
This story had me hooked, and I could not put it down until the last page. Thank you, Kelley, for being.

WordsLacedWithMagic finished a book
12h

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow
Kelley Armstrong
From New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a nail-biting supernatural horror about a haunted lakeside property and twisted family secrets. When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood. But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words. Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.

WordsLacedWithMagic started reading...
1d

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow
Kelley Armstrong
From New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a nail-biting supernatural horror about a haunted lakeside property and twisted family secrets. When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood. But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words. Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.

WordsLacedWithMagic started reading...
3d

The Wheel: A Witch's Path to Healing Through Nature
Jennifer Lane
Do you ever find that the earth stills and you suddenly feel acutely alive? Have you ever looked into an animal's eyes and felt the pull of a more primal world? Do you sometimes feel panic rise, or isolation sink upon you, or simply feel out of kilter with the modern world?'Inside my cauldron is a thick fistful of paper, old diary entries, work "to do" lists, notes I wrote while I was in a bad place and feeling trapped in a life that was keeping my mind small and narrow; thoughts and feelings that are holding me back, keeping me tied to a time I want to let go of. These papers are flashes of lightning across a darkened room and I want them gone. As they curl and burn, twisting in their black spirals like the farewell flourish of a travelling cloak, a sense of calm sweeps through my chest and shoulders. I feel it so strongly, like a blast of ice to my system, shivering out the old thoughts. I'm burning a path for something new to come in.'One winter, Jennifer Lane reached breaking point in her fast-paced office life. In the year that followed her stress-related illness, she set out to rediscover the solace and purpose that witchcraft had given her as a teenager.The Wheel is an immersive, engaging read - exploring the life-long draw of witchcraft and our vulnerability to toxic working environments and digital demands. In her year-long journey Jennifer explores ancient festivals and rituals, and visits fellow pagans and wild landscapes, in search of wisdom and peace.For those who are sick at heart of noise, anger and disconnection, The Wheel is full of wise words, crackling rituals and natural beauty. This is a quest to discover how to live fully connected to the natural world while firmly in the twenty-first century.

It's a cute story. It did not keep me intrigued like the previous 2 books, but I got to the end. Thank you, Megan, for being.

WordsLacedWithMagic finished a book
4d

Shadow Over the Pumpkin Queen
Megan Shepherd
Follow Sally to a dark realm called Shadow Town—where a powerful foe awaits her—in the #1 New York Times bestselling series inspired by Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas!Can Sally save Jack from the shadows?Sally should be at ease now that she has proven herself as Pumpkin Queen by saving Halloween Town from destructive spells twice. But the villain behind the town’s most recent troubles—a mysterious figure cloaked in darkness—is still at large, and Sally refuses to rest until she and her king, Jack Skellington, can find their enemy and stop them forever. Then, strange storm clouds and directionless wind begin to haunt Halloween Town, and soon, citizens start to go missing. It becomes clear that the dark foe has decided to make the first move, and Sally will need allies from across the Hinterlands to stop him. But as Sally and Jack gather their friends to fight back against this attack, the unthinkable the mysterious force takes Jack, too. After learning that her nemesis is a dark prince who lives in a lost realm called Shadow Town, Sally embarks on another cross-realms quest to find a solution, one that will connect her to new locales like Chance Town and the Hinterlands Maze. With the prince tracking her at every turn, seemingly bent on revenge, Sally will need to fight with every fiber of her being to prevent Halloween Town from utter destruction. But what secrets is the prince hiding—and could the truth undo everything?Don’t miss the other New York Times bestselling titles in the Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea ErnshawHour of the Pumpkin Queen by Megan Shepherd

WordsLacedWithMagic TBR'd a book
6d

The Sisterhood of the Enchanted Forest: Sustenance, Wisdom, and Awakening in Finland's Karelia
Naomi Moriyama
What would happen if you built one of the world’s most advanced societies inside a forest—and strove to make women full partners in power? After living for twenty-five years in New York, Naomi Moriyama moved with her husband and co-author William Doyle and their seven-year-old child to the vast forest of Finland's Karelia, a mysterious region on the Russian border that helped inspire J.R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth fantasies. She entered a life-altering zone of tranquility, peace, and beauty, the spiritual heart of the nation ranked as the happiest nation on Earth, with among the world's most empowered women. Finland is also the country with cleanest air and water and the best schools, a country where motherhood and fatherhood are championed by law, childhood is revered, schoolchildren are required to play outdoors multiple times a day, and trains contain mini-libraries and mini-playgrounds for children to enjoy. It was here in the Karelian forest that Naomi found a culinary symphony of succulent wild edibles, herbs, berries, mushrooms and fish, all freshly plucked from the moss-carpeted forest and sparkling clear streams. She also found something that changed her life—a tribe of invincible women who became her soul-sisters. As an idyllic summer and fall gave way to a sub-Arctic winter of mind-bending darkness and cold, Naomi faced her fears and her future. Over the course of six unforgettable months with her family and her new “sisters”, she found her life transformed, and discovered the power that lay within her all along. Then she tried to leave. But she kept coming back. Come, take a journey deep into Europe's most distant, magical wilderness, and join the sisterhood of the enchanted forest.

WordsLacedWithMagic TBR'd a book
6d

Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch: True to the Heart
Lora O'Brien
Updated and Revised 2nd Edition! Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch is a delightful mixture of academia and accessibility; a book that explores Witchcraft in how it was, is, and will be. It succeeds where many books have failed - fulfilling the longing for real Irish Witchcraft, while crafting the delicate balance between learning from the past and weaving a modern system based on truth and respect. Lora O'Brien is an Irish Drao� (user of magic) working closely with her heritage and her native land, providing a contemporary guide to genuine practice. Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch explores the -- Providing an investigation of the Witches' place in Irish mythology. -- Looking at Witchcraft and magic by examining the customs connected with the Sidhe (the Irish Fairies). -- Examining historical evidence of the Witch trials that swept across the island of Ireland through the ages. And the present and beyond -- Working with Irish Gods and Goddesses, landscapes, and energies. -- Examining the wheel of the year, with its festivals, cycles, and seasons of Irish culture. -- Looking at ritual progression through a Witch's magical training, physical growth. -- Providing alternatives to the traditional stages of a child's life in modern Irish culture. When it was released in 2004, this was the first traditionally published Pagan book ever written by an Irish author. It was the book that this author had sought, for over a decade previously... The 2nd edition of this book continues to do now what it did for so many on first publication - it bridges the gap between 'Celtic' NeoPagan nonsense, and authentic Irish Pagan Practice.

WordsLacedWithMagic TBR'd a book
6d

Divergent Witchcraft: An Inclusive Approach to Making Magic
Jenny C. Bell
Divergent Witchcraft brings together the transformative magic of traditional witchcraft and the intuitive healing of New Age spirituality in one inclusive, empowering guide. Whether you have a divergent mind and process information in a different way or are simply seeking a fresh, accessible way to connect with magic, this book meets you where you are with compassion, clarity, and power. Witchcraft is rising—and it’s evolving. With over thirty years of experience as a practicing witch and a background in trauma-informed teaching, Jenny C. Bell knows how to make spiritual healing approachable for minds that think differently. Divergent Witchcraft is a revolution in self-help and spiritual practice. Written with ADHD, autism, anxiety, and other forms of divergence in mind, this book offers easily digestible teachings designed for unique ways of learning. Experience “spiritual witchcraft,” a modern blend of Wicca, New Age practices, and self-healing that goes beyond tradition and into personal empowerment. Learn tools for healing and protection, including spellcasting, manifesting, chakra work, and new moon rituals made easy and adaptable for every type of practitioner. Divergent Witchcraft offers a unique approach to witchcraft, answering all the whys that are important for a divergent audience, and an inclusive, supportive path.

WordsLacedWithMagic TBR'd a book
6d

The Witch's Book of Numbers: Enhance Your Magic with Numerology (Wisdom of Witchcraft)
Rebecca Scolnick
In The Witch’s Book of Numbers, author Rebecca Scolnick reveals how you too can apply the incredible power of numerology to amplify your magic using only pen, paper, and a simple calculator (no complex mathematics required)! In these pages, you will How to find your Significant Six—the six important numbers that reveal powerful clues to your unique path in this lifetime.How to use the ancient Magic Square technique.How to use the power of numerology to amplify and enhance your spellwork.Whether you’re a beginner witch or have years of experience, The Witch’s Book of Numbers will deftly guide you through the history and relevance of numerology for today’s practitioner, offering exercises, spellwork, correspondences, and activities all designed to help boost your practice and enrich and empower your journey as a witch.

WordsLacedWithMagic TBR'd a book
6d

Entering Hekate's Garden: The Magick, Medicine & Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft
Cyndi Brannen
A guide to plant spirit ritual and witchcraft, with practical instruction on the use of botanicals especially associated with the beloved goddess Hekate and her daughters Circe and Medea. Bringing pharmakeia (the practice of plant spirit witchcraft) into contemporary times, Entering Hekate’s Garden merges historical knowledge with modern techniques. In it, author Cyndi Brannen offers her extensive insight into Hekatean ritual and witchcraft and especially its application to the Green World. The book features detailed monographs dedicated to 39 plants ranging from the esoteric such as aconite, American mandrake, and damiana to the accessible including bay laurel, dandelion, fennel, garlic, juniper, and lavender. This book blends traditional methods with the author's personal approach, emphasizing her understanding of plant spirits as allies in the witch’s journey. It includes a new taxonomy for interpreting plant energies, methods for creating new correspondences, the importance of layering, using botanicals in spells, rituals, altars, and more, as well as ways to develop meaningful relationships with the pharmakoi (master plant spirits). Poetry, petitions, and musings about pharmakeia are woven throughout. Entering Hekate’s Garden takes readers deep into the mystical world of botanical witchery in a way no other book has before.