Review By Kayleigh
I loved this book: it’s a fast-paced adventure fantasy romance. Give me witches and a quest any day!
Favourite Quote:
“We all wear many faces, but it’s the truth inside us that reveals what we need most. Look to yourself when you are lost and stay open. Remember, true love is tricky but worth the leap, wise counsel does not judge or ask for payment, and your sisterhood will never desert you.”
Book Synopsis:
Doreen MacKinnon is doomed to die of a broken heart – if she can’t break the centuries old curse placed on her family.
Three hundred years ago, Ambrose MacDonald, a powerful male witch, fell in love with a MacKinnon. And when the MacKinnon witches forbade him from seeing his love, by secretly hiding her away, he retaliated by cursing the family and its future generations to never find love. But it wasn’t without a cost. Now, Ambrose is imprisoned by those same witches, trapped in a tempest and doomed to outlive everyone he has ever loved.
But Doreen isn’t like the other MacKinnon witches. As the 13th generation of the MacKinnon line, Doreen is one of the most powerful witches in centuries… and one of the loneliest. So when she discovers where Ambrose has been trapped, she releases him to help her break the curse, once and for all. Ambrose agrees to help, but with his own motive: vengeance. He plans to use her as bait to enact his revenge on her family.
Together, they enter a series of trials, which take them to a castle in Scotland, off a cliff, and into a world beyond their wildest dreams. As they work together, sparks start to fly, but soon Doreen must choose how far she is willing to go to break the curse, and what she’s willing to sacrifice.
Review:
Doreen is a seemingly normal woman, turning 30 soon and still trying to figure out her life. But she is also trying to break a generations-old curse that will see her dead by 30 if she doesn’t find love. The only thing is, her family’s curse means that others fall in love with them, but the women don’t fall in love. Feeling held back by her controlling family, she decides it’s time to break the curse once and for all.
Breaking the curse leads her to Ambrose, who’s been trapped by her family for centuries. He’s angry, handsome, and has a grudge to pick with her family. The two of them set off to break the curse, and end up in the underworld where the ancient witch, Ada, has her own reasons for hating both of their families.
The story is sweeping and dramatic and fast-paced. You’re thrown into the world and magic system and, like Doreen, have to hang on for the ride. I understand this may not be everyone’s favourite style, but I personally love this writing. It asks you to grab hold and trust the journey. The magical setting, based on Scotland, and the cast of characters of Doreen’s family of strong witches and Ada’s army of souls, are fantastical and lush.
This is a story about love. Not just romantic love, but familial love, sisterly love, and unconditional love. It asks us to look deeply into ourselves and identify what we need to do to open ourselves up to love and accept and give it freely.
I think the only love in the book I struggled with was Doreen and Ambrose. They are strong-willed characters, whom we don’t see a lot of facets of. They are focused on survival and the quest. And yet, they insta-fall in love. While I loved how their relationship bloomed once they were in love, I didn’t like the instant love trope here. I don’t think it did the characters and their journey justice, and that watching them learn to love would have been more apt with the book.
A Circle of Uncommon Witches has Starless Sea vibes and is perfect for fans of Erin Morgenstern, Marisha Pessl and Sangu Mandanna.
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
