Witch Season by Julia Bianco Publishes 6/30/26



 3.5 Stars- An interesting start to a new series all about witches.

Witch Season is about a hidden world that features witches as they navigate a world that doesn't know that witches are around them. There are several different points of view in this book but the main character is Katherine.   She was an unsettled witch who hurt some other people when she came into her magic and was adopted into the LA coven where she found other witches who would accept her and train her.  Sylvia, who is the leader of the coven, became like a mother to her.  Sylvia, however, has her own complicated past.  The Noctis Coven does not like Sylvia and wants her overthrown so they send in their son, Silas.  Silas needs to find a way to remove her but he does not expect to develop feelings for Katherine.  This begins a complicated scenario with many different secrets and histories being unraveled. 


There were many parts to this book that caught my attention but I would not classify this book as urban fantasy.  I have read hundreds of urban fantasy books and love them but this book did not have that feel at all.  In a typical urban fantasy book you have a strong heroine who is fighting a big bad.  This is really not the case in this book.  Katherine is our main character and she is a powerful witch but she really lacked confidence in herself.  There was some romance in the book but it was more about lust than an actual romantic relationship.  Also the characters have incredibly complicated back stories and in a way I could see where each of them was coming from and what motivated their actions.  I didn't agree with all of their actions and I honestly had trouble connecting with any of them because I felt they all were in the wrong at some point.  Now this being said, there were parts of this book I enjoyed.  The ending was one that made me want more.  I want to see where this is going to go.  Katherine definitely grew on me and I do think this series has some definite potential.  This is a decent fantasy novel about witches but it is much more about coven politics than a true urban fantasy novel.


Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.  All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

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