Title: The Witches at the End of the World
Author: Chelsea Iversen
Genre: Historical fantasy, historical fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Format: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by Net Galley and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review
Length: 320 pages

Read if you like: Witches and witchcraft, Norweigan folklore, a dual point-of-view, slow, dark and cozy vibes, suspense, triumph of family bonds

Rating: 

*A quick note: while I receive complimentary ARCs of books via Net Galley, publishers, authors, or otherwise, this does not impact my reviews of the books. All of my reviews are my honest and genuine thoughts and feelings.

I received a complimentary Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen from Net Galley and Sourcebooks landmark, and I have to say, this was a compelling read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a book that was light on plot, but heavy on vibes and emotions, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the events slowly unfold for sisters (and witches) Minna and Kaija. If you’re looking for a very witchy, cozy, suspenseful story to kick off the fall season, I think this book is a great pick. 

The Book: The Witches at the End of the World by Chelsea Iversen

Set in the late 1600s in rural Norway, we join sisters Minna and Kaija as they’re burying their grandmother in the heart of a birch woods, far removed from society. The girls and their grandmother fled their Norweigan village after their mother was burned at the stake for being accused of witchcraft, and their grandmother has since raised them in the wild as full-fledged witches, imparting all wisdom and knowledge that she could before her passing. 

Minna, the younger sister, is full of rage and anger for all that they’ve been forced to endure in their lives. This has manifested in brutal forms of magic that are often violent and vengeful. 

Kaija, on the other hand, is softer of heart, remembering not just the traumatic events of her past, but the warm memories as well. 

When their grandmother passes, Kaija tells Minna that she wishes to return to the village that they’d fled to build a life of comfort and community. She asks Minna to join her, but she refuses outright, shocked that Kaija desires anything other than the wilderness and wildness to which the girls are accustomed. When Kaija leaves in the dead of night though, Minna feels so slighted that she chooses to channel her wrath into a dark curse on the village that Kaija seeks. Unfortunately for both of the girls, neither has any concept of the devastating consequences that Minna’s magic will wreak. 

The Review

This was a great way to kick off the spooky season. I loved Iversen’s approach to witchcraft and her centring it within a part-historical, part-fantasy-meets-Norweigan-folklore setting. It made for a unique kind of magic that felt like it had roots in a very tangible place with real history. 

I also loved the dual perspective approach, particularly as Minna and Kaija were so clearly two opposite sides of a coin. Minna was all fire and fury, sometimes in a way that evoked a strong sense of feminine rage, but also in a youthful way that demonstrated how much growing and learning she still had to do. However, it was Kaija who I felt had the most interesting character arc. She seems shallow and basic for quite some time, and as the suspense builds, I found myself getting a little impatient that she wasn’t putting the pieces together more quickly, but when she finally does, she’s a force to be reckoned with. I appreciated how layered she was, and how often she came to understand more through experience than anything else. She and Minna both are great vehicles for demonstrating the powerlessness of women in the time they were living and the harshness that sometimes came with community living. No matter how Kaija tries, she simply cannot find a way to achieve acceptance, because, during this particular period, anything different or out of the ordinary was to be feared. She dulls herself down to a scrap of who she is, and even that proves not to be enough. It makes it very satisfying when she finally comes to terms with her differences and accepts that they are core to who she is and what she needs to be whole. 

The plot was fairly light in and of itself, but the vibes were immaculate, all witchy and cozy and suspenseful. I felt like the introspection of the characters and the emotions they evoked in me kept me wanting to continue turning pages to see where exactly the sisters were going to end up, even if the plot wasn’t moving particularly fast. The end was also perfect for me. I loved the resolution they found and the significant growth that we see in both Minna and Kaija in different ways. 

This was a truly enjoyable book, and it’s one that I’ll be recommending once it releases in the fall. I thought it was an interesting and unique approach to witches and the characters will likely stick with me for some time.