Something wicked, delectable, and entrancing this way comes with Kate Hodges’ The Wayward Sisters. Bundle up and dive into this wonderful historical fiction with witches, a sassy protagonist and themes of Macbeth.
The plot
Step back in time, all the way to 1769, and follow our protagonist, Nancy Lockaby, to Inverness, Scotland.
Throughout her career as a talented astronomer, Nancy has developed her late mother’s theory on an astronomical phenomenon known as ‘The Fold’. This research provokes scorn from her male colleagues at the Royal Observatory.
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With a dark, tragic past and her day-to-day hostile environment, Nancy snatches up the opportunity to start anew when she receives an invitation to be a research fellow for Caleb Malles, a renowned, enigmatic Shakespeare scholar.
She arrives at a dilapidated Blackthistle House on a freezing winter’s night and immediately senses that something is amiss. Not only does the atmosphere seem eerie, but Caleb has a deep passion for Shakespeare’s Macbeth…
While this intrigues Nancy at first, when she comes across three crones, claiming that Caleb has dark secrets, things begin to take a wicked turn.
My thoughts
Transitioning from high fantasy and popular BookTok reads, I found adjusting to this slow, intense gothic tale somewhat of a struggle. However, Hodge’s first fiction novel took me by surprise, keeping me entertained from the first sentence to the last.
The first half of this read slow, setting up the eerie atmosphere perfectly and establishing all the characters in pace – especially the three witches.
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With fewer elements from Macbeth in Hodges story than I had expected, the story is still incredible and the three crones reference offers nuance and depth.
Given the time period and the first half of The Wayward Sisters, it does seem like a wonderful historical fiction novel with a Shakespearean twist. But, as you dive deeper into Nancy’s research and Caleb’s true reasons for inviting her to Scotland, the story veers more into science fiction. To me, this added to the story’s foundation, but it might come as a disappointment to some.
However, if you’re a fan of pros and enjoy being sucked into a world, regardless of how short a read it may be, then this book is definitely for you!
Hodges’ writing style is highly descriptive, evocative, and even lyrical at times.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and if you want a cosy spooky read, then you should definitely add The Wayward Sisters to your To Be Read (TBR) pile.
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