A NEW WITCH IN THE NORTHWOODS

The Lupe Farkas Review

A little Northwoods magic, with teeth

I never read a book’s blurb before choosing it. My selection process is rather unscientific for a woman who spent years working with procedures and quality systems. First comes the cover, because yes, I judge books by their covers. Then the title. Put the word “witch” in it and you already have my attention. Occasionally, the author’s name seals the deal.

Elise Poslední had an unfair advantage. I live in Eastern Europe, where “poslední” means “last”, and her surname caught my eye in my NetGalley library. A woman writing a witchy novel with that surname? Girl, you’re absolutely not going to be last. You’re going first. Welcome to the logic of my reading life.

The first thing I fell in love with was the collection of fictional book excerpts before the chapters. They were so convincing that I actually Googled some of the titles, apparently forgetting for a moment that they were fictional books inside a fictional book. Elise, you’ve created a problem for yourself. I need you to write at least ten of those books now.

I also loved the third-person narration. This comes with another unrequested confession: whenever I read a third-person story, I hear the narrator from the film Amélie in my head. Every single time. It’s peculiar, I know, but I love it. That voice accompanied me straight into the Northwoods.

For about half the novel, I was having a wonderful time. I was cosy. I was witchy. I was enjoying the magic, the possibility of romance, the new family and the sense of a woman finding herself. Because I’d skipped the blurb, I was happily settling into my little witchy bubble, convinced I knew the kind of story I was reading.

Then my stomach flipped. I actually sat upright and thought, “Wait. What just happened?” The atmosphere hadn’t lost its warmth, but the story had changed shape. The magic remained; so did the sense of belonging. Suddenly, though, there was danger in the room. That sweet little fantasy had teeth, and I was completely hooked.

The cleverest thing Elise did was make me feel conflicting emotions about the protagonist. There was a moment involving her love interest when I thought her reaction was exaggerated. I was annoyed, mostly because my patience for unnecessary drama is spectacularly limited. Then it occurred to me that the author had made me love this woman, become frustrated with her and still care deeply about what happened next. That’s excellent character writing.

Her courage, the love she has for her new family and her growth throughout the story won me over again. A heroine doesn’t have to be agreeable every minute to be worth following. Give me someone who can irritate me, surprise me, make me proud and then earn my affection all over again. Those are the characters who stay in my head after I’ve closed the book.

The ending? Oh, Elise. That ending. After making me feel comfortable, frightened, exasperated and deeply attached, you somehow delivered the kind of conclusion that made me sigh with happiness. Five stars. You earned every one of them.

Naturally, I’m now demanding more. I want Book Two. I want to know what happens after this. I want the story of how her grandfather fell in love with her grandmother, the wars, the family history and a prequel. While you’re at it, please write all those books you invented for the chapter openings. I finished one novel and promptly assigned its author several years of additional work. I hope she’s already writing.

If witches, demons, magical worlds, found family and complicated women are your thing, A New Witch in the Northwoods deserves a place on your reading list. It’s cosy fantasy with an unexpected bite, and the surprise is part of the pleasure.