Katherine Harbour's Blog - Posts Tagged "witches"

Labyrinth Lost
This contemporary dark fantasy is about Alex, a teen born into a family of brujas and brujos. Alex's nightmare journey begins after a family magic ritual is ruined and she must enter Los Lagos, a dangerous alternative world, to find her loved ones. Her White Rabbits is Nova, a shady brujo boy whose motives may not be pure. With the help of her best friend Rishi, Alex and Nova encounter harpy-like creatures, faery folk, and a terrifying witch called The Devourer.
A detailed and fantastical take on magic, both ancestral and talismanic, with an emotional core about family and betrayal. My favorite part was the trinity of main characters. For anyone who loved Danielle Paige's Oz series.

The Beast Is an Animal
Set in a world similar to Colonial America and its puritans, this dark fantasy has truly creepy touches.
Teenage Alys losses, not only her parents, but her entire village, to two monsters who look like twin girls. They're called the soul eaters. When she and other child survivors are taken in by a neighboring village of ultra-religious people, they are practically shunned and used as slaves. Then the soul eaters begin circling. And Alys realizes they spared her for a reason.
Then she meets the Beast in the forest (a fabulous twist).
Alys is soon forced to flee and is taken in by the Travelers, gypsies and free-thinkers. She meets a charming boy who's also been adopted.
A twisty dark fairy tale with echoes of The Ring and The Witch and Sheri S. Tepper's older fantasies.

The Rules of Magic
Set in the 60s and a prequel to Practical Magic, this novel can be read as a standalone. Franny, Jet, and Vincent are raised by distant parents. After tragedy strikes,they must survive on their own in New York City. Their ancestry--they are all witches--has given them rules they must follow to avoid trouble. And there is a curse that has to do with love and the danger the siblings pose to anyone they fall in love with. With an atmosphere of magic realism, this is a fairy tale about three siblings who are determined to live their own way. There's a lovely twist ending that I didn't see coming. The theme, despite the anguish it conveys, is that one must love often and love more. I wanted to follow the characters everywhere and of course I want a movie.

The Bone Witch
As Tea learns to become a dark ahsha, a bone witch, in her kingdom, her future plays out between chapters seen by the eyes of an unknown narrator.
The ahsha world is detailed and interesting. Tea is apprenticed to lady Mykaela, who has a tragic past of her own. Tea, who has a habit of raising the dead--including her brother Fox-- is supported by a kind prince and his brooding lieutenant, a Deathseeker. The other characters in this world add to its vividness and unique detail.
But future glimpses show a harder, scarier Tea, because this story is only the beginning of her journey.

The Hawkweed Prophecy
Poppy is a teenager in England and trouble seems to follow her. Cats also follow her. And she is able to influence things. Her awareness of her strangeness increases when she meets Ember, a girl who lives in a caravan with other transient women. When both girls meet a boy named Leo, who lives in the streets, a friendship blossoms between the three, But malevolent forces--one of whom is responsible for switching Poppy and Ember at birth--seek to destroy their tender alliance.
A fable of friendship and witchy sisterhood, this atmospheric tale is for anyone who loves Alice Hoffman.