[Review from Aug 2019]

Oh my goodness I am not ready to rate this book yet. Definitely have to digest it a little bit first!

Initially I think I would say that I didn't *like* it, exactly, but it is also possible that I loved it... At the very least it was very, *very* interesting, and it definitely makes you think which is great... it also felt really honest to me, like Rice was totally taking the story where she honestly felt it wanted to go--this was my impression of the book in contrast to what a lot of other reviewers seem to think... (does anyone know if she is a pantser or a plotter?--this felt like a pantsed novel to me...)

What I'll say is that this book really felt like The Fountainhead but for morally ambiguous witches...? I would also say that it felt SO Christian--for a book that seems to be trying really hard to be non-Christian, it felt *really* Christian to me... *almost* like Christian apologism? somehow...? ¯\_(ヅ)_/¯

Also can someone like give me some clarity on all the sex scenes? Were those supposed to feel *highly* problematic or is that just my perspective influencing my take?

Ultimately I just don't think that this was my kind of book... but there was still a lot in it that I liked very much in spite of all the problematic elements... and like I said, it was very, *very* interesting... lots of things to think about! It would make a good book club book except for that it's a billion pages long! & the sex scenes… whewwweeeee.


[Updated thoughts from Oct 2019]

Ok so I… still haven’t really managed to figure out quite how I feel about it this one.

The story itself revolves around the legends and history concerning the Mayfair witches—a family that descends from a Scottish peasant woman who accidentally (I think?—lots of vagaries make the mystery of the story really linger with you because you almost never get any definitive answers… do I like that? or do I *love* that? or do I find that really, *really* irritating?? Idk!) anyway, the peasant woman, Suzanne, accidentally conjures a spirit? angel? ghost? (agh!)—a supernatural entity of some kind that then becomes attached to the Mayfair family and especially a particular female scion in each generation who becomes the sole beneficiary of the Mayfair legacy. The Mayfairs themselves all possess some degree of supernatural powers from mind-reading to telekinesis and other various skills. And the main character is Rowan, the current Mayfair scion. The modern story takes place in the late 20th century but there is a lot of historical backstory that starts in the 17th century. And I guess there’s not much more I can say about it plot-wise without giving too much away!

Basically if you’re in the mood for a book about witches that is a thousand pages long, and crazy dark, devastating, southern, gothic, absolutely horrific, and not feminist (unfortunately) at all, with quite a bit of rather violent sex, then this is the book for you!  Oh dear that sounds like a mess, doesn’t it?

Four stars!

(I really just need to move on from this book…)