Blog Tour: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor

 

 I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Witches of Moonshyne Manor

Author: Bianca Marais 

Publisher: MIRA

Release Date: 8.23.22

Publisher’s Summary 

A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat.

Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation.

But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems.

The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies.

Funny, tender and uplifting, the novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships. Marais’ clever prose offers as much laughter as insight, delving deeply into feminism, identity and power dynamics while stirring up intrigue and drama through secrets, lies and sex. Heartbreaking and heart-mending, it will make you grateful for the amazing women in your life.

My Review

Despite buying their *spirits* from the Moonshyne Manor distillery, the men in town want to tear down the manor, clear the land, and build a temple to toxic masculinity--a type of "men only" theme park. Faced with eviction from their beloved home, the coven of five witches struggle to find a solution to their dilemma by consulting the Moonshyne Manor Grimoire and receiving a little help from local teen Persephone and her Italian greyhound Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

Persephone stole the show for me. I love that the main 5 witches are all in their 80s, but feisty and tech-savvy Persephone kept everything fresh, modern, and fun. Some of the best lines in the book were generation gap cluelessness and "who's teaching who" type moments between Persephone and Queenie. 

Overall this book is a fun story of friendship and sisterhood, but it should not be written off as a fluffy, nonsensical read. In addition to feminist witches, The Witches of Moonshyne Manor puts identity and sexuality at the forefront with LGBTQ+ and sex-positive storylines.