The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman

 

The Remaking by Clay McLeod Chapman - 305 pages

Ella Louise has lived in the woods surrounding Pilot’s Creek, Virginia, for nearly a decade. Publicly, she and her daughter Jessica are shunned by their upper-crust family and the Pilot’s Creek residents. Privately, desperate townspeople visit her apothecary for a cure to what ails them—until Ella Louise is blamed for the death of a prominent customer. Accused of witchcraft, both mother and daughter are burned at the stake in the middle of the night. Ella Louise’s burial site is never found, but the little girl has the most famous grave in the South: a steel-reinforced coffin surrounded by a fence of interconnected white crosses.

Their story will take the shape of an urban legend as it’s told around a campfire by a man forever marked by his boyhood encounters with Jessica. Decades later, a boy at that campfire will cast Amber Pendleton as Jessica in a ’70s horror movie inspired by the Witch Girl of Pilot’s Creek. Amber’s experiences on that set and its meta-remake in the ’90s will ripple through pop culture, ruining her life and career after she becomes the target of a witch hunt. Amber’s best chance to break the cycle of horror comes when a true-crime investigator tracks her down to interview her for his popular podcast. But will this final act of storytelling redeem her—or will it bring the story full circle, ready to be told once again? And again. And again… 

Scarlet Witch, Vol. 1: Witches' Road by James Robinson, et al.

 Scarlet Witch, Vol. 1: Witches' Road by James Robinson, et al.-112 pages

Scarlet Witch feels something wrong within magic/witchcraft. She's not sure what it is or who is causing it, but she feels it nonetheless. Her travels to face off against villains and find answers take her across the globe. I enjoyed reading this, but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the Disney Plus series "WandaVision." 

Black is for Beginnings by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Black is for Beginnings by Laurie Faria Stolarz - 168 Pages

"Stacey’s nightmares are back. And all she wants to do is go to Colorado and work things out with Jacob. But before Stacey and Jacob can have a future, they must face their pasts. Black is for Beginnings reveals the never-before-seen backstory—and what lies ahead—for the young, spellcasting lovers."

Red is for Remembrance by Lauri Faria Stolarz

Red is for Remembrance by Laurie Faria Stolarz - 320 Pages

"After Jacob's disappearance, Stacey tries to move on with her life, and meets fourteen-year-old Portia, struggling with her own nightmares that foretell murder--the girls find the boy in Portia's dreams living in a cult-like community with a dark side, where another member bears a remarkable resemblance to someone Stacey used to know."

Silver is for Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Silver is for Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz - 277 Pages

"School is over, and now Stacey, her boyfriend Jacob, and their friends have rented a beach cottage for the summer. No more stress, secrets, or stalkers. But then Stacey's nightmares return—predicting the cruel death of Clara, a mysterious girl with a secret. And now Jacob, the only one who understands Stacey's magic, is keeping secrets, too. Is he betraying Stacey's trust or protecting her from revenge and tragedy?"

White is for Magic by Laurie Faria Stolarz

White is for Magic by Laurie Faria Stolarz - 301 Pages

"Sixteen-year-old hereditary witch Stacey Brown is having nightmares that predict death again, but this time the murderous stalker is after her."

Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz - 283 Pages

"Sixteen-year-old hereditary witch Stacey Brown has nightmares of her roommate being murdered and hopes that her magick will be enough to protect Drea--unlike the last person whose death Stacey dreamed."

Pandora's Boy by Lindsey Davis

Pandora's Boy: A Flavia Albia Novel by Lindsey Davis --- 307 pages including maps, List of Characters, and Author's Afternote

Book Six in the series of historical mysteries featuring Flavia Albia, who has taken over her father’s business as an informer (private detective) in First Century CE Rome.  Albia reluctantly agrees to look into the sudden demise of a privileged young girl after a night out with the brat pack of  her so-called friends.

Clodia's death has devastated her family. Her parents are divorcing, her grandmothers are making accusations against each other. Yet her friends  are indifferent, even callous. Meanwhile, there are rumors among the family's acquaintances and neighbors that the willful Clodia, pining for a young man who did not return her regard, had obtained a love potion from a local herbalist and witch, and that drinking this potion had caused her death. 

But Albia reasons that a love potion --- if there is one --- would have been intended for the young man, not for Clodia's own consumption. She becomes even more dubious when she learns that the object of Clodia's desire was in fact the much indulged grandson of the witch, Pandora --- and the heir to the boss of one of Rome's most powerful criminal gangs. Her investigation reveals the Rome of CE 89 to be a city sinking in a toxic stew of public corruption, private vice and gang violence, the poor desperate to survive, the privileged reeking with entitlement. 

The clear-eyed and skeptical Albia is equal to the task of sifting the sorry truth from this mass of human dross --- though sadly, not without other deaths along the say.

Another entertaining adventure embedded in a well-researched and accurate portrait of First Century Rome in the reign of Domitian. I have been a fan of Davis since my first encounter with Albia's father Falco in The Silver Pigs (1989).

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Click HERE to read  the review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review from the Bookbag (UK).

Click HERE to read the review from the Crime Reader (UK).

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe by Madeline Miller --- 393 pages including a Cast of Characters and Acknowledgement

The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller’s first novel, a re-imagining of the Iliad,  was both a bestseller and a literary tour de force, winning the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012.

Having claimed mythology as her territory,  Miller – a Classics scholar – has returned to that fertile field for her second novel, Circe, this time taking her text from  the Odyssey.

In Miller's version however, it is the witch Circe, freed from the confinement of Homer's tale, who is transformed into the heroine of the story. With her words, Miller gives Circe her own, distinctive, voice.

“When I was born,” Circe begins her tale, “the name for what I was did not exist.” Circe finds her powers in response to years of humiliation at the hands of her predetory Titan family, her vicious cousins the Olympian gods, and even humans, who all see her as as their rightful prey.

Circe's adventures makes for absorbing reading. Written in a terse, glowing prose well-matched to her source material, there is nothing antiquated about this Circe or her travails. Miller has wrought a magic worthy of her heroine, transforming an archetype  of female subjugation into a paean to empowerment.

Click HERE to read the review from the UK Guardian.

Click HERE to read the review from the Washington Post.

Click HERE to read the review from the New York Times.

Click HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review from NPR.

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I by L.J. Smith

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I by L.J. Smith – 396 pages

Cassie and her mother are forced to move from California and come live with Cassie’s grandmother in an ancient house in the island town of New Salem, Massachusetts.  Cassie quickly learns the high school is dominated by a select group of students known as the Club.  After a first few awkward weeks with some harassment by some Club members, Cassie is befriended by their leader, Diana, and becomes part of their circle.  When properly initiated, she learns the truth:  the club is a coven, and she and the others are heirs of a long line of witches.  Diana’s boyfriend Adam unearths a powerful magic tool that, when they attempt to use it, unleashes ancient dark energy.  Cassie and the others must find out who is behind a string of murders, and hunt down the dark energy to recapture it.

While this book has many elements found in so much popular fiction, it’s so well-written that it felt fresh and compelling.  Cassie is secretly in love with Diana’s boyfriend, and is blackmailed and manipulated by the devious Faye.  She undergoes a wealth of emotions as she struggles with choices, and begins to open up to the magic powers within her.  The details of the strange island town and elements like a hidden history of witchcraft helped create a believable world.  I raced through this book in one sitting, and picked up the concluding volume immediately after.  If it is as good as the first, I will be looking for more books to read by this author.

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Hexed by Michelle Krys, 384 agonizing pages

The books description had me excited about reading the story. A witch that doesn't now she's a witch with a mom that is murdered for her Witch Bible and now Indigo has to do everything in her power to obtain that bible or lose everything. However, it ended up being a very dumb, horrible waste of time. The characters are the kind you love to hate. The main heroine is suppose to be in the top three of her class, but she's as dumb as a box of rocks. The love triangle is ridiculous as well.  Too much time is spent wallowing at teen parties and other silliness that drags the story on.

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

  The Iron Thorn  by Caitlin Kittredge      492 pages

Aoife (pronounced Ee-fah) Grayson has spent most of her life living as an orphan while attending a prestigious school. Her mother, who is locked away in a madhouse, tells Aoife about her dreams and stories when Aoife visits. Her brother, Conrad, is missing and she has never met her father. One day a mysterious letter arrives just like several she has received in the past. This letter has "Help me" written on it . With the help of her childhood friend, Cal, Aoife begins a trip that will change her entire world. This book is odd and mysterious with spooky and dangerous creatures everywhere you turn, but none as dangerous as the rigid government that dictates your every step and belief.

The Iron Thorn (Iron Codex #1) is the first Steampunk genre book I have read so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect.Therefore it is hard to compare with other books in this genre. This book was filled with interesting characters, non-stop action and twists and turns you don't see coming. I look forward to reading the second and third books in the series, "The Nightmare Garden" and "The Mirrored Shard".
                                                             

Witchcraft by Jayne Ann Krentz

Witchcraft by Jayne Ann Krentz - 345 pages

Kim is startled to find a rose with a needle stuck through its heart on her doorstep.  Unthinking, she calls Darius Cavenaugh to ask for help.  Turns out that someone is trying to seriously frighten and harm Kim.  Her only choice is to stay with Dare and his family until she is safe again.
This is one of Krentz's first romance novels.  It definitely is not her best.  Part of that is the fact that the story is extremely dated.  The book also includes two short romance stories by Amanda Stevens and Rebecca York.

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

 Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich, 313 pages

I read this book because I knew the second book was coming out in June, and I wanted to start a Janet Evanovich series from the beginning. I have read some of Janet's other books, but I have to say this was one of my favorites.  Elizabeth Tucker is a cupcake maker who teams up with Diesel in a very humorous book.  I like the fact it is set in Salem, Massachusetts and focuses on witchcraft, which seems to be a switch from her Stephanie Plum books.  The book focuses on the seven deadly sins, so I can see Janet writing 6 more books, which I will anxiously await.

"Princess of Glass" by Jessica Day George

"Princess of Glass" by Jessica Day George, 266 pages
(Book 2 of the series)

Princess Poppy loathes dancing. She is one of the 12 dancing princesses that were cursed to dance every night of their life until freed by a soldier. So when Poppy is sent on an "ambassador" mission along with her unmarried sisters to various kingdoms, to attend balls and calm the rumors that surround her family, she is none to pleased. Daily nightmares still haunt her from her dancing days and something is afoot at the castle that reminds her of the curse she was once under. Soon everyone is acting strangely like they are under a spell and it's up to Poppy to get to the bottom of it. Along the way, she forms great friendships and the beginning of a relationship with a certain Prince "Charming." Traces of Beauty & The Beast, Cinderella,  Aladdin and several other fairy tales can be found throughout the pages.

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones

"The Chronicles of Chrestomanci" by Diana Wynne Jones, 598 pages
(Volume I in the series)
Imagine if there were 9 worlds connected through strange paths. 8 children died before their time and left you with their life - thus giving you a total of 9 lives. Special people like that are born into our world. Special people like Cat whose sister, Gwendolyn, is a witch who knows his secret. Or Christopher Chant who becomes Chrestomanci before meeting his nephew - Cat. Diana Wynn Jones does a fabulous job weaving the lives of Cat and Christopher through this two-books-in-one title. The first "Charmed Life" deals with Cat and his introduction to the world of magic. The second "The Lives of Christopher Chant" follow Chrestomanci as a child first discovering he can enter other worlds - but thinking it's only a dream. There are villains in both stories - hurdles to cross - magic -adventure and lots of neat puzzles to solve. Take the time to read and enjoy this book. You'll be glad that you did.