Something Wicked This Way Comes: 10 Spellbinding Witchy Novels

I’m not saying that all the witches in the novels on this list are feminist symbols. Many of them are (to varying degrees), but even for the witchy novels that aren’t explicitly invested in exploring female empowerment, it’s interesting to think about the ways witches can function as symbols of empowerment more broadly.

And also, it’s fall, so let’s read about some witches, y’all!

Bad Witches by H. B. Akumiah

H.B. Akumiah’s debut novel is just plain fun. It’s a young, irreverent, lively story about three Black witches who just might be the key to solving the magical crisis in the Witch Sphere. Maya, Gabbie, and Delali didn’t realize they were witches until they happened to run into each other in a bathroom. Luckily for them, an older witch offers to mentor them. As their friendship develops alongside their powers, their journey (set against the backdrop of the Sphere’s politics) is a super fun one for readers who love witches.

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Weyward by Emilia Hart

This book is one of those that sticks with you long after you’ve read it. If I had to sum it up in 2 words, I’d say: witches and feminism. The tales of three women living in different time periods intertwine to form one larger story, and it’s absolutely captivating. In the present (2019), Kate has fled her abusive husband and taken up residence in the cottage she recently inherited. As she struggles to find her strength and regain a sense of identity, Althea’s and Violet’s stories unfold. Althea’s story is set in the 1600s and grapples with histories of persecuting women, while Violet’s is set in the mid-1900s and underscores the limited options available to women even in the modern era. All three tales deal with some pretty serious trauma, but the way these storylines come together is beautiful and powerful. Weyward is a wonderfully witchy novel that reminds us of the resilience of “wayward” women across the past few centuries.

The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo

Marta is struggling — at work, at home, in love. So when her elderly great-aunt Nena comes to live with Marta and her family after a kitchen accident, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it may be the beginning of a whole new life for Marta since Nena is no ordinary woman. She has magic of her own and has traveled across physical, colonial, and temporal borders…and she has a secret: she had a child who she left in the past. As Marta tries to help Nena recover her long-lost child, her own powers surface and the fun really begins.

VenCo by Cherie Dimaline

A coven of witches, a road trip, and a race against the clock? Yes, please! Cherie Dimaline’s foray into the wilds of witchery is a powerhouse. From the moment you meet Lucky, you’ll adore her (and her hilarious grandma, too). Despite her name, she’s down on her luck when the novel opens, but that all changes when she finds a silver spoon that leads her and her grandmother on a road trip where she discovers the rest of her coven. Unfortunately for her, the coven is running out of time to locate the last witch of their ranks, and failure carries some seriously high stakes — like, setting women’s rights back at least a century if the witch hunter on their tail has his way. With her trademark flair, Dimaline weaves a tale that’s as terrifying for its fantasy elements as it is for its social commentary.

Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Witch of Wild Things is an enchanting romance novel. Sage Flores is no ordinary teacher (or, shall I say, former teacher). Recently fired from her job, she returns home to live with her sisters. All of them have different kinds of magic, and Sage’s magic is linked to plants. When Sage finds herself without any options but to work with a man who once broke her heart, her already complicated life gets even more so. But as she deals with tensions between her and her living sisters (and her other sister’s ghost haunting her), Tennessee Reyes may be exactly what she needs.

Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

Set in Sri Lanka in the 1800s, during the period of British colonial rule, 18-year-old Amara is in a difficult spot. Her father’s adherence to traditional ways has turned him into an outcast, so when men in the community start getting attacked, suspicion falls on him and his family. Whispers that Amara is a witch are no new thing. Against this backdrop, wherein religious beliefs and colonization collide, Jayatissa’s horror novel is a dark exploration of the intertwined nature of colonialism, misogyny, and racism. When Amara starts waking up from strange and disturbing dreams, the mystery picks up speed as it hurtles toward its climax.

The Hatak Witches by Devon A. Mihesuah

This murder mystery sees the return of Detectives Monique Blue Hawk and her partner, Chris Pierson, as they investigate a gory crime scene at a children’s museum in Norman, Oklahoma. Besides the strange lack of clues, the detectives realize one thing is missing: a skull that was housed in the Room of Secrets. The mystery deepens from there, with Choctaw cosmology taking center stage as the investigation leads Blue Hawk and Pierson to a coven of shapeshifters. In this witchy novel, the witches are downright terrifying and the mystery will draw you in just as surely as the characters are drawn deeper and deeper into danger.

Brooklyn Brujas trilogy by Zoraida Córdova

This YA trilogy is magical. Each book centers on one of the three Mórtiz sisters (Alex, Lula, and Rose) as they wrestle with their relationship with their powers. Córdova’s worldbuilding is off the charts in these books: two of the three books take place in other worlds, and the other may be set in Brooklyn but it’s an urban fantasy version of the NY borough. Additionally, each sister’s storyline is uniquely its own, capturing all the best drama and angst that characterizes YA fiction. The stories are immersive, and messages of self-love and confidence are permeate the series in the best of ways.

So Witches We Became by Jill Baguchinsky

Billed as a YA retelling of Stephen King’s The Mist, So Witches We Became tells the story of high school senior Nell as she and her friends head to an island vacation for spring break. The dynamic between the friends is already fraught due to relationship dynamics, but when a sinister haze shuts down any chance of leaving, things quickly spiral out of control. Between revelations about the island’s history and Nell’s own character development, the story is engrossing enough. Add to that the unsettling setting and the fiery conclusion and Baguchinsky’s novel will have you completely under its spell.

Fix-It Witches series by Ann Aguirre

I love this three-book witchy romance series for its strong women, sensitive men, and good love stories. With protagonists who don’t have time for romance, are supremely unsentimental, and have all but given up on love, these are feminist love stories if I ever read them. The witches are independent women who Aguirre has you rooting for from the start. They’re relatable and interesting, and the magic in this storyworld adds an extra layer of fun to the romance. I also love that the male love interests don’t conform to gender conventions (even the one in the second book, who at first seems like does).