The Bane Witch By Ava Morgyn

Don’t let the cover fool you, there’s nothing sweet or cozy about Bane Witches. 

Book Synopsis:

Practical Magic meets Gone Girl in Ava Morgyn’s next dark, spellbinding novel about a woman who is more than a witch – she’s a hunter. Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things – plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story. But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger – it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters – Bane Witches – women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men. Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing – it’s time to feed. In Ava Morgyn’s dark, thrilling novel, The Bane Witch, a very little poison can do a world of good.

Review:

Piers Corbin hasn’t had the easiest life, and when she marries a handsome and wealthy man, she thinks her world will turn around. Except the book opens with her faking her own death to escape him because he’s incredibly abusive. While she’s on the run, heading up to the eastern US from the South to find her estranged Aunt who she’s only met as a child, men are dying around her. And she’s not totally sure why. 

Turns out, she’s a witch, from a long line of witches who can eat poisonous plants and then their body turns it into poison to kill others. As a witch, they crave this food, and it’s hard to control it sometimes. Body liquids become poisonous, and as you can imagine accidents also happen. There’s a story about a woman killing her love during an intimate time because her sweat is poisoned. Talk about a mood killer. 

The women of this magic tend to use men for utilitarian purposes (conceive children) but obviously long-term relationships can be precarious. Instead, the women have territories they are assigned to, and they use their magical skills to rid the world of terrible men. I absolutely loved the magic system in this story, and the way the women can use it. As Piers meets the women and learns more about them and her skills, we learn more about these dark, powerful and kind of scary women who live on the edges of society, trying to not raise any awareness about their true nature. 

There are two problems Piers is facing however, firstly her attraction to the small-town’s sheriff who has taken both a romantic and crime focus in her. He wants to know why she was on the run, where she came from, and if any of the bodies found are because of her. She is tasked to keep him distracted from the truth anyway possible, which means their romantic entanglement gets even more twisted. 

There’s also a serial killer on the loose in the forests of her new home. She is tasked by the other witches to prove her worth or else lose her powers forever. Through the rush and the hunt, she is haunted by the question of whether her husband has believed her death, or if he’s going to come and find her. 

The Bane Witch is a dark and compelling story about justice, feminism and love. It’s an excellent addition to the witchy stories out on the market. 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.