by Kristen B.
Once upon a time, there were three sisters. I love a story about three sisters, probably because I am one. The Once and Future Witches grabbed my attention right away with Bella, Agnes, and James Juniper Eastwood. Bella is the bookish, rule following oldest (hello, yes, it’s me), followed by the fiercely independent Agnes who guards her heart, then the rebel, wild child June. They were separated from each other and their home in Crow County before the book opens but are unexpectedly reunited in New Salem as the story begins with a dramatic rally.
This wonderful, rich, layered novel closely weaves together many elements, including witching, suffrage, civil rights, and nursery rhymes. Witchcraft is forbidden, even if every woman knows a spell or two for domestic tasks and other “unimportant” business. It used to be more. Except women became too powerful (in whose eyes?), and the witch hunters burned down Old Salem. Since that time, the Way of Avalon, with its last Three witches, has been lost. Until all three Eastwood sisters were pulled into the town square by a strange spell that called the black tower of Avalon, briefly, into being above them.
This launches the Eastwoods into forming the Sisters of Avalon, a secret society of women who want to reclaim witching. By pooling knowledge and handed down stories, the sum becomes greater than its parts. They begin to piece together not just more power than any single woman had on her own, but what was lost when Old Salem burned. Each chapter begins with a small spell, mostly based on old nursery rhymes or superstitious sayings, along with the ingredients to make it work. Every spell needs the words, the way, and, most importantly, the WILL. None of the women in this book lack willpower, that’s for sure.
The sisters also have messy personal lives that compound the larger story. Agnes, who works in a mill, is unmarried and pregnant, and she chooses to raise the next generation of Eastwood women. Bella falls in love with a nosy newspaper-woman, who has keeps an interesting set of secrets within the Black community of New Cairo. This slow-burn romance lends an unexpected joyful note to the proceedings. And Juniper, well, she has her own murderous secrets and lonely heartaches.
Inevitably, the Eastwood sisters and the Sisters of Avalon cross the Powers That Be and all seems lost. But, not put too fine a point on it, where’s there’s a Will, there’s a Way. The end absolutely delivers on the promise of that first meeting in St. George’s Square. One of the things I appreciated about this novel was the villain, who is entirely, unapologetically villainous. Not many stories have such a defined antagonist these days, and it made the final showdown more meaningful.
I fell headlong into this story and was glad I picked it up over a long weekend where I didn’t feel guilty about losing an afternoon or two. It’s a long one, at 500+ pages, but I enjoyed spending the time with the Eastwood sisters, their friends, and their lovers. A brief review doesn’t really do the entirety of the story justice, but I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of how the Eastwood Three – Maiden, Mother, and Crone – reclaim all that is rightfully theirs.
This title is available in print, e-book, and e-audiobook. You’ll have to wait for the electronic copies, but the physical book is ready to borrow.
CHAPTER CHATS 