Moonshyne Manor is home to a sisterhood of five octogenarian witches, one of them being a ghost and another returning from somewhere, who spend their days running a distillery out of the manor that has been their home for most of their lives. The story begins with an angry mob of townspeople who want the manor foreclosed on due to a defaulted mortgage and demolished to make room for an amusement park named Man’s World.
In addition to being behind on
the mortgage payments, the witches face another threat in the form of a
relative of the former owner who is determined to get revenge for the theft of the
manor he claims was rightfully his. Although each sister has her own unique
magical skill and was once a very powerful witch, their powers are diminishing
with each passing year. In an attempt to set things right, Queenie, the unofficial
head of the sisterhood, makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than
anything they’ve ever faced.
The witches’ are aided by a
young girl named who is eager to smash the patriarchy that exists in the town. Though
the witches don’t want to interact with her at first, Persephone becomes very
important to the story. As the foreclosure deadline approaches, fractures among
the sisterhood are revealed, and secrets are exposed, all leading up to a fiery
confrontation with their enemies.
Each of the characters has a
complete backstory and the reader will want to root for them. Marais often
makes mention of events that have yet to happen or have happened in the past
but doesn’t fill the reader in until much later in the book. That if nothing
else will keep you reading.
Includes recipes for all the
potions mentioned.
3.83 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on
Amazon