It’s New York City in 1911. Frances Hallowell is an ordinary seamstress who lives with the other girls she works with. Her life changes forever when she kills a man who is trying to attack her. Except, she never moved a muscle.
Afraid of the impending murder investigation, Frances tries to lay low when a couple of women whisk her away from Manhattan to a place called Haxahaven Academy located in Queens.
Once she arrives at Haxahaven Academy, she starts receiving mysterious notes about her brother William. To make things worse, everything she knew about her family growing up was a lie. Desperate for answers, Frances sneaks out late at night to meet a mysterious guy, who claimed to be friends with William.
Frances doesn’t know much about Finn, except she doesn’t have much of a choice. With his unique ability and her strong determination, Frances is drawn to him and the secret society that he belongs to in Manhattan. The society and Finn might help her have a chance to fix the past, but is it worth sacrificing her future?
We didn’t know what to expect when we started The Witch Haven. All we knew was that it was advertised as perfect for fans of The Last Magician series. We could definitely understand the comparison considering both take place in similar time periods and are NYC urban fantasy books.
Frances was an interesting character throughout the story. We understood her desire to learn what happened to her brother, which leads to a fascination with dark magic. At times she can be a bit selfish and naïve, especially when it comes to her two best friends Lena and Maxine, who pretty much follow her lead. Overall though, she’s just trying to keep everyone in her life safe.
Another interesting aspect of the book was the love triangle between Frances, Finn and Oliver, another friend of William’s. We became team Oliver from the start! Oliver was so sweet and truly had Frances’s best interest in mind.
We also enjoyed the mystery aspect of the book, especially the secret dark magical society. There were times we had no idea where Smith was going with the story and that made us excited. She gave us a few great twists near the very end. We assumed this was a standalone, but since it ended on a cliffhanger, we’re waiting for news about a second book.
One problem we did have with the book was that it felt overwritten. We think some of it could have been cut, making the reading experience more enjoyable. There was too much fluff in the middle, leaving us a little bored until we got back to the action near the end of the story.
Overall, we had a lot of fun with The Witch Haven’s setting and mysterious plot. We look forward to the next installment to see what Frances does after the bombshell in book 1. Looking for an autumn read full of magic and suspense? Check out Smith’s debut YA novel.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm All Booked Up - a young adult book blog 
I haven’t heard of this one before but it definitely seems interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Been looking forward to this one! Now I really want to get a copy. Is there a love triangle in this?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes there is a love triangle between Frances, Finn and Oliver!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your honest review about this book! It’s not my kind of thing buy I’m glad you enjoyed it overall x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Great review! I find a lot of books tend to be a little overwritten but if you can look past that and persevere then they’re usually great reads. This sounds great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We completely agree! It’s especially true with fantasy.
LikeLike
Great review! I hadn’t heard of this before but it sounds great, it’s a pity about it being overwritten though! It’s good there were lots of twists, thanks for reading and commenting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! The twists at the end really enhanced the book.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really enjoyed this review, the book sounds great! Definitely adding this one to my TBR 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We hope you like it! 🙂
LikeLike
Great review! A very magical sounding storyline. This book is something I would enjoy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The magic aspect if perfect for Autumn!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a great review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much!
LikeLike
This sounds like a really interesting read! I love The Last Magician series, so I will have to check it out. Thanks for the honest review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! It has some big similarities with The Last Magician!
LikeLike
This sounds like a very interesting read and love the setting in New York of the early 1900s, great review! Will add this to my reading list x
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! The setting was one of the best parts.
LikeLike
This sounds like a perfect book for fall! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it’s perfect for getting into the Halloween mood!
LikeLike
Great review, as usual!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike