Disclosure:
I received an Advance Reader copy of A Witch in Time from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. They give me no money, nor do they in any way influence my thoughts – those are 100% my own for better or worse.
Edition:
Kindle e-book (Net Galley)
Synopsis:
In 1895, Juliet LaCompte has an ill-advised affair with French painter Auguste Marchant. When her mother invokes magic she doesn’t fully understand to curse Marchant, things go sideways and she ends up summoning a demon and binding her daughter to both Marchant and the demon for eternity.
“Look here. You have four life lines, but only one love line.”
A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers
She and Marchant are forced to live over and over again – each time playing out their short-lived love affair, which always ends in heartache, and the cycle always stops with her tragic death on her 34th birthday. To make matters worse, the curse’s demonic administrator has been hopelessly in love with her since the first go-around.
This plays out time and again until 2012, Washington D.C. when something has changed. This time around, Juliet-of-the-many-lives begins to remember each one of her previous lives, and she discovers that each time she lives again, she gains some new power. Now that she truly knows herself and what she might be capable of, she may just be able to break the curse.
My Thoughts:
Full disclosure – I basically requested this ARC because of the following statement:
A Witch in Time is perfect for fans of A Secret History of Witches, Outlander, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.
I haven’t read A Secret History of Witches yet, but I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife and I’m currently watching/slightly obsessed with Outlander, so I was intrigued. This story had me from the beginning. By the end of the first chapter, I was thoroughly hooked. I honestly can’t believe this is a debut novel – Sayers has a real talent for storytelling.
There’s some magic here, plenty of star-cross’d lovers, a little light demon business, some blood rituals, and trips through late 19th century France, 1930s Hollywood, 1970’s LA, and recent-times D.C.
Wait:
Nope! Hooray! The best part about this book, in my mind, is that even though the main story is kind of all of the love business, it’s not a kissing book. Which is perfect. There is nothing I hate more than getting tricked into reading a cheesy, non-stop bodice-ripper. If I’m going to do that, I want to know about it from the get-go. I need to prepare my eyes for rolling.
Rating:
The only thing keeping me from rating this book higher is that for a story that hinges upon a demon-driven witch-curse, there is remarkably little of any of that to be found. The curse is almost an afterthought. I mean, I get that the real story here is the love story, but…I feel a little let down. That being said, I still really enjoyed reading this, and based on the quality of the work, I still find it hard to reconcile that this is Constance Sayers’ first novel.
All in all, I highly recommend.
A Witch in Time Constance Sayers Redhook Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Fantasy ISBN: 9780316493598 Expected Publication: February 11, 2020
