The Witches of Moonshyne Manor

By: Bianca Marais

Narrated by: Amy Landon

“Bianca Marais is a genius” — Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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.

Narrator makes this a slog to listen to

Not going to finish. Narrator inflections are non-existent. It's like somebody reciting a grocery list. Might be ok to read, but listening to it just doesn't convey any of it's 'funny , tender, or uplifting' message.

Badass Witchy Book

I loved how this book brought together women who were strong, especially in one another’s presence, and showed the world that aging and loving yourself is okay.

I finished it, but don’t think it was worth the time it took.

I enjoyed listening to this book enough to finish it. The story itself is interesting mixing mystery and magic to push it along. However I feel like the author threw in current political issues to make it more relevant or cool. The author had a habit of throwing in irrelevant information once because it’s a hot topic, but never mentioned it again.
Additionally the character of Persephone unnecessarily references TikTok and uses what is current (even at this point slightly dated) slang. She is written as a middle aged woman’s perception of how the youth of today behave, and is annoyingly cliche. In another year this is going to be incredibly dated.
I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone I know, but enjoyed it enough to finish it.

What fun!

This was the first book I’ve read by this author. What a fun journey filled with belly laughs, shocked gasps, and tears from laughter and tears from empathy.

What a great group of characters.

I would love to hang out with these ladies and have some cocktails. As a 60 year old, I really enjoyed all the facets of personality each character portrayed. And I hope to hell that I’m forever a Jezebel.

Off to search for more of this author’s work.

The energy of this book

I loved how I felt while listening to this book. I loved the energy of the sisterhood and the setting of the manor. it was exactly what I didn't know I was looking for!