What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

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► Suggest books for me > Request for Witchy Books!

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message 1: by Alice (new)

Alice I've been in the mood for some witchy books. Magic, paranormal (but plot based around witches) Romance is a plus.

The witches can be good fighting evil, or they can be the evil creatures (horror/mystery... ect) Basically anything with the main plot being about witches.(or the male equivalent)

Some examples that I like are: Charmed (TV show), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV Show). Sabrina type books would be more light hearted (high school setting, young age, most like), books similar to Charmed would be more good fighting evil, bad ass female leads, witches struggling with good verses evil.

Books I already own or read:

The Secret Circle The Initiation and The Captive Part I (The Secret Circle, #1-2) by L.J. Smith (Own, have not read)
Balefire (Balefire, #1-4) by Cate Tiernan (Own, have not read)
The Power of Two (T*Witches, #1) by H.B. Gilmour (Own/read)
Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) by Rachel Hawkins (Read 1st book)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1) by J.K. Rowling (Own/read)
The Witches by Roald Dahl (Own/Read)
Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire (Own/Have not read)

So to recap:
Any setting is fine. Main plot about witchy stuff. Bad ass female characters. Romance is a plus! Any genre is fine (fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, historical... ect)

Characters can be any age. Anything from children to mature adult books are fine! (Children, Middle grade, YA, new adult, adult)

Series or stand alones are fine. If you want, please tell me why you would suggest the book you are suggesting. (No spoilers please)


message 2: by [deleted user] (last edited Apr 19, 2015 05:53AM) (new)

The Complete Sweep Series.

Half Bad

Practical Magic

Witch and Wizard

And there are some Sabrina the Teenage Witch novelizations, such as Showdown at the Mall.


message 3: by Kirstin (new)

Kirstin | 185 comments I second the Sweep series. Based on what you like I think you'd really like it. Also Old Magic by Marianne Curley


message 4: by Alice (new)

Alice Raevyn wrote: "The Complete Sweep Series.

Half Bad

Practical Magic

Witch and Wizard

And there are some Sabrina the Teenage Witch novelizations, such..."


Thanks for the recommendations! Haha TV show books are my guilty pleasure. Sweep sounds really good!


Kirstin wrote: "I second the Sweep series. Based on what you like I think you'd really like it. Also Old Magic by Marianne Curley"

Oh thanks! I am going to check out Sweep for sure.


Tammy ~Witching Hour Reads~ (03tammy-lynn) I think Kim Harrison the Hollws series fits the charmed request, age, bad ass female witch lead. Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, #1) by Kim Harrison


message 6: by MJ (new)

MJ | 1615 comments Not sure if this one is what you're looking for, but I love Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. It's a series about a family who has it's own spirit entity and they have various powers thru the generations. Not light reading.

Deborah Harkness, The Discovery of Witches. Love the storyline and characters. Book 1 & 2 are long but great. Book 3 is the final of the trilogy and is very long... and a bit of a cop-out IMO. She's obviously sold it as a trilogy and has to wrap it up as such... but the storyline and characters were too big and needed more, so she appears to have tied little bows on each of them so she can either, just add to the story later, or create spinoffs as needed. Again, still love the characters and storyline, just frustrating as hell that she and her editors didn't get their shit together.

Surprisingly - cause I love witches - they are the only ones I can think of right now. Will keep an eye on your thread tho to see what everyone comes up with :)


message 7: by MJ (new)

MJ | 1615 comments Omg, was unaware that Practical Magic the movie came from Pratical Magic the book. It's not on iBooks tho. Anyone know if the books going to be a let down to the movie? Might have to go against the trees and look for a hard copy.

Again, don't think this is the light hearted type you're looking for, but Katherine Kerr, Daggerspell (Deverry Series) is all based around magic and reincarnation.


message 8: by Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) (last edited Apr 19, 2015 07:03AM) (new)

Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) The Mist-Torn Witches (The Mist-Torn Witches #1) by Barb Hendee The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee and Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels #1) by Anne Bishop Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop (more fantasy genre as set in imaginary worlds rather than contemporary setting).

I certainly second Tammy's recommendation for the Hollows series that starts with Dead Witch Walking -- although the witches aren't the usual fairy tale sort nor the funner sort like in Sabrina The Teenage Witch. The first book was very good but didn't stand out that much from other urban fantasy books, then the next thing I knew the series really gripped me where there was a book hangover of world and characters hanging in your head and heart well after you finished that book as you preordered the next one.

For fans of Hex Hall, Fictfact.com recommends the series: House of Night by Kristin Cast, P C Cast; Fallen by Lauren Kate; Beautiful Creaturesby Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl; Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa (I don't actually remember witches); Matched by Allyson B Condie; Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong; Paranormalcy by Kiersten White; Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan; Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr; Bloodlines by Richelle Mead


message 9: by Joseph (new)

Joseph  (bluemanticore) | 433 comments If you are looking for urban fantasy-themed witches, you might like, in no particular order:
Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series features witches in Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, and Waking The Witch
Yasmine Galenorn's Otherworld series, it starts with Witchling.
Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series, it starts with Dead Witch Walking.
Faith Hunter's Jane Yellowrock series, it starts with Skinwalker. The title character is a shapeshifter, but her best friend is a witch.
Deborah Harkness's All Souls trilogy, it starts with A Discovery of Witches
Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde trilogy, it starts with Burning Water
Bailey Cates's A Magical Bakery Mystery series, it starts with Brownies and Broomsticks
C.C. Finlay's Traitor to the Crown trilogy, it starts with The Patriot Witch
Christine Warren's The Others PNR series, it starts with One Bite With a Stranger, features witches among other paranormal beings
Heather Blake's Wishcraft Mystery series, it starts with It Takes a Witch
Juliet Blackwell's A Witchcraft Mystery series, it starts with Secondhand Spirits
Justin Gustainis's Quincey Morris series, it starts with Black Magic Woman
Linda Wisdom's Jazz Tremaine PNR series, it starts with 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover
Melissa De La Cruz's The Beauchamp Family series, it starts with Witches of East End
Molly Harper's Half Moon Hollow series features a witch in A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses
Nora Roberts Circle trilogy, it starts with Morrigan's Cross
Vicki Thompson's Babes on Brooms series, it starts with Blond with a Wand

If you are looking for realistic fiction-themed Witches A.K.A. Wiccans, you might like, in no particular order:
M. R. Sellars Rowan Gant mystery series, it starts with Harm None: A Rowan Gant Investigation
Madelyn Alt's Bewitched Mystery series, it starts with The Trouble With Magic
Isobel Bird's Circle of Three young adult series, it starts with So Mote It Be
Bell, Book, and Murder: The Bast Mysteries by Rosemary Edghill
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Cate Tiernan's Sweep young adult series, it starts with Book of Shadows
Beneath a Mountain Moon and Murder at Witches' Bluff by Silver Ravenwolf

Historical Fiction witches, in no particular order:
Corrag by Susan Fletcher
The White Witch by Elizabeth Goudge
The Witch of Blackbird Pond a YA by Elizabeth George Speare.
Witch Child and Sorceress YA by Celia Rees
The White Witch a YA by Janet Graber
Beyond the Burning Times a YA by Kathryn Laskey
The Gallows Hill a YA by Lois Duncan


message 10: by Jonquil (new)

Jonquil Leigha- Have you checked out the Listopia on witches?
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

I have read at least one from many of the top-ranked series listed and enjoyed them. The Listopia may help you find books that lead you to similar books to the point that that's all you'll be reading!

Wiccan author-written series about three contemporary teens exploring Wicca and dealing with teen everyday life. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Starts with:
So Mote it Be (Circle of Three, #1) by Isobel Bird

Teen explores changes in her life https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
First book:
Book of Shadows (Sweep, #1) by Cate Tiernan

Also, a classic 5-book series on a young wizard. Starts with:
The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain #1) by Lloyd Alexander

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...


BTW, I read all of these electronically through my public library's e-book and audiobook service. Perhaps yours has one, also?


Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) Oh...and try Girl's Guide to Witchcraft (Jane Madison, #1) by Mindy Klasky Girl's Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klaskyfor the funnier side (okay, pretty chick lit but was amusing).


Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* (erinpaperbackstash) Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows, #1) by Kim Harrison The hollows definitely - Urban Fantasy

Chick with a Charm (Babes-on-Brooms, #2) by Vicki Lewis Thompson - PNR series, three books, okay

Destruction (The December People, #1) by Sharon Bayliss - Excellent series, The December People series. Surprisingly good, I don't usually give self published a chance but this two book series is excellent and goes by witches by season, they dislike each other, and about a complex family of Winter Witches. Urban Fantasy

Charmed to Death (Ophelia & Abby, #2) by Shirley Damsgaard - The Ophelia and Abby Mystery series is good

The Sorority Eve (Sorority Trilogy, #1) by Tamara Thorne - horror, ya-ish, older trilogy. Quirky and humorous

Wither by John Passarella - an older trilogy, very good books, dark fantasy


message 13: by Krystal (new)

Krystal (00krystal) | 132 comments @MJ - I love love love the movie Practical Magic, so I also was interested in the book when I discovered it. I got ... maybe five or so chapters in. I hated it. It's VERY different. So it's up to you to give it a shot, but keep that in mind - definitely not just a straight adaption!

As for witch books for the OP - well, I was going to list some of my favorites, but Joseph has pretty much covered all that and more! What a great list of suggestions.

A few I want to particularly second: The Witchcraft series by Juliet Blackwell - starting with Secondhand Spirits. I'm reading these right now, actually, and am happily on the fifth in the series. If you judge them from their cover, you might expect them to be more of a cozy type mystery (with some witchcraft thrown in) but I actually found them to be a bit more meaty than I expected. Not super serious tomes or anything, but a bit more substantial than the light read I thought they would be.

I also highly recommend The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - I loved that book!

And here's just a few to add:

Arcadia Falls - not "witches" exactly, but it's about an artists' commune/school that has lots of rumors of witchcraft going on; a great read

The Native Star - the first in a series, this is a fun Western/Steampunk take on witches and warlocks

Beautiful Creatures - first in the Caster Chronicles, a fun read. I haven't read all of the books in the series, as I sort of lost interest while waiting for the newest books to be published, but I did really enjoy the first one. Worth a read (and the movie adaptation wasn't actually that awful either.)

Clean Sweep - I absolutely loved this book. The main character isn't named an actual "witch", but she has what I would consider witchy powers. Completely with broomstick! Such a fun read. And the author published this one and the sequel a chapter at a time on her blog for free. :)


Other than that, all the suggestions listed here already are fantastic. I'm definitely adding a lot of these to my own to read list. :)


message 14: by Teresa (new)

Teresa Rohn-penn | 9 comments Amanda Hocking's Trylle Trilogy--Switched #1, Torn #2, Ascend #3. quick reads-- not the best writing, but interesting. Witch of Blackbird Pond--a classic. Definitely Discovery of Witches trilogy mentioned above. I felt like reviewer above...but have read the last one two more times and like it better than I first did. Mists of Avalon-A MUST.


message 17: by Gen (new)

Gen Giggles | 18 comments I would recommend Daughter of Chaos and its just released sequel. I'd also say read the The Enchanted Forest Chronicles which contains not only a witch of awesomeness but wizards too.


message 18: by Tracy (new)

Tracy | 88 comments What's a Witch to Do? has a leader of witches trying to solve a mystery and A London Werewolf in America has a witch bodyguard. These two books have witches as MCs and strangely enough both have wolf shifter heroes.


message 19: by Mike (new)

Mike (fugue78) | 4 comments No romance, at least to start off with, but I really loved Katharine Eliska Kimbriel's Night Calls series. Really loved it. It's a historical fantasy with a very young MC in a rural setting, and it's very well written. Even though it takes place in an alternate earth, rather than a totally made-up world, it's nothing like an urban fantasy.

Night Calls (Night Calls #1) by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel Night Calls


message 20: by MJ (new)

MJ | 1615 comments Only found this series a few days ago and am already up to book 4... Loving it.

Emma Mills, Witchblood


message 22: by Chanel (new)

Chanel (lithorniel) | 6 comments This is an entire series, but perhaps you may want to check out: Born Wicked

I haven't read it yet myself, but I was told it was really good. Maybe you'd like to give it a shot.


message 23: by Fred (new)

Fred (a357124) | 19 comments Little Witch by Anna Bennett. It's an old classic.


message 24: by Alice (new)

Alice Wow! I'm gone for a little while and come back with a ton of suggestions. Thanks so much guys! This is amazing. What a list!


message 25: by Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) (last edited May 12, 2015 08:16PM) (new)

Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) You've gotten a lot of recommendations for The Hollows series (Dead Witch Walking), LOL. Not exactly the heaviest on the romance (or on the love triangles) and the heroine doesn't have the best luck with what romance there is -- but, boy, some of the romance sure is the most memorable in the genre. And series is complete plus with the completion there's definitely romance. I swear fans of the series were rooting for one guy or another almost worse than for the team-things in the Twilight series. Rachel isn't torn as in love triangle though; she tends to mostly know who she wants.

I like the Elemental Assassin books with Gin; I'm on book 4 and so far not really getting the romance vibe. Maybe that's later in series.


message 26: by Abigail (new)

Abigail (handmaiden) | 391 comments Diana Wynne Jones, totally. Fantasy writer, usually involving some one or other of witch/warlock/sorceror/enchanter, mostly MG and YA. So many good ones, but to start Howl's Moving Castle, The Lives of Christopher Chant, Fire and Hemlock, and Deep Secret give a good taste of what she's like.

Sabriel, by Garth Nix. YA. Fantasy zombies abound (they are due to magic, not a plague or scientific experiment). The heroine is a zombie hunter, basically, and has to return their spirits to the underworld.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. Adult (but not "adult"). If Jane Austen had written epic fantasy, it might be something like this. Bonus: The BBC has an adaptation of it coming out soon.

The Dark is Rising Sequence, by Susan Cooper. MG/YA.

The Goose Girl (first of The Books of Bayern), by Shannon Hale. YA. Based on the fairy tale.

A Wizard of Earthsea (first of the Earthsea books), by Ursula K. Le Guin.

The Amulet of Samarkand, first of the Bartimaeus books. YA. MC is a snarky djinni.


message 27: by Stephen (last edited May 20, 2015 08:04PM) (new)

Stephen (havan) | 151 comments You've got plenty of good suggestions already but a few of my favorite witches haven't made your list yet.

Sycorax from Shakespeare's play The Tempest has gotta be #1 the lady doesn't even appear in the play but is scary enough that her son is hideous and her mere name frightens.

You might also like to read Old Magic by Marianne Curley the witch there is a young girl from Australia

You're probably a little young to really enjoy Anne Rice's Mayfair witches but when you're ready be sure to check out The Witching Hour and Lasher

You might also enjoy trying my "Which Witch is Which?" quiz https://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/179...


message 28: by Cynthia (new)

Cynthia (cynnich) | 38 comments MJ wrote: "Not sure if this one is what you're looking for, but I love Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. It's a series about a family who has it's own spirit entity and they have vari..."

I loved A Discovery of Witches and its follow ups.


message 29: by Cynthia (new)

Cynthia (cynnich) | 38 comments D.A.— warn me if there's a love triangle or drama w/ book wrote: "The Mist-Torn Witches (The Mist-Torn Witches #1) by Barb Hendee The Mist-Torn Witches by Barb Hendee and Daughter of the Blood (The Black Jewels #1) by Anne Bishop Daughter of the Blood by [aut..."

If you don't mind fantasy world's Anne Bishop is great. She has several books in the Black Jewels world. Another fantasy series she wrote is her Tir Alainn Trilogy. Both series are very well written but are definitely not all sweetness and light. More like a definite fight between good and evil with the bad things that these fights cause an integral part of the plots of the main trilogies.


message 30: by Isabelle (last edited Aug 04, 2015 05:46PM) (new)

Isabelle Ley | 44 comments The Frog Princess and Bewitching: The Kendra Chronicles are great books. Very funny. At first with The Frog Princess you'll wonder what it has to do with witches, but as you progress through the book (and the series) it will become quite obvious, because (view spoiler)


message 31: by Shelia (new)

Shelia Williams | 781 comments The Witch Fairy series by bonnie lamer
The Witch Hunter by Nicole R. Taylor
The Secert Trinity Series by Jenna Bernel
Genevieve by Emma Mills
Witch and Werewolf by Sage Domini
Of Witches and Warlocks by Lacey Weatherford
Witch Avenue Series by Karice Bolton
The Black Act: Witch Twin Saga by Louise Bohmer
High Witch by Mona Hanna
Bewitching Embrace by Sandra Ross
Deadly Beauty Series by C.M Owens


message 32: by Andrea (new)

Andrea Wahle | 13 comments I saw the others I was going to recommend, but not the Shirley Damsgaard Ophelia and Abby series. It starts with Witch Way to Murder. Witch Way to Murder


message 33: by Cat (new)

Cat  | 158 comments Enchanted, Inc. is awesome.


message 34: by Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) (last edited Aug 07, 2015 02:22PM) (new)

Debbie's Spurts (D.A.) Catherine wrote: "Enchanted, Inc. is awesome."

Except has no witches exactly. Lots of wizards and magic folk but M.C. is a mundane human working for a wizard with another wizard as love interest.

I love the series, it's a real hoot and anything with enchanted frogs, gargoyles, ogres and gnomes appeals to me. But, I don't consider it a witchy book. Humor, romance, magic -- but lacking "witchy.". I just finished book 6 so haven't completed the series and could be wrong if witches show up later.

I was able to read via public library ebook borrow if anyone wants to check the series out that way.


message 35: by Roopkatha (last edited Aug 07, 2015 03:58PM) (new)

Roopkatha (witchyglitterati) | 7 comments Witches Protection Program by Michael Phillip Cash
Witches Protection Program


Susan (the other Susan) (theothersusan) | 61 comments Ann Rice's The Witching Hour can (and should) be read as a stand-alone novel. (The series didn't deliver as this first book did.) It's quite scary at times, and takes place in mysterious, romantic New Orleans. Main protagonist is a beautiful woman who inherits the mysterious old mansion - and that's not all. She also inherits the "Taltos," a sort of demon/genie/incubus who attached itself to the family's women. centuries ago and has created vast wealth and prestige for them. In exchange, each generation of the family provides the Taltos with a new "witch," whose bed it will share, with or without her full consent. This is a dark, adult story that features a questionably consensual sexual relationship. But it's the only Anne Rice book, other than her take on The Mummy, that I've ever enjoyed. Reads more like am old-school horror classic with a twist, than the grotesqueries and gross-out porn that characterize so much of Rice's work.


message 37: by Astraea (new)

Astraea (astraeagroup) | 33 comments Eleanor Estes, The Witch Family. Enchanting story of a family of witches living on a glass hill and the two little mortal girls whose drawing game guides their daily lives and destiny.

The Active-Enzyme, Lemon-Freshened Junior High School Witch by Edmund Hildick. Allison is bored and wants more control in her life, so when she discovers a book on witchcraft (it's clearly Paul Huson's Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks & Covens) it seems just the ticket. Choosing the name Ariadne Atropos Arachne, she has a great time teaching herself out of the book and later mentoring her baby sister (who chooses the name Jezebel).
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley and Me, Elizabeth by E.L. Konigsburg. Shy, stubborn Elizabeth befriends new girl Jennifer, a practicing witch who instructs her in the art. Everything goes wonderfully until they start preparing to make flying ointment. Another classic, with an understated message about people who are different.
J.R. Lowell, Daughter of Darkness. Little Willie Connolly is the super-intelligent daughter of rich and famous parents. Such a perfect, darling child. Her collection of dolls from around the world seem to be just part of her interest in anthropology. People who get in her way have a way of taking ill, dying or going insane. But that's just coincidence, isn't it? No one suspects the truth, until it's too late.


message 38: by Ann aka Iftcan (new)

Ann aka Iftcan (iftcan) | 6917 comments Mod
Try the Witch World series by Andre Norton. 30 or so books, but it's not all the same characters. Some have romance, some don't. But definitely start with the book I linked, as it "sets" the story up. Some of them are dated--the first book in the series was published sometime around 1960 or so. The first book the MC is actually a man--but he is Cornish (an area of GB that has a lot of stories of witches, ghosts, ghoulies and long-legged-beasties) and has some powers of his own.


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