Name: LexieeReads's review of A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers
Item: A Witch in Time
Rating: 3.5
Author: LexieeReads

Constance Sayers

A witch is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist, in this haunting debut novel. Helen Lambert has lived several lives-a young piano virtuoso in 1890s Paris, an actress in 1930's Hollywood, a rock star in 1970s Los Angeles -- only she doesn't know it. Until she meets a strange man who claims he's watched over her for centuries, bound to her from the beginning. At first, Helen doesn't believe him. Her life is as normal as any other modern career woman's. Then she begins having vivid dreams about ill-fated love and lives cut short. Caught in a curse, Helen will be forced to relive the same tragic events that ruined her previous lives. But with each rebirth, she's developed uncanny powers. And as the most powerful version of herself, Helen must find a way to break the curse before her time runs out. A Witch in Time is a bewitching tale of passion, reincarnation, and magic perfect for fans of A Secret History of Witches and Outlander. Praise for A Witch in Time: "A sweeping story of magical, star-crossed love, as glamorous as it is romantic. Prepare to be dazzled."―Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger "Incredibly engrossing and decadent in all the best ways, A Witch in Time is a sumptuous story of love and loss that's perfect for fans of historical fiction with a touch of fantasy."―Hypable "A narrative rich in historical detail, brightened by flashes of humor, and filled with colorful characters and fascinating settings. A most rewarding read!" ―Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches For more from Constance Sayers, check out The Ladies of the Secret Circus.

A Witch in Time

LexieeReads

'Prepare to be dazzled' Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger 'Fresh and original' Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches Four lives, one woman, a star-crossed love . . . In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet begins a passionate, doomed romance with a married artist. In 1932, aspiring actress Nora escapes New York for the bright lights of Hollywood and a new chance at love. In 1970, Californian musician Sandra's secret love affair threatens to tear her band apart. And in 2012, Helen is starting to remember the tragic details of lives that never belonged to her. Bound to her lover in 1895, and trapped by his side ever since, Helen has lived through multiple lifetimes, under different names, never escaping her tragic endings. Only this time, she might finally have the power to break the cycle . . . Absorbing, magical and hard to put down, A Witch in Time is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about a death-defying love, a time trapping curse and the power of destiny. 'A captivating tapestry of a tale' Gwendolyn Womack, bestselling author of The Fortune Teller 'Sayers weaves a spell of love, lust and magic to create a page-turner like no other' Steph Post, author of Miraculum

Alice

(It's so hard to give ratings on Goodreads now because the half stars aren't available here but they are on The StoryGraph. I've given it a 3.75, rounding down because of the general rating.)

What should I say? Beautiful cover, interesting premise, nice writing. Quite Addie LaRue-esque (or should I say Addie is A Witch in Time-esque, as the latter was published first?) Nora reminded me a bit of Evelyn Hugo. I'm not a fan of bands or the 70s, so I wasn't too interested in Sandra. And I didn't really feel a connection to Helen either.

The first two stories were quite addictive, but after that the book seemed to drag a little? Imho, I lacked that little je-ne-sais-quoi to make it truly enchanting. But that's entirely subjective, based on my preferences. 

Maybe I should stop reading books that start in 1800s France, involve a weird time travelling trope, and feature a demon called some version of Luc/Lucien/Luke, because they don't seem to be working for me.

Also, props for having the first love interest to stir something in me for the past couple of years. I'm so excited for the book with Luke's POV! I absolutely love him (yes, I know, he's made very bad decisions and he's not a good person/he's a demon, but give me and him a break.)

'Prepare to be dazzled' Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger 'Fresh and original' Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches Four lives, one woman, a star-crossed love . . . In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet begins a passionate, doomed romance with a married artist. In 1932, aspiring actress Nora escapes New York for the bright lights of Hollywood and a new chance at love. In 1970, Californian musician Sandra's secret love affair threatens to tear her band apart. And in 2012, Helen is starting to remember the tragic details of lives that never belonged to her. Bound to her lover in 1895, and trapped by his side ever since, Helen has lived through multiple lifetimes, under different names, never escaping her tragic endings. Only this time, she might finally have the power to break the cycle . . . Absorbing, magical and hard to put down, A Witch in Time is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about a death-defying love, a time trapping curse and the power of destiny. 'A captivating tapestry of a tale' Gwendolyn Womack, bestselling author of The Fortune Teller 'Sayers weaves a spell of love, lust and magic to create a page-turner like no other' Steph Post, author of Miraculum 'Fans of Deborah Harkness will devour this page-turning tale of love, reincarnation, and dark magic. A highly unique and enjoyable read!' Hester Fox, author of The Witch of Willow Hall

Absorbing, Magical and Hard to Put Down

Jennifer

As what the subtitle promised, A Witch in Time is indeed a hard to put down novel about a time traveling witch. I've read the whole thing within 2 days because I just want to find out what happens next.

I actually discovered this book out of serenpidity when I was pre-ordering Constance Sayer's sophmore novel The Ladies of the Secret Circus. I was intrigued by the premise of A Witch in Time: I really wanted to find out how the four women stated in the blurb are intertwined and was definitely treated with some nice surprises when I read the book this week.

If anything A Witch in Time is definitely one of those books where the details truly stands out. It's the details and the clever foreshadowings that makes this book such a page turner: I was just really eager to find out how the timeline of the four women panned out and are interconnected. I definitely found the Helen's current timeline & the flashback scenes of the 3 other women pretty seamless in that Helen's memory is just so vividly fleshed out. So I loved how 4 narratives converged towards the end.

Even though I didn't want to put down the book (and I was surprised by how the story of these 4 women were entangled to each other's), I still think there are noticeable enough drawbacks with A Witch in Time: I found the emotional aspect of the characters underdeveloped, the romance scenes predictable, and a few other relationship drama scenes just not my cup of tea. So even though I did enjoy reading the book, I just feel like I wasn't deeply invested in the characters & their headspace: Had there be more introspective moments & more opportunities for character growth for the 4 women I would probably find them more likeable and memorable.

Technical concerns aside, I think I have truly recovered from a reading slump with A Witch in Time. It's a fast -paced fantasy / historical read featuring time travel and centuries long curses. If you enjoy reading books with a lot of imagery details, multiple identities, and clever foreshadowings this is definitely something to check out!

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: alcoholism, emotional blackmail, abuse, vomiting, violence, blood mention, murder, suicide, and death

(3.5 stars out of 5)

A young witch is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist, in this haunting debut novel. In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet LaCompte has a passionate, doomed romance with the married Parisian painter Auguste Marchant. When her mother -- a witch -- attempts to cast a curse on Marchant, she unwittingly summons a demon, binding her daughter to both Auguste and this supernatural being for all time. Born and re-born, Juliet is fated to live her affair and die tragically young across continents and lifetimes. But finally, in present-day Washington D.C., something shifts. In this life, Juliet starts to remember her tragic past. And this time, she begins to develop powers of her own that might finally break the spell... A Witch in Time is perfect for fans of A Secret History of Witches, Outlander, and The Time Traveler's Wife.

Judy McClure

Really enjoyed this one. Excellent mix of historical fiction with romance and magic.

Heather Harrington

**I received a copy of this via the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

In France, 1895, sixteen-year old Juliet LaCompte is a naive farm girl who falls into a passionate, but dangerous, love affair with a married local painter, Auguste Marchant. After getting with child, Juliet's mother--a minor witch-- attempts to curse Marchant for what he's done to her daughter, but unknowingly summons a powerful demon, and binds it to Marchant and Juliet for all eternity. Now, Juliet is doomed to repeat her affair and die tragically young lifetime after lifetime as these star-crossed lovers are reincarnated time and again.

Each lifetime Juliet comes back different; different name, different age, different career, etc. The only constant in these lives are falling for Marchant, in whatever form he takes, and the demon himself, who always appears to Juliet as some mysterious, handsome benefactor just when she needs him most. The demon, Luke Varnier, also just so happens to have been in love with Juliet ever since her first lifetime, but she forgets him every time she dies. In all her lifetimes, he has to help remind her of their feelings for one another before it's too late. Each new rebirth seems to unlock powers within Juliet, such as mind control and healing. Now, on her fourth lifetime, this time as Helen Lambert, she's the most powerful version of herself yet. And it'll take all of her power to find a way to break the cycle before her time runs out.

I really enjoyed this. It was such a lush, sweeping love story throughout time. The different versions of Juliet were all fascinating to read about. I especially loved Nora's story as a Hollywood actress in the 1930s, but funnily enough, hated Juliet's. I found her a bit annoying and childish. I enjoyed how you discover it's not really a love story between Juliet and Marchant, but rather her and Luke. I liked them together, even though they could be a tad frustrating at times. I did think it was weird and not very believable that Helen's friend Mickey, who sort of went along on this journey of self-discovery with her, didn't even bat an eye at finding out his best friend is a witch who's cursed in a time loop. There were other small things like that that felt too unrealistic to me, but other than that, I liked this and would recommend if you're looking for a fantasical historical fiction read.

Christiana cook

** spoiler alert **
           I have a lot of feelings towards this book and majority of them are negative. starting with my least favourite character is Juliet , I disliked this character for a number of reasons, the main one being how naive she was. Which I understand was to be a big characteristic of hers and for her to grow and become more mature later on, but that didn't happen. She was childish and quite frankly annoying. 
The next character was Norma, I found her a little more tolerable but still equally annoying as Juliet. The book had a continuous theme of sexual assault in it, each time it was mentioned it was in bad taste. I found it glossed over the subject while being crude. Norma wasn't as naive as Juliet but the way she acted and talked to other people made me dislike her.
Next up is Sandra , this character felt intirely rushed. The book would have been the total same if she was in it and if she wasn't in it. Her plot was to just tie up some loopholes, which undoubtedly just left more. She was supposed to be a powerful witch, but never really used her gifts in such ways that made her seem powerful. Like the others she was equally annoying and if not just as naive as Juliet. 
With Helen I felt very conflicted with this character, I thought she held her own unlike the other lives of her and she wasn't as painstakingly boring as the others. I liked her relationship with Luke despite it not getting enough attention like the others did. I hated how the book ended , and how it killed off one of the only good things in the book.
I had higher expectations and thought this book would be mainly a demon and witch book, but it was more of a glorified therapist session that features a wife , husband and a side piece

Although there was plenty wrong with the book , there was some aspects that I somewhat liked, i found the book to be very descriptive, and could easily put you into a scene in the book, I also enjoyed how different the characters were in their own way. The differences were big yet subtle, with their personalities not being entirely different and their styles, appearances being different too.

Lauren James

Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars!

This was SO GOOD! I was surprised by how much this book captivated me! The characters were messy, the plot was amazing, and the writing was magical. This DID give me Outlander feels! It has the same feeling with the tiny bit of magic mentioned as well as the pacing!

I highly recommend and I cant wait to read Sayers new release in 2021!

Shannon Lamoree

Steph

'Prepare to be dazzled' Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger 'Fresh and original' Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches Four lives, one woman, a star-crossed love . . . In 1895, sixteen-year-old Juliet begins a passionate, doomed romance with a married artist. In 1932, aspiring actress Nora escapes New York for the bright lights of Hollywood and a new chance at love. In 1970, Californian musician Sandra's secret love affair threatens to tear her band apart. And in 2012, Helen is starting to remember the tragic details of lives that never belonged to her. Bound to her lover in 1895, and trapped by his side ever since, Helen has lived through multiple lifetimes, under different names, never escaping her tragic endings. Only this time, she might finally have the power to break the cycle . . . Absorbing, magical and hard to put down, A Witch in Time is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about a death-defying love, a time trapping curse and the power of destiny. Perfect for fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and A Secret History of Witches. '[I] loved A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers! Perfect combo of historic locales (Paris to Los Angeles), artists (painters to 1970s rockers), and cool witchery to tie them together' Jay Asher, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author 'A captivating tapestry of a tale' Gwendolyn Womack, bestselling author of The Fortune Teller 'Sayers weaves a spell of love, lust and magic to create a page-turner like no other' Steph Post, author of Miraculum 'Fans of Deborah Harkness will devour this page-turning tale of love, reincarnation, and dark magic. A highly unique and enjoyable read!' Hester Fox, author of The Witch of Willow Hall

absorbing, magical and hard to put down

Rachel Livingston

Haylie Belle

Kay Jamieson

Julia Jeffers

Ashley Lock

Maria Nelson

Kelsey

Elizabeth Alfiero

Karen Visser

Alecto

Amy Medeiros

Elle

Alice Goad

Yes, I saw! I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I was going too. @lifeasmonae 

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A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers

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