Fiction has been awfully witchy this year, with strong showings across historical fiction, romance, and general fiction. For your reading pleasure, an incomplete list:
HISTORICAL FICTION
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
In 1615 Germany, 74-year-old Katharina Kepler is accused of witchcraft, an accusation she shrugs off until it starts to stick. Told via Katharina’s dictation to a neighbor, court documents and witness testimony, this wry and witty novel is loosely based on a real witch trial (of physicist Johannes Kepler’s mother!).
Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
In 1660s Boston, headstrong Mary Deerfield petitions for divorce from her husband on grounds of cruelty, only to be ensnared by accusations of witchcraft from jealous neighbors and servants. As Mary tries to find an avenue to the life she envisions, the Puritan panic around her reaches a fever pitch.
The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore
Manningtree has been largely depleted of men since the beginning of the English Civil Wars. When Matthew Hopkins, Witchfinder General, arrives, he starts poking around the margins of town life, looking for covens and general witchcraft. 19-year-old Rebecca West tries to quell the rumors and protect her neighbors, even as accusations land at her door.
ROMANCE
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Nine years ago Vivienne Jones and Rhys Penhallow broke up, leaving Vivi brokenhearted. She pretended to curse Rhys, but now that he’s returned to Graves Glen, GA they have to work together to fix her surprisingly strong hex, which also threatens the town itself.
Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper
Emmy Harlow returns to her small hometown to serve as arbiter in a generational magical tournament among the town’s three most powerful families. It means seeing Gareth Blackmoore again, who broke her heart years ago. When two members of competing clans, Linden Thorn and Talia Avramov, approach Emmy with a scheme to rig the competition, Emmy finds herself getting ever closer to sexy Talia.
Witch Please by Ann Aguirre
Danica Waterhouse, witch and co-owner of a repair shop, knows that her family line is cursed – if she has a relationship with a regular human, she’ll lose her powers. Enter Titus Winnaker, owner of Sugar Daddy’s bakery and of his own romantic curse that has doomed him to be alone forever. When Danica shows up to fix Titus’ broken oven, sparks fly, if they can manage to make it work.
GENERAL FICTION
The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
In this final book in the Practical Magic series, three generations of the Owens family wage a final battle against the curse that has plagued them since the 17th century and has caused anyone who has loved an Owens to die.
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
After a devastating breakup, Annie Crane leaves New York City to start over in a small town in upstate New York. She quickly makes a new friend in Sophie, who seems to lead a charmed life but also inspires fear in the townsfolk. Could she be … a witch? And is Annie scared, or impressed?
~ posted by Andrea G.
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