This is Halloween! Well, almost.

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Guest 5D writer Laurie Bachman does what we all do in the middle of a hot summer…..dream of Halloween!

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As the summer shifts into the cooler months and Fall or Autumn descends upon us, one’s thoughts instantly spring towards the prospects of Halloween. As a firm fan of the fantastical, the horrifying and the ghoulish, I have the same anticipation in August and September that most small children have at the approach of Santa Claus.

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Therefore, I have collected many fiendishly spooky reads for the run-up to the most wonderfully horrifying time of year.

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This instalment will focus on the Double, Double toil and trouble. Pulling together the fiendishly wicked best Witchy vibe reads that leave a tingle up the spine.

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My Top five so far.

Leviathon by Rosie Andrews

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The book opens in 1643, in Norfolk. With a civil war backdrop, Soldier Thomas Treadwater is summoned home by his Sister. It would seem that scandal is afoot with a new servant and their widowed father. Upon his return, Thomas finds his father ailing and the servant in question in prison under the charge of witchcraft. All is not as it seems and what role did a shipwreck play in awakening of a greater evil than any could have imagined?

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I love a “witchy” tale. Not the crone-like, stooped,  warty beasts that plague festive banners, but rather the connected sisterhood that these stories usually convey; strong feminine energy and the connectedness to the natural world. I don’t tend to engage well with a text that seeks to demonise women and their roles within society. A witchy tale must empower before it ensnares me. This book uses its historical fiction backdrop to highlight the discrimination against sexuality and modernity in women. It is eerie and gothic throughout, building a wonderful mystery. It is not a fast, paced action-packed takedown of the big bad, but rather a slow exploration of a number of themes. It was a firm favourite of mine.

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Extasia by Claire Legrand

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Her name is unimportant, she is one of the four saints, sent as an offering for a beast that lives within the forest that surrounds her town.

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The main theme of this book tends to be the silencing of truth, the young girl we follow into the woods appears to see all manner of things clearly, yet due to the teachings of her elders and the norms within her society, she is silenced.

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It’s marketed as YA; however, this was not the feeling you get when reading. The forest is almost a character in its own right within the story and the eeriness of the setting and plot again provides a lot of Halloween cheeriness.

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There is a mix of vibes at play within this novel, there is witch, feminism, nature and also the control of information, information as power and what true darkness or evil actually entails. This was a late-night read for me, and I am normally one to push the limits of “Bedtime” – I may be 35 but I am a responsible 35 – but I could not put this book down until the end, it lingered with me for a long time after.

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Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid
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Marlinchen and her sisters are under the oppressive control of their Wizard father. They spend their days peddling their charms and healing. But at night the sisters sneak into the world to experience the delights the mortal world has to offer. Against the rules of their Xenophobic
Marlinchen becomes embroiled with a ballet dancer and as their passion grows and the city flourishes, Darkness begins to sweep through the city. Threatening all.

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It is very dark and very gothic. It uses the urban setting to highlight the conservative and oppressive force that is their father and his fears.

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It’s been massively popular on BookTok with a number of special editions on offer. I greatly enjoyed this book, again its slow paced but eerie, unlike Extasia it felt a little more romantic, but an altogether wonderful book. It carries the same themes as the Grimms tale and doesn’t shy away from the darker corners of the story.

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The Witches Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

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It begins with the burning of Angrboda. This is a retelling of the story of Angrboda, burned by Odin for revealing the future to the wrong people; she escapes into the woods to live out her life, powerless and alone. Here she meets Loki and gives birth to three children who she raises away from Odins all seeing eye. But as her visions start to return she gains glimpses of the future for her precious family, she must decide to embrace their fate or rise up to stop it.

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I do enjoy a retelling when it’s down well, it’s darker than the Madeline Miller retellings and embraces a lesser-known Viking story, which added to the appeal. While not Gothic, or particularly gruesome it did embody the strength of divine femininity which I crave in my witchy tellings. The oppressive and controlling force of Misogyny is evident throughout.

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Of the retellings, I have recently read this one did well to pay homage to the original tale, but still held a ring of originality, it did overplay the romance between Loki and Angrboda, but it also served to highlight the roles of motherhood without being trite and cliche about it.

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Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

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Prohibition is rife, but instead of bootleg alcohol, it’s bootleg magic. The practice and craft are heavily regulated and those that do practice are limited to parlour tricks and misdirection.

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Annie Mason travels to Crow Island – the only place left where the real magic was rumoured to still lie beneath the surface reserved for those that could afford it. When Annie sees a confrontation between the infamous Emmeline Delacrouix and her best friend Bae she is dragged into a world of Blood Bargains and demons, where nothing is as it seems and to ignore the lure means denying herself and her heart.

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This is a Sapphic Romance at the heart, but a wonderfully chilling tale of the dark side to love, family and obsession. It was slow paced but again it did not drag you through the plot. It isn’t action-packed magical duels or potion-filled explosions but it does take the reader through arduous trials of the heart.

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Are there any I have missed? – Let me know, I am always up for a witchy rec.

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Other worthy witchy reads

  • The Embroidered Book – Kate Hardfield
  • The year of the Witching – Alexis Henderson
  • The Familiars – Stacey Halls
  • The Once and Future Witches – Alix E Harrow
  • Ladies of the Secret Circus – Constance Sayers
  • The House of Hollow – Krystal Sutherland
  • Witches Steeped in Gold – Ciannon Smart
  • Paybacks a Witch – Lana Harper
  • Labyrinth Lost – Zoraida Cordova
  • Nocturna – Maya Montayne
  • Witch Haven – Sasha Payten Smith

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