Book witches: they are all around us. One could be standing next to you at the grocery store checkout (she’s probably reading her ebook). She might be in the waiting room with you (she definitely brought a hardcover with her). She might be ushered out of the local bookstore, begging to spend just a few more minutes in her happy place. But the question arises: what exactly is a book witch?

Book Witch

A reader who understands the particular magic of books. They have the power to move souls, change minds and create worlds. They can transport a person into different lives, times and galaxies, and offer perspectives that build empathy and understanding. Book witches are sensitive to the book hangover (see below), and side effects include occasionally falling deeply in love with fictional characters.

Book Hangover

When a reader is so emotionally depleted by the book they just finished, they can think of nothing but the book they just read. The afflicted feel despair the book is over and long for the next book in the series to just come out already. One symptom is finding it hard to pick up another book, as the reader does not want to destroy the beautiful world they find themselves trapped in.

Hair of the dog cure: try a cozy mystery or a historical romance as your next read – they are fun and often don’t demand too much emotionally. That should get you back into the swing of things shortly.

Welcome to my witchy book reviews! The focus of my book reviews at Cordelia Kelly is all things witch. While I love all books, there is something about witches that captures the imagination. Witches have gotten a bad rap over the years, but the truth is much more complicated than a warty nose and a child in the oven. Many, if not most witches, historical or fictional, are badass women looking to change the world for the better. 

To celebrate these women, I post a book review every Tuesday. To see the list, click here.

For my first review post, I wanted to share my favourite witch book I’ve read recently.

Once and Future Witches, by Alix E. Harrow

Witching and women’s rights. Suffrage and spells … They’re both a kind of power, aren’t they? The kind we aren’t allowed to have.

 – The Once and Future Witches, Alix E. Harrow

 I am undone. A book rarely gets me this swoony, but Harrow has created in this my new favourite book. I love me a good witch book, but even more than that, I love me a good feminist book about kick-ass witches who have had ENOUGH.

In New Salem, witchcraft has been banned, witches have been burned, and women must learn their place. The Eastwood sisters – James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna – join the suffragist movement to give women their right to a voice. Witchcraft might have been banned but exists still in mother’s lullabies, recipes and whispered fairytales shared by the hearth. The sisters begin to bring the proper elements together to bring back witchery in a big way.

 I love Bella, Agnes and Juniper; the Crone, the Mother, the Maiden. I couldn’t put this book down, cried often, and punched my fist into the air several times. Harrow is exceptionally talented and has just rocketed to my favourite author. Apparently she sold this book with the pitch: “Suffragettes … but witches.” I love her so much.

 The Once and Future Witches is soul food for women. I could not recommend this more.

Check out other witchy book reviews at Book Reviews, but Make it Witchy. Do you have any witch books you would like to see on this list? Leave a comment or drop me a message, and I’ll get right on that!

If witch books aren’t your thing, I read of other stuff. Follow my Bookstagram account at @bookoracle1

And if you are specifically into Fear Street novels (come on, I know you read them in junior high), check out Shadyside Snark, a blog where my sister and I have recapped every Fear Street book written, as well as the new Netflix movies!