Lists and Suggestions
List: Witchy Fiction
Witchful Thinking
Martin, Celestine
What does a witch do when life's a bore? You wish for something more. If wishes were fish, hom... More
What does a witch do when life's a bore? You wish for something more. If wishes were fish, homebody witch Lucy Caraway could open an aquarium and gift shop with every wish she's ever made in her entire life. When she isn't grading papers over homemade tea blends, Lucy tends to her ancestral home in Freya Grove, New Jersey, while leafing through spellbooks, protecting her familial magic from complete mayhem. On the eve of her ten-year high school reunion, Lucy yearns for more-the soulmate she's searching for, the cute cottage she's coveting, and to be the best version of herself. Fueled by nostalgia and spiced rum, Lucy casts a spell that brings trouble in the form of a big lie and reunites her high school crush merman Alex Dwyer. Like every Dwyer merfolk, Alex saw the world and all its splendors, destined never to make a home on land. When he's unexpectedly given a jinxed cottage, he returns to Freya Grove, determined to get his life on track after a string of bitter disappointments. Alex believes a merman needs a house like a fish needs a bicycle. He plans on flipping it and getting as far away from the Grove as his tail can take him. But once he discovers that his new neighbor is the witch who got away, Alex starts to rethink his plan. As the spell unfolds, baking disasters, flirtatious tea readings, and midnight meetups spark their decade-old chemistry; Lucy and Alex wonder whether their newfound love is strong enough to outlast the fleeting power of a wish. Less
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Mandanna, Sangu
A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family... More
A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life. As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules... with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos "pretending" to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and... Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat. As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for... Less
The Once and Future Witches
Harrow, Alix E.
In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in Alix E. Harrow... More
In the late 1800s, three sisters use witchcraft to change the course of history in Alix E. Harrow's powerful novel of magic and the suffragette movement. In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters -- James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna -- join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote -- and perhaps not even to live -- the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive. There's no such thing as witches. But there will be. Less
The Year of Witching
Henderson, Alexis
A young woman living in a rigid, repressive society discovers dark powers within herself, with terr... More
A young woman living in a rigid, repressive society discovers dark powers within herself, with terrifying and far-reaching consequences, in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut. In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. The daughter of an union with an outsider that cast her once-proud family into disgrace, Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the women in the settlement. But a chance mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still walking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the diary of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood. Fascinated by secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her. Less
Plain Bad Heroines
Danforth, Emily M.
1902, the Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara are obsessed with each other and with Mary Mac... More
1902, the Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara are obsessed with each other and with Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. The girls establish their own private club and call it the Plain Bad Heroine Society. Their bodies are discovered in a nearby apple orchard, with a copy of Mary's book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Within five years three more people die on the property-- and the Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever. The now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when writer Merritt Emmons publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the "haunted and cursed" Gilded Age institution. Her book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again for filming, soon it's impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins. Less
Circe
Miller, Madeline
Follows Circe, the banished witch daughter of Helios, as she hones her powers and interacts with fam... More
Follows Circe, the banished witch daughter of Helios, as she hones her powers and interacts with famous mythological beings before a conflict with one of the most vengeful Olympians forces her to choose between the worlds of the gods and mortals. Less
Wild and Wicked Things
May, Francesca
On Crow Island, people whispered, real magic lurked just below the surface, but Annie Mason never e... More
On Crow Island, people whispered, real magic lurked just below the surface, but Annie Mason never expected her enigmatic new neighbor to be a witch. When she witnesses a confrontation between her best friend Bea and the infamous Emmeline Delacroix at one of Emmeline's extravagantly illicit parties, she is drawn into a glittering, haunted world. A world where magic can buy what money can not; a world where the consequence of a forbidden blood bargain might be death. Less
Payback's a Witch
Harper, Lana
The witch is back and ready for revenge with a little help from her friends in this fresh, sizzling... More
The witch is back and ready for revenge with a little help from her friends in this fresh, sizzling rom-com by Lana Harper. Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one--in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoor, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams. But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago. On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov--an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts--who is fresh off a bad breakup...with Gareth Blackmoor. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden--unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in? But most concerning of all: Why can't she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov? Less
We Ride Upon Sticks
Barry, Quan
From the author of the widely acclaimed She Weeps Each Time You're Born--a new novel, at once ... More
From the author of the widely acclaimed She Weeps Each Time You're Born--a new novel, at once comic and moving, set in 1989 Danvers, Massachusetts, where a high school field hockey team discovers that the witchcraft of their Salem forebears may be the key to a winning season. In this tour de female force, the Danvers High School Falcons Varsity is on an unaccountable streak. In chapters dense with '80s iconography--from Heathers to Big Hair--Quan Barry expertly weaves the individual and collective journeys of this enchanted team: the quiet, husky goalie Mel Boucher, who signs her name to a pledge of darkness in a notebook with heartthrob Emilio Estevez on the cover; the top bitch forward, Jen Fiorenza, whose bleached blond "Claw" sees and knows all; the good-girl captain Abby Putnam (a descendant of the famous Salem witness Ann Putnam), who is hesitant to sign her name to the Emilio pact; AJ Johnson, the team's one black player, for whom enchantment brings racial awakening; the untouchably beautiful Girl Cory and her name-twin Boy Cory, who plays this female sport for his own reasons. These "witches" and their teammates are as wily and original as their North of Boston ancestors, flouting society's stale notions of femininity to find their true selves in a celebration of teen girldom in all its glory. Less
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch
Galchen, Rivka
Drawing on real historical documents but infused with the intensity of imagination, sly humor, and ... More
Drawing on real historical documents but infused with the intensity of imagination, sly humor, and intellectual fire for which award-winning author Rivka Galchen's writing is known, Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch is a tale for our time--the story of how a community becomes implicated in collective aggression and hysterical fear.The year is 1619, in the German duchy of Württemberg. Plague is spreading. The Thirty Years War has begun, and fear and suspicion are in the air throughout the Holy Roman Empire. In the small town of Leonberg, Katherina Kepler is accused of being a witch.An illiterate widow, Katherina is known by her neighbors for her herbal remedies and the success of her children, including her eldest, Johannes, who is the Imperial Mathematician and renowned author of the laws of planetary motion. It's enough to make anyone jealous, and Katherina has done herself no favors by being out and about and in everyone's business. So when the deranged and insipid Ursula Reinbold (or as Katherina calls her, the Werewolf) accuses Katherina of offering her a bitter, witchy drink that has made her ill, Katherina is in trouble. Her scientist son must turn his attention from the music of the spheres to the job of defending his mother. Facing the threat of financial ruin, torture, and even execution, Katherina tells her side of the story to her friend and next-door neighbor Simon, a reclusive widower imperiled by his own secrets.Provocative and entertaining, Galchen's bold new novel touchingly illuminates a society, and a family, undone by superstition, the state, and the mortal convulsions of history. Less
The League of Gentlewomen Witches
Holton, India
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the teahouse. . . . Miss Charlotte Pettifer belon... More
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the teahouse. . . . Miss Charlotte Pettifer belongs to a secret league of women skilled in the subtle arts. That is to say-although it must never be said-witchcraft. The Wicken League strives to improve the world in small ways. Using magic, they tidy, correct, and manipulate according to their notions of what is proper, entirely unlike those reprobates in the Wisteria Society. When the long-lost amulet of Black Beryl is discovered, it is up to Charlotte, as the future leader of the League, to make sure the powerful talisman does not fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is most unfortunate when she crosses paths with Alex O'Riley, a pirate who is no Mr. Darcy. With all the world scrambling after the amulet, Alex and Charlotte join forces to steal it together. If only they could keep their pickpocketing hands to themselves! If Alex is not careful, he might just steal something else-such as Charlotte's heart. Less
A Letter to Three Witches
Bass, Elizabeth
Bewitched meets Practical Magic in this bubbly, quirky romantic comedy with an enchanted twist from... More
Bewitched meets Practical Magic in this bubbly, quirky romantic comedy with an enchanted twist from acclaimed author Elizabeth Bass. When romance problems cause their powers to go berserk, a trio of witches whose family was banned from practicing magic risk getting in serious trouble with the Grand Council of Witches. Can they get their magic--and their love lives--in order before it's too late? Less
Her Majesty's Royal Coven
Dawson, Juno
If you look hard enough at old photographs, we're there in the background: healers in the trenc... More
If you look hard enough at old photographs, we're there in the background: healers in the trenches; Suffragettes; Bletchley Park oracles; land girls and resistance fighters. Why is it we help in times of crisis? We have a gift. We are stronger than Mundanes, plain and simple. At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls--Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle--took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right. Juno Dawson explores gender and the corrupting nature of power in a delightful and provocative story of magic and matriarchy, friendship and feminism. Dealing with all the aspects of contemporary womanhood, as well as being phenomenally powerful witches, Niamh, Helena, Leonie and Elle may have grown apart but they will always be bound by the sisterhood of the coven. Less
No the Witch You Wed
Asher, April
A fake relationship between a magic-less witch and a wolf shifter turns to more in the start of a b... More
A fake relationship between a magic-less witch and a wolf shifter turns to more in the start of a bewitching new paranormal rom-com series. Magic-less witch Violet Maxwell wants nothing to do with alpha wolf shifter Lincoln Thorne--the man who broke her fragile, teenage heart. But when the two of them are forced by arcane Supernatural Laws to find mates, Violet and Lincoln agree to fake-date their way to a fake-mating in order to conjure themselves some time. The joke's on them. When old feelings make a reappearance--along with Violet's magic--they both realize there's nothing fake about their feelings. But there are old secrets and looming threats that could snatch away their happily ever after, again. One thing's for sure: magic doesn't make dating and love any easier. In Not the Witch You Wed, April Asher brings all the hilarity and sweet, sexy moments you love in a romantic comedy--plus a fun dose of magic--to this spell-binding new series about being sexy, single, and supernatural in New York City. Less
The Bone Orchard
Mueller, Sara A.
Sara A. Mueller's The Bone Orchard is a fascinating whodunit set in a lush, gothic world of se... More
Sara A. Mueller's The Bone Orchard is a fascinating whodunit set in a lush, gothic world of secrets and magic--where a dying emperor charges his favorite concubine with solving his own murder, and preventing the culprit, which undoubtedly is one of his three terrible sons, from taking control of an empire. Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at Orchard House, and the secrets of their marrow. Charm is a prisoner, and a survivor. Charm tends the trees and their clattering fruit for the sake of her children, painstakingly grown and regrown with its fruit: Shame, Justice, Desire, Pride, and Pain. Charm is a whore, and a madam. The wealthy and powerful of Borenguard come to her house to buy time with the girls who aren't real. Except on Tuesdays, which is when the Emperor himself lays claim to his mistress, Charm herself. But now--Charm is also the only person who can keep an empire together, as the Emperor summons her to his deathbed, and charges her with choosing which of his awful, faithless sons will carry on the empire--by discovering which one is responsible for his own murder. If she does this last thing, she will finally have what has been denied her since the fall of Inshil - her freedom. But she will also be betraying the ghosts past and present that live on within her heart. Charm must choose. Her dead Emperor's will or the whispers of her own ghosts. Justice for the empire or her own revenge. Less
The Witch in the Well
Bruce, Camilla
The Witch in the Well is a dark Norwegian thriller from Camilla Bruce, author of You Let Me In. Whe... More
The Witch in the Well is a dark Norwegian thriller from Camilla Bruce, author of You Let Me In. When two former friends reunite after decades apart, their grudges, flawed ambitions, and shared obsession swirl into an all-too-real echo of a terrible town legend. Centuries ago, beautiful young Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft after several children disappeared. Her acquittal did nothing to stop her fellow townsfolk from drowning her in the well where the missing children were last seen. When author and social media influencer Elena returns to the summer paradise of her youth to get her family's manor house ready to sell, the last thing she expected was connecting with-and feeling inspired to write about-Ilsbeth's infamous spirit. The very historical figure that her ex-childhood friend, Cathy, has been diligently researching and writing about for years. What begins as a fiercely competitive sense of ownership over Ilsbeth and her story soon turns both women's worlds into something more haunted and dangerous than they could ever imagine. Less
The Witches of New York
McKay, Ami
New York, 1880. Séances are the entertainment of choice in exclusive social circles, and many-- so... More
New York, 1880. Séances are the entertainment of choice in exclusive social circles, and many-- some with true powers, others gifted with the art of performance-- find work as mediums. At Tea and Sympathy, Adelaide Thom and Eleanor St. Clair provide a place for whispered confessions, secret cures, and spiritual assignations. When Beatrice hires as a shop girl, she doesn't know she has spiritual gifts. As she learns to harness her powers, she doesn't know of the evils lurking-- or the courage it will take to face them. Less
Witcha Gonna Do?
Flynn, Avery
An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, spicy romantic-com... More
An unlucky witch and her know-it-all nemesis must team up in the first of a new, spicy romantic-comedy series. Could it possibly get any worse than having absolutely no magical abilities when you're a member of the most powerful family of witches ever? It used to be that I'd say no, but then I keep getting set up on dates with Gil Connolly, whose hotness is only matched by his ego. Seriously. I can't stand him. Even if I also can't stop thinking about him (specifically kissing him), but we're going to pretend I never told you that part. So yeah, my life isn't the greatest right now, but then it goes straight to the absolute worst hell when I accidentally make my sister's spell glitch and curse my whole family. And the only person who can help nonmagicalme break the spell? You guessed it. Gil, the super hot jerk. Now we have to work together to save my family and outmaneuver some evil-minded forces bent on world domination. Oh yeah, and we have to do all that while fighting against the attraction building between us because I may not be magical, but what's happening between Gil and I sure feels like it. Less
Wytches. Volume 1
Snyder, Scott
When the Rooks family moves to the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they&... More
When the Rooks family moves to the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they're hopeful about starting over. But something evil is waiting for them in the woods just beyond town. Watching from the trees. Ancient...and hungry. Less
Redlands. Volume One, Sisters by Blood
Bellaire, Jordie
A mysterious coven of witches runs the town of Redlands, Florida--and in order to stay on top, sacr... More
A mysterious coven of witches runs the town of Redlands, Florida--and in order to stay on top, sacrifices must be made. When possession turns into friendship, and when love evolves into spite, the witches' reign is challenged. Less
Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Maguire, Gregory
A fable for adults on the subject of destiny and free will by a writer of children's books. It... More
A fable for adults on the subject of destiny and free will by a writer of children's books. It tells the story of Elphaba before she became the Wicked Witch of the West in the land of Oz. The novel traces her career as nun, nurse, pro-democracy activist and animal rights defender. Less
Practical Magic
Hoffman, Alice
Orphaned at an early age, Gillian and Sally Owen are raised by an aunt who deals in sorcery. The gi... More
Orphaned at an early age, Gillian and Sally Owen are raised by an aunt who deals in sorcery. The girls long for the normal life and leave home as soon as they can. Years later tragedy strikes and it is then they realize that magic is their gift, not their affliction. By the author of Illumination Night. Less
The Witches of Eastwick
Updike, John
Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie ply their individual witcheries in contemporary Eastwick, Rhode Island, ... More
Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie ply their individual witcheries in contemporary Eastwick, Rhode Island, and are themselves bewitched by a dark, wealthy, decadent stranger. Less
Bindle Punk Bruja
Mesa, Desideria
Luna--or depending on who's asking, Rose--is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother... More
Luna--or depending on who's asking, Rose--is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City's bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger. Less
The Women Could Fly
Giddings, Megan
Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social c... More
Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times--a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored. Less
The Change
Miller, Kirsten
After Nessa James's husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she's left all... More
After Nessa James's husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she's left all alone in a trim white house not far from the ocean. In the quiet of her late forties, the former nurse begins to hear voices. It doesn't take long for Nessa to realize that the voices calling out to her belong to the dead--a gift she's inherited from her grandmother, which comes with special responsibilities. On the cusp of 50, suave advertising director Harriett Osborne has just witnessed the implosion of her lucrative career and her marriage. She hasn't left her house in months, and from the outside, it appears as if she and her garden have both gone to seed. But Harriet's life is far from over--in fact, she's undergone a stunning and very welcome metamorphosis. Ambitious former executive Jo Levison has spent thirty long years at war with her body. The free-floating rage and hot flashes that arrive with the beginning of menopause feel like the very last straw--until she realizes she has the ability to channel them, and finally comes into her power. Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio of women discover a teenage girl whose body was abandoned beside a remote beach. The police have written the victim off as a drug-addicted sex worker, but the women refuse to buy into the official narrative. Their investigation into the girl's murder leads to more bodies, and to the town's most exclusive and isolated enclave, a world of stupendous wealth where the rules don't apply. With their newfound powers, Jo, Nessa, and Harriet will take matters into their own hands... Less