Publication Date: 24th Sep 2024
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
3.5 Stars
One Liner: A nice read but something is missing
Cassie Graves is heartbroken when her marriage of twenty-five years ends with the exposure of her husband’s affair. When her cousin Maria hits a dead-end in her ancestry research, Cassie decides to take it up. As an investigative journalist, she has a nose for stories, and finding the truth of her roots feels important when her future is uncertain.
In Santo Stefano, Italy, Cassie starts to put together the stories narrated by her grandmother and the random clues provided by strangers. Seems the women in her family had power in their blood. If they were witches, what happened to them? Why did they move across the continents from Europe to the US?
The story comes in the first-person POV of Cassandra (Cassie) and third-person POVs of Fiora, Violetta, and Isabella.
My Thoughts:
The book starts with a prologue, showing a glimpse into the major events from the past in Santo Stefano. Then, we move on to the present where Cassie and her cousin discuss their family tee.
The narrative is slow-paced with chapters alternating in both timelines. While there’s no confusion (thanks to the names mentioned with the chapter head and the difference in POVs), this book needed a graphical representation of the family tree. Quite many characters are mentioned as mother, father, grandparent, niece, sibling, etc., in both timelines. This makes it hard to track who is who.
Cassie’s POV is done well, with a good blend of determination, maturity, vulnerability, anger, hope, confusion, etc. As a person in her late 40s or early 50s going through major upheavals in her life, she manages to make readers support her.
There’s subtle magic, just enough to add to the witch vibe. However, the setting and the atmosphere are wonderful. I loved the changing weather in Stefano and how it felt as if the place belonged to the past era.
There are animals too! Street cats, a large and fluffy herding dog, and two donkeys (my second book this month with donkeys in it).
In a way, the blurb reveals too much. The spell book doesn’t even appear until the last quarter. Moreover, it acts as a diary to help Cassie fill the gaps. This feels like wasted potential for such a powerful book.
The ending is rushed and weak as if we needed to wrap up everything in less than five pages. What was close to four stars until then crashed to 3.5 with the abrupt ending. A few things have been left hanging as well. Sustaining the momentum and adding another ten to fifteen pages would have elevated the story much more.
This is my second book by the author and somehow doesn’t feel as good as the one I read. While it had a few flaws, the narrative was compelling, and the atmosphere was more tangible than this one. It could be my expectations too, which were quite high.
To summarize, The Witches of Santo Stefano has a great premise and some good moments. However, it doesn’t reach its full potential, especially towards the end.
Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for eARC.
#NetGalley #TheWitchesOfSantoStefano
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