Early Review – The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 15, 2025
ASIN: B0DK4L9SWG
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone Book
Source: eGalley from NetGalley
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches”: That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva—stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that’s why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.
In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay’s most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay’s manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.
Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this ebook for review from NetGalley.
Thoughts: This was engaging and I enjoyed seeing the viewpoints of women from three different historical times. I did find that the story was predictable, and it took some time to really pull me in and intrigue me. Prior to reading this I had read Moreno-Garcia’s following books: “Mexican Gothic” (liked it), “Gods of Jade and Shadow” (wasn’t a fan), “Velvet Was the Night” (wasn’t a fan), “Certain Dark Things” (was okay), “The Lover” (liked it), and “The Tiger Came to the Mountain” (like it). So, as an author, Moreno-Garcia has been a mixed bag for me…I always think the premise of her stories sound intriguing, so I keep picking up books by her with mixed results.
This book follows women in three time periods. Minerva is in 1998 and spending the summer working on her thesis about an obscure horror author. Alba is from 1908 and is living through strange events on her farm that result in her brother’s death and many other loses. Beatrice is in 1934 and is attending the school that Minerva now attends in 1998, she is the horror author who Minerva is studying. All three of these woman’s lives come together in a story of macabre multi-generational paranormal horror.
This is definitely a slow-burn type of horror novel and has more mystery elements than horror elements. Minerva spends vast portions of her time researching Beatrice’s history while more and more odd/creepy things start happening to her. Minerva’s story is nicely woven together with the stories of Beatrice (Betty) and Alba. Things don’t really start to pick up pace and get more intriguing until well into the second half of the book.
All three women are excellent characters and give interesting looks into the past. I was a bit disappointed by how predictable the direction the story took was. However, this was well written and the story flowed well. I found myself wanting to pick this up to read it and didn’t struggle to stay interested. I wasn’t sure what I really expected from this but it is a bit of an odd story that is mystery heavy about witches, ghosts, and paranormal evil through the generations.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this. I liked how the stories of three women spanning the generations were woven together to tell a creepy story of evil and magic. This is a very slow burn so things really didn’t pick up pace until the second half of the book. However, I found myself wanting to pick this up and read it because the mystery was intriguing and the women were interesting. I was slightly disappointed in how predictable the outcome was, but it was still a fun and creepy journey to get there. Given my mixed history with Moreno-Garcia, and how prolific she is as a writer, I will continue to keep an eye out for her future books and pick them up as they intrigue me.
