Winner will be announced on Halloween! (UK entrants only – sorry!)
We will also be publishing our review of the book and hosting our #WitchyType book club in two weeks to discuss all things Leah Fern. Can’t wait to chat about it with you all ❤
Including the upcoming witchcraft, Tarot and spiritual books that we are going to be reviewing as well as books and goodies that you can win in competitions. We also have the Digital Coven book depository with Witchcraft, Tarot and spiritual books available to borrow or lend out. If you want to donate or borrow a book from our book depository, you can find out what books are available in our sharing network here: https://digital-coven.com/witchy-type-book-club-and-depository/
About The Book:
This week we have a fabulous book by Melissa Albert to review, Our Crooked Hearts. A young adult fiction novel spanning decades.
This was #gifted to us for review but all of our views are honest so rest assured we’d never recommend anything we don’t like. Our Review and Affiliate link disclosure are located here.
Secrets. Lies. Witchcraft… This is OUR CROOKED HEARTS, a gripping mystery crossed with a pitch-dark tale of modern-day witchcraft, perfect for YA and adult readers.
A dark, compelling and magical suburban fantasy, Melissa Albert takes two women from one family line and seamlessly interweaves a tale of past and present, familiarity and uncanny, light and darkness. It’s a story of mothers and their daughters and of difficult relationships, a story of impossible choices and of secrets held close in the dark; of manipulation for good, bad and for worse…
About The Author:
Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series (The Hazel Wood, The Night Country, Tales from the Hinterland) and a former bookseller and YA lit blogger. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children’s Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.
Melissa Albert
What others say:
‘EVERY LINE READS LIKE AN INCANTATION, and the result is a book pulsing with magic, one that holds the reader firmly under its spell.’ – V.E. Schwab, bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
‘A RIVETING STORY THAT GRIPS YOU LIKE A SPELL until you’re too deep to emerge unscathed! Once again, Melissa Albert reveals the power of magic within a daughter’s grasp and the love of imperfect mothers.”– Angeline Boulley, author of Firekeeper’s Daughter
‘EERIE, EVOCATIVE, AND ELECTRIFYINGLY BRILLIANT. I was immediately gripped from the very first page and completely compelled throughout. I already can’t wait to reread it. Melissa Albert’s writing is magic made real.” – Katherine Webber, author of The Revelry
Digital Coven #Witchytype review:
I usually don’t take to young adult novels but the book was gifted to me by a PR and the story looked interesting so I agreed to give it a read. I wasn’t disappointed, as a teenager, I would’ve gobbled this up in an evening. It had an interesting storyline with actual surprises and wasn’t full of cliques and was very well written. The imagery is fabulous and the characters are interesting enough that you wish to find out what the actual truth is. The author creates a very spooky atmosphere and I’d certainly read another book by this author and I say that as someone who prefers darker more adult stories. Highly recommended for a YA fiction book.
Rating:
3.8 cats out of 5 cats
What about you, have you read the book or plan to? If so let us know below in the comments or via our social channels.
The #WitchyType Book club reviews Wicca Herbal Magic by Lisa Chamberlain.
Hello there Coven!
We’ve recently launched the #witchytype book club which is where we read books and share our thoughts on themas well as opening the floor via our digital channels (And upcoming book clubs) to hear your thoughts too.
Including the upcoming witchcraft, Tarot and spiritual books that we are going to be reviewing as well as books and goodies that you can win in competitions. We also have the Digital Coven book depository with Witchcraft, Tarot and spiritual books available to borrow or lend out. If you want to donate or borrow a book from our book depository, you can find out what books are available in our sharing network here:
This was gifted to us for review but all of our views are honest so rest assured we’d never recommend anything we don’t like. Our Review and Affiliate link disclosure are located here.
About The Book:
Today we are reviewing Wicca Herbal Magic A Beginner’s Guide to Herbal Spellcraft By Lisa Chamberlain.
Myself and AJ don’t practice Wicca so this review is based on a novice reading the book – if you’ve read the book we’d love to hear your thoughts!
Since the beginning of human history, healers and shamans have understood the nutritional, medicinal, and magical properties of herbs. Whether you’re well versed in magic but are just discovering herbs, or are new to Wicca altogether, this handy guide by popular author Lisa Chamberlain covers all the basics, from creating your own magical garden to the gathering, harvesting, drying, and storing the herbs. She centres the spells around 13 herbs, most easy to find and inexpensive: basil, bay laurel, chamomile, cinnamon, dandelion, elecampane, hibiscus, lavender, mugwort, nutmeg, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Because they’re primarily culinary and/or medicinal herbs too, you’ll have plenty of options for using the leftovers from your spellwork. The spells include magical teas, baths, and oils to smudging (more on that below), blessing, and healing rituals.
Books Construction:
The book is full of beautiful illustrations and the quality of the book was fantastic. I love a good hardback with quality paper, what can I say, I am one of those people! It’s also a nice A5 size so good to carry around with you when you are out and about.
Pages: Hardcover: 130
#Witchytype Book Review:
The Positives:
I was worried at first that the book would be very heavy on Wiccan practices but pleasantly surprised that whilst it did discuss wiccan elements, it was also a very informative book about using herbs in general.
It focuses on 13 main herbs which is a great place to build upon your knowledge if you are just getting started and is also a great refresher book if you are experienced but need some herb magick inspirations.
I loved how she went into the various ways that you can perform herb magick such as in cooking and in teas – I’ve even got inspired to revisit my tea-making practices by bringing in new blends.
The Negatives:
As mentioned above, this book is great to use if you are wishing to learn about herbs and it doesn’t go too in-depth into the Wiccan side of practising but if you have strong issues with Wicca, and I am aware some do, then this may not be the best book for you. Otherwise, it’s a great little book to help you really get comfortable working with herbs.
My one and only personal gripe with the book is the use of the word ‘Smudge’ and ‘Smudging Stick’ when discussing smoke cleansing. I know many people use this word but I personally prefer to refer to any form of herbal or natural wood burning cleansing as ‘Smoke Cleansing’ rather than Smudging, as that is a practice performed within a closed practice of some Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They use Sacred white Sage and hold a unique ceremony for the practice of ‘Smudging’ – so it is wrong to use it as a blanket term for smoke cleansing in general as they are two completely different ceremonies and we need to respect them both and appreciate when something is closed and sacred and when something is open for us to explore as a practice. Hopefully, later editions will tweak this wording.
Overall? I highly recommend it and will read other works by Lisa Chamberlain. For those practising Wicca or seeking to start the path of practising Wicca then this is certainly a good investment for you but it’s also got lots of useful information for those wishing to learn general information on Herbs and their magickal uses.
Cat Rating (yes, you read that right)
3 out of 5 Cats
You can get the Book over at Amazon here which is also where I sourced my images from this post from.
Have you read this book, what are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your feedback on the comments or on social, just make sure to use the #witchytype when discussing on social media.
More books to come over the next few weeks but as mentioned above, if you have a recommendation, please let me know!
To celebrate the launch of ‘The Modern Craft’ Edited by Claire Askew & Alice Tarbuck and our fabulous giveaway*
The Digital Coven ‘Witchy Type Book Club’ are super excited to announce that we will be interviewing the fabulous Editors Claire Askew & Alice Tarbuck. Of course, as a coven we want to offer you the chance to ask them your question too.
We will be sending over our questions on the 30th June 2022, so make sure to send us your questions before then.
About ‘The Modern Craft’:
Offering inspiring glimpses from the brink of the contemporary Craft, these essays show how anyone, no matter who they are, can find positivity and the force for change in the subversive unknown.
Dr Claire Askew is the author of three novels: All The Hidden Truths, What You Pay For and Cover Your Tracks. A fourth, A Matter of Time, is out this year. Also a poet, Claire’s second collection How to burn a woman features voices from the European Witchcraft Hysteria. Claire’s accolades include the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, a Jessie Kesson Fellowship and the McIlvanney Debut Prize.
Dr Alice Tarbuck is a writer, author of A Spell In The Wild and academic specializing in witchcraft and environmental humanities. She has been featured in Nasty Women and The Dangerous Women Project, and she has spoken on witchcraft at Scottish PEN, Freedom TV and the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre.
With courage, conviction, and a fierce love and respect for the craft, this fiery collection is poised to spark vital conversations and radical change in the world of witchcraft and beyond.
Ahhhhhh we are sooooo excited to share this with you, Coven!
The Celebrate the release of the launch of ‘The Modern Craft’ Edited by Claire Askew & Alice Tarbuck we have partnered with Watkins Publishing to offer 3 lucky Digital Coven followers one of their ‘The Modern Craft’ Book Lunch Bundles.
How To Enter:
The bundles include a copy of the book which is released 14th June 2022. To enter please leave your details below (Don’t worry we won’t use them for anything else) to enter the prize draw. To get a futher entry please visit our instagram to take part in our Instagram giveaway.
Two books are on offer in a prize draw so Just fill out this form to enter. You can get a second entry into the competition by following digital coven over on Instgram and commenting on this post what The Modern Craft means to you.
An eclectic and radical collection of essays on witchcraft practice and the ethics of magic, The Modern Craft gives that much-needed modern context to timeless wisdom. It offers a fascinating snapshot of Powerful voices on witchcraft ethics and contemporary occult practice viewed through an intersectional lens.
Touching on a number of timely conversations, essay topics include:
the ethics of decolonization
meditations on what it means to honour
Mother Earth during the Anthropocene
the reclamation of agency for workingclass & queer witches through spellwork
Offering inspiring glimpses from the brink of the contemporary Craft, these essays show how anyone, no matter who they are, can find positivity and the force for change in the subversive unknown.
With courage, conviction, and a fierce love and respect for the craft, this fiery collection is poised to spark vital conversations and radical change in the world of witchcraft and beyond.
How art thou? I know we’ve been quiet for a ‘wee’ bit as our beloved North London Witch would say but we assure you it’s because we’ve been manifesting some fabulous projects to share with you.
Our first project, Witchy Type, is very close to our hearts as we are both avid readers and learned the majority of our knowledge about the craft via books. Both of us have curated extensive libraries of Witch related material throughout the years and these are available for loan to Digital Coven Followers over on the Witchy Type Book Depository along with ourWitchy Type Book Club List.
We will be performing regular book reviews on titles that we simply love and recommend that you read alongside newer releases. We will make sure to highlight when these books are gifted or if there are any affiliation links featured.
Will we be reviewing anything else? Of course, Tarot and Oracles decks will be featured alongside other fabulous printed witch products. If you have any recommendations, let us know!
Find out more about our Witchy Book Reviews here
Witchy Type Book Club
Well, this is a Coven after all and we don’t want to be doing this on our own as that would be rather boring! So we will be holding regular book clubs on zoom for selected titles where we can all discuss the book and share ideas. Want to take part? Just fill in this form and we will email you details we will of course be sharing all dates via our digital coven social channels.
Want to submit a book for review? Simply email us the details to digitalcovenuk@gmail.com or leave a comment below.
We’re super excited to share this with you and make sure to let us know your thoughts and ideas below in the comments or you can always reach out via our social channels:
Digital Coven 