Review: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

Connie Goodwin is an on tenure track professor working on writing a book on the history of witchcraft, and in particular, the women who were called witches. She hs a vested interest in this because she comes from a long line of witches seemingly starting with Livvy Hasseltine and her mother.

The book alternates between snippets of her ancestors' lives and workings and the year 2000. Connie is desperately seeking a way to combat a curse on the women of her family that her mother makes her aware of. As the days go on the curse becomes more and more of an issue for her. Her love is in danger.

Meanwhile, her student Zazi is doing research to try and help her. And a former student of Connie's, Thomas, is after her for resources and support.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I did enjoy the book. It's well-written and has interesting characters. But, for me, there were a few places that dragged a little. And the ending seemed to be resolved kind of quickly. I did like how she showed whether or not the working worked. And I enjoyed the historical aspect.

I would recommend this book especially to people that like stories about witches with a historical background. There is a nice Author's Note at the end that discusses some of the history involved in the book. I understand this is a follow-up book to The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, but it can be read and enjoyed without reading the first book.

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe was published June 25th, 2019 by Henry Holt and Company.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions herein are my own and freely given.

Can't Wait Wednesday/Waiting on Wednesday #266: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event which had been hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. I'm now linking up with "Can't-Wait Wednesday" hosted over at Wishful Endings. 

Synopsis from Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe returns to the world of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane with a bewitching story of a New England history professor who must race against time to free her family from a curse

Connie Goodwin is an expert on America’s fractured past with witchcraft. A young, tenure-track professor in Boston, she’s earned career success by studying the history of magic in colonial America—especially women’s home recipes and medicines—and by exposing society's threats against women fluent in those skills. But beyond her studies, Connie harbors a secret: She is the direct descendant of a woman tried as a witch in Salem, an ancestor whose abilities were far more magical than the historical record shows.

When a hint from her mother and clues from her research lead Connie to the shocking realization that her partner’s life is in danger, she must race to solve the mystery behind a hundreds’-years-long deadly curse.

Flashing back through American history to the lives of certain supernaturally gifted women, The Daughters of Temperance Hobbsaffectingly reveals not only the special bond that unites one particular matriarchal line, but also explores the many challenges to women’s survival across the decades—and the risks some women are forced to take to protect what they love most. 

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe is due out June 25th, 2019 from Henry Holt and Co.

Why am I waiting on this one? I have The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane on my TBR list. This one looks just as good to me and went right on my TBR list as soon as I read the synopsis. Bonus to me was in a Goodreads question, someone mentioned that it had been a while since they'd read the book about Deliverance Dane and would that interfere with her enjoyment of this book. Good news is that it shouldn't. Katherine Howe says: "My hope is it will be a fun witchy read even for people with zero recollection or awareness of the story in Physick Book. "

What book are you waiting on this week? Share it or a link in the comments so we can check it out and maybe add it to our TBR lists. Thanks for coming by and Happy Reading!

Waiting on Wednesday #30 - Conversion by Katherine Howe

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

I've long been fascinated by all things witchy. And since I took a field trip with my parents to Salem when I was in third grade (many years ago), I became fascinated also with what happened there to those poor people in 1692. The hysteria, accusations, hangings etc that began with Tituba only seemed to end when the Governer's wife was accused of being a witch.

Conversion by Katherine Howe is due to be released July 1, 2014 by Putnam Juvenile. As best I can tell, the conversion in the title refers to the psychological conversion disorder where anxiety and stressful situations result in neurological symptoms with no physical causes.

Summary from Goodreads.com 

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.
 
First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.
 
Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .
 
Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

What book are you waiting on this week?