Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt?!?!

Once you think you got the puzzles nope here comes a twist!

Cozy mystery sprinkled with sci-fi elements and witches.

Enjoyed the story look to the next book.

As a big fan of Doctor Who and The Librarians, I was excited to dive into "The Intrigue of Witches," hoping for a cool mix of spooky stuff and history. But, uh, it didn't quite deliver. Instead of getting lost in the magic, the story mostly fixated on red-haired women getting the short end of the stick, some far-fetched VR conspiracy theories, and a forced love interest that felt totally out of place. Also, a whole secret society was built up to be this big thing, only to really lack suspense.

At first, I was intrigued by the whole red-haired women vs. witch hunts angle. It had this cool mysterious vibe, like maybe there'd be some actual magic involved, especially with hints of fae portals and stuff. But as I kept reading, I realized the intrigue of witches I was hoping for just wasn't there.

By the halfway mark, I was pretty bummed out. The story didn't hold my attention, and there were many moments where it felt like the author was dumping a ton of info on me all at once. It left me feeling disconnected from the characters and their struggles. Eventually, I just had to call it quits on unraveling the story's secrets.

Thank you to Severn House and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest and independent review of An Intrigue of Witches.

This book is honestly a melting pot of mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, history, and magic. Throw it all in a caldron, mix three times, add a pinch of 'intrigue' and you've got An Intrigue of Witches. Without giving too much away (which is very easy to do with this one), the novel follows the journey of our red headed historian, Sidney Taylor, freshly forced into her furlough from the university where he is employed as a historian, due to some questionable story lines/excuses. Sidney is enlisted on a quest to help a find a long lost archeological treasure in exchange for a cool million dollars.

This quest quickly leads her back to small towns Robbinsville, NC where she reunites with her grandmother and joins the local museum as a new employee (again) in order to secure a cover while she searches for the missing artifact. The only problem is, Sidney has absolutely zero idea what she's actually looking for or how to find it. She also doesn't understand why it's protected and what lengths will people go to in order to ensure it's not found. In almost no time at all, she's off and running through a series of quests that take her back over two hundred years across history and time. Mix in a little sci-fi and technology, and you've got yourself a modern day treasure hunt for the ages!

At the start of this book I was so excited because it was giving major National Treasure vibes, and I was over the MOON. Mix that with witches and I was all on board. The part where I really deviated and disconnected with the book was the added sci-fi element. I don't want to disclose too much for fear of giving away too many secrets, but lets just say I wasn't on board with the whole "VR" agenda woven throughout the plotline. It just seemed too far from the original story line we were headed down. An odd left turn I guess you could say.

Essentially, I just wanted to see things head in a different direction with a different sci-fi element. At times, there was just so much going on I could not keep track of facts or clues. My head was a bit of a mess, so I really had to slow down to read this one, which isn't a bad thing. It just was more confusing than I would have hoped. Had this book focused more on mystery, witches, and treasure hunts, I would have been all on board. But ultimately, the confusing sci-fi element dropped my overall rating of this one.

An Intrigue of Witches follows Sidney, a recently furloughed Smithsonian researcher, on a mysterious quest to find a lost artifact. Along the way she discovers the truth about her heritage and the secret societies controlling the elite.

At first I found the story slow and the writing a bit clunky. As the book went on the pacing got much better and the story started to flow as more pieces came together. I began to really root for the characters and thoroughly enjoyed Sidney's journey of self discovery.

If you like secret societies, deep history, treasure hunts, witches, and a sprinkle of science fiction this book is for you.

Overall I had a good time with An Intrigue of Witches. The story kind of reminds me of Legendborn mixed with National Treasure. The secret societies, prophecies, black history, and urban fantasy elements from Legendborn plus the mysterious and adventurous treasure hunting reminiscent of National Treasure combined made for a really fun read! I'm looking forward to more in this series.

3.5/5 stars.

This was such an interesting read. I’ve truly never read anything like it. There’s magic, and science, and secret groups trying to control the government. There was a lot going on but it wasn’t so much that it was hard to follow and I felt it all wrapped up neatly in the end.
This book is a little hard to explain because of that, but I did enjoy reading it. I actually had no idea what would happen next.

#NetGalley #AnIntrigueofWitches
I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the chance to let me read this book early in exchange for my honest review. The overall plot was an interesting one, I love the main character and how the author wrote her throughout the book. My main gripe is how there's some parts where it felt like the author was putting too much themes and subplots in this story, making it confusing to fully understand at times. Since it looks like this book would end up becoming a series, I hope that the plots become cohesive in any potential next books of the series.

This was such an interesting mix of genres - Fantasy, historical fiction, some sci-fi elements thrown in, a dystopian twist, a dash of cosy mysteries - honestly I really loved it! And it’s so rare that we find such a genuinely unique plot line and world. There was a lot I loved here and just a handful of things I think could be improved on - it didn’t quite hit the mark for a 5 star read but I could definitely need future books in the series getting there.

I loved how empowering so many of the female characters and their relationships were - there were so many strong female characters here and I feel like the book THRIVED because of them. I also loved the intergenerational interactions!

I do think this book could have been a little longer as there is a lot here and I would have really enjoyed more time to absorb everything and some quieter lulls in the pacing. Everything feels fairly fast paced and there’s a lot of developments here, I think a handful of smaller, quieter scenes might have lent itself to further character developments and relationship depths. But maybe more of that will come in future books?

I know other reviewers have also mentioned this, but I wish we were shown things more than we we told about them. There are so many little facts we are told about and if we had only been shown them they would have hit so much harder - it feels like a little thing to complain about but it’s things like this which really level up the writing.

Things are absolutely left open for more books but I loved that the plot was neatly tied together - no cheap cliffhangers here! You could easily read and love this without needing to read further books (although I will definitely be reading any further installments that might come out!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-ARC

I like how the author set the stage with visually descriptive narrative, engaging dialogue, and several story subplots to keep me intrigued from the start. The mystery was executed nicely with characters here and there having pivotal roles and secrets left to uncover that kept me in the game as I had to know who was doing what to whom and how this would end. Overall, a good read, especially if you like treasure hunts.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. I found the period of history that is focused on boring and the magic took long to enter the story. It was more National Treasure than A Discovery of Witches which is why I didn't enjoy it.

I am sure many readers will like this story, but for me it just wasn't my cup of tea.

This was an interesting fantasy with lots of elements of history, archaeological findings, religion and religious mythology all rolled into one. I really enjoyed the unravelling of the plot regarding the Secret Society, however, at times found myself a little caught up with trying to understand who was who and also trying to unpack all the important historical events described in the story.

Esme is clearly a history buff and this story really flexes these muscles.

I am looking forward to finding out more about this dystopian society in the next novel.

Having said that, it was a very memorable read and was definitely a lot more intellectual and titillating than I expected.

I loved Sidney's cleverness, wit, and ferocity to discover the truth.

Think Nancy Drew meets A Discovery of Witches 🧙‍♀️

I had high hopes for this book. The cover looks great. The description sounds like something I’d love reading. Unfortunately it fell flat. I didn’t DNF but came close on quite a few occasions. There was an awful lot of explaining going on and not nearly so much doing. The steps of the “treasure hunt” were solved remarkably easily and didn’t bring much suspense. Sidney wasn’t a particularly sympathic main character. I did like her grandmother and some other side characters a little more. The VR and science parts left me cold and were quite dull at times. A shame for what could have been a good book.

Urban fantasy
Treasure hunt
Hidden artifacts
Secret society
Paranormal
History & museums
Magic & witches

“Thirty-year-old Black woman Sidney Taylor is a talented early American history professor, working in fast-paced Washington DC, with her eyes on promotion.”
“When she receives an anonymous and very cryptic invitation to visit historic small-town Robbinsville, North Carolina and hunt for a missing archaeological treasure - with a million-dollar pay out at stake - it's one she can't refuse.”

An Intrigue of Witches is the first book in the Secret Society Mystery series.

The book had a interesting mix of history and future, from American & Egyptian history to super modern virtual reality in the future. The plot and storyline reminded me of The Da Vinci Code mixed with Discovery of Witches.

The pacing of the book was okay, not too fast but there weren’t any dull moments either.

The storyline was a bit difficult to follow at times because there were so many things happening and new secrets being revealed, but the ending wrapped everything up nicely.

The characters were a bit shallow. I would have loved to learn more about them, especially the main character. She is a smart and interesting character with a lot of potential.

The storyline was really interesting but at times a bit too much for a book this short. Maybe some of it could have been left for the other books of the series.

Overall I enjoyed reading the book. A bit different than what I usually read.

This book is a good fit for anyone wanting to read an adventurous book with treasure hunting mixed with history.

This book had a lot going on…to much in my opinion. Witches, AI, history, quantum physics, too much and it did not fit together. I didn’t like the politics behind it but I pushed that aside to get to the story and it just didn’t work for me. I wanted to like this so much but it wasn’t for me.

I’ve read this author's work before, so I was pretty sure the writing in this series opener would be similar to that series. I was both right and wrong. This book was well-written just like her other series, but this one contained so much more. The author combined political intrigue, magic, sci-fi, suspense, and a tiny bit of other genres to turn it all into a captivating read. Now, all of this was a little bit too much and could have been two books instead of one, but even though it was almost too much, it still was an engaging read. I’m interested in continuing the story, and I look forward to what’s next. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

I DNF’d this book at 50%. There is a lot going on in this book, the blurb includes treasure hunts, witches, ancient blood lines and conspiracy theories, which all sounds great together, but unfortunately I don’t think it came together nicely. Instead of a neat little package that comes together nicely, it feels messy and really far-fetched and the ideas really do feel so completely different and too far apart to actually fit well together. The writing could do with another round of editing, there’s a few changes in tenses that need fixing and also so of the sentence structures need fixing, I have been bored throughout this book and am not particularly fond of any of the characters.

An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison is the first book in a new series, the Secret Society Mysteries. The main character, a Black historian is manipulated into tracking down an ancient relic and chaos ensues.
I really struggled with this because there is just so much going on in so many directions. It does all get shoehorned into an ending that sort of wraps everything up, but it would have been much more effective to cut about half of the threads out and introduce them in later books. There is comprehensive discussion throughout the book about the historical background including Egypt, Scotland, and early America; the treasure hunt; the secret societies of witches and witch hunters and whoever else; the centuries-old conspiracy; the family background and relationships; the current fraught political climate in the story; the time travel; the involvement of AI and virtual reality; the magical system (which isn’t well defined); and cryptic clues. It is just way too much, and it is generally told in long speeches between characters. Unfortunately, that just seems more like info-dumping, and isn’t very entertaining reading.
Despite my negativity, there were some things that I liked. The main character is smart and driven. I quite enjoyed a scene early on where she discovers a hidden space and resolves its secrets. Also, I think many of the ideas were interesting and creative, and the author has a unique way of combining historical figures into her contemporary story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the e-ARC.

An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison is a genre-blending masterpiece of Cozy Science Mystery and I am all over it. Now, I struggled with the first chapter, not in essence of the beautiful descriptions and scene setting, it just seemed a little detached, as if Sidney was talking about herself in the third person, more focussed on describing Sidneys looks and popularity than the removal from the office. However, this is just my personal taste and it was the only blip in the entire book for me

Esme Addison is a stunning author and she is breaking new ground in the cozy mystery genre. A lot of Cozy/ Science crossovers are usually gaslamp/ steampunk, but an Intrigue of witches is in a class of its own

Sidney has found an intriguing artefact, yet after declaring it to her museum, she is made to sign a on-disclosure agreement and thrown out with immediate effct on "paid annual leave". Suitably miffed, Sidney pootles off to stay with her (may I say absolutely blinding charcter) grandmother while she tries to figure out what on earth is going on

Through Sidneys investigation, the book shifts gear and I was absolutely gripped! The cozy mystery suddenly revs up and hares off into a thriller, full of conspiracy, secrets, history and secret soceities, all centred on this intriguing artefact

A fantastic read to get your teeth into! I was all prepared for a snug sit down and I was on the edge of my seat! I have not read any of Esme Addisons books previosly, but this series has got huge potential and I am here for it!

Thank you to Netgalley, Severn House and Esme Addison for this awesome ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I did not finish this book. I stopped at 20%. I don't leave reviews on Goodreads for books I DNF, but I am offering my feedback here.

I selected this book because the cover is great and the book blurb sounded really intriguing. This is the type of book I would enjoy reading. However, I stopped for several reasons. First, I was 20% in an not a mention of witches, just many rehashed conversations about the evils of virtual reality. Second, most all of the information is very clearly spoon fed to the reader. Sydney and Abner have a conversation about the evils of VR, then repeat that same conversations a few chapters later. Sydney is examining the mirror, in a treasure hunt that people have spend centuries trying to solve, and Reba walks in just at that moment to point out a flaw that is the exact key to solving that piece of the puzzle. Then she leaves. Third, the story telling is just not very smooth, maybe because the author is trying so hard to "connect the dots" for us. Finally. I don't prefer stories with a heavy reliance on cultural references like YouTube, TikTok, Zoom, etc. I just feel like this needs alot more time with an editor. Aren't double quotations used with dialog? I kept getting thrown off by the use of single quotation marks for all the dialog.

This is a book for fans of the National Treasure movies meets Dan Brown.

Sidney is an up and coming historian for the Smithsonian. She's a media sweetheart helping make history cool again to the masses when she's unexpected let go from the museum. Rather than dit and wallow in her pity, she returns home to Robbinsville, NC to stay with her grandma. From there she discovers a secret history of her town and embarks on a historical treasure hunt based around Black Colonial history.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the history element along with the treasure hunt. There were some twists I didnt see coming along with some science fiction elements. Overall a good time and entertaining.

This book was a DNF at 17%. I was not engaged with the storyline as it was not what I expected based on the book’s description. The writing style also didn't draw me in.