Matrilineal Gifts & Curses
These are not your daddy's powers (or demons).
These are stories about matrilineal trauma, rage, demons, and/or magic. Women are central to the plot. Sometimes multiple generations tell the story and sometimes it's just one. Dead / disappeared moms abound (but are not strictly necessary).
If it's a series, only the first book is listed.
created by RubyRead
last updated August, 2026
Comments
Have you read Iron Widow? It fits this theme perfectly!
RubyReadOP
Thanks for the recommendation! It's on my TBR.
The Bewitching by SMG fits in here!
Another recommendation is The Hurricane Wars! ✨
Just gonna throw Curses and Other Buried Things by Caroline George in here as a rec—it’s a southern gothic about a girl whose ancestor was labeled a witch and all the women in her family are cursed to go crazy and sink into the swamps of Georgia. There’s way more than that but that’s my pitch lol
RubyReadOP
Oooohhhh this sounds excellent. Thank you!
Love this list idea! Instant bookmark!
RubyReadOP
Thanks! It’s sort of research for a novel I’m working on about my dead mom who visited me as a dragonfly.
👀 love that premise!
