Bianca Marais

The description of The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais promises adventures - a coven of witches, a heist, a threat, a fight to save a home – and the bonds of sisterhood. Unfortunately, for me, the story does not live up to its promise. From nudity and sexual innuendo to ageism, the depiction of the women is not the one I expected. For this and other reasons, I find myself not the reader for this book.

Read my complete review at rel="nofollow" target="_top">http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2023/12/the-witches-of-moonshyne-manor.html

Reviewed for NetGalley… (más)

The Witches of Moonshyne Manor was the perfect read to transition from summer to autumn, with its witchy vibes, delightful characters, and a healthy dose of patriarchy smashing!

I have to admit, it took me a while to fully get into this as we are plunged into Moonshyne Manor in the midst of a crisis, meeting (almost) all the sisterhood members in close succession. I needed a few beats to remember who was who, but once I did, I soon became really attached to them. I loved how each witch had a special talent and an affinity for a different type of magic (plants, animals, inventions, seduction…) and how different all their personalities were.

It also quickly became clear that there was more, much more, lurking beneath the surface, with multiple risks for the sisterhood and old secrets coming to light. The author did an excellent job of spreading the clues around for me to pick up like tiny breadcrumbs drawing the trail to that beautiful ending. There were quite a few things I hadn’t seen coming, so I was very pleasantly surprised, but also kept wanting to read to finally understand how all the pieces fit together.

The alternating POVs worked really well to help me see things from the different sisters’ perspectives, and I liked how smoothly it all flowed: even though at times the writing was slightly repetitive, these sections were never prevalent and were improved by developments further down the line.

This book was so many things! It combines some of my favourite things, like witches, heists and secrets, as well as some tropes I love such as found family. It also tackles a wide range of themes, like ageing and the relationship between older and younger generations; the importance of friendships and family; love and forgiveness; and, above all, sisterhood. Mix them all together, sprinkle in a good dose of humour and magic, and you have a great, heartwarming, autumnal witchy read!


I received a digital copy of this book as part of the blog tour organised by Random Things Tours and Harper360. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.… (más)

If you've browsed a bookstore recently, you know that there's a bevy of books about witches. Many of them are lighthearted romances or cozy fantasies. The last book of Bianca Marais' that I read was Hum If You Don't Know the Words, not exactly lighthearted or cozy, but a good read. So I was quite curious to see what she might do with the conceit of witches and their magic and how she might weave in her darker, serious themes in The Witches of Moonshyne Manor.

In one week, the six octogenarian witches, Queenie, Ursula, Ivy, Jezebel, Tabitha, and Ruby, who call Moonshyne Manor home will default on their mortgage. Only Queenie, the matriarch of the coven, knows about this looming deadline but they all know that something ominous is going on, alarms are sounding. When an angry mob assembles outside of the house to try and take it early, the women must start to share their long-hidden secrets and lean on the sisterhood of their found family to defend themselves and come up with a plan to save their home as they anticipate Ruby's long awaited return home. They are aided in their efforts by Persephone, a teenager and social media maven who shows up on their doorstep with her dog, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and who is the daughter of the mayor scheming to oust the witches in order to build the Mens World theme park on Moonshyne's land.

The story is both whimsical and addresses serious themes like the patriarchy, feminism, aging, sexism, racism, domestic violence, gender identity, and more. The contrast between the unsubtle, heavy-handed themes and the light-hearted writing was somewhat uncomfortable rather than complimentary though. The timeline moves forward chapter by chapter towards the mortgage default deadline but there are memories, flashbacks, and hints of the past, plus the mystery of what happened the night of a heist gone wrong threaded through each chapter as well. The point of view switches from character to character, even within the chapters, and there's a confusion of characters to try and keep straight, if nothing else, because of the sheer number of named characters. Sprinkled in between some of the chapters are recipes from the grimoire. They can be delightful recipes for life, self-care, potions, and distillery recipes pertinent to the preceding chapter. It was refreshing to see older characters portrayed as spunky and still fully engaged in life if a little slower than in their prime, main characters rather than sidekicks. The novel's pacing was uneven, bogging down in the middle, and the end was crazy and chaotic with some too easy resolutions but overall it was an easy, pleasant read, a funny, light, inclusive story of the power of friendship, acceptance, and strong women.… (más)

I was hopeful and looking forward to this one since I like Halloween. I usually really like books about witches with anything spooky or Halloween-related, but this one completely missed the mark for me. I don't know what it was, but I couldn't get into this book at all.
I felt disconnected from the story and the characters. It was a bit strange and for older - 80 yr old women; it had quite a bit of reference and focus on sex, which was a bit weird and unrealistic and I didn't like it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA for letting me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.… (más)