Voya fights to save her witch community from a terrible future.

Voya Thomas may have passed her Calling to become a full-fledged witch, but the cost was higher than she’d ever imagined.

Her grandmother is gone.
Her cousin hates her.
And her family doesn’t believe that she has what it takes to lead them.

What’s more, Voya can’t let go of her feelings for Luc, sponsor son of the genius billionaire Justin Tremblay—the man that Luc believes Voya killed. Consequently, Luc wants nothing to do with her. Even her own ancestors seem to have lost faith in her. Every day Voya begs for their guidance, but her calls go unanswered.

As Voya struggles to convince everyone—herself included—that she can be a good Matriarch, she has a vision of a terrifying, deadly future. A vision that would spell the end of the Toronto witches. With a newfound sense of purpose, Voya must do whatever it takes to bring her shattered community together and stop what’s coming for them before it’s too late.

Even if it means taking down the boy she loves—who might be the mastermind behind the coming devastation. 

The first book in this duology was one of my favorite reads last year, and after that explosive ending I couldn’t wait to see where this story went next.

Voya never expected to be named Matriarch of her family – and neither did her family. At sixteen she’s very young, and the job comes with heavy responsibilities. Everyone wonders if she’s got what it takes to lead her family, and it’s crickets all around when she tries to communicate with the ancestors for help. Voya was forced to make some impossible choices at the end of the first book, and she’s still dealing with the aftermath when this story begins around six months later. Her grandmother is gone, her cousin/best friend hates her, and the boy she loves doesn’t want anything to do with her.

Voya’s family is large, loud, and intrusive, but they’ll defend their own to the death. With this many characters you’d think it would be hard to distinguish between them, but that’s not the case at all. Each is well-crafted and essential to the story. Besides dealing with her own family, Voya has to convince the matriarchs of the other witch families that she’s capable of holding her own. After a terrifying vision of a deadly future for her family as well as the others, she’s determined to find a way to convince the other matriarchs to work together instead of standing apart. And with no shortage of mistrust and old grudges it’s an uphill battle.

Genetics play a big role in the story and the future of the witches. Voya wants to believe she can trust Luc, ex-boyfriend and now CEO of the genetics company responsible for her family’s downfall in her vision. But can she?

Faced with the possible end of the Toronto witches, lack of confidence in her abilities as Matriarch, disappointment from her family, and the pressure of bringing the witches together, the stakes are incredibly high for Voya. She’s a flawed character and makes plenty of mistakes, but isn’t afraid to own them and try to do better. Her character arc is remarkable (and I still drooled over the food she makes).

At over four hundred fifty pages, this is a long novel. Maybe it could have been trimmed, but it’s still a thrilling, intense duology I’d recommend to paranormal, sci-fi, and urban fantasy fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.