Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Four: Witches of New York

Spurred on by the looming deadline of when my library e-book would return, I spent most of last night and this morning finishing up an enchanting novel: Witches of New York by Ami McKay.  Unfortunately, the sequel (Half Spent Was the Night) has a long waitlist, but I guess it's something to look forward to!  Possibly I'll even read some of McKay's earlier novels, though I decided a change of pace was in order for my next read.

Anyway, Witches of New York follows three young women--Eleanor, Adelaide, and Beatrice--as one becomes a witch, one learns to embrace her powers, and another uses her knowledge to guide them.  These are a trio of distinct characters, each with her own personality, motivations, faults, fears, and desires.  Plus, there's a benevolent magical raven on hand.  At no point did I have trouble keeping track of the main trio, or of the many and sundry side characters who populate the pages of this novel, which is wide in scope and perspective, being variously narrated by the three witches as well as by a few secondary characters.

The atmosphere is spot-on, with the writing style reminiscent of 1880s New York without feeling overly affected or stylized.  It both reads naturally and immerses the reader in the energetic, anything-is-possible feel of late nineteenth-century America.  Of course, the book is not purely optimistic; there's maybe even a little more than a fair share of grittiness, misery, and evil within these pages.  After all, there's no story without some conflict!

As for the witches' magic, it's far more herbal than Hogwarts.  There are no wands, though there are talismans, and herbs and traditions, dreams and intuition figure prominently.  It feels authentic, time-tested, and accessible.  If nothing else, I want to try harder to grow an herb garden and keep my own bees (as Eleanor does), though I don't truly expect any magic to come of it.  Anyway, the magic is more lore than high fantasy, so for readers who don't typically stray into speculative fiction but are open to it, Witches of New York could be a great entry-point, and for those who enjoy fantasy already, particularly historical fantasy, it's definitely worth reading for both its magic and its heroines.