Name: The Babysitters Coven
ISBN: 9780525707400

Kate Williams

After new student Cassandra Heaven joins seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl's babysitters club, the girls learn that being a babysitter really means a heroic lineage of superpowers, magic rituals, and saving the innocent from evil.

The Babysitters Coven

Kate M. Williams

Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this funny, action-packed novel about a coven of witchy babysitters who realize their calling to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil. Seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl has a babysitters club. She knows it's kinda lame, but what else is she supposed to do? Get a job? Gross. Besides, Esme likes babysitting, and she's good at it. And lately Esme needs all the cash she can get, because it seems like destruction follows her wherever she goes. Let's just say she owes some people a new tree. Enter Cassandra Heaven. She's Instagram-model hot, dresses like she found her clothes in a dumpster, and has a rebellious streak as gnarly as the cafeteria cooking. So why is Cassandra willing to do anything, even take on a potty-training two-year-old, to join Esme's babysitters club? The answer lies in a mysterious note Cassandra's mother left her: "Find the babysitters. Love, Mom." Turns out, Esme and Cassandra have more in common than they think, and they're about to discover what being a babysitter really means: a heroic lineage of superpowers, magic rituals, and saving the innocent from seriously terrifying evil. And all before the parents get home. "The Baby-Sitters Club...but spooky."--Cosmopolitan "A high-energy series starter that's plenty of fun."--Booklist "Combines everything you love."--Man Repeller

Nina Verhaaff 

3,5 really enjoyable 
First started as an ebook but enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought the physical book from Amazon 2 days later and continued reading from there.

Jeff James

Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from NetGalley.

I wanted to like The Babysitters Coven. It has a fantastic, eye-catching cover with an illustration of a badass girl facing down some presumably nefarious multicolored clouds. I am always a sucker for a good cover design, so it breaks my heart when the book doesn’t live up to the cover.

The elevator pitch for The Babysitters Coven is The Babysitters Club meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve never read The Babysitters Club, but I feel like you don’t have to read those books to understand what they’re about. Buffy, though, is something that I obsessed over to the point of distraction a few years ago, and I’m always game for stories that play around with those tropes.

The book starts off well enough. The narrator, Esme, is a snarky misfit of a girl who meticulously plans and documents her daily outfits, curating clothes along thematic or referential lines. She runs a local babysitters club with her best friend Janis, another fashion plate. She lives with her dad and a flatulent dog named Pig, and the only real black spot on her life is the fact that her mom is almost catatonic and lives in a mental institution. The snarky narrator is a stock character in YA fiction, but Esme lands a few solid laugh lines early in the book and I highlighted one or two passages.

Esme’s life is fairly normal until the day that someone tries to kidnap one of her babysitting charges. If that wasn’t enough to freak her out, Esme starts to realize that she might be able to move things with her mind. Everything comes to a head when a mysterious girl named Cassandra asks to join the babysitters club and Esme finds out that she might not be the only one experiencing unexplained supernatural events. Further complication matters is Cassandra’s smoking hot older brother, Dion.

I started reading this book on May 10th, 2019 and didn’t finish it until August 21st, 2019. That’s a good three months and change. In the intervening time, I finished nineteen(!) other books. For whatever reason, I liked the book enough to want to keep reading, but I never seemed to make much progress until the last week or so when I decided it was time to power through and finish it. That said, when I finally got into a rhythm reading the book, I liked it less and less.

One of the biggest problems with The Babysitters Coven is that the pacing is deadly dull. After Esme and Cassandra discover their shared supernatural experiences, they noodle around without any clear goal for more than half of the book. The discover a written guide to basic magical powers, but they don’t receive an explanation for their abilities and responsibilities until past the halfway point.

When Esme and Cassandra finally meet someone willing to give them some guidance, their new mentor mostly serves as an infodump who speaks in cheesy jargon before disappearing for the rest of the story. The magic system seems ill-defined and without any real weight or consequences, but after the characters play with magic early in the book, they neglect to use any of their more complex powers during climactic scenes.

Williams jams most of the plot and action into the last quarter of the book, where everything falls apart and then resolves itself in short order. Esme and Cassandra don’t receive much in the way of training or information before they face a more serious threat, and then everything is neatly wrapped up in only a handful of pages.

To return to the subject of the elevator pitch, The Babysitters Coven is fully aware of its pop culture precedents. The Babysitters Club and Buffy are both name-dropped in the story, among other pop culture, as if lampshading the shared tropes will make it more acceptable.

I think it’s an interesting choice when speculative fiction interacts with some version of our real world via pop culture, but it has to be skillfully done so that the author is interrogating those tropes instead of just cataloging them. I’m sad to say that The Babysitters Coven is not that skillful.

This review originally appeared at Full of Words.

Nicole Lambert

As much as I wanted to, I can't in good conscience rate this book higher than a 3. I'm sorry. All I ask is that the content editor, whoever that is, be more thorough with the next book and make sure that references stay references and don't cross over into something more.

Tiffany Robinson

There was a few times in this book that dragged but for the most part I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a fun read and the characters were interesting. Going into this I din't know that there was going to be another book so I am curious on where the story goes next and I am looking forward to the next one.

Caitlyn DeRouin

More like 2.5 stars. I think the overall premise of the book was really interesting, but it struggled to capture my attention from the start. The writing wasn't bad, but it felt unedited. It felt as though there wasn't any consistency with the author's writing style. One minute it's grammatically correct, the next the author is liberally using texting slang when the characters are not texting. It was a bit jarring. The story didn't really start to ramp up until close to 200 pages in, and in a book that's around 360 pages, the main action of the story not happening until almost 200 pages in is just too long.

It wasn't a bad book, but for me, it wasn't nearly as interesting as it could've been. I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel when it's released.

Tanja Hoffmann

2.5
The plot had potential but the execution was meh. I liked the characters and the small town vibe.
I hated - and I mean HATED - the text message lingo like IRL, WTF, AF - teenagers don't TALK like that. It was so cringy, took my out of the story everytime and seemed super out of touch.
Generally I would say this lies more between Middle-Grade and YA than actual YA, even though the characters are 17, but their personalities seem younger. Also the constant Buffy references were weird and showed that this was written by someone older and just seemed like a lazy way to explain the plot and acknowledge the resemblances head on.
I think the author has potential for classic, trope-y YA, but needs to work on plot execution and writing.

Candyce Kirk

3.5 stars

I was sold at The Babysitters Club meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Add an amazing cover and I knew I needed this one on my shelf. Which made me even more excited when I found out I could participate on this blog tour! The Babysitters Coven was a fast and fun debut novel!

Our main character Esme loves fashion and has a babysitting club with her best friend Janis. Esme definitely doesn't see herself as a popular person and actually describes only having one good friend. The club is the perfect way to spend time with each other each day. High school can be hard and they definitely help each other get by.

Things start changing though and Esme starts experiencing weird things. Like when she gets frustrated at driver's ed, the car suddenly goes backward and runs over a tree stump. Or a cheerleader upsets her and hangs upside down in the air! What's going on with her? I have to say I wish this would've gotten more attention in the story. It definitely leads up to her finding out she has special powers, but I missed a bit of development. A few weird things happen and all of a sudden she knows about it? 

When a new girl, Cassandra Heaven, moves to town things get even more interesting! She wants to be a part of Esme and Janis' babysitting club. It's definitely clear she has some ulterior motives. In all honesty, I'm still not sure what to think of Cassandra. She's definitely there and in many ways self-centered. All things are kind of about her and she even says her powers should be a reason for them to have fun. I think I need more information about her.

Of course things start getting weirder as things progress and it's clear it's not a coincidence that Cassandra has moved to town. The Babysitters Coven is a real deal and it's time for them to be trained. I loved this idea, but it takes until the last half of the book for anything to really be explained. I really had hoped to see this sooner and have more training. This made the ending and action seem a bit sudden and fast near the end of the book. I really hope this is explained more in the sequel. 

That being said, besides wanting more information about the coven and some aspects seeming a bit unrealistic, this author's writing had me hooked. I read this book and no time and did enjoy myself. The references and little jokes were a nice touch. Even though there was a little bit of romance in The Babysitters Coven is definitely took the backseat to the rest of the story. Friendship and family were definitely front and center and that was a nice change.

All in all, a fun read and I can't wait to see what this author will do next!

Jessica Williamson

3.5 Stars

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Characters **** I enjoy the different characters here. Janis is fun as are Esme and Cassandra. There are some other weird characters that didn't really work for me but I did like the three babysitters and their charges.

Cover ***** I mean, LOOK AT IT. It's perfect.

Pace ** This was one of those books that just went TOO quickly. And not like in an "I wish it had been longer because I loved it" way. I feel like From start to finish there just wasn't enough being gone over it just jumped from one thing to the next. However, we were 60% through the book before we even found out what the whole "babysitters coven" thing was. And I don't think it was meant to be a big reveal I just think it was held out far too long.

Plot *** While I liked the general plot of this, I do take issue with a few things. This book compares it's own plot to Buffy The Vampire Slayer and it's own characters to those from Mean Girls throughout the book. I take great issue with the whole relation to BTVS thing because it IS so much like BTVS. So much so that it kinda ruined the plot for me. (view spoiler)[ Esme was Buffy, Cassandra was Faith, and Dion was season two Angel and it was all blatantly obvious. (hide spoiler)] 

Writing **** I did enjoy Kate's writing style and the overall voice of the novel. I do plan to pick up the sequel.

Enjoyment *** I read about 60% of this at the end of July and I set it down due to life being a dick. I honestly only really picked it back up because I felt responsible to do so because it was an ARC. Otherwise, I don't know if I would have came back to it. I'm glad I read it, it was fun but I just didn't LOVE IT as I had expected. I do plan to read the second book and will even pick this one up to add to my collection and that may just be because of the awesome cover. Who knows.

laura

I struggled to love this read. I felt the pacing was all off and the plot was not smooth and had a lot of pacing issues. I felt like there was no real conflict in the start of the book and it was hard to keep my attention. The elements of this book the baby-sitting, witches and friendship and family just did not mesh super well and I had a hard time feeling connected to the plot and characters. I think the world building in the book was weaker and just introduced too late to be engaging. I might read the sequel and hope the world building and the mystery elements are stronger.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Author: Kate Williams

Book Series: The Babysitters Coven Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Publication Date: September 17, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 14+ (some sex references, including to Harvey Weinstein, and some depression comments that might be a little triggering.)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 368

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl has a babysitters club. She knows it's kinda lame, but what else is she supposed to do? Get a job? Gross. Besides, Esme likes babysitting, and she's good at it.

And lately Esme needs all the cash she can get, because it seems like destruction follows her wherever she goes. Let's just say she owes some people a new tree.

Enter Cassandra Heaven. She's Instagram-model hot, dresses like she found her clothes in a dumpster, and has a rebellious streak as gnarly as the cafeteria food. So why is Cassandra willing to do anything, even take on a potty-training two-year-old, to join Esme's babysitters club?

The answer lies in a mysterious note Cassandra's mother left her: "Find the babysitters. Love, Mom."

Turns out, Esme and Cassandra have more in common than they think, and they're about to discover what being a babysitter really means: a heroic lineage of superpowers, magic rituals, and saving the innocent from seriously terrifying evil. And all before the parents get home.

Review: Oh Lordy I loved this book! This was such a fun treat of a book! It had a fast pace and never a dull moment. The links/callbacks to the original babysitters club books were amazing, the characters were all wonderfully well developed, and the story was so unique! I loved the Buffy twist on babysitting and I can’t wait for the second book! Seriously, one of my favorite series of 2019!

My downside? I need book 2 NOW. Cliffhanger ending, I need more, I need to know what’s going to happen!

Verdict: GO READ THIS BOOK NOW!

Zoe Smolen

This was such a fun read! The book is cute and clever and exactly what I wanted from something with this title, though maybe a little predictable at times. It’s rife with pop culture references that make it a great read for teens as well as adults who like to read YA. The book did a pretty good job at wrapping things up, but left enough unresolved that I’m ready to pick up the sequel. 

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Leprich

Becca Futrell

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of The Babysitter's Coven by Kate Williams in exchange for an honest review!

First & foremost, I’m so glad that I never made it all the way through Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because wow — I can understand why fans of the show would be so disappointed by The Babysitter’s Coven. Considering it a tale of Adventures in Babysitting Meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one thing, but blatantly ripping it off is totally another. Honestly, since I’m not huge into BTVS, I wouldn’t have even noticed if it wasn’t for my book reading pals. With that being said, if you’re not a fan of BTVS, this book may still be a winner for you.

But maybe not, because I still have more to say.

I swear, there are some pros to this book; at least, there were for me. At times, The Babysitter’s Coven feels like a Disney Channel Original Movie — you know the ones. Cheesy acting & ridiculous story line, but holy heck it’s so much fun. I love cheese as much as the next person & you bet your bottoms that when Disney+ comes out, I’ll be over here with a tub of popcorn & carton of Oreos binge-watching all of the Disney Channel Original Movies offered.

The Babysitter’s Coven is a very easy & light adventure. Kate Williams’ clearly meant for this to be fun. & even thought at times her humor doesn’t land for me, she did do an alright job. I, at least, seen what she was trying for, even if it wasn’t executed well. Once it got to about the 60% mark, action started to pick up & I was able to rush through the rest of the read.

Of course, I don’t want to dive into spoilers, but The Babysitter’s Coven gives us a talking dog. & the spell ingredients? Absolutely ridiculous. Legit, one of the bigger spells in the book calls for VAPE PEN JUICE, LIKEWUT. There’s a lot of other cheese-factors, but again, I don’t wanna get too much into spoilers.

Our main character, Esme & her best friend, Janis are fashionistas. I absolutely adore Janis’ fashionable ways & would love to take a dive into her closet. They throw titles onto their outfits & one was called Lydia Deetz goes to the beach & obviously, that spoke to me.

Oh, and that cover? Absolutely gorgeous. But now, I unfortunately must talk about the negatives.

Whew. Okay, so. Somehow, I must have skimmed my eyes over a particular scene, but Taylor brought the fat-shaming to my attention. Our high school bully is a fat girl who the main character describes as a hippo waiting to charge. Um? Gross much?

I also found myself extremely uncomfortable with a scene with the coach; I can’t dive too deep into this portion, because MAJOR SPOILERS. Without context, it sounds worse than it really is — however when this particular line is thrown out, the reader doesn’t have much positive context to go off — so it’s originally meant to sound this messed up — “I’m going to force you to do a lot of things.” WHAT THE WHAT. No, thank you.

I also wasn’t a fan of the acronym use. Esme tends to talk in LOLs, NBDs, AFs & many other acronyms. Which, listen cool. I do it too sometimes, but there’s such thing as over-doing it. This may not be a problem to other readers, but it definitely caused me to cringe a few times.

Krystal Pollock

This book reminded me of the babysitters club meets charmed from back in the 90s! It was really good and cant wait for the next one in fall 2020

Billie Yankulova

Rating 3.50 ⭐ 
Magic genes, generational secret societies, tragic past. All interspersed with teenage antics and pop culture references. The stakes were appropriate for the drama everything caused, as usual, there is an organisation of adults with the sole job of watching out for trouble, and an 18-year-old manages to outsmart them.
This book was a little too "quirky girl central" but Esme's inner monologue was entertaining for most of the story. The characters are painfully teenage in mentality, and I definitely enjoyed the big himbo energy Dion exuded. I could have gone with a little less detail of the clothing everyone was wearing.

Ashley

This book was fine. I would give it a 3 ½ rating if possible. But I don’t think it deserved four. It took 180 pages, I think, for it to get really interesting. I’m hoping future volumes will be able to jump more into the action without so much lead up. I want more challenge than for the “adults” to come and save the day with a flick of the wrist. But I DO want to know what happens next.

Dakota Gigout

This is such a cute read! It was witchy and an adventure but really focused on female friendship with a hint of a love story. 

The relationship dynamics absolutely took this story to the next level! I may have even teared up a few times when Esme was around her mom.