE AWAKE.
Haelsford, Florida is a Hellmouth. Or at least, that’s what Logan, a baby witch struggling to control her powers, thinks as she arrives to the witchtown to begin the new school year at Mesmortes Coven Academy. She is immediately taken under the wing of the infamous Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch who wants nothing more than to break the town’s curse; Jailah is one of the most powerful witches at the academy but her thirst for power may lead her down a dark path; and Thalia, the talented greenwitch, is on the run from her religious family and a past that still haunts her.
Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two Hammersmitt boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection. But as they become involved with the Mesmortes witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait.
The cost to break the curse may be greater than any witch or human could ever know.
371 pages, Paperback
First published July 26, 2022
141 people are currently reading
17491 people want to read
About the author
S. Isabelle
4 books261 followersS. Isabelle is a reader, writer, and hoarder of books.
After earning a Master’s degree in library science, she took that love of reading to youth librarianship. When she isn’t writing, you can find her binge-watching TV shows, drinking heavily-sweetened coffee, or stressing over baseball.
S. Isabelle is the author of The Witchery, Shadow Coven, and the forthcoming historical romance The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick. Visit her online at sisabellebooks.com.
After earning a Master’s degree in library science, she took that love of reading to youth librarianship. When she isn’t writing, you can find her binge-watching TV shows, drinking heavily-sweetened coffee, or stressing over baseball.
S. Isabelle is the author of The Witchery, Shadow Coven, and the forthcoming historical romance The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick. Visit her online at sisabellebooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 389 reviews
February 3, 2022
Meet your new favorite squad of witches! THE WITCHERY by S. Isabelle is filled with dark magic, bewitching prose and enchanting characters. It has everything I love in a book — badass witches, a kiss of romance, and a touch of horror. Isabelle is powerful new voice in young adult fantasy and this is a debut you do NOT want to miss!
March 9, 2025
''We're all black witches... and Logan. We're rocking with Logan cause she's rocking with us''
Feels like a CW show, but that 3rd season, when we get the interesting backstories and good plot because the writers finally realized the potential in the story. S Isabelle was able to accomplish that without making us wait two seasons or adding CoverGirl ads in between.
I love it when women (!!!)
Complex and compelling characters, fast paced paranormal story with mystery and horror elements, multiple POVs and a woman (me) screaming "PLEASE GIVE ME A SEQUEL".
Feels like a CW show, but that 3rd season, when we get the interesting backstories and good plot because the writers finally realized the potential in the story. S Isabelle was able to accomplish that without making us wait two seasons or adding CoverGirl ads in between.
I love it when women (!!!)
Complex and compelling characters, fast paced paranormal story with mystery and horror elements, multiple POVs and a woman (me) screaming "PLEASE GIVE ME A SEQUEL".
August 12, 2022
Set at a magical school in small town Florida, The Witchery follows the pov of six students which include four girls from the magic school and two boys from the local boys school. That was entirely too many characters to follow along with especially for a book that is a standalone. And the book suffered because of it.
The group spends the entire book attempting to break a curse on the town while also shuffling around their own personal issues. Not only is it rough to get into the story as a connection has to be established for each character but plots were started and either never truly wrapped up or given an unsatisfying ending. I could also clearly tell the author's favorite characters were Thalia and Iris and had the book just been their povs it would've flowed better and made for a stronger story. I didn't understand why in a book with Black witches we needed a token white special snowflake in the mix.
The magic system seemed to have rules but the rules really weren't explained. And to have witches from different background attending the school, I found there was a missed opportunity to have different types of magic on display. And the magic on page was very technical feeling and so much of the plotting out spells seemed to happen off page.
There were also hints at romance sprinkled in which included some kisses but those also went nowhere which made it hard to understand why they were included in the first place. It was a tease and not a very satisfying one.
The Witchery is a book with interesting ideas but the execution of those ideas could've been better The overarching plot was very bare bones and their were side plots that because of the length of the story were not fully fleshed out. It felt like it was trying to be a safe book rather than fully diving into the magic school, friendships, and potential romances. The aesthetic was there but it wasn't enough to carry this book that ended up reading like the pilot episode to a series.
I received an arc from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.
Full review at link below
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
The group spends the entire book attempting to break a curse on the town while also shuffling around their own personal issues. Not only is it rough to get into the story as a connection has to be established for each character but plots were started and either never truly wrapped up or given an unsatisfying ending. I could also clearly tell the author's favorite characters were Thalia and Iris and had the book just been their povs it would've flowed better and made for a stronger story. I didn't understand why in a book with Black witches we needed a token white special snowflake in the mix.
The magic system seemed to have rules but the rules really weren't explained. And to have witches from different background attending the school, I found there was a missed opportunity to have different types of magic on display. And the magic on page was very technical feeling and so much of the plotting out spells seemed to happen off page.
There were also hints at romance sprinkled in which included some kisses but those also went nowhere which made it hard to understand why they were included in the first place. It was a tease and not a very satisfying one.
The Witchery is a book with interesting ideas but the execution of those ideas could've been better The overarching plot was very bare bones and their were side plots that because of the length of the story were not fully fleshed out. It felt like it was trying to be a safe book rather than fully diving into the magic school, friendships, and potential romances. The aesthetic was there but it wasn't enough to carry this book that ended up reading like the pilot episode to a series.
I received an arc from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review.
Full review at link below
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
September 12, 2023
I had to reread the first few chapters because there were too many povs, but I got used to it eventually, even though I think most of them were unnecessary.
The characters were distinguishable, but they needed more depth and pagetime for me to care about them, and although they were supposed to be friends, I didn't buy it. And I literally hated everything with Logan in it. She did not deserve to be a pov character. She was so stupid and annoying, all I did while reading her pov is roll my eyes.
The plot also needed more thought and depth. I not only didn't care about it, but sometimes didn't even understand it and had so many questions that were left unanswered. Plus it was a ya ya, where you couldn't fear for the characters, because you knew no matter what, they will survive. That is probably one of my worst pet peeves. Especially with this amount of povs - it had like 6. Oh, and of course everyone needed a love interest, but most of them felt forced.
The withcy vibe was nice, and if I felt the friendship between the girls stronger I would have enjoyed it more, but all in all, I liked the idea of this book more than the book itself.
The characters were distinguishable, but they needed more depth and pagetime for me to care about them, and although they were supposed to be friends, I didn't buy it. And I literally hated everything with Logan in it. She did not deserve to be a pov character. She was so stupid and annoying, all I did while reading her pov is roll my eyes.
The plot also needed more thought and depth. I not only didn't care about it, but sometimes didn't even understand it and had so many questions that were left unanswered. Plus it was a ya ya, where you couldn't fear for the characters, because you knew no matter what, they will survive. That is probably one of my worst pet peeves. Especially with this amount of povs - it had like 6. Oh, and of course everyone needed a love interest, but most of them felt forced.
The withcy vibe was nice, and if I felt the friendship between the girls stronger I would have enjoyed it more, but all in all, I liked the idea of this book more than the book itself.
September 29, 2022
Content warnings: blood, self-harm, manipulation, death, blood and gore, magical sacrifice talk, resurrection.
Rep: Iris is Black, Thalia is Black, Jailah is Black and lesbian “likes girls”, Jordy is Black. Minor side non-binary character.
This book put me in a reading slump.
I don’t have anything positive to say about this book at all. So, if you read ahead, it is at your own risk. Thank you. These are all my own thoughts and opinions – I need to make that clear before I go on.
Rep: Iris is Black, Thalia is Black, Jailah is Black and lesbian “likes girls”, Jordy is Black. Minor side non-binary character.
This book put me in a reading slump.
I don’t have anything positive to say about this book at all. So, if you read ahead, it is at your own risk. Thank you. These are all my own thoughts and opinions – I need to make that clear before I go on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2023
Got very invested in the story and the characters and want to read the next one soon. Very intrigued to see where it's going
Want to read
October 4, 2021Florida witches?? YES YES YES
February 28, 2022
The Witchery was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases so I jumped at the chance to read it and ended up devouring it in less than 24 hours. All of the many (6!) POV characters had distinct voices and personalities (and secrets!) and while I sometimes find more than 2-3 POVs jarring, that wasn’t the case here. And don’t ask me to choose a favorite, because I can’t… Okay FINE. Thalia. It’s Thalia, lmao.
All in all, The Witchery was a fantastic debut that I really hope turns into a series. The ending resolved things enough to be satisfying, but left the door cracked for at least one more book, so here’s hoping!
ARC Note: Thanks to Scholastic for sending my employer, Rainbow Crate, this ARC for consideration!
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All in all, The Witchery was a fantastic debut that I really hope turns into a series. The ending resolved things enough to be satisfying, but left the door cracked for at least one more book, so here’s hoping!
ARC Note: Thanks to Scholastic for sending my employer, Rainbow Crate, this ARC for consideration!
Let's be friends! Booktok | Bookstagram | Twitter
did-not-finish
November 28, 2023DNF: I gotta be honest, I have no idea what's going on. There's 6 POVs, a school of witches, some dudes, some dead guy they're trying to dig up, someone's seeing ghosts, there's some wolves for some reason, I'm so lost
September 2, 2022
This didn't pull me in the way I thought it would tbh, the prose was wonderful but the characters and lore felt like they could have been fleshed out more. Overall, it was okay but nothing special
August 10, 2022
If this was a (limited) tv series a streaming service picked up I would watch it. Could definitely see it on Hulu
4-4.5/5 just because I with more the lgbt main character has better developed relationships but romance wasn’t a main plot point anyway even the straight relationships aren’t established
4-4.5/5 just because I with more the lgbt main character has better developed relationships but romance wasn’t a main plot point anyway even the straight relationships aren’t established
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2022
In the words of Keke p, "i hate to say it. i hope i dont sound ridiculous," i didn't enjoy this book.
It fell flat and there was barely any emotion that could stick with this one.
& screw Logan. She was more trouble than she was worth.
& that epilogue?! Why waste it on THAT PERSON? I- idk.
Ill expand my thoughts later. Maybe.
It fell flat and there was barely any emotion that could stick with this one.
& screw Logan. She was more trouble than she was worth.
& that epilogue?! Why waste it on THAT PERSON? I- idk.
Ill expand my thoughts later. Maybe.
Want to read
October 8, 2021I would give me left lung, foot and colon to read this book today.
May 26, 2022
There’s so much I need to say about this story but I just don’t have the energy. But I’ll try to condense it. First off:
-I enjoy the plot concept a lot. A town hexed and so annually they experience The Haunting. A wolf murdering spree essentially. And our main characters take it upon themselves to get rid of the hex.
-Three powerful black witches? Sign me up! I absolutely love Iris, Thalia, and Jailah. I unfortunately feel like we didn’t get much of Jailah throughout the story. Not like the other two witches. Like yeah I’m told she’s the strongest among the three and yet it feels like nothing really shows for it, in my opinion.
-Logan. Idk. Something about a group of black witches taking in a yt witch and what follows made me feel like it was giving mule in accordance to the plot. Cause why must these three black girls take it upon theirselves to save a town that was not theirs to save? Why did they need to enlist the help in that one yt girl who wasn’t even giving it the same energy they were giving it? Like Logan made so many stupid choices and it upset me heavily throughout the story. Her POV was ultimately not necessary. Most of the time she was either whining about being called a baby witch cause she can’t do magic all too great or lying. Idk that dynamic was giving mule. I was not a fan. I originally assume from the cover that the group was an established friend group that had a sort of history but I was way off. Way way off. I honestly don’t even think they should’ve remained friends with Logan in the end, anyways.
-The Boys. Trent, I wanted to like Trent so much but idk. Something about how he was written just feels…… unnecessary. Like he was just conveniently created to close up plot holes that would have otherwise removed me as a reader in the story. Mathew? I like him although I don’t think a POV was necessary. Most times it just felt like Iris’s POV from another angle basically. Him being tethered to her, I was hoping for some romance there but it’s never fully established by the end of the story. Idk what that’s about but at least they all remain friends with the girls.
-The Plot was fun. It was dark. It was intense. The story of the three sister witches creating the hex. Of the town facing the brunt of it centuries following. My only issue would have to be the lack of magic on the page. Things were just kind of straightforward. The spells were simply explained to us in passing almost. The magical system wasn’t really explained. There seemed to be only one magical system in work despite so many witches being from different backgrounds. It felt like things were lent from say THAT story about witches and wizards but never fully committed to.
All in all, there were moments this had great potential to being a surprising 5 star read for me but some choices the characters made (or the author) really knocked it down to three for me. It’s still such a fun read, so I still do recommend it for those within its age group. Teens and up.
-I enjoy the plot concept a lot. A town hexed and so annually they experience The Haunting. A wolf murdering spree essentially. And our main characters take it upon themselves to get rid of the hex.
-Three powerful black witches? Sign me up! I absolutely love Iris, Thalia, and Jailah. I unfortunately feel like we didn’t get much of Jailah throughout the story. Not like the other two witches. Like yeah I’m told she’s the strongest among the three and yet it feels like nothing really shows for it, in my opinion.
-Logan. Idk. Something about a group of black witches taking in a yt witch and what follows made me feel like it was giving mule in accordance to the plot. Cause why must these three black girls take it upon theirselves to save a town that was not theirs to save? Why did they need to enlist the help in that one yt girl who wasn’t even giving it the same energy they were giving it? Like Logan made so many stupid choices and it upset me heavily throughout the story. Her POV was ultimately not necessary. Most of the time she was either whining about being called a baby witch cause she can’t do magic all too great or lying. Idk that dynamic was giving mule. I was not a fan. I originally assume from the cover that the group was an established friend group that had a sort of history but I was way off. Way way off. I honestly don’t even think they should’ve remained friends with Logan in the end, anyways.
-The Boys. Trent, I wanted to like Trent so much but idk. Something about how he was written just feels…… unnecessary. Like he was just conveniently created to close up plot holes that would have otherwise removed me as a reader in the story. Mathew? I like him although I don’t think a POV was necessary. Most times it just felt like Iris’s POV from another angle basically. Him being tethered to her, I was hoping for some romance there but it’s never fully established by the end of the story. Idk what that’s about but at least they all remain friends with the girls.
-The Plot was fun. It was dark. It was intense. The story of the three sister witches creating the hex. Of the town facing the brunt of it centuries following. My only issue would have to be the lack of magic on the page. Things were just kind of straightforward. The spells were simply explained to us in passing almost. The magical system wasn’t really explained. There seemed to be only one magical system in work despite so many witches being from different backgrounds. It felt like things were lent from say THAT story about witches and wizards but never fully committed to.
All in all, there were moments this had great potential to being a surprising 5 star read for me but some choices the characters made (or the author) really knocked it down to three for me. It’s still such a fun read, so I still do recommend it for those within its age group. Teens and up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2022
I wish that I liked The Witchery more than I did, but instead, I entered with anticipation and left with a blistering headache.
Logan is a young witch who is just starting school at Mesmortes–a prolific school for witches. There she is instantly taken in by the “Red Three” Thalia, Jailah, and Iris, the most talented witches at school who want to use Logan’s abilities to help them stop the haunting. Every year in wintertime wolves from the swamp come to hunt the people of Haelsford but this year The Red Three will be a formidable opponent to stop the curse for good.
The most surprising element that I haven’t found in any other books was the six different characters that we interact with chapter by chapter. However, it wasn’t well executed. Throughout the book, more than half of the perspectives felt ineffective. The ones I felt were better developed were Thalia, Iris, and maybe Trent and Jailah. Even then it felt like they had no personality traits or hobbies outside of witching. They did have well-set-up backstories.
Sadly the writing didn’t help. It took a good 70pgs to get into the rhythm of the storytelling, but even then the way that the punctuation and dialogue was arranged made it difficult to take in. I might have liked this aspect better if I had read it on audio.
My biggest grievance was the way the plot was arranged. I couldn’t get passionate about the cause or the characters so it was a long, uninteresting, slog to the finish line. The thing that perturbed me the most was that at the end the whole thrust of the plot was completely inconclusive! It was hard to even understand what happened and it was clear this was done to leave space for another book but it affected my experience terribly.
I wanted to read this book first and foremost because I thought it was very queer, and witchy with Black and Brown characters to boot! Again I was sorely let down, on the queer front I was gifted with a depressed sapphic character (Jailah) whose ex wanted nothing to do with her and apparently an asexual spectrum character? But the entirety of that identity was pegged on one hazy sentence that could easily be removed or mean a multitude of things other than “No thank you, I’m asexual.” In the other two categories, I didn’t get enough culture. I’m not saying every Black person has to be in touch with culture or cuisine from their ancestry (although that would have been lovely) but I wanted traditions that headed far away from Christmas. Even witchy traditions or holidays would’ve been perfect. I just think celebrating Christmas traditionally in a fantasy world is a lack of imagination.
Although The Witchery was a dud for me, I am excited to see what Isabelle does next. I would still read whatever this person writes next because first books aren’t always the best ones. I’m sure there are plenty of readers who could appreciate this one in ways I can’t.
—-Thank You High Five Books for Providing this ARC—-
Logan is a young witch who is just starting school at Mesmortes–a prolific school for witches. There she is instantly taken in by the “Red Three” Thalia, Jailah, and Iris, the most talented witches at school who want to use Logan’s abilities to help them stop the haunting. Every year in wintertime wolves from the swamp come to hunt the people of Haelsford but this year The Red Three will be a formidable opponent to stop the curse for good.
The most surprising element that I haven’t found in any other books was the six different characters that we interact with chapter by chapter. However, it wasn’t well executed. Throughout the book, more than half of the perspectives felt ineffective. The ones I felt were better developed were Thalia, Iris, and maybe Trent and Jailah. Even then it felt like they had no personality traits or hobbies outside of witching. They did have well-set-up backstories.
Sadly the writing didn’t help. It took a good 70pgs to get into the rhythm of the storytelling, but even then the way that the punctuation and dialogue was arranged made it difficult to take in. I might have liked this aspect better if I had read it on audio.
My biggest grievance was the way the plot was arranged. I couldn’t get passionate about the cause or the characters so it was a long, uninteresting, slog to the finish line. The thing that perturbed me the most was that at the end the whole thrust of the plot was completely inconclusive! It was hard to even understand what happened and it was clear this was done to leave space for another book but it affected my experience terribly.
I wanted to read this book first and foremost because I thought it was very queer, and witchy with Black and Brown characters to boot! Again I was sorely let down, on the queer front I was gifted with a depressed sapphic character (Jailah) whose ex wanted nothing to do with her and apparently an asexual spectrum character? But the entirety of that identity was pegged on one hazy sentence that could easily be removed or mean a multitude of things other than “No thank you, I’m asexual.” In the other two categories, I didn’t get enough culture. I’m not saying every Black person has to be in touch with culture or cuisine from their ancestry (although that would have been lovely) but I wanted traditions that headed far away from Christmas. Even witchy traditions or holidays would’ve been perfect. I just think celebrating Christmas traditionally in a fantasy world is a lack of imagination.
Although The Witchery was a dud for me, I am excited to see what Isabelle does next. I would still read whatever this person writes next because first books aren’t always the best ones. I’m sure there are plenty of readers who could appreciate this one in ways I can’t.
—-Thank You High Five Books for Providing this ARC—-
March 6, 2023
Set at a magical school in small town Florida, The Witchery follows the pov of six students which include four girls from the magic school and two boys from the local boys school.
The group spends the entire book attempting to break a curse on the town.
One of my issues was all the Povs that were presented to us from the very beginning.There was a total of 6. I was unable to really focus and had to read the first chapters again.
I had to make sure to read a big chunk of the book in one go so that I could actually get into the characters and the story so it had a slow start for me.
Towards the middle I was quite intrigued and invested but then I started to slowly care less and less about the characters and it sadly ended up not being really for me.
I did enjoy learning about the different types of witches, their powers, the legends around the school and the curses. But this was not enough to truly captivate me.
For me the plot as well as the characters needed more depth. There were also some love interests that felt a bit forced for me so this also didn’t help.
The magic system seemed to have rules but the rules really weren't explained. They could do magic with wands, without wands. Then other times they needed to spill their own blood to work magic with wands.
The group spends the entire book attempting to break a curse on the town.
One of my issues was all the Povs that were presented to us from the very beginning.There was a total of 6. I was unable to really focus and had to read the first chapters again.
I had to make sure to read a big chunk of the book in one go so that I could actually get into the characters and the story so it had a slow start for me.
Towards the middle I was quite intrigued and invested but then I started to slowly care less and less about the characters and it sadly ended up not being really for me.
I did enjoy learning about the different types of witches, their powers, the legends around the school and the curses. But this was not enough to truly captivate me.
For me the plot as well as the characters needed more depth. There were also some love interests that felt a bit forced for me so this also didn’t help.
The magic system seemed to have rules but the rules really weren't explained. They could do magic with wands, without wands. Then other times they needed to spill their own blood to work magic with wands.
February 23, 2023
Six POVs 💀 I think this would have been better as a season of a TV show. Somehow both too much happens and the writing is sometimes too slow. I need both more detail and less going on.
The beginning and ending are great, the middle drags.
The beginning and ending are great, the middle drags.
September 12, 2023
3.5/5
(Literal) black girl magic? Sign me up!
This was an interesting story. While I enjoyed it in some areas, it missed the mark in others. It felt like a teenage fantasy TV show. The character banter was funny, and the short chapters made for a flowing read. The black girl magic that oozed throughout the story was organic and powerful. What I loved most about this read were the multiple dimensions of being black and witchy. Isabelle does a great job illustrating the experiences of being black and witchy on various levels and its effects.
I wish this story had simply centered around black witches and black witchery. I don't think a white witch was needed, and believe the story could've been told without Logan's character. She became entitled and ultimately felt as if she was the "savior" to everyone else. For me, she didn't add anything special to the story besides irritation. Additionally, this story included a lot of POVs, which lost me a bit while reading. While I didn't mind the male characters, I don't feel they needed their own POVs. It also took me longer than I wanted to get into the story. I'm unsure if it was the story itself or the genre being out of my comfort zone. I also think a glossary would’ve been helpful as some of the “witchy” terms were difficult to understand and keep track of. The ending did add a bit of redemption as it was action-packed.
While I didn't enjoy this story as much as I wanted to, I still look forward to the sequel and am open to reading more from this author.
(Literal) black girl magic? Sign me up!
This was an interesting story. While I enjoyed it in some areas, it missed the mark in others. It felt like a teenage fantasy TV show. The character banter was funny, and the short chapters made for a flowing read. The black girl magic that oozed throughout the story was organic and powerful. What I loved most about this read were the multiple dimensions of being black and witchy. Isabelle does a great job illustrating the experiences of being black and witchy on various levels and its effects.
I wish this story had simply centered around black witches and black witchery. I don't think a white witch was needed, and believe the story could've been told without Logan's character. She became entitled and ultimately felt as if she was the "savior" to everyone else. For me, she didn't add anything special to the story besides irritation. Additionally, this story included a lot of POVs, which lost me a bit while reading. While I didn't mind the male characters, I don't feel they needed their own POVs. It also took me longer than I wanted to get into the story. I'm unsure if it was the story itself or the genre being out of my comfort zone. I also think a glossary would’ve been helpful as some of the “witchy” terms were difficult to understand and keep track of. The ending did add a bit of redemption as it was action-packed.
While I didn't enjoy this story as much as I wanted to, I still look forward to the sequel and am open to reading more from this author.
January 5, 2022
I truly enjoyed this debut novel by S. Isabelle. THE WITCHERY tells the story of four witches from Mesmortes Coven Academy in Haelsford, Florida. Every year, Haelsford is tormented by an event called the Haunting, where monstrous Wolves descend on the town. Iris, Jailah, Thalia and Logan are determined to stop the Haunting this year, but their goals lead them on a story full of twists, turns, magic, and dark consequences.
I've always loved books about magical schools, and this one delivers. It manages to tell an engaging, twisty story with *six* POV characters that all feel unique and that all have their own backstories and reasons to get involved, all while creating a world that I both want to live in and want to stay far away from (maybe I would visit Haelsford in the...non-Haunting season). By the end of the book, I was fully invested in the characters and the world, and I was sad to reach the last page. I hope we get to see more books set in this world in the future!
I've always loved books about magical schools, and this one delivers. It manages to tell an engaging, twisty story with *six* POV characters that all feel unique and that all have their own backstories and reasons to get involved, all while creating a world that I both want to live in and want to stay far away from (maybe I would visit Haelsford in the...non-Haunting season). By the end of the book, I was fully invested in the characters and the world, and I was sad to reach the last page. I hope we get to see more books set in this world in the future!
abandoned
July 12, 2022DNF @ 21%
I just cannot get into this book. The sheer amount of POVs and the similaritily of voices made this book near impossible to do more than battle with. And I'm not enjoying the tone or writing style either, something that's making it difficult to put aside my growing bias against this swarm of identical characters. This book looked really cool, and maybe if I were younger I could've had fun with it, but there just doesn't seem to be enough for me to put myself through the effort.
I just cannot get into this book. The sheer amount of POVs and the similaritily of voices made this book near impossible to do more than battle with. And I'm not enjoying the tone or writing style either, something that's making it difficult to put aside my growing bias against this swarm of identical characters. This book looked really cool, and maybe if I were younger I could've had fun with it, but there just doesn't seem to be enough for me to put myself through the effort.
July 21, 2022
This book was fun! I’ve always leaned more towards the mythological side of fantasy novels, but after reading this, I’m craving even more spells, hexes, and on-the-edge-of-my-seat-holding-my-breath witchy adventures.
Sometimes, when there is a cast of characters this large, it is easy for personalities to get lost throughout. I briefly got this vibe from The Witchery (especially with the boys), but I truly believe that each character has their own story to tell in their own way. The 6 character multi-pov did get to be a bit much at times, especially in the beginning when I didn’t quite have everyone figured out yet. Some storylines didn’t feel totally fulfilled, but the end left room for more expansion in the future, so hopefully this gets resolved.
My main qualm is that I wish there was more of The Red Three and less Logan. For example, Jailah was meant to be the most powerful witch in their class, and I felt her potential wasn’t fully seen. Logan was an okay character (though she did get annoying through the middle of the book), but I found Jailah more interesting as a young, black, and gifted witch. Same for Thalia and Iris!
The writing style was easy and fun and I loved going on this adventure with girls who look like me! From Jailah’s southern charm to Iris wearing a red silk scarf over her braids, I could find pieces of myself within these magical pages, and that’s always so special to me.
A very good debut! I’d definitely recommend it to teens. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Fingers crossed for a book two! Thank you to edelweiss and Scholastic for this arc!
Sometimes, when there is a cast of characters this large, it is easy for personalities to get lost throughout. I briefly got this vibe from The Witchery (especially with the boys), but I truly believe that each character has their own story to tell in their own way. The 6 character multi-pov did get to be a bit much at times, especially in the beginning when I didn’t quite have everyone figured out yet. Some storylines didn’t feel totally fulfilled, but the end left room for more expansion in the future, so hopefully this gets resolved.
My main qualm is that I wish there was more of The Red Three and less Logan. For example, Jailah was meant to be the most powerful witch in their class, and I felt her potential wasn’t fully seen. Logan was an okay character (though she did get annoying through the middle of the book), but I found Jailah more interesting as a young, black, and gifted witch. Same for Thalia and Iris!
The writing style was easy and fun and I loved going on this adventure with girls who look like me! From Jailah’s southern charm to Iris wearing a red silk scarf over her braids, I could find pieces of myself within these magical pages, and that’s always so special to me.
A very good debut! I’d definitely recommend it to teens. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Fingers crossed for a book two! Thank you to edelweiss and Scholastic for this arc!
September 2, 2022
3.25
I think my Biggest issue with this book is the amount of characters and POV's. For the first 30%, I was confused more often than not and there was just so much to pay attention to. The characters also don't feel fully developed like it's trying to tell 6 individual stories, so they never fully form, Which is so unfortunate because the characters are amazing and I wanted more of them. And once I got over being confused I could really enjoy the story, I just wish everything was more fleshed out.
I think my Biggest issue with this book is the amount of characters and POV's. For the first 30%, I was confused more often than not and there was just so much to pay attention to. The characters also don't feel fully developed like it's trying to tell 6 individual stories, so they never fully form, Which is so unfortunate because the characters are amazing and I wanted more of them. And once I got over being confused I could really enjoy the story, I just wish everything was more fleshed out.
September 1, 2022
2.5 ⭐️
Ehhh, I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I wish we would’ve learned more about the magic system because I was really interested in all of the characters unique magic.
Ehhh, I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I wish we would’ve learned more about the magic system because I was really interested in all of the characters unique magic.
Read
September 29, 2022This book definitely feels like a CW series, and I think it would have been more effective as a TV show. Great idea, but the execution was messy - way too many POVs as well as pacing issues.
July 26, 2022
Thank you to Scholastic for blessing me (and my students) with this ARC!
The Witchery is, quite possibly, the best thing I’ve read this year. It gave me everything I’m looking for and then some. Magical small towns? Yup, that’s the whole thing. Badass girl witch gangs? You know it. A likable and diverse cast? Yeah, I’d die for all of them. Found family? Yes, enough to make me break down in tears. The point is, this book has it all. The Raven Cycle comps make perfect sense, in most ways. We follow a rag tag group of teens (including a rich white boy that is drawn to girl that might kill him) who believe they can save their witchy town from the Wolves that set upon them every December. So yeah, teens on a quest that seems kind of hopeless.
Still, The Raven Cycle comps end when you release how badass the witches we follow are, and how willing they are to call out racism and how they constantly try to remedy it. They make the boys they hang out with better people. Four out of 6 of our narrators are POC. There is an out and proud lesbian character in this, and I think a bi boy? I’m not sure. Either way, this book has the kind of loud and proud diversity The Raven Cycle lacks. This book is not afraid of confrontation.
This book also exists wholly outside of The Raven Boys, so I’m done talking about that. This book succeeds on its own in so many ways. The characters are unique, their stories are so unique and their relationships and bonds with each other are unmatched. The magic and the wolves are exciting and all, but these characters are what drew me in. Their dynamic is unlike any I’ve read before. There’s drama, there’s angst but there’s always an intense love for each other.
Ultimately, I love this book and I can’t wait for everyone else to love it. It filled a void in my heart, and gave me so many things I didn’t know I needed. It’s spooky, it’s powerful and it better be the next big thing.
The Witchery is, quite possibly, the best thing I’ve read this year. It gave me everything I’m looking for and then some. Magical small towns? Yup, that’s the whole thing. Badass girl witch gangs? You know it. A likable and diverse cast? Yeah, I’d die for all of them. Found family? Yes, enough to make me break down in tears. The point is, this book has it all. The Raven Cycle comps make perfect sense, in most ways. We follow a rag tag group of teens (including a rich white boy that is drawn to girl that might kill him) who believe they can save their witchy town from the Wolves that set upon them every December. So yeah, teens on a quest that seems kind of hopeless.
Still, The Raven Cycle comps end when you release how badass the witches we follow are, and how willing they are to call out racism and how they constantly try to remedy it. They make the boys they hang out with better people. Four out of 6 of our narrators are POC. There is an out and proud lesbian character in this, and I think a bi boy? I’m not sure. Either way, this book has the kind of loud and proud diversity The Raven Cycle lacks. This book is not afraid of confrontation.
This book also exists wholly outside of The Raven Boys, so I’m done talking about that. This book succeeds on its own in so many ways. The characters are unique, their stories are so unique and their relationships and bonds with each other are unmatched. The magic and the wolves are exciting and all, but these characters are what drew me in. Their dynamic is unlike any I’ve read before. There’s drama, there’s angst but there’s always an intense love for each other.
Ultimately, I love this book and I can’t wait for everyone else to love it. It filled a void in my heart, and gave me so many things I didn’t know I needed. It’s spooky, it’s powerful and it better be the next big thing.
February 18, 2023
Haelsford in Florida is a hotbed of prejudice and fear of the witches by the humans. Logan is a young witch whose powers are growing and she arrives at Mesmortes Coven Academy to learn to control her magic.
The school is home to the Red Three, Iris is a Deathwitch, Thalia is a Greenwith and Jailah is the most powerful witch at the school. Two human boys become involved in the witches plan to end the reign of the Wolves who live in the swamps and rise during the haunting to feed. Can they work together to end the curse on the town.
This was the 2nd read of the YA Book Club and is a young adult fantasy, it read quite young for me but it was a fun read, the story is exciting, the representation is diverse, all the characters are written well, the dialogue is snappy, the world is interesting and the magic system compelling.
At heart this is a story of the power of female friendship, of working together against a common enemy, exploring the unpredictability of life and how the only real control in life we have is over what we chose to do. It was fun fast read and I think young adults would love it. I’m an old adult and I enjoyed it!
The school is home to the Red Three, Iris is a Deathwitch, Thalia is a Greenwith and Jailah is the most powerful witch at the school. Two human boys become involved in the witches plan to end the reign of the Wolves who live in the swamps and rise during the haunting to feed. Can they work together to end the curse on the town.
This was the 2nd read of the YA Book Club and is a young adult fantasy, it read quite young for me but it was a fun read, the story is exciting, the representation is diverse, all the characters are written well, the dialogue is snappy, the world is interesting and the magic system compelling.
At heart this is a story of the power of female friendship, of working together against a common enemy, exploring the unpredictability of life and how the only real control in life we have is over what we chose to do. It was fun fast read and I think young adults would love it. I’m an old adult and I enjoyed it!
July 22, 2022
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and physical arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Witchery
Author: S. Isabelle
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Black characters and MCs, Sapphic character, f/f romance mentioned
Recommended For...: young adult readers, supernatural, fantasy, witches, witchcraft, werewolves, LGBT, urban fantasy
Publication Date: July 26, 2022
Genre: YA Supernatural Fantasy
Age Relevance: 14+ (alcohol consumption, romance, cursing, religion, religious trauma, racism, panic attack, gore, violence, death, grief, murder)
Explanation of Above: There is some alcohol consumption mentioned early on in the book very briefly. There is some romance in the book. There is some slight cursing and some religion and religious trauma shown and mentioned. There is one instance of racism being mentioned in the book and one panic attack shown. There is some gore, violence, a few deaths, and a murder mentioned. There is also some grief shown and mentioned.
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 371
Synopsis: THE HAUNTING SEASON IS HERE AND THE WOLVES ARE AWAKE.
Haelsford, Florida is a Hellmouth. Or at least, that’s what Logan, a baby witch struggling to control her powers, thinks as she arrives to the witchtown to begin the new school year at Mesmortes Coven Academy. She is immediately taken under the wing of the infamous Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch who wants nothing more than to break the town’s curse; Jailah is one of the most powerful witches at the academy but her thirst for power may lead her down a dark path; and Thalia, the talented greenwitch, is on the run from her religious family and a past that still haunts her.
Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two Hammersmitt boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection. But as they become involved with the Mesmortes witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait.
The cost to break the curse may be greater than any witch or human could ever know.
Review: For the most part I liked this book. I thought that the book did ok with the multi-POV from 6 perspectives and that this would be a good HP replacement book. The book is action-packed and really focuses on friendship and the connections we make. The book is also fun, set in a supernatural world where witchcraft is kinda normal. I felt like the character development was well done and the world building was as well.
However, there were some issues I had with the book. The book is kinda weirdly wrote and is disjointed. I had to read the summery to figure out what was happening in the beginning and it was a really confusing book is a lot of the parts, but especially the beginning. All of the parts are there for a great novel and I have no doubt in my mind that it’ll be polished up for the finalized version, but for the arc it was just a bit of a mess in the beginning and with little confusing aspects here and there throughout the book, it makes it feel like a second book in a series rather than a first.
Verdict: It’s good, but needs a little more love.
Book: The Witchery
Author: S. Isabelle
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Black characters and MCs, Sapphic character, f/f romance mentioned
Recommended For...: young adult readers, supernatural, fantasy, witches, witchcraft, werewolves, LGBT, urban fantasy
Publication Date: July 26, 2022
Genre: YA Supernatural Fantasy
Age Relevance: 14+ (alcohol consumption, romance, cursing, religion, religious trauma, racism, panic attack, gore, violence, death, grief, murder)
Explanation of Above: There is some alcohol consumption mentioned early on in the book very briefly. There is some romance in the book. There is some slight cursing and some religion and religious trauma shown and mentioned. There is one instance of racism being mentioned in the book and one panic attack shown. There is some gore, violence, a few deaths, and a murder mentioned. There is also some grief shown and mentioned.
Publisher: Scholastic
Pages: 371
Synopsis: THE HAUNTING SEASON IS HERE AND THE WOLVES ARE AWAKE.
Haelsford, Florida is a Hellmouth. Or at least, that’s what Logan, a baby witch struggling to control her powers, thinks as she arrives to the witchtown to begin the new school year at Mesmortes Coven Academy. She is immediately taken under the wing of the infamous Red Three. Iris is a deathwitch who wants nothing more than to break the town’s curse; Jailah is one of the most powerful witches at the academy but her thirst for power may lead her down a dark path; and Thalia, the talented greenwitch, is on the run from her religious family and a past that still haunts her.
Fear and prejudice still fuel the uneasy truce between humans and witches who are forced to work together when the Haunting Season begins and Wolves rise from the swamp to feed. With this approaching, two Hammersmitt boys prepare to make their first sacrifices to the witches in exchange for protection. But as they become involved with the Mesmortes witches’ plan to end the Wolves’ reign of terror once and for all, old dangers lie in wait.
The cost to break the curse may be greater than any witch or human could ever know.
Review: For the most part I liked this book. I thought that the book did ok with the multi-POV from 6 perspectives and that this would be a good HP replacement book. The book is action-packed and really focuses on friendship and the connections we make. The book is also fun, set in a supernatural world where witchcraft is kinda normal. I felt like the character development was well done and the world building was as well.
However, there were some issues I had with the book. The book is kinda weirdly wrote and is disjointed. I had to read the summery to figure out what was happening in the beginning and it was a really confusing book is a lot of the parts, but especially the beginning. All of the parts are there for a great novel and I have no doubt in my mind that it’ll be polished up for the finalized version, but for the arc it was just a bit of a mess in the beginning and with little confusing aspects here and there throughout the book, it makes it feel like a second book in a series rather than a first.
Verdict: It’s good, but needs a little more love.
August 30, 2022
I unfortunately have to be really honest with myself and rate this a 3 star. I heavily wonder if this was written as a duology or the set up for one and it was edited down into a standalone because it felt rushed and under defined.
Pros: Great idea with decent world building. That is it the rest is a basically defining how mid this book is.
The issue is all the world building elements rely on you the reader being at least somewhat familiar with genre tropes or YA scifi/fantasy in general to fill in some of the gaps. This can work for instance how spells work in this world, we get a brief explanation and the actual spell chants read similiarly to the spells in the Simon Snow trilogy i.e. using phrases akin to the purpose of the spell and that totally works. The issue is we never get a clear explanation and there are spells that are basically as simple as saying "light up" for fire (or something like that) to extremely complicated chants that require two separate witches to read two seperate lines in tandem with one another. That is neat, but nothing is ever explained to provide a good base. Also this is a magic school and we never get a sense of the campus despite they are witches but also regular kids who play la cross.
Maybe it is my lack of familiarity with witch lore in general but I just assumed that witches were female and that wizards/warlocks were male based on other IPs. This does not help that all of our female POVs are the witches so here I am surprised to find out there is freshman boy water witch. Totally cool and fine with this just could have been defined with a bit of Lore in the beginning of the novel to define the rules and terms of the book bc questions like this are pervacieve throughout the book.
Okay so world building aside, bc I could keep on going. 6 POVs is entirely too many POVs and creates confusion pretty much the entire novel. I still could not tell you which female witch is who and has what back story bc I just knew there was a green witch, a death witch, proxy witch, and a student council witch. The two boys are also such blank slates that I simply could not care and nothing set up in their storylines matter outside of a cheeky epilogues regarding a character that I literally did not know the name of or care about.
So the big mystery I will say was interesting, but we don't get a good sense of why the wolves are an issue and like it sounds like its almost an entirely avoidable problem if you just don't go into the swamp, which like how did the baker die? he was just in the town? but everyone else went into the swamp willingly or so we are told. So that seems inconsistent or I missed something.
I could keep going, but I think the above shows the primary issues with the book without delving into spoilers. I was so excited about this as a native floridian, but all i got was it is hot and swampy to represent florida, and like true, but that is like setting a book in the NE and just saying hey the leaves change colors.
SIGH i am sad this one was a miss for me.
Pros: Great idea with decent world building. That is it the rest is a basically defining how mid this book is.
The issue is all the world building elements rely on you the reader being at least somewhat familiar with genre tropes or YA scifi/fantasy in general to fill in some of the gaps. This can work for instance how spells work in this world, we get a brief explanation and the actual spell chants read similiarly to the spells in the Simon Snow trilogy i.e. using phrases akin to the purpose of the spell and that totally works. The issue is we never get a clear explanation and there are spells that are basically as simple as saying "light up" for fire (or something like that) to extremely complicated chants that require two separate witches to read two seperate lines in tandem with one another. That is neat, but nothing is ever explained to provide a good base. Also this is a magic school and we never get a sense of the campus despite they are witches but also regular kids who play la cross.
Maybe it is my lack of familiarity with witch lore in general but I just assumed that witches were female and that wizards/warlocks were male based on other IPs. This does not help that all of our female POVs are the witches so here I am surprised to find out there is freshman boy water witch. Totally cool and fine with this just could have been defined with a bit of Lore in the beginning of the novel to define the rules and terms of the book bc questions like this are pervacieve throughout the book.
Okay so world building aside, bc I could keep on going. 6 POVs is entirely too many POVs and creates confusion pretty much the entire novel. I still could not tell you which female witch is who and has what back story bc I just knew there was a green witch, a death witch, proxy witch, and a student council witch. The two boys are also such blank slates that I simply could not care and nothing set up in their storylines matter outside of a cheeky epilogues regarding a character that I literally did not know the name of or care about.
So the big mystery I will say was interesting, but we don't get a good sense of why the wolves are an issue and like it sounds like its almost an entirely avoidable problem if you just don't go into the swamp, which like how did the baker die? he was just in the town? but everyone else went into the swamp willingly or so we are told. So that seems inconsistent or I missed something.
I could keep going, but I think the above shows the primary issues with the book without delving into spoilers. I was so excited about this as a native floridian, but all i got was it is hot and swampy to represent florida, and like true, but that is like setting a book in the NE and just saying hey the leaves change colors.
SIGH i am sad this one was a miss for me.
November 3, 2022
MOSTLY an eat from beginning to end because of Iris Keaton Foster, a daughter to ALL and I won't here anything else my favourite necromancer and sister like we're tethered in the same way her and matty are (my son 🫶🏾).
Trent my other son I love we're so connected he's British, black and bi he just like me.
JAILAH MY LESBIAN DAUGHTER! Her and Bex are about to eat so bad in the sequel I just know it. And Bex ouuu very excited about what happened with her at the end cuz I know the Beaumonts about to start praying for their daughter.
This plot was very jocular like it was mostly interesting but I feel like we could've gone a lil more in depth like we could've gone grittier like sure people died but we could've made the red three so powerful ughhh
Then there's that white girl literally what was her purpose apart from telling us Teddy isn't who he said he was? Like the flags we're there from the start he calling your friend horrible while you know she isn't like? Be fucking fr logan!
Let's try and make the next book less focused on the white girl and think about the three black girls and one black guy you've got please and thank you🙏🏽 would've given it 5 stars but logan pissed me off and it was too surface level witchery for me giving it 4 purely for iris.
Trent my other son I love we're so connected he's British, black and bi he just like me.
JAILAH MY LESBIAN DAUGHTER! Her and Bex are about to eat so bad in the sequel I just know it. And Bex ouuu very excited about what happened with her at the end cuz I know the Beaumonts about to start praying for their daughter.
This plot was very jocular like it was mostly interesting but I feel like we could've gone a lil more in depth like we could've gone grittier like sure people died but we could've made the red three so powerful ughhh
Then there's that white girl literally what was her purpose apart from telling us Teddy isn't who he said he was? Like the flags we're there from the start he calling your friend horrible while you know she isn't like? Be fucking fr logan!
Let's try and make the next book less focused on the white girl and think about the three black girls and one black guy you've got please and thank you🙏🏽 would've given it 5 stars but logan pissed me off and it was too surface level witchery for me giving it 4 purely for iris.
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