Stephanie Sullivan: Review - A Time of Witches

TITLE: A Time of Witches (audiobook)

RATING: ★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Lilith Legare’s life is unraveling. Since her mother’s death, strange things have been happening - plants turn toward her touch, animals linger in her path, and the birthmark on her arm has started tingling. Worse still is her recurring nightmare of being burned alive at the stake.

Her search for answers brings her from Savannah to England, to the decaying Brackenmere Manor where the past blurs with the present. There, Lilith discovers a legacy she never asked for and along with it, the threat of peril. History must be rewritten, or she too will die.

In 1645 Suffolk, Sybil Brantham stands accused as a witch. An educated, wealthy widow, she is branded a threat by men who fear her independence. As arrests begin and suspicion abounds, Sybil must protect her younger sister, even as betrayal takes root within her household.

Across centuries, Lilith and Sybil are bound by blood and by danger. To save themselves, and each other, they must confront the silence that has stolen women’s power for generations—and dare to claim their voices before it’s too late.

REVIEW: I’ve held a fascination of the Salem witch trials for as far back as I can remember, and visiting Salem, Massachusetts is at the top of my travel bucket list. While this story doesn’t take place in Salem, I was still intrigued by the plot, and I couldn’t wait to listen to the audiobook. (It’s narrated by one of my faves, Saskia Maarleveld, and she is absolutely incredible, as always). The plot is very interesting and different, jumping back and forth between two separate timelines, but it wasn’t confusing. As with most of Madeline Martin’s stories, the central theme here, in my opinion, is girl power, especially between the main characters, Lilith and Sybil, and you can’t help but cheer them on. There are some twists and turns, including a BIG one that actually took me by surprise. (I’m normally pretty good at guessing plot twists, but not this time). It’s evident that Madeline did a ton of research for this book, which I appreciate. If you’ve read most of my reviews, then you know that learning the history behind the book is my favorite thing about reading historical fiction. I would recommend reading the author notes first, but they do contain spoilers, so just be aware of that. There were parts of the story that lagged quite a bit, but overall I would wholeheartedly recommend A Time of Witches.