I couldn't read this as an ebook for some reason so will get it when it comes out! Sorry! (Leaving a 4 star review to be fair.)

Amazing! Kitty Logan never disappoints, I am such a huge fan of hers and would gladly recommend any of her work but this really was very special.
Deeply atmospheric and moving.

"Beauty is dangerous. Beauty has power. Beauty has violence."

When Else finds Lux in the woods she has nothing. Everything she had was burned. The world is suspicious of women like Lux but she is cunning and knows how to blend into the background. Lux also knows a lot about poisons, which is perfect for Else because she needs her help to destroy the man who wronged her. But it will take them on a dangerous path where dark secrets are revealed…

Atmospheric, evocative and enthralling, this is a dark and witchy feminist fairytale about power, love, loss, bravery, wisdom, and magic. It’s a timely story about disempowered women finally taking back what is theirs, utilising the magic that can be found in nature to do it. Kirsty Logan’s bewitching and poetic prose is transporting and stirring, telling truths that feel as real today as they did in history, helping the reader to connect with Lux and her story. I didn’t take many notes while listening, choosing instead to just enjoy the experience and what stays with me is the bawdy humour, compelling characters and riveting storytelling.

Powerful, alluring, eerie, and unexpected, I highly recommend this book.

A feminist, historical novel of witchcraft at a time when men dominated the world.
I lost my way with this one, maybe the writing style doesn’t really suit me? Not sure.
But if you like this genre, absolutely give it a go :)

I’m a big Kirsty Logan fan and love the descriptive way she writes. In the past, I’ve listened to her narrating her own audiobooks and I think I’ve engaged more with the books that way. I couldn’t quite get into this one in the same way but it had all the marks of her usual writing style and I’ll definitely give it another go - perhaps as an audiobook.

i used to like kirsty logan but i guess i have grown familiar, too familiar even, with her storytelling so i found this rather predictable.

Kirsty Logan can write like a sorceress. The first time I saw her I thought 'Well, this is the next Angela Carter.' I still don't think I'm wrong. Told in a mixture of poetry, stream-of-consciousness, fable and prayer/ritual/spellcasting, Now She Is Witch tells the story of Lux, a potions specialist, and the mysterious Else, who appears as Lux is burying the faded ribbon she inherited from her mother. When Lux is threatened by local boys, Else summons a wolf to protect her and the two are bound together, heading off on an adventure in which Lux meets mummers, mentors, a mysterious lady of the house, and a cheeky non-binary lover, Ash. Truly original, as is everything that Logan does.

I've never read anything by Kirsty Logan but I'm sure I'll be picking up more of her work in the future. This book was fantastic, the language used created vivid images in my mind. Would definitely recommend!

Phenomenal writing once again from Kirsty Logan, her lyricism is exquisite and the worlds she creates are feminist, wild, sensual and magical.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really really wanted to love this book and it started off great but, slowly, it sadly lost its grip on me.
In fairness to the book, it was a very busy time for my brain and it’s beautifully descriptive writing and subtle language may have been a bit too much for me at that point… so maybe it’s more a case of trying again in the future!

This is a dark, mystical, feminist fairy tale, and I loved it. The relationship between Lux and Else is beautifully drawn and magic is intertwined in all their stories, a red ribbon guide through their travels. The scenes with the mummers were particularly evocative.

Thank you to Harvill Secker via Netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book comes with content warnings for graphic sexual assault and gore.

Kirsty Logan is possibly my favourite Scottish author currently working. She's an absolute master of subtlety, weaving together these gorgeous queer stories in a way that feels in step with the historical fantasy world that she's building. Now She is Witch is, from a plotting perspective at least, Logan's most understated novel so far. Our setting is not explicitly stated, but is grounded in the late Mediaeval/early-early Modern paranoia surrounding witchcraft. It's a grounded fantasy, for sure, with touches of the supernatural woven in here and there.

Witch hunt narratives make me nervous. There has been a real vogue for them recently, running parallel to the trend for classical feminist retellings, and the ones I have read have left something to be desired. I think when you ground your story so firmly in the relentless suffering and violence enacted against historical women, the feminist angle gets a little lost in the sauce. I think tackling this subject, as primed as it feels for the literary treatment, is not for your freshman novelist. I find myself reading books like that and thinking, "Yes, this was horrible - but what are you actually trying to say?"

I'll admit, this one didn't start off as hoped. The first third or so felt like a very conventional "women reclaiming power via revenge" arc that had me certain this was going on the pile with the other witch hunt stories I've not particularly enjoyed. Lux's initial meeting with the band of mummers also felt so like The Gracekeepers, that I wasn't sure that it wasn't all going to feel like Logan re-treading old ground. Once we get to the Northern Stronghold, however, the book really starts to take off. The book quickly transforms into a meditation on womanhood, sexuality and freedom, putting at the heart of the narrative the different kinds of relationships women can have with one another - mother-daughter, lady-servant, lovers and friends. That this book is not only about male dominance of women (which it still is, in many ways), but also about the ways in which women have to use the structures of patriarchy to exert influence over one another, really sets it apart.

I've also been waiting for the book that is brave enough to not shy away from the idea that the MC actually *could* be a witch. I understand the fear - I think a lot of authors worry about the implications of it - but I'm glad to see that Logan is the one to truly grapple with that possibility. She resists the temptation to make it a very self-aware treatise on feminism, which is, I think, something other authors have really struggled to do well. I did find the poetic sections from Lux and Else's perspectives a challenging read, and I did wonder a little how much they gained from the different format. However, it's not unlikely that a lot of my frustration with this was due to my Kindle formatting it badly, and there were some really powerful lines within these sections that'll stay with me.

(As an aside, I think Logan could be considered an excellent model for how to write non-binary characters, especially as our vocabulary in this area is still pretty nascent and evolving, in a way that feels natural and not so self-conscious.)

I am always a sucker for a novel that is, at its heart about storytelling, and about how the stories we tell shape our understanding of the world around us. The mummers provide a compelling framing device in this regard, with their plays reflecting the dominant worldview not because they reflect the beliefs of the mummers themselves, but because reflecting the dominant beliefs of the landed class keeps them fed, clothed and housed. I dunno, felt prescient.

Another Kirsty Logan Kirsty Logan book - steeped full of magic and more of a fantasy read. I love her stuff.

I couldn't finish this read as, what I hoped was a technical issue, the netgallery version didn't transfer well to kindle.
The paragraphs would end and start mid sentence and for some of it there was absolutely no grammar.
Will have to try again with a physical copy.
Thank you!

While I've read Kirsty Logan's work before (The Gracekeepers is one of my favourite books), Now She is Witch was disappointing in comparison. Logan's talent for descriptions never leaves me wanting more, but I couldn't connect with the characters and I didn't find the plot interesting enough to truly reel me in. I disliked the placement of Lux's and Else's backstories in the middle of the book, cutting the rest of the narrative in half.

Now She is Witch tackles some interesting themes, with pain and power and women's relationships with the two being the most developed, but unfortunately for me the rest of the book didn't live up to my own expectations.

This is a tricky one to review. On the face of it, there's a lot I really enjoyed. The writing is gorgeous, lush and atmospheric. It's dark, folksy and very gay. If you like Angela Carter you'll probably like this. But all those ingredients just didn't quite add up for me. I think the structure made it feel disjointed for me, personally. Still, the vibes alone made it worth reading.

I received a free egalley of this from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I just could not get into this book I didn't care about the characters. I didn't like the writing style and as someone who doesn't usually care about Grammar this just really bought me out the story. I'm really sorry this book wasn't for me but I can see how some may love this just not me.

A young woman’s journey of self-discovery in a mediaeval (possibly post-apocalyptic) fantasy landscape.

Lux returns from a sanctuary to the woodland cottage she shared with her aged mother. Finding her mother dead, she buries her in the poison garden. Beset by a gang of local lads accusing her of witchcraft, Lux escapes to the forest accompanied by a shadowy figure, Else.

Full of richly drawn mythic characters, vibrant images, and lyrical prose this dark, intelligent novel explores the precarity of womanhood in a man’s world.

This was such a weird and wonderful read and I bloody loved it! The structure was so interesting, with some parts told in third person and then some parts told in first person, with no punctuation in a stream of consciousness. The story itself was fascinating and infuriating at the same time. Very feminist, very feisty, Very fabulous!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The writing is just beautiful. I would read fantasy with mediocre writing, as I like the distraction, but being able to enjoy good prose as well as a good story is a huge bonus. The feminist subtext is also very welcome.