Imagine being born into a family of enchantresses!
I enjoy books that are across timelines and this one had a good storyline - best read over a weekend so you have continuity of reading the plot.

A Southern Enchantress by Deborah Trahan is a spellbinding young adult novel that immerses readers in the enchanting world of the Lafountain family. With its dual points of view, the story intricately explores the lives of these women, delving into their unique talents for folk magic and spellcasting.

Trahan’s vivid descriptions and complex character portrayals create a rich atmosphere that draws you in from the very first page. I was pleasantly surprised by how deeply I connected with the story, finding the blend of magical realism and familial bonds both captivating and emotionally resonant.

Overall, A Southern Enchantress is a delightful and immersive read that will enchant fans of magical fiction and character-driven narratives. If you appreciate intricate world-building and engaging, multifaceted characters, this book is definitely worth a read.

"every damn day i found something i didn't know that i surely needed to know"
.
3/⭐ - liked the book but not a must read
1/🌶️ - a little bit of spice
Trigger warning: rape
Netgalley ARC (thank you !!!)

The story:
In this book we follow the story of the lafontaine women, slowly we discover with the characters themselves the history of this family
It is a beautiful historical drama, with a fantasy aspect: connection to magic and ghosts

What i loved:
The story is written in different perspections and different timelines
It makes the beginning of the story very confusing but it creates a beautiful ending where all the pieces suddenly fit together

The atmosphere of the book is beautiful
The surroundings are well enough explained to vividly imagine the world the characters live in

The happy end

The complexity of the characters
Although I don't feel there is a lot of character development in the book
The characters don't need it they were complex from the beginning shaping the beautiful story

What i didnt love:
It took me a while to connect all the characters because of the different timelines, this is ok normally but the chapter's were short so we jumed from one thing to the other what made it more difficult than needed

Some unresolved questions
I personally dont like it when we don't have all the answers
Like did Esty have anything to do with this locked door ?
Why did everyone fail to tell Addy about the kid ? The adoption ? ....
The story of Max feels incomplete
Some info is lacking in general

So overall beautifully written book
But not completely my style and this is why the lower score

I usually like this type of book but I had hard time getting into it.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 1 November 2023

A back and forth story surrounding an old southern family the LaFountains. Many generations of women who are enchantresses, they can commune with spirits, make protection spells, and pass their knowledge down. Suzanne is the last woman in her family with the ability to help her passed on family finally rest, with a little help from other spiritualists and her family’s angel, Jack. Contained a few whirlwind romances, mystery, magic, and justifiable revenge. My heart hurt for the women in this family that were taken too soon, but I’m thankful Suzanne was safe in the end.

4 ⭐

Very Good.

A tale of revenge, greed, and sorrow written from the perspective of three different characters over a time period of 70+ years.

Writing is good, the characters are interesting, and the elements of fantasy (magic) are handled well.

Timelines may get a bit confusing, but they are explained quite well.

Recommended. 👍

This book had so much mystery, and so many ties, it kept me hooked. There were times where I felt it was a bit hard to follow, or like I had missed something, so I had to keep going back to re-read small passages, but overall I did really enjoy this book!

I enjoyed the history off the enchantresses of New Orleans and Pass Christian. Ms Trajan told their stories with magical words. An enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc of The Southern Enchantress by Deborah Trahan.

This book started off relatively slow, and unfortunately I struggled to get into it throughout it

The premise was interesting, and Trahan gets extra points for the uniqueness of her story. Playing with multiple timelines is a bold move, and it was my favourite part of the book. 



The main thing bringing this book down for me was the characters. I found all of them unlikable, and slightly one dimensional. I couldn't sympathize with any of them, and struggled to care about their unique stories.

The writing style itself was interesting, and while I could understand the appeal, it just wasn't for me. I found it wordy, and long-winded, with a lot of information being dumped at once. It felt very "tell" and not "show" to use English-Teacher-Terms.

All in all, the book was intriguing, unique, and despite not being my favourite I can appreciate all it had. If it had been simplified slightly I think I would have really loved it.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
I regret this book took me some time to get through, but I’m so glad I pushed through. It’s probably one of the most unique and unexpected storylines I’ve read in a few books. I love the connections through the decades and the interwoven stories. All of the characters are such rich personalities that I loved them all! While I knew Max was a slime-ball from the start, I was still rooting for him in some small way to figure his life out. I was really expecting more at the end in terms of comeuppance. I had hoped that Max was some distant relation to someone down the line that made the full circle journey more fulfilling. There is a LOT going on. I was getting lost in the details and the timelines and the overlap of characters. By the end, I was still struggling to understand who Jack was and how he tied into everything, he was kind of an enigma that was never explored fully. I was really hoping that Suzanne would seek out Esty since she was still alive. It didn’t make sense that Suzanne knew this branch of the family existed yet didn’t reach out. I think that could have offered more insight than the bits and pieces Jack scattered in at random intervals. I didn’t understand why it seemed the women had to choose between their clairvoyance or their hoodoo and root magic. The magic system got a bit too detailed at times but in the end it didn’t really add too much to the plot other than some candles and extra spookiness. There was a lot of magic that I think just ended up distracting from the plot. Overall, this book had too much going on. It could have been simplified and focused more on the connecting stories. But I truly enjoyed the interwoven storylines and the characters. The setting was delightful and one of the reasons I was eager to read this book. I would check out another story by Trahan in the future.

This is a multi-generational historical fiction spanning decades telling a tale of magic and love and endurance. Our main character is a strong girl trying to find her connection with her family magic facing a lot of challanges. Threre are multiple timelines going on in the story at first it could be confusion but later as you keep reading it'll all make sense. The author masterfully balances all the elements and incidents of the story. It was a beautiful read. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this free copy of the book.

This book has elements of murder mystery, the supernatural, historical fiction and female family generational bonds.

I enjoyed the authors writing style and the story was interesting. I didn't fall in love with any of the characters and at times the jumping through time periods and perspectives was a little confusing.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy of this book to read and review.

A Southern Enchantress is a magical story featuring Southern Hoodoo magic set across two different timelines.

While I enjoyed the overall concept, I found the timelines a little confusing and Suzanne's story wasn't as strong or interesting as Addy's. I feel that the story didn't need multiple points of views or it didn't need to jump back and forth, but that is only my opinion.

The storyline was unique and interesting and the author did a great job at creating a Southern supernatural atmosphere that fans of The Mayfair Witches or the film The Skeleton Key would enjoy.

Overall if you like multi-generational stories about strong women and folk magic, then you should read A Southern Enchantress.

I look forward to reading more by the author.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I didn't care about any of the characters or the plot. I'd never really read a book like this before, but the sinopses sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try. I guess I'm not a ghost person or a murder mystery person. I also didn't enjoy all the back and forward in time-line.

This story was wonderful in sharing love and protection through generations through the maternal line. My favorite character was Jack as he was there to guide and explain the past to Suzanne. It was also great to see a family heirloom passed down for protection. Thank you for the story!

Thank you for the ARC! I am loving this book! It is so beautifully written and gives a vivid description of the story. I cannot wait to finish reading this book 🤩

I want to start by saying that i love the premise of this book. Its well written with gorgeous settings and new ideas.
Here comes the "but..." but I had a lot of trouble finishing this title because the characters were just so unlikable. Our main character, Suzanne, appears to be an awful mother who, after escaping her alcoholic husband and father of her twin sons, marries the villain, Max, who has moody, abusive rages and drinks constantly. After red flags her boys point out to her, she pursues the relationship anyway setting a wonderful example for the college age boys, one of whom has budding alcohol problems, as well.
Which brings us to Addy, who was slightly more palatable as she started out selfish and redeemed herself. But it was Addy's mission for Suzanne who set Suzanne up to be a whiny, poisoning, manipulative cow. Yes, Max was murderer, but why did you need to marry him to punish him? It just made her seem underhanded rather than a worthwhile character.
I have a very hard time recommending this one but I'm super intrigued as to Deborah Trahan's next work.

I unfortunately had to DNF. The themes discussed in the book were contradicting to ones I usually gravitate towards and I did not feel comfortable continuing. I try to avoid stories that discuss tarot and psychics. However, I do believe that people would enjoy this if they like those certain themes.

This book is for anyone who craves a plot forward story that is not solely focused on the Romance aspect which acts as more of a slow burn sub plot. The world building was fantastic, the pacing of information shared was in sync with the storyline and what the characters were experiencing. The natural flow to it made for such an immersive read that was easy to follow along with.
The characters in this book are so well-developed. It was really interesting to learn the different pieces of their back stories to form theories and learn what motivates their purpose.

This book is one of the easiest and most deserving ratings I have given this year. Quite honestly it reminded me why I love reading so much.

In this multigenerational historical fiction and fantasy novel, readers travel to the American South, where they follow Suzanne, Farrah, and Addy over several decades. Tracing several generations of women from the same family, readers explore the secrets of this family’s connection to magic and to other worlds and the intergenerational similarities of dangerous and unsafe relationships. As these women grow, they all have their own series of challenges to face, particularly in the relationship category (which may be triggering for some readers), and Suzanne in particular must rediscover her relationship to the family magic as things come to a head. Set in New Orleans and Mississippi and spanning the decades since the 1940s, historical fiction fans might find this to be a good mix of fantasy, fiction and historical fiction. The characters are all complex, with hidden motivations and ulterior agendas, and Trahan does a good job balancing so many perspectives, plots, and narratives over the course of the novel. Some readers might find the IPV and hostile relationships in this novel triggering, so readers should proceed with caution, as one character in particular remains relevant to several plot threads. An interestingly complex read, Trahan’s latest novel will definitely keep readers on the edge of the seat from start to finish.