Month: April 2026

Kate’s Review: “We Call Them Witches”

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Book: “We Call Them Witches” by India-Rose Bower

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, April 2026

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Most people have been devoured by the eldritch creatures, but Sara and her family have been fighting for survival, armed with their knowledge of folklore and pagan rituals – the only weapon that seems to work against these monsters.

And then a young woman, Parsley, comes out of nowhere into Sara’s life. Found in their garden, they have no idea where she is from.

Sara and Parsley begin to fall in love, but disaster strikes when Sara’s brother Noah is taken by the creatures. They set out to find him, across a landscape of merciless terror, haunted by death.

But can Parsley truly be trusted in a world where humanity is as scarse as humans themselves?

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

It’s been a bit since I read a post-apocalyptic horror tale. It wasn’t really a purposeful decision to do that, and it’s not like I’ve been having the same anxieties about it as I did during COVID (though I will say this war in Iran hasn’t exactly been giving me confidence about global stability at the moment). It just hasn’t been on my radar as much. But when “We Call Them Witches” by India -Rose Bower ended up in my mailbox I realized it had been some time, and that this one sounded like it was going to tell an end of the world story that felt different from previous ones I’ve read as of late.

It’s such a unique take on the end of the world and a post-apocalyptic life, and some of the ways that it is presented felt like “28 Days Later” just in how the environment and the survivors are coping and living a more unstable life by necessity. Our family at the heart of the story is close knit but stressed to the bone, with Sara feeling connected but the constant worry bearing down on all of them. We are seeing the tensions by the time the mysterious Parsley arrives, and while Sara gets closer to her, it causes strife between her and some family members, especially oldest sibling Danny. Sara is a pretty straight forward protagonist, and while in some ways her characterization read a bit more ‘young adult’ to me I liked the hints of tension of a family that has been pushed to the brink, and how that pushes her more towards a new and seemingly open person like Parsley. I don’t know if I bought the insta-love that Sara and Parsley fell into, but I do believe the way that Sara could be looking for that connection given how dangerous the world is and how her family has been buckling under the pressure.

It was the mystery and body horror/folk horror elements of the ‘witches’ that worked best for me in this book. We aren’t given a full on explanation as to what exactly happened to bring these creatures forth, but their menace is intense from the jump, opening with their arrival and a particularly brutal massacre that sends Sara and her family on the run to try and stay alive in a new dangerous world. Some of the descriptions were really nasty, and I really enjoyed the differences between some of the creatures and how we never really get big answers about why they function the way they do. I also liked the use of folklore and mythologies and how it does tend to work as a weapon against them to some degree. As mentioned above, it’s a fun way to explore an end of the world scenario that we haven’t seen as much before in the sub-genre.

“We Call Them Witches” was entertaining and strange. I liked the unique take on the end of the world and the monsters that lurk within.

Rating 7: A creative take on a post apocalyptic world with some interesting folk horror elements.

Reader’s Advisory:

“We Call Them Witches” is included on the Goodreads list “Folk Horror” .

Serena’s Review: “Aicha”

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Book: “Aicha” by Soraya Bouazzaoui

Publishing Info: Orbit, March 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The ultimate female rage fantasy, Aicha is a fierce and devastatingly powerful romantic epic fantasy perfect for fans of The Priory of the Orange Tree and She Who Became the Sun.

The Portuguese flag has been planted across Morocco, its empire ruling with an iron fist. But eventually, all empires must fall.

Aicha, the daughter of a Moroccan freedom-fighter, was born for battle. She has witnessed the death of her people, their starvation and torture at the hands of the occupiers, and it has awakened an anger within her. An anger that burns hot and bright, and speaks to Aicha’s soul.

Only Aicha’s secret lover Rachid, a rebellion leader, knows how to soothe her. But as the fight for Morocco’s freedom reaches it violent climax, the creature that simmers beneath Aicha’s skin begs to be unleashed. It hungers for the screams of those who have caused her pain, and it will not be ignored.

Review: I’ve gone on rants about this before, but simplistic writing is by no means synonymous with “YA.” However, the reality is that, for whatever reason, books published as young adult are more prone to watered-down writing. Whether this is due to the publisher pushing an author in this direction or some combination of both the publisher and the author not trusting their audience, the stereotype here is based on at least something. All of this is to say, had this book not included a random-feeling spicy scene, it reads like an example of one of those YA books that is lacking in the writing department.

Not only was the writing fairly bland, but the book heavily relied on telling the readers everything: how the characters felt, how a scene should be interpreted, how the reader should feel about everything that is going on. This wasn’t helped by the slow pacing and the lack of any real tension. For a book about a rebellion and a siege on the horizon, I felt incredibly removed from what was going on on the page and struggled to retain even the barest hint of interest in what was going to happen next. Again, why would I need to invest much in all of this when the author would surely lay it all out for me explicitly shortly thereafter?

None of this was helped by the main character, a woman who, again, read as very immature, both in her actual decision-making and then later in her inability to take responsibility for the poor outcomes of her own choices. The magic system, such as it was, came into play with her powers. These only came into play late in the book and were more confusing than anything by the time they arrived.

I’m also convinced that somewhere in the process someone, be it publisher or agent, told the author that she had to have a smut scene to catch the romantasy gravy train. This scene felt so strange alongside the juvenile writing and shallow characterization, which otherwise would have made it solidly read like a teen book. Beyond that, the romance itself was lackluster, so this scene failed to deliver even there.

Overall, I was very disappointed by this book. This is a debut, so I hate having to write such a negative review for it right out of the gate. But honestly, the writing itself left a lot to be desired. While I think there were some good ideas here, a few solid editorial passes could have helped in a myriad of ways, from tightening up transitions from paragraph to paragraph to reducing the “telling” style of the prose itself. I can’t honestly recommend this book at this time.

Rating 5: A disappointing read. What should have been a tension-filled plot was instead mired in a “telling” style of prose and lackluster characterization.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Aicha” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Debut Poc Authors of 2026 and The Most Beautiful Covers of 2026.