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A review by indieandajean
The Witches of Moonshyne Manor by Bianca Marais
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the audio ARC of The Witches of Moonshyne Manor.
Moonshyne Manor was a fun and, at times, very emotional romp through the lives of six octogenarian witches (plus a familiar or two and a particularly determined young feminist magician). I quite enjoyed the book at times, but at others I felt a bit lost.
The problem with six elderly witches being main characters in an audiobook is that they are easy to get confused with each other, particularly when I felt the narrator didn't place particular emphasis on changing the way she read in order to distinguish them. I often had to stop myself in moments where the sisters powers weren't on display to ask myself "Who is speaking? Which one is Ursula again? What are Jezebel's and Ivy's powers?". That isn't to say, of course, that they weren't interesting and likable, as I found all the witches to be very fun characters, they were just a bit difficult to keep straight at times.
An advance warning to those who like to jump into action immediately: the first few chapters in this book are slow and have a heavy sex focus that does not in fact carry through the rest of the book (in case you don't care for that sort of thing). It makes up for it later, but I did feel that the slow start almost had me putting the book down (especially when the slowness was filled with several scenes of Jezebel...enjoying some alone time...) but once the plot with the house being threatened and Ruby's return picked up, I found myself much more engaged. If nothing else I'm glad I pushed through until the arrival of Persephone who served to be a bit more of a relatable voice for me, despite her being a teen.
It took Persephone arriving for me to realize that, yes, this book is for me as I didn't necessarily feel like the target audience for this one until she arrived. I may honestly still have not been the target audience for Moonshyne Manor, but nevertheless I did enjoy it once it picked up in speed.
Some additional reasons why I liked the book:
-Positive depictions of aging women (you can still kick ass in your 80's ladies, 50 isn't the end all be all)
-Positive LGBTQ+ Rep
-Feminist plot
-Adult women respecting a young woman and taking her seriously despite their differences
A few things I didn't particularly care for:
-The sex heavy intro that could make a reader think we were just about to read about Jezebel's exploits for the remainder of the book
-The recipes/ spells inserted between chapters-- this is easy enough to skip after a while, but I personally would have preferred them to be at the end. If you like recipes in your book, this is probably a plus, and to be fair, the drink ideas do sound quite good
I think I'd recommend this one for an audience slightly older than myself. I feel as though this would be a great book club read for women in their 50's+ who might better connect to the feelings and themes of the way a woman's life can change with age (as a 20 something this is really just conceptual/ vicarious for me, but remind me of this in the next 20-30 years and I'm sure I'll sing a different tune). I'd also recommend it for any adult readers who are lovers of magic, witches, and feminist stories as once you get into the guts of this story, it really is fun!
Moonshyne Manor was a fun and, at times, very emotional romp through the lives of six octogenarian witches (plus a familiar or two and a particularly determined young feminist magician). I quite enjoyed the book at times, but at others I felt a bit lost.
The problem with six elderly witches being main characters in an audiobook is that they are easy to get confused with each other, particularly when I felt the narrator didn't place particular emphasis on changing the way she read in order to distinguish them. I often had to stop myself in moments where the sisters powers weren't on display to ask myself "Who is speaking? Which one is Ursula again? What are Jezebel's and Ivy's powers?". That isn't to say, of course, that they weren't interesting and likable, as I found all the witches to be very fun characters, they were just a bit difficult to keep straight at times.
An advance warning to those who like to jump into action immediately: the first few chapters in this book are slow and have a heavy sex focus that does not in fact carry through the rest of the book (in case you don't care for that sort of thing). It makes up for it later, but I did feel that the slow start almost had me putting the book down (especially when the slowness was filled with several scenes of Jezebel...enjoying some alone time...) but once the plot with the house being threatened and Ruby's return picked up, I found myself much more engaged. If nothing else I'm glad I pushed through until the arrival of Persephone who served to be a bit more of a relatable voice for me, despite her being a teen.
It took Persephone arriving for me to realize that, yes, this book is for me as I didn't necessarily feel like the target audience for this one until she arrived. I may honestly still have not been the target audience for Moonshyne Manor, but nevertheless I did enjoy it once it picked up in speed.
Some additional reasons why I liked the book:
-Positive depictions of aging women (you can still kick ass in your 80's ladies, 50 isn't the end all be all)
-Positive LGBTQ+ Rep
-Feminist plot
-Adult women respecting a young woman and taking her seriously despite their differences
A few things I didn't particularly care for:
-The sex heavy intro that could make a reader think we were just about to read about Jezebel's exploits for the remainder of the book
-The recipes/ spells inserted between chapters-- this is easy enough to skip after a while, but I personally would have preferred them to be at the end. If you like recipes in your book, this is probably a plus, and to be fair, the drink ideas do sound quite good
I think I'd recommend this one for an audience slightly older than myself. I feel as though this would be a great book club read for women in their 50's+ who might better connect to the feelings and themes of the way a woman's life can change with age (as a 20 something this is really just conceptual/ vicarious for me, but remind me of this in the next 20-30 years and I'm sure I'll sing a different tune). I'd also recommend it for any adult readers who are lovers of magic, witches, and feminist stories as once you get into the guts of this story, it really is fun!