Thank you to Viking for sending a copy of A Resistance of Witches in exchange for an honest review.
In A Resistance of Witches, the daughter of a hedge witch and graduate of the Royal Academy of Witches finds herself embroiled in an attempt to keep a powerful grimoire out of the hands of the Nazis during World War II. Written by Morgan Ryan, the novel is a relatively light and fast-paced tale that harkens back to a time when Nazis were more clearly affixed to the other side of an “us versus them” dichotomy. Think “Indiana Jones,” but with witches instead of archeologists.
A Resistance of Witches
The main character of A Resistance of Witches, Lydia Polk, is the daughter of a hedge witch and the first member of her family to attend the Royal Academy of Witches. Leaving behind the “low magic” practiced by her mother and ancestors, Lydia learns from the tutelage of her mentor, Isadora Goode, Grand Mistress of the Academy. Against the wishes of many other witches, Isadora offers the services of the Academy to assist Winston Churchill’s efforts to combat the Nazis.
As the story progresses, the existence of a dangerous grimoire, the Grimorium Bellum, is revealed. Hitler and his “sycophants” (an excellent word choice) want to acquire the grimoire, which would afford him the power to use magic to kill anyone and everyone on Earth he desires. And worse still, he’s assembled his own coven to accomplish this goal.
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After tragedy strikes at the Academy, Lydia journeys to Vichy, France, in pursuit of the grimoire. Along the way, she meets some new allies. These include Rebecca Grange, a French freedom fighter unwilling to surrender her country to fascists, and Henry Boudreaux, a Black American art historian who possesses a power all his own.
Over the course of the novel, the heroes are helped or hindered by a variety of allies and enemies. Can Lydia succeed in retrieving the grimoire? And if she manages to do so, what will she do with it next?
“Nazis… I hate these guys.”
In terms of the scope of the novel, it remains focused on our heroes and their immediate battle rather than expanding its aperture to the war as a whole. This reminded me a bit of Raiders of the Lost Arc or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Nazis are the antagonists, and plenty are felled by our heroes; however, the war itself largely serves as a backdrop for the main narrative, which is more intimate.
As a result, A Resistance of Witches is a lighter read than it might have been had it delved into the war more broadly. Both faceless Gestapo agents and more developed collaborating witches appear as enemies. However, the larger Nazi machine is left to allusions or wholly unexplored.
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In fact, much of the novel’s fantasy worldbuilding operates in the same way as the historical fiction element. While many ideas in both arenas are touched upon as they relate to the story, they are not deeply or extensively unpacked. As a result, the novel is much less dense than it might have been. In this respect, A Resistance of Witches can be contrasted with the historical fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. That novel was rife with footnotes regarding its world’s history of magic. A Resistance of Witches gives you only the necessary context in order for its story to operate.
However, A Resistance of Witches doesn’t really suffer for its depth (or lack thereof). You’ll care about its cast of characters and root for them as they fight the deplorable Nazis. And in a way, it is nice to revisit a time when the fascists were easier to separate from the heroes rather than overtaking them from within.
Available in July 2025
A Resistance of Witches is a fast-paced book with many cliffhangers. This is definitely a “well, just one more chapter” kind of read. I especially enjoyed the way the sections of the novel were denoted by the names of different Tarot cards. True, the story mostly sidesteps more serious dissection of fascism and collaboration. But let’s be real: who doesn’t want to read about witches killing Nazis?
Another element of A Resistance of Witches that I enjoyed was the preponderance of women characters. This was true for the main cast, the supporting cast and the antagonists. And this isn’t a slight to the novel’s biggest male character, Boudreaux. He’s charming in his own right (if a little less developed than most of the women).
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It was also nice that A Resistance of Witches told a complete story. As alluded to above, it would be possible to expand the world in which the book is set further. To be fair, there is a clear path forward for these characters at the conclusion of the novel.
However, it does not end on a cliffhanger or specifically tease a continuation. A Resistance of Witches is self-contained. In this market, so many fantasy novels seem to exist just to market their sequel. So, it was refreshing to read a story that seemed to exist only for itself.
A Resistance of Witches will be available at your local bookstore and/or public library beginning July 15, 2025.
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