A complex tale about motherhood and witchcraft with an exasperating protagonist.
Three generations of witches summon their powers from tarot cards or, in some cases, cookies.
With just five days to go before Halloween, Flair Hardwicke couldn't feel less enthusiastic about the holiday spirit oozing out of every inhabitant of Rattleboro, Kansas. If anything, Flair is counting the days until Nov. 1, the "least-witchy day of the year" and the day when her magical heritage would remain blissfully hidden. Like her mother and grandmother before her, Flair has the ability to perform magic by reading a particular deck of tarot cards. Hand-painted by a Hardwicke ancestor and "fused with all the magic of generations of witches," these cards answer only to Flair. She hasn't seen the deck in almost 30 years, not since she stole them and hid them from her tarot-obsessed mother and gave up magic for good. But since her grandmother Marie's recent passing, Flair and her 13-year-old daughter, Lucie, have returned to Rattleboro in hopes of a new beginning, one without her cheating ex, David. Lucie would rather be anywhere than her mother's hometown, but to Flair, Rattleboro looks just the way she left it, although she can't help but notice a strange undercurrent running through town. One night, she unconsciously bakes a batch of Hardwicke tarot card cookies, and Rattleboro's Halloween festival director Renee Oakes can't seem to stop giving her threatening stares. Renee's mother, Loretta, might even know the Hardwicke family secret, though her son (and Flair's high school fling), Jude, appears none the wiser. Just when these spooky happenings begin to feel more sinister, Flair's mother, Cynthia, turns up with a bewitched David in tow...and the stash of hidden cards. Dell'Antonia's third novel is full of mysterious and eerie plot twists, and most chapters end with a low-stakes cliffhanger. However, Flair's unwillingness to listen to anyone creates too many frustrating moments of miscommunication and situations that could have been avoided, and Renee's constant irritation with her might echo the reader's own sentiments.
A complex tale about motherhood and witchcraft with an exasperating protagonist.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9780593713792
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
