The Witches of El Paso

A Novel

De: Luis Jaramillo

Narrado por: Raquel Beattie

“Luis Jaramillo weaves a captivating tale of family, tradition, and the enduring power of love.” —Reyna Grande, author of A Ballad of Love and Glory

A lawyer and her elderly great-aunt use their supernatural gifts to find a lost child in this “wild, wondrous novel about the magic that is singing all around us” (Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth)—in the vein of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina and La Hacienda.

If you call to the witches, they will come.

1943, El Paso, Texas: teenager Nena spends her days caring for the small children of her older sisters and longing for a life of adventure. The premonitions and fainting spells she has endured since childhood are getting worse, and Nena worries she’ll end up like the scary old curandera down the street. Nena prays for help, and when the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives late one night, Nena follows her across the borders of space and time. In colonial Mexico, Nena grows into her power, finding love and learning that magic always comes with a price.

In the present day, Nena’s grandniece, Marta, balances a struggling legal aid practice with motherhood and the care of the now ninety-three-year-old Nena. When Marta agrees to help search for a daughter Nena left in the past, the two forge a fierce connection. Marta’s own supernatural powers emerge, awakening her to new possibilities that threaten the life she has constructed.

“Sexy, smart, and soulful, Luis Jaramillo’s The Witches of El Paso pulls us across borders and time to get to the essence of what it means for families to survive this beautiful, fractured world” (Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk).

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Raquel Beattie’s rich narration takes listeners on this multigenerational journey of self-discovery. Martha, a lawyer who is trying to juggle marriage, career, and two kids, suddenly has to care for her elderly Grandaunt Nena. Spending time with Nena, Martha finally acknowledges the magic pulsing inside her. Nena reveals that in her youth, witches took her to an eighteenth-century convent, where she gave birth to her daughter, who remained in the eighteenth century. Beattie lowers her voice when portraying the nonagenarian Nena, who longs to find her daughter. Martha has a smooth voice that reflects her analytical mind even when she’s faced with the supernatural. Beattie narrates this family saga in a warm, whimsical tone reflecting the power of family and the rich history of El Paso."

I loved this book and its perofrmance

When I listen to some books it seems that they were written to be read. The Witches of El Paso is such a book. Ordinarily witches and the supernatural and time travel are not my favorite genre, but Jaramillo makes it feel so right. It is full of sumptuous smells, tastes, sights, and intense feeling. I would be happy for a sequel--unless the magic is gone!

Great potential, subpar delivery

The story felt anticlimactic, neither the past nor present timelines were fully developed. The mix of English and Spanish also felt unnatural. I’m a Latina who switches between both languages regularly, but here it came across as forced, more for emphasis than as a reflection of how people actually speak. The performance was just okay, which made it even harder to stay engaged. Overall, a great concept that fell flat in execution.

Javalina

To the Reader, please pronounce the first syllable of javalina the same way you would pronounce the first syllable of the author's last name.

☕️

I really loved it & it’s just such a good story! The only thing though is I wish there was more to the end.

The beautiful woman of this world never cece to amaze me!

My most favorite book I have ever read. I connect with this book almost entirely!

Generational

Anyone else struggle to title their reviews? No just me? Loved this story of generations of witches and mothers and daughters.

Beautiful

This book was beautifully written, and it was easy to connect with the characters. I loved hearing the details of the region and my hometown

Beautiful writing but didn’t fully land for me…

This was a beautiful read. The character and scene descriptions were lovely and themes of generational healing and strife were captivating to read. Here is where my hang ups were: 1) it was written by a man from women’s perspective, which is fine, but when a man talks about women’s sexual desires, it often leaves a lot to be desired. The intimate scenes were clearly written from a male perspective. And quite frankly, I think it was focused on too much.
2) Curanderismo and Brujeria are different. Clumping them together or acting like there are bad medicine providers that call themselves Curanderas contribute to a negative stigma in the Mexican community for Curanderismo.

It was a fun read, but these two things did bug me. It was interesting to me that no one else had mentioned anything like this in any other reviews I read so it could be an outlier.

Family

It was an interesting story on witchcraft with some time travel. Story got a bit slow in some parts.

Mystical & Powerful

I loved this story. Just the right kind of beautiful, mysterious feel for understanding power and the rich history of Mexican & Indigenous cultures of the borderlands. Really loved that the narrator also pronounced the Spanish words with expertise.