Review: The Witches of El Paso

The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I hate to say this, but I'm just not loving this book like most others. While the different timelines were interesting in theory, they just kept pulling me in a direction that I don't think the author meant for me to go. The differing timelines are not about the same person either. In one, you have a very young Nena; in the modern timeline, you have an over 90-year-old Nena and her grandniece Marta. Sounds confusing? Maybe, maybe not. I suppose it's all about how you cope with all of this. And let me tell you the last couple of chapters confused me even more!



The author tried very hard to explain how one becomes a witch, how one can time jump, etc., but I think he tried just a little too hard (at least for me). The explanations just kept making me more confused and frustrated.

I loved the 1700s timeline and learning about life in a convent, even if nefarious practices were taking place there!

This was a fast read that even if it weren't my glass of wine, it would most likely be yours!

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Atria/Primero Sueno Press/Simon and Schuster, the author, and ATTL/Edelweiss. My thanks to all.

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SYNOPSIS: "A lawyer and her elderly great-aunt use their supernatural gifts to find a lost child in this richly imagined and empowering story of motherhood, magic, and legacy in the vein of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina and La Hacienda.

If you call to the witches, they will come.

1943, El Paso, teenager Nena spends her days caring for the small children of her older sisters, while longing for a life of freedom and adventure. The premonitions and fainting spells she has endured since childhood are getting worse, and Nena worries she’ll end up like the scary old curandera down the street. Nena prays for help, and when the mysterious Sister Benedicta arrives late one night, Nena follows her across the borders of space and time. In colonial Mexico, Nena grows into her power, finding love and learning that magic always comes with a price.

In the present day, Nena’s grandniece, Marta, balances a struggling legal aid practice with motherhood and the care of the now ninety-three-year-old Nena. When Marta agrees to help search for a daughter Nena left in the past, the two forge a fierce connection. Marta’s own supernatural powers emerge, awakening her to new possibilities that threaten the life she has constructed.

“Sexy, smart, and soulful, Luis Jaramillo’s The Witches of El Paso pulls us across borders and time to get to the essence of what it means for families to survive this beautiful, fractured world” (Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk).