The Age of Witches

by Louisa Morgan

4 out of 5

Synopsis

Harriet Bishop, descended from a long line of witches, uses magic to help women in need -- not only ordinary women, but also those with powers of their own. She must intervene when a distant cousin wields dangerous magic to change the lives of two unsuspecting young people... one of whom might just be a witch herself.

Frances Allington has used her wiles and witchcraft to claw her way out of poverty and into a spectacular marriage with one of New York's wealthiest new tycoons. She is determined to secure the Allingtons' position amongst the city's elite Four Hundred families by any means necessary -- including a scheme to make a glorious aristocratic match for her headstrong and reluctant step-daughter, Annis, using the same strange power with which she ensnared Annis's father.

To save Annis from this dark magic, Harriet reveals to her Frances' misuse of their shared birthright and kindles in Annis her own nascent powers. Together, Harriet and Annis must resist her stepmother's agenda, lest she -- and the dashing young lord she suspects she could come to love -- lose their freedom, and possibly their lives.

Review

The Bishop women have the gift of magic. Power at a time when women were powerless in a society run by men.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative is shared by four characters.

Annis is at the centre of the story. She doesn't know about her Bishop heritage from her deceased mother.

She is born to a wealthy family, but does not wish to follow the expected behaviour and life of a young lady. She is headstrong, and wants nothing more than freedom and independence.

Annis' wishes are countered at every turn by her step-mother, Frances.

Frances is also a distantly-related Bishop woman, who started life in poverty. She has used dark magic to control the people around her, and gain an advantageous marriage to Annis' husband.

Now that Annis is old enough, Frances intends to sell her to a penniless English lord; so Frances can buy her way into New York's elite society.

Luckily, Annis' estranged Aunt Harriet will do everything in her power to stop Frances' malicious plans. Harriet is a powerful practitioner, who understands the lure and danger of using dark magic. She's keen to steer Frances back to the light, before it's too late.

The final narrator is James, the new Lord Rosefield who inherited an estate and a mountain of debt from his late father. Despite being pressured by his mother, he doesn't want to marry for money - especially not a brash American girl. He is a practical man, who has plans to save his estate, that doesn't involve depending on the dowry of a stranger.

He's an innocent, who is the victim of Frances' magic, when he loses control of his feelings.

Despite the fact that there's a lot of horses and magic in this book (my two favourite things!), the story was very slow-building.

It's a period piece, written in a suitable style, but the plot took so long to get going, I did put the book down several times.

It really picks up in the second half, as everyone comes together in England. Frances' manipulations quickly become apparent, and Annis has to study quick, if she is going to help her Aunt Harriet counter the curses.

I liked that this is a family matter underneath it all.

Despite being distantly related, and from a branch that has had a few dark/insane witches, Frances is still part of the family.

She has always felt the outsider, and she is blinded by the drive to prove herself Harriet's equal, both socially and magically.

I liked that the book looked at the position of women in society at the time (1890). I thought it was clever how each woman was simply trying to secure her place in a world run by fickle men. In their own special way.

Annis is the most obvious, as she dreams of running a stud and creating a superior horse bloodline. In the absence of her work-aholic father, Annis has had the freedom to train Black Satin, a perfect stallion, whom she has put to stud with select mares. She has no need of a husband, or a father, or any other man to manage her money. Her father is an excellent businessman, and Annis wants to show she can do the same.

Frances wants to be recognised as the elegant lady she has become, rather than the poverty she came from. She knows the society she lives in, and knows that the only way to get what you want, is to manipulate the right men. She is willing to pay any price to achieve her dreams.

Overall, I enjoyed this story, and I look forward to reading more of the author's work.

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