Book Review: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor
Book Title: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor
Author: Bianca Marais
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publish Date: August 23, 2022
Description from Goodreads:
A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat.
Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation.
But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems.
The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies.
Funny, tender and uplifting, the novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships. Marais’ clever prose offers as much laughter as insight, delving deeply into feminism, identity and power dynamics while stirring up intrigue and drama through secrets, lies and sex. Heartbreaking and heart-mending, it will make you grateful for the amazing women in your life.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor is a fun and engaging read, perfect for fans of the movie Hocus Pocus. The chapters read quickly, the stakes are high, and the characters are supremely lovable. Best of all, Bianca Marais crafts a plot that explores important and topical themes that kick this novel up several notches. Plus there’s a Harley Davidson broomstick so… 😏🧹️🧙♀️
The central characters—six octogenarian witches (why do all other descriptions say five??)—are the heart and soul of The Witches of Moonshyne Manor. Each character feels distinct, driven by their own motives, desires, dreams. Queenie is the de facto matriarch and heavy is the head that wears the crown as she tries to save the witches’ home from foreclosure. Queenie’s smarts and resourcefulness make her a compelling leader and inventor, but she has a bad habit of shouldering all burdens herself that leads to some sticky situations. Her right hand is sweet and brilliant Ivy. Tabitha the animal-whisperer is equal parts enduring love and searing resentment after a lethal run-in with police brutality. Jezebel is the hilarious seductress and household mixologist, prone to turning men into pigs.
And finally there are Ursula and Ruby. Ursula has pined for Ruby for as long as she can remember, waiting lovingly in the shadows while Ruby fell for someone else. Ruby, a gender-fluid witch with the innate power to change her appearance, is the beating heart of the novel that catapults the story from funny and mischievous to heartwarming. I can’t stress enough how much I adore Ruby’s journey—this book is worth reading just for her. And really, for the beautiful story of how these six women support one another.
The witches by far receive the most character development throughout, but I do wish we were shown more than told, especially at the beginning, which feels a bit slow. Ruby’s story is done well, as we’re shown the most of her journey, but the other characters seem to suffer for it. This is particularly obvious with Queenie, who we’re told is incredibly smart but who makes a series of nonsensical decisions. How does Queenie let them slip so far behind on their mortgage payments? And why does she keep it a secret? Without regular cash flow, how have they paid any other bills or for food? Is it through magic, and if so, why can’t magic help solve their money problems?
For those characters outside the coven, I want more depth. Persephone comes across a bit like a caricature of a Gen Z teenager, one I didn’t ultimately connect to. She feels shoe-horned in as an obvious feminism mouthpiece even though the coven of witches represent feminism just fine on their own. The villains and even most men in the town seem fairly one-dimensional—evil for evil’s sake. And the intriguing, powerful Charon feels supremely underused. Overall, I want a bit more exploration of the moral gray rather than just black and white good and bad characters.
As I mentioned earlier, the triumph of this story is the themes it explores in depth: gender identity, racial biases, feminism, ageism, found family. The plot doesn’t rely on magic to solve all problems and I like the idea that magic gets harder as you age (although that leads to some plot holes itself). There are also cute inclusions of spells and drink recipes that don’t necessarily add to the story, but do help build the magical atmosphere.
With a little more on-page character development and less hand-waving around the plot holes, this would be a 5-star read for me. As it is, 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 for the enjoyable and heartwarming ride with this amazing group of women. Would definitely recommend, especially if you like character-driven urban fantasies. Do yourself a favor and read it now, then read it again around Halloween. At least, that’s my plan.
