Witches of Ash and Ruin

Tough choices with no good decisions. Gods, magic, and murder. Family and friendships and divided loyalties. This book has it all, plus queer rep and tough topics, and hits the “life is complicated and everything happens a lot” feel of a good contemporary YA. It’s got grit, it doesn’t have answers, and yet it’s way more hopeful than grim.

(This has gotten favourable comparisons to The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and A Darker Shade of Magic too, and I totally see it.)

I think what drew me most through this was the magic and the plot, not the characters. The magic, which has a sort of Celtic/Wiccan flavour to it but I’m in no position to judge authenticity there, was haunting and lovely, both in how the characters think about show more it and how it’s described in action. And the plot? Murder and curses and fractured relationships and a mystery across the Irish countryside? Those tropes get me almost every time.

That’s no offense to the characters, by the way, or their relationships with each other. All the POV characters are a lot richer and more complicated than I usually see in YA, which is partly to do with the dark mental places they’re often in, but also a sign of Latimer’s skill. They’re all relatable, though not always likable, and the second biggest thing that pulled me through the book was watching and wondering how they’d impact each other next. Meiner, especially, the girl from the dark coven, is an absolute piece of work and a wonderful antagonist. Things happen simply because she gets sarcastic at the wrong moment.

And the issues? Again, can’t comment on authenticity but Dayna’s OCD and her abusive father, Meiner’s coven’s toxicity and her grandmother’s dementia, all the queerness… they felt realistic in a way that hit home and added to the tense, oppressive feel of the book (and its themes) in a really wonderful way.

But the issues are also where this fell down for me, in a way, because as good and important as they are, some elements felt a bit too sudden, a bit too pat, or a bit forced. It’s not like Latimer got to page X and realized she needed a moral or a twist or anything, but it’s close, and every time it happened, it threw me out of the story. And there are jumps in character or plot that look suspiciously like a scene or two got cut.

I still enjoyed this quite a bit, especially when the twists in the murder thread started coming and the witches really got to do their magic. It’s very solid in a lot of ways, awesome at character and pulling the reader forward, and it’s dark without being horrific. There’s a great balance between the main plot and all the other stuff going on—Dayna’s ex-boyfriend has a whole thread I haven’t even touched on—and it’s a good page-turner to boot. The strengths more than make up for any flaws (and it’s totally possibly I’m pickier than the average teen anyway).
7/10

Contains: abuse and other toxic relationships, homophobia, dementia, gore, dark magic show less

Witches of Ash and Ruin is the bloody, magical, queer, feminist book I wanted when I read it. It's not for every mood and definitely not for every reader. Steeped in Celtic myth and Irish culture, WOAAR follows several teen witches as they battle a villainous trio of undying serial killer brothers, each other, and their feelings. They're all queer and make questionable choices. One has a reverend for a father and he's as homophobic as you'd expect. The book is told in several POVs: three of the teen witches, one of the bad guys, and one of the girls' ex-boyfriends. For this reason, I do not recommend the audio of this book. With three young women of the same age and only one narrator, I had a hell of a time figuring out which POV we show more were in, especially since the characters have similar names.


Content Warnings: so much violence and blood, stalking, religious homophobia, panic attacks show less

A very entertaining and nicely atmospheric story! I loved the modern day witch parts, the friendships between the members of the coven, and how chilling the plot got. The characters, especially Dayna, Reagan, and Meiner, were super fun to read and Dayna and Meiner had very strong POVs. This is truly a great pick for a book to read around September/October when you're looking for Halloween vibes.

I think the pacing could have been a little smoother, especially in the last half where things got a bit chaotic, just in order to let things breathe a bit. I also think the ending was too hastily put together; plus, it left a fair amount of threads unanswered that made it unsatisfying, like what the police ended up doing/concluding, what show more happens with Fiona, and how Dayna ended up dealing with her being outed. I thought this was a standalone, and I don't see any confirmation of a sequel, so all that plus the ending makes me a tad unhappy with still having so many questions.

That being said, I still had a great time reading it, and would definitely check out more by Latimer. This is only her second novel, so I look forwards to seeing what else she does in the future! show less

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Witches of Ash and Ruin

As a witch, the conservative Irish town Dayne resides in would never accept her let alone her reverend father. Dealing with the fallout of her bisexuality being revealed is hard enough. Every day she is tormented with whispers and rumors at school. If her witch nature were to be exposed, it would be even worse. Her saving grace is the family of witches who have accepted her as their own. But the town will soon have more than witches to worry about. A serial killer named The Butcher has begun killing women. And Dayna may be next.

The family dynamics in Witches of Ash and Ruin reminded me of Practical Magic. I loved how easy going and heartfelt the Callighans were show more with Dayna. Their use of magic and communion with nature was wonderful to read about. They were always ready with tea, or a treat when Dayna was having an off day. In general they were there to comfort her and make sure she was ok. And despite Dayna’s father being a reverend and admently against witchcraft, they never spoke ill of him. They were a sharp contrast to the second witch family introduced into the story, the Kings.

The Kings brought to the story a bitter and grim side to witchcraft. Their coven leader was quick to strike out at her witchlings should they disobey her. Grandma King was also willing to dip into the darker side of magic to make sure her goals were attained. With such contrasting views on magic, having the two covens work together towards a common goal created a wonderful mix of events.

While the witches were well flushed out and their histories explained, the antagonists of the story needed a bit more information. I understand to some extent The Butcher plot line needed to keep an air of mystery. But from the start readers learn there are three brother’s behind the serial killings. I would have liked to see the three brothers working together and interacting more. Readers did gain a sense that they did not generally like each other, but a bit more showing would have been a great way to build up tension. They did receive their own chapters, but they were far less in comparison to the witches.

Another character I would have liked to see more of was Samuel. Obsessed with The Butcher, Samuel tracked the serial killer for years. His knowledge was a great way to add him into Dayna’s story. Not to mention the history the two characters had. While he wove in and out of the story, he never received a resolution by the end. His character sort of faded into the background right at a pivotal development point. I wanted to see the results of his discoveries and how they affected him as a person.

Witches of Ash and Ruin is a great novel if you enjoy stories of witches and Celtic mythology. It is marketed as a standalone novel, but the story arcs don’t really come to a conclusion by the end. I hope to see a sequel to this novel as I am invested in the characters of this world. show less

** spoiler alert **
I initially wanted to give this 3.5 but lowered my score by half a star once I actually finished the book. I really struggled with the last 15%- I just wasn't interested, and if I hadn't been reading it for a book club I probably would've DNF'd.
I'm so confused as to why the ending seems to set up for a sequel when it's clearly a stand-alone book. And bouncing between five different perspectives made it tough for me to enjoy the characters, save for Meiner. The ending also left me with more questions than answers, and not in a good way.
Things I liked though: Dayna and Meiner's chemistry, Reagan and Yemi's energies, the OCD rep and Dayna and Meiner bonding over their mental illnesses, and the general plot. Other than show more that was a bit disappointed. show less

Meh