The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) – Book Review

Published Date: June 18, 2019

Publishing Co.: 47North

Pages: 340

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The King of Bones and Ashes review.

The Book of the Unwinding review.

I received this copy from the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

The Final Days of Magic was the most solid installment in the trilogy, which is a good way to end a story. In my reviews of the previous books, I complained that the author appeared to skip important parts or explanations and it left the feeling of an incomplete story. I’m happy to report that seems to have been cleared up in this addition.

Our three witches, Alice, Evangeline and Lisette have for the most part, gone their separate ways again. Each trying to both heal but prepare for whatever the world throws at them next. They don’t have to wait long until they’re tested by the dark force that wants back into their realm.

This time the action felt much more fleshed out and kept me entertained. There were definitely some dark moments for some of the characters that provided a more emotional connection. However, the deaths of a couple of characters felt a little rushed and we were not given proper time to mourn them.

Overall, this series was entertaining and provided a great atmosphere with interesting characters. It’s hard not to love a story set in New Orleans with witches, but I’ve seen it fail before. The author clearly spent a lot of time researching history, the occult and magic and it really paid off.

The Book of the Unwinding – Book Review

Publishing Date: June 26, 2018

Publishing Co.: 47North

Pages: 300

Goodreads Synopsis.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Witches of New Orleans #2

My review of the first book The King of Bones and Ashes.

I received this copy via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Suffers from second book syndrome. It just doesn’t live up to the first but it’s not a bad read either. In fact, I’m certain I’ll still read book #3 when it comes out.

Four months after the events of book one, we’re given a view of how life has changed for our witches. Some for the better, others not so much and yet others still trying to find themselves in the aftermath.

The focus of the first half of the book is trying to free Alice from the Dreaming Road before she disappears forever. This was an incredibly slow build up with some things that really needed to be explained further. There’s some talk about a certain kind of destiny that isn’t fully examined. Perhaps it’s supposed to be self explanatory, but for someone not into ‘destiny’ talk, it leaves a decent size gap in the world building.

The second half of the book was kind of a cluster fuck of events. How did our new villain become a major player? One minute they were sterile and unable to do anything, the next they’re clearly here to fuck everyone’s shit up. How did this come to be? I’m still not sure. In some instances, the characters go into detailed flashbacks of past events, but current happenings are skipped over completely and almost left to the reader’s imagination of how they transpired.

Despite these complaints, I still love the characters. I’m still interested in what is going to happen to them and where all this drama will lead. Just please J.D. Horn, fill in some gaps for us.