Witches of Wherewithal

“Even if you were a witch, which –” he smiled a little bit at himself “– you are not, the story is coming for you. The gossip, the charges of murder. All of it. It's too damned convenient . You should be on the next ship off, Theodora. Get away like your mother did. Like your man did.”


A group of witches and their children facing persecution leave Salem and head off to find sanctuary somewhere different, ending up on a remote island. Hundreds of years later in the 1940s one of  their descendents, Theodora, is in the difficult position of being pretty much the last witch, presumed widowed and suspected of murdering her husband and unable to actually do witchcraft since her husband disappeared. She is blamed as there is a severe drought and the male islanders conspire against her and her friend John Dove is in danger of being killed and the blame placed on her. 


I enjoyed the world building in this novel, the island feels as if it's both a real place and a good setting for fantasy as the author uses beautiful descriptions and the invlusiin of details of island life like the fish the islanders mostly eat and the algae they use to light their homes. I thought that the characters were particularly well written too. Theodora is a great main character and grows during the storyline, but I also liked the way the writer portrayed the other women on the island who are fighting the patriarchy in their own way. Adelaide, Theodora's cousin, in particular, helps Theodora but has her own private battles to fight and grows as a result. Though the author uses magic realism, it doesn't feel like it's out of the realm of possibility of it happening. The development of the relationship between Theodora and her friend John is nicely written. I enjoyed reading this and was pleased to see that this is potentially a series, I thought that this is a hidden gem in that it's an unusual but beautiful novel. 

I received an advanced copy of this book free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.