The Once and Future Witches

How it reads

The Once and Future Witches is fantasy (historical fantasy, specifically), and its dominant mood is hopeful. Whatever it puts its people through, it believes things can get better. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a big city setting, in the historical past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are identity, power and politics and justice. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.