Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Housewitch by Katie Schickel

5 Star

Allison Darling, former foster child, now a stay-at-home mom of three, desperately wants to fit in with the organic latte drinking, hundred-dollar-yoga-pants-wearing moms who run Monrovia, her charming seaside village. Constantly feeling like an outsider, Allison dreams of more for her children. When the Glamour Girls, a soap-selling company run by the most charismatic and powerful women in town, recruits Allison, she jumps at the invitation. The Glamor Girls have a hand in everything in Monrovia, from bake sales to business deals. This is what Allison’s wanted her whole life—to be liked. To be popular. To belong. After Allison’s estranged mother passes away, she learns her family’s heartbreaking legacy and the secret Allison’s been fighting to suppress all her life emerges: she’s a witch. What’s more, she’s not the only one in town. There’s more to the Glamour Girls then it seems… and once you’re a Glamour Girl, there’s no going back. Allison must use her rediscovered magic to defend Monrovia, protect her marriage and her children, and reclaim her legacy. Fighting tooth and nail for her family is easy, but what about for herself? Is it too late to confront her own demons and become the woman she dreams of being?


Kathryn - 5 Star

I absolutely adored this book. I liked it so much that I told people about it before I was even 60 pages into it.  Clearly there were a few reasons why Housewitch held so much appeal for me!

From the get go Housewitch felt original. There are other novels that have modern day witches and other novels that include herbal remedies and spell like concoctions and there are certainly many other novels with that “Real Housewives” feel but I have yet to find another one that pulls all these elements together and makes a story so much fun to read.

Allison’s life in Monrovia seems to be moving along and taking her with it.  There’s not a lot of scope in this town to be original, unique or even put one toe off the beaten path.  The Stepford Wives were practically free thinkers compared to the women in this town!  For someone trying to hide her own unusual gifts it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing unravels.  When Allison’s mother dies and opens up the possibility of her family being in danger the two worlds of perfect Monrovia and crazy aunts (who dress like they stepped out of Hansel & Gretel) begin to bring Allison’s gifts out in the open.

I loved Allison’s children, pets and husband and the fact that Katie Schickel made them so much like any other family next door. They were entirely imperfect but completely loveable.  You could feel the tension in Allison and I wish she’d been more able to share her fears and gifts with her husband- that was the one part of the novel that frustrated me a tiny bit.  They seemed so in love but I had hoped she could share her burden with him and perhaps they could have found a solution together earlier. 

All in all though the novel was gripping and I couldn’t put it down. The bad guys were utterly horrid and the good guys came together in the end.  Perfect!


Thank you to the author for our review copy. All opinions are our own.

Connect with Katie Schickel:
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