#Book Review #The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn #Paranormal #Fantasy @St. Martin's Griffin

From the blurb:

A story about family secrets and two young women who discover they're Nordic witches.Cordelia Bone's meticulously crafted life and career in Dallas are crashing down around her thanks to a philandering husband with criminal debts.

When her older, carefree sister, Eustace - a cannabis grower in Boulder, calls to inform her the great aunt they never met has died and they must travel to a small town in Connecticut to deal with the estate, she sees an opportunity to unload the house and save herself.

But once there, the sisters learn they are getting much more than they bargained for. The Victorian mansion they stand to inherit is bound in a dynasty trust controlled by their late aunt's aging attorney who insists they inhabit the house and retain it but keeps them in the dark about the peculiar rituals of their ancestors. Not to mention a sexy, tattooed groundskeeper with a shrouded past who refuses to leave the carriage house and a crypt full of dead relatives looming at the property line.

As both women grapple with their current predicament, they come face to face with a haunting family secret, the truth of what happened to their mother, and the enemy that's been stalking them from the shadows for generations. In a twisting torrent of terror and blood, the sisters must uncover the power within them to heal their fractured relationship, reverse their mysteriously declining health, and claim the lineage they wanted to escape but now must embrace if they are to survive at Bone Hill.

Publication date: September 26, 2023
Publisher: St.Martin's Griffin
Purchase Link

My thoughts:
The spooky, witchy season is upon us once again, so it's time to stuff our shelves and kindles with new magic reads!
Ava Morgyn's third book has all the usual mix of elements you will find in a good paranormal fantasy- magic, a bit of romance, and some horror scenes. Above all, it's a story of family secrets, self-growth, self-acceptance and sister love. I was immediately drawn into reading about Cordelia Bone's woes with her impeding divorce from her good-for-nothing, greedy, philandering husband who racked up huge debts and ruined Cordelia's business. Ava Morgyn's writing is so vivid that it's impossible not to empathise with Cordelia and feel her desperation at this point. But then Cordelia's sister Eustace informs her that their great aunt Augusta passed away and they stand to inherit the house which has been in their family possession for centuries. First, Cordelia sees this as an opportunity to get a reprieve from her troubles as much as the sisters' only chance to find out why their mother chose to flee her home town and stay away from her family. As Cordy and Eustace learn more about the secrets and dark powers of their own ancestors, the atmosphere grows more and more tense. It turns out that despite all the differences in the sisters' magic gifts, their love and devotion to each other will help them get to the root of the dark tragedies that have been haunting the house and the family.
Cordelia's character is extremely well-written-you know where she's coming from and what made her into a strong, loving woman she is. Eustace remains a bit in her shadow throughout the book.
I already mentioned that although there is romance, it stays in the background, as Cordelia needs to process why she ended up falling for her philandering husband in the first place.
I liked the way the ending ties up loose ends and leaves us with a hope that future generations of the Bone family will leead a happy life. Overall, the book didn't strike me as warm and fuzzy, so a happy ending was more than welcome.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

AVA MORGYN grew up falling in love with all the wrong characters in all the wrong stories, then studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. She is a lover of witchcraft, tarot, and powerful women with bad reputations, and she currently resides in Houston with her family, surrounded by antiques and dog hair. When not at her laptop spinning darkly hypnotic tales, she writes for her blog on child loss, hunts for vintage treasures, and reads the darkest books she can find. She is the author of YA novels Resurrection Girls and The Salt in Our Blood.