Breakaway Books

Authored by Ami McKay; Published 2016; Fantasy

⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

I really wanted to love The Witches of New York. Goodness knows, I’m a sucker for a magic-oriented fantasy novel, and I love a strong female heroine. For me, though, this one missed the mark. I wanted to be invested in the bonds between Eleanor, Adelaide, and Beatrice, the eponymous witches, but something about it just didn’t work for me.

This novel transports the reader vividly and beautifully back to turn of the century New York. I felt like I could picture the setting in great detail—the clothing, the culture, the belief in superstition. Communing with ghosts is a main feature of the novel, and it felt true to the period, down to the “spirit scope” used for those encounters. I was certainly intrigued by some of the supernatural elements that the author introduced, especially the dearlies who planted dreams in  witches’ minds, but I always found myself wishing for more time with them.

I liked the three witches just fine—I just wanted more. I wanted to see them grow from three separate people to a coven who deeply loved each other. While I could see parts of that development, there wasn’t quite enough for me to connect to. It lacked the emotional weight of other novels that I’ve read about women supporting other women. 

The novel did set the stage for more installments in the series, establishing a zealous antagonist who is dedicated to eliminating the witches and leaving some key mysteries tantalizingly dangling. Yet, I don’t feel compelled to pick up the next book—my investment in the trio isn’t quite great enough.

I would recommend this book to the lovers of historical fiction, and fans of spooky ghost stories. For me, a more general fantasy reader, I don’t think I’ll keep reading.