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VenCo
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Fantasy (2023)Lucky St. James, a Métis millennial living with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella, is barely hanging on when she discovers she will be evicted from their tiny Toronto apartment. Then, one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. Burrowing through a wall, she finds a silver spoon etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM, humming with otherworldly energy.
Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.
Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo’s network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power.
But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He’s Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.
To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning…or remain underground forever.
Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.
Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo’s network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power.
But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He’s Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.
To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning…or remain underground forever.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published February 7, 2023
About the author
Cherie Dimaline
17 books1,838 followersCherie Dimaline wins her first Governor General's Literary Award in 2017 with The Marrow Thieves. She is an author and editor from the Georgian Bay Métis community whose award-winning fiction has been published and anthologized internationally. In 2014, she was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Ontario Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, and became the first Aboriginal Writer in Residence for the Toronto Public Library. Cherie Dimaline currently lives in Toronto where she coordinates the annual Indigenous Writers' Gathering.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,867 reviews
February 4, 2023
Have you ever wanted to read a book reminiscent of The Golden Girls, but it’s a witchy scavenger hunt around the country for magical spoons? If yes (because clearly the answer is yes), get this book immediately!
Dimaline has me ready to go hex the patriarchy!
Dimaline has me ready to go hex the patriarchy!
April 9, 2023
A disappointing read. This has some fun elements but many others that are shallow, and the plot just needs some work, as the book struggles to keep the tension up and relies heavily on “because otherwise it would break the plot” contrivances.
VenCo is an urban fantasy novel about a witchy road trip. Lucky is a 20-something Canadian working unfulfilling temp jobs and supporting her grandmother Stella, now in the early stages of dementia. When Lucky learns that she’s actually a witch, she and Stella go on a journey to find the final witch for a coven to which Lucky has been invited.
This book has a really slow start, which isn’t a criticism I often make; I don’t care how mundane the stakes are as long as they exist. Unfortunately, here they don’t quite. We spend 60 pages meandering through Lucky’s ordinary life and seeing flashbacks of her dead mom before she ever meets a witch—while Lucky has worries (her apartment building is going to be converted soon, affordable housing is hard to come by), she doesn’t do anything about them and so they don’t rise to the level of plot problems. We’re 100 pages in before Lucky learns that she’s met a witch. And we’re 200 pages in before the quest starts, because the second hundred pages are spent on the witches just hanging out and sharing their backstories, without any particular reason to be concerned for them.
The second half of the book is a little better as there are clear goals to pursue, but the villain is built up as highly dangerous only to come across as tame and easily foiled in his scenes with Lucky. Supposedly if this coven comes together it will somehow solve all the world’s problems—as in our world’s problems, climate change and so on—but how they are supposed to go from scrying and dream-walking (the only powers they seem to have) to saving the world is never addressed. Nor are many other basic questions: why is this particular coven so important, when there are others out there? Why would you make membership in this all-important coven dependent on finding long-lost souvenir spoons? Why is there a deadline on the coven getting together? So many arbitrary, nonsensical plot points ultimately make for an unsatisfying story.
As for the characters, I basically liked Lucky and Stella, and their grandma/grandkid dynamic was probably the best part of the book. There’s not much depth or complexity though—except perhaps in the villain, who is hilariously over-the-top and seduces everyone he meets—and the book introduces a dozen other witches only to give them nothing to do but lots of scenes in which they wring their hands over the progress of Lucky’s quest, while simultaneously failing to warn her about known dangers because they don’t believe in preparedness. Or because the author is terrified that any application of common sense would ruin the plot, I don’t know.
I do think this book will have more appeal to those who love girl power books, which aren’t quite the same as feminist books. While the women here have some power, thematically the book is quite shallow. It goes full-blown war-of-the-sexes, which as it turns out is still a war of the sexes when you include trans people, as all men with magic are apparently evil witch hunters while all the women are “yaaas queen!” Dimaline tries to drag historical witch hunts into this, and just comes across as uninformed—the coven’s base is Salem, where a third of the executed “witches” were men and the accusers girls (which the book definitely does not acknowledge as it would ruin the whole simplistic “history is all about men keeping women down!” line). She also claims that European witch hunts targeted women for being awesome (“smart, or queer, or loud”), rather than, say, old, poor, or mentally ill, which is much closer to the truth, but of course less glamorous and less likely to inspire smug superiority to the benighted past in its readership.
In the end though, I think this book cares more about glamor—for all its brief waving of the anti-capitalist flag, there’s a lot of materialism, a lot of drooling over antique this and bespoke that and attention to the quality of products. A lot of wanting its women to be powerful, without actually doing much, or to make change without making sacrifices; see the vague claim that women taking leadership roles in corporations is in itself “undermining the foundations of colonialism” (skeptics might prefer “selling out”). If you’re looking for nuance or deep thought this is not the book for you.
And it could have worked anyway—it has the makings of a fun, light urban fantasy read. I enjoyed the sheer modernity of it, the up-to-the-moment dialogue and product placement and the sprinkling of humor. With better editing, to tighten up the plot and raise the stakes and make them organic rather than contrived, it might have been great fun. But as is, I can’t recommend.
VenCo is an urban fantasy novel about a witchy road trip. Lucky is a 20-something Canadian working unfulfilling temp jobs and supporting her grandmother Stella, now in the early stages of dementia. When Lucky learns that she’s actually a witch, she and Stella go on a journey to find the final witch for a coven to which Lucky has been invited.
This book has a really slow start, which isn’t a criticism I often make; I don’t care how mundane the stakes are as long as they exist. Unfortunately, here they don’t quite. We spend 60 pages meandering through Lucky’s ordinary life and seeing flashbacks of her dead mom before she ever meets a witch—while Lucky has worries (her apartment building is going to be converted soon, affordable housing is hard to come by), she doesn’t do anything about them and so they don’t rise to the level of plot problems. We’re 100 pages in before Lucky learns that she’s met a witch. And we’re 200 pages in before the quest starts, because the second hundred pages are spent on the witches just hanging out and sharing their backstories, without any particular reason to be concerned for them.
The second half of the book is a little better as there are clear goals to pursue, but the villain is built up as highly dangerous only to come across as tame and easily foiled in his scenes with Lucky. Supposedly if this coven comes together it will somehow solve all the world’s problems—as in our world’s problems, climate change and so on—but how they are supposed to go from scrying and dream-walking (the only powers they seem to have) to saving the world is never addressed. Nor are many other basic questions: why is this particular coven so important, when there are others out there? Why would you make membership in this all-important coven dependent on finding long-lost souvenir spoons? Why is there a deadline on the coven getting together? So many arbitrary, nonsensical plot points ultimately make for an unsatisfying story.
As for the characters, I basically liked Lucky and Stella, and their grandma/grandkid dynamic was probably the best part of the book. There’s not much depth or complexity though—except perhaps in the villain, who is hilariously over-the-top and seduces everyone he meets—and the book introduces a dozen other witches only to give them nothing to do but lots of scenes in which they wring their hands over the progress of Lucky’s quest, while simultaneously failing to warn her about known dangers because they don’t believe in preparedness. Or because the author is terrified that any application of common sense would ruin the plot, I don’t know.
I do think this book will have more appeal to those who love girl power books, which aren’t quite the same as feminist books. While the women here have some power, thematically the book is quite shallow. It goes full-blown war-of-the-sexes, which as it turns out is still a war of the sexes when you include trans people, as all men with magic are apparently evil witch hunters while all the women are “yaaas queen!” Dimaline tries to drag historical witch hunts into this, and just comes across as uninformed—the coven’s base is Salem, where a third of the executed “witches” were men and the accusers girls (which the book definitely does not acknowledge as it would ruin the whole simplistic “history is all about men keeping women down!” line). She also claims that European witch hunts targeted women for being awesome (“smart, or queer, or loud”), rather than, say, old, poor, or mentally ill, which is much closer to the truth, but of course less glamorous and less likely to inspire smug superiority to the benighted past in its readership.
In the end though, I think this book cares more about glamor—for all its brief waving of the anti-capitalist flag, there’s a lot of materialism, a lot of drooling over antique this and bespoke that and attention to the quality of products. A lot of wanting its women to be powerful, without actually doing much, or to make change without making sacrifices; see the vague claim that women taking leadership roles in corporations is in itself “undermining the foundations of colonialism” (skeptics might prefer “selling out”). If you’re looking for nuance or deep thought this is not the book for you.
And it could have worked anyway—it has the makings of a fun, light urban fantasy read. I enjoyed the sheer modernity of it, the up-to-the-moment dialogue and product placement and the sprinkling of humor. With better editing, to tighten up the plot and raise the stakes and make them organic rather than contrived, it might have been great fun. But as is, I can’t recommend.
December 19, 2022
I absolutely love this book! I love the importance of women and relationships between them play a very important role in this book. The swearing seems a little excessive. I love how all the women’s pasts and the way that they came into their power was interesting. I am looking forward to reading the sequel when it comes out as well! My thanks to Goodreads, William Morrow and Cherie Dimaline for hosting the giveaway where I won this advanced readers copy!
October 16, 2022
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
Cherie Dimaline’s latest, Venco, is a book about witches. It also might be the first in a series. I have to admit that I was somewhat unsure if I wanted to read the digital ARC that was offered to me. There was something about the description that made me pause, it almost made Lucky, our heroine sound uninteresting.
Lucky St. James is anything but uninteresting.
Dimaline’s book is at first plush a mid-life coming of age story about a young woman who discovers that she is a witch and must work with the found family she gains upon this discovery. Lucky has problems, like most of us. Her mother died when Lucky was young, and currently Lucky must take care of her paternal grandmother, Stella, who is a lovely woman who is slowly losing her mind.
Lucky is a character you can’t help but root for her because she is messed up in a totally normal, everyday way. But she doesn’t wallow in the unfairness of her life, not really. Angry about it, yes, but she does not go “oh woe is poor me”. She thinks and grow, and this is important.
One of my “complaints” if that is the right word about Marrow Thieves was that it was very male focused, Venco is women centered and focus, connecting women from a variety of backgrounds. It is an intersectional feminist novel.
One of the things that stands is out that the cast is diverse across the board. The women that make up what is Lucky’s Coven comes from all walks of life and different backgrounds, and trans women are women in this novel unlike some other examples I could think of. It is important because of the acceptance that is showcased in the book. When Lucky is told that Freya was not always Freya, Lucky’s reaction is simply that Freya has always been Freya. It is great that in this book people are just accepted for who they are.
Some people might think or even claim that this book is anti-male because the villain is a man. But this would be incorrect. While the Coven is female and the book focuses on the treatment of women by men (we are all the witches that survived type of a thing) there are male characters who help and are wonderful. What I particularly liked about the villain is that Dimaline sets him up so that while you don’t like him, you can also see him as a product of the system as well. Additionally, she is playing with the idea of women as tempter, an idea that was used to condemn witches. Her inversion of it in the story is quite nice.
I particularly loved the fact that the maternal line and women of the paternal line are seen as equally important in the book. Too often in such novels it is the main character’s mother’s side of the family that gets the only magical focus. Dimaline reminds us that we have women on both sides of the family tree, even while showing us the lovely nature of Lucky’s relationship with her mother.
There are some passages in the book that are downright beautiful. There is one early on when Lucky is working home that is so magical.
Cherie Dimaline’s latest, Venco, is a book about witches. It also might be the first in a series. I have to admit that I was somewhat unsure if I wanted to read the digital ARC that was offered to me. There was something about the description that made me pause, it almost made Lucky, our heroine sound uninteresting.
Lucky St. James is anything but uninteresting.
Dimaline’s book is at first plush a mid-life coming of age story about a young woman who discovers that she is a witch and must work with the found family she gains upon this discovery. Lucky has problems, like most of us. Her mother died when Lucky was young, and currently Lucky must take care of her paternal grandmother, Stella, who is a lovely woman who is slowly losing her mind.
Lucky is a character you can’t help but root for her because she is messed up in a totally normal, everyday way. But she doesn’t wallow in the unfairness of her life, not really. Angry about it, yes, but she does not go “oh woe is poor me”. She thinks and grow, and this is important.
One of my “complaints” if that is the right word about Marrow Thieves was that it was very male focused, Venco is women centered and focus, connecting women from a variety of backgrounds. It is an intersectional feminist novel.
One of the things that stands is out that the cast is diverse across the board. The women that make up what is Lucky’s Coven comes from all walks of life and different backgrounds, and trans women are women in this novel unlike some other examples I could think of. It is important because of the acceptance that is showcased in the book. When Lucky is told that Freya was not always Freya, Lucky’s reaction is simply that Freya has always been Freya. It is great that in this book people are just accepted for who they are.
Some people might think or even claim that this book is anti-male because the villain is a man. But this would be incorrect. While the Coven is female and the book focuses on the treatment of women by men (we are all the witches that survived type of a thing) there are male characters who help and are wonderful. What I particularly liked about the villain is that Dimaline sets him up so that while you don’t like him, you can also see him as a product of the system as well. Additionally, she is playing with the idea of women as tempter, an idea that was used to condemn witches. Her inversion of it in the story is quite nice.
I particularly loved the fact that the maternal line and women of the paternal line are seen as equally important in the book. Too often in such novels it is the main character’s mother’s side of the family that gets the only magical focus. Dimaline reminds us that we have women on both sides of the family tree, even while showing us the lovely nature of Lucky’s relationship with her mother.
There are some passages in the book that are downright beautiful. There is one early on when Lucky is working home that is so magical.
August 10, 2023
It had potential.
VenCo is about an organization of witches. The whole premise is based on the belief that if seven special witches get together, women will become more powerful.
Lucky St James is the sixth witch. She is living in Toronto with her grandmother who is suffering from cognitive changes when she is found by Venco. Lucky is in possession of a special spoon that has the letters Salem inscribed in it. As soon as Lucky touches the spoon, she feels differently. When VenCo comes knocking she accepts traveling from Canada to the USA to meet a possible employer. She brings her grandmother with her and when they arrive at their destination they meet five women who are living together. Here is where Lucky learns she is a witch and she has to find the last spoon and the witch who will complete their coven. But, things are not easy, an ancient being is on the prowl. His name is Jay Christos, and he wants all the witches to die. He is responsible for the death of many and he is on the hunt for the last seven.
The book had a very slow beginning, only the last third had some action. I wished we had seen more of their powers and their backstories than what we got. The ending felt a little rushed. Yet, overall I enjoyed the story.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by William Morrow via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
VenCo is about an organization of witches. The whole premise is based on the belief that if seven special witches get together, women will become more powerful.
Lucky St James is the sixth witch. She is living in Toronto with her grandmother who is suffering from cognitive changes when she is found by Venco. Lucky is in possession of a special spoon that has the letters Salem inscribed in it. As soon as Lucky touches the spoon, she feels differently. When VenCo comes knocking she accepts traveling from Canada to the USA to meet a possible employer. She brings her grandmother with her and when they arrive at their destination they meet five women who are living together. Here is where Lucky learns she is a witch and she has to find the last spoon and the witch who will complete their coven. But, things are not easy, an ancient being is on the prowl. His name is Jay Christos, and he wants all the witches to die. He is responsible for the death of many and he is on the hunt for the last seven.
The book had a very slow beginning, only the last third had some action. I wished we had seen more of their powers and their backstories than what we got. The ending felt a little rushed. Yet, overall I enjoyed the story.
Cliffhanger: No
3.5/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by William Morrow via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
February 15, 2023
I paid for this book and still couldn't even finish it. I stopped about 30% of the way in, when I realized I'd have to sit through all these stories about how these witches (who've displayed absolutely no witchy qualities up to this point) found their spoons, despite the fact we still DON'T KNOW why these spoons are important or what role the play. The writer is way too ambiguous for my liking. I know it's probably to generate curiosity, but really, it just generates confusion. It reads as if the writer doesn't even know what's going on either. The quirkiness of the grandmother feels forced, Lucky is an abysmally boring character. All of the witches seem so full of themselves and seem to be doing things just for the spectacle of it all. Way too slow. Way too trope-y. Also the Hunter being called "Jay Christos" is a little too on the nose for me. I can't be 30% of the way in a book without knowing why I should care about anything that's happening, and still continue forward. Do not recommend.
July 3, 2023
This book was so hard for me to get into. The story was just blah for the longest time and I was really feeling disappointed in it. I was going to rate 3 stars cause it just had me feeling meh 🫤.
Until it didn’t; towards the ending of the the book. I’m talking the last 1/4th of the book it finally got my full attention and held my interest. I’m glad it did because the ending was actually pretty darn good.
I do sense the possibility of a sequel. I just hope if there is one, it hits the ground running and keeps that pace til the end. For me this book is 3.5 stars but decided to round up to 4 since we don’t have half stars. The ending saved it or it would’ve gotten a flat 3.
3.5/5 🌟
Until it didn’t; towards the ending of the the book. I’m talking the last 1/4th of the book it finally got my full attention and held my interest. I’m glad it did because the ending was actually pretty darn good.
I do sense the possibility of a sequel. I just hope if there is one, it hits the ground running and keeps that pace til the end. For me this book is 3.5 stars but decided to round up to 4 since we don’t have half stars. The ending saved it or it would’ve gotten a flat 3.
3.5/5 🌟
October 28, 2022
VenCo
by Cherie Dimaline
Fantasy Paranormal
NetGalley ARC
In Canada, Lucky lives with her grandmother who is showing signs of dementia, but Lucky doesn't want to drop the old woman into a home, even though they are going to be losing their apartment. But while doing laundry down in the basement she happens upon a hole in the wall, the entrance inside the locket metal cabinet. She goes inside and discovers an old spoon with a witch and the word Salem carved in the handle.
She found the sixth spoon, so she is the sixth witch and the coven brings her, and her elderly grandmother, to Salem and into their home, then sends the two on a quest to find the seventh spoon and its witch. But there is a single witch hunter, one of the originals, who still hunts.
This book started off interesting. A tunnel in the basement, cool. The spoons were an interesting talisman, but the story was too drawn out. Past interrupted as the five other witches told their stories on how they found their spoons, along with what they were doing while Lucky was on her quest; the Oracles (the Mother, Maiden, and Crone) and how they were helping; and the witch hunter, his past and his present.
Not scary, not really magical. It just was. It was a good idea, but there wasn't much substance. Instead of working the idea and putting more descriptions of the settings, characters, and magic itself, it was a bunch of ramblings of going here and going there, and this is how I found my spoon. For a moment I thought it was going to go on the porn route, but thankfully nope, but there is still some violence and suggestions, so not suitable for readers under fourteen.
Sorry to say, but this book was not a fun or great read. The blurb made it sound fun with some danger. But nope, I was bored.
2 Stars
by Cherie Dimaline
Fantasy Paranormal
NetGalley ARC
In Canada, Lucky lives with her grandmother who is showing signs of dementia, but Lucky doesn't want to drop the old woman into a home, even though they are going to be losing their apartment. But while doing laundry down in the basement she happens upon a hole in the wall, the entrance inside the locket metal cabinet. She goes inside and discovers an old spoon with a witch and the word Salem carved in the handle.
She found the sixth spoon, so she is the sixth witch and the coven brings her, and her elderly grandmother, to Salem and into their home, then sends the two on a quest to find the seventh spoon and its witch. But there is a single witch hunter, one of the originals, who still hunts.
This book started off interesting. A tunnel in the basement, cool. The spoons were an interesting talisman, but the story was too drawn out. Past interrupted as the five other witches told their stories on how they found their spoons, along with what they were doing while Lucky was on her quest; the Oracles (the Mother, Maiden, and Crone) and how they were helping; and the witch hunter, his past and his present.
Not scary, not really magical. It just was. It was a good idea, but there wasn't much substance. Instead of working the idea and putting more descriptions of the settings, characters, and magic itself, it was a bunch of ramblings of going here and going there, and this is how I found my spoon. For a moment I thought it was going to go on the porn route, but thankfully nope, but there is still some violence and suggestions, so not suitable for readers under fourteen.
Sorry to say, but this book was not a fun or great read. The blurb made it sound fun with some danger. But nope, I was bored.
2 Stars
September 18, 2022
4.5 rounded up!
Ok I am quite possibly in love with Cherie Dimaline!! The ending of this book just SOARED and I am still beaming! When I first heard she was writing a witchy fantasy (fantasy-adjacent?) I was over the MOON with excitement, and am beyond grateful to have had the chance to read the ARC. I knew I’d be a fan for life after The Marrow Thieves series - the best YA dystopian I’ve ever read - and here is proof that her talent in no way ends there, not that any proof was required!
This is a witchy book like none I’ve ever read before - the magic and MIGHT of these women just absolutely lifts off the page. It reminded me of The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, not plot-specifically per say (kind of though, in some ways??) but in essence, with on-the-pulse social commentary and representation of marginalized groups, along with that sense of rightful reclamation that feels undeniably triumphant. This one has trans rep too, which is lovely! An honour to read all around.
Best of all, I loved the relationship between Lucky and her grandmother woven so prominently throughout every page of this book. The way this relationship is honoured is so beautiful (and often funny) and the way it all comes together = infinitely precious, and infinitely wise.
In short - thank you, book, for the perfect lead-in to my autumn reading season. It’s a good day to hex the patriarchy indeed!!
“…Something passed down to my mom from her mother.”
“They were witches?”
“Better, they were Indigenous women.”
“I am unfamiliar with those practices.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so Western in your education. That’s a weakness.”
Again - an honour to read!
Ok I am quite possibly in love with Cherie Dimaline!! The ending of this book just SOARED and I am still beaming! When I first heard she was writing a witchy fantasy (fantasy-adjacent?) I was over the MOON with excitement, and am beyond grateful to have had the chance to read the ARC. I knew I’d be a fan for life after The Marrow Thieves series - the best YA dystopian I’ve ever read - and here is proof that her talent in no way ends there, not that any proof was required!
This is a witchy book like none I’ve ever read before - the magic and MIGHT of these women just absolutely lifts off the page. It reminded me of The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, not plot-specifically per say (kind of though, in some ways??) but in essence, with on-the-pulse social commentary and representation of marginalized groups, along with that sense of rightful reclamation that feels undeniably triumphant. This one has trans rep too, which is lovely! An honour to read all around.
Best of all, I loved the relationship between Lucky and her grandmother woven so prominently throughout every page of this book. The way this relationship is honoured is so beautiful (and often funny) and the way it all comes together = infinitely precious, and infinitely wise.
In short - thank you, book, for the perfect lead-in to my autumn reading season. It’s a good day to hex the patriarchy indeed!!
“…Something passed down to my mom from her mother.”
“They were witches?”
“Better, they were Indigenous women.”
“I am unfamiliar with those practices.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so Western in your education. That’s a weakness.”
Again - an honour to read!
July 14, 2023
so I reeeeeally really contemplated DNFing this during the prologue. first of all, it opens with a maiden, mother, and crone who just scream...girl power rather than feminism, and one of them is described as wearing chanel as part of her opulent and narratively praised fashion; I do very much know that most of the major fashion houses have blood on their hands to varying degrees, but it just rubbed me the wrong goddamn way to see this inclusion of chanel in particular. moreover, the use of supposed status brands like these as a shortcut to symbolize...what? elegance? luxury? class?...niggled at me, too, because like, here we are in the holy year of our lord satan 2023 and we still haven't clued in to the fact that extravagant wealth is evil, actually?
so this book and I weren't off to a stellar start a few short pages in. but I was was willing to overlook the things that were making me narrow my eyes dubiously and forge onward, because I was quite taken with dimaline's the marrow thieves , which I found to be a solid work of YA that integrated serious themes while also just plain telling a story well and crafting a fun piece of literature about and for teens.
(maybe I need to reread the marrow thieves, but it's frankly baffling to me that the person who wrote with such richness—to my memory—about broad systemic issues there (the basic premise is that the indigenous peoples of north america are being hunted for blood and exploited via a revamped system of the concentration camps called residential schools) is the same person who demonstrates such a superficial understanding of gender and class here.)
so you know. I kept reading. but then I hit this passage, about which I previously posted an update:
I mean, kill me, you know?
pretty sure we're all on the same page here, but I do want to highlight my two biggest issues here: first, the use of the word 'femmes' to mean 'women,' which is just so embarrassing it makes my teeth ache. unless we're speaking french, 'women' and 'femmes' are not the same goddamn thing, and their venn diagram is not a perfect fucking circle. GRINDS MY GEARS, Y'KNOW.
secondly...'captains of industry'? (and 'influencers of culture' and 'makers of laws' are not irreproachable either, but that first in particular, like, what are we, robber barons lmao?) sounds like cherie dimaline is a true believer in CEO feminism, how mortifying! has anyone told her? the concept that companies are SHAKING their COLONIAL FOUNDATIONS through the mere act of, um...hiring women...makes me want to gag. like, lol. we all know this meme, right? well, the u.s. navy posted this at the beginning of june this year (and took it down less than a day later lmaooooooooooo love when our military–industrial complex imperialist overlords just can't manage to please anyone, aw shucks), and my point is just that like...that's the vibe that this prologue was emanating, you know? YOU KNOW? I THINK I KEEP SAYING YOU KNOW BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I'M LOSING MY MIND A LITTLE.
in all honesty, the title alone should have been enough to clue me in: VenCo, Coven, ha ha, you get it, they're a company of witches...hashtag girlboss!
and that's the whole thing. girlbosspower, yes, girl, get it! if we get eliminate men from positions of power and install women instead all the world's ills will be solved! how? well, that's never explained, but don't worry about it, they just will, handwave handwave handwave!
(there's also some weird stuff going on, sexually speaking, with the crone's chauffeur, that, again, felt very...What If Women In Positions Of Power Instead Of Men And Then Women Can Exploit Men Like Men Exploit Women, #Equality! BUT HEY!)
(AND THEN there's a low-level venco sycophant with a "bun of twisted dreads," and maybe this is a nitpick, but my understanding as someone who is not black is that there's been a shift toward describing the hairstyle formerly commonly referred to as dreadlocks simply as 'locs' rather than as 'dreads'; obviously, people can describe their own hair however they like, but given that dimaline isn't black, this usage did ping a little flag in my brain.)
and remember, all of this is in the prologue alone!!
unwisely, though, I failed to DNF after the prologue; I usually try to give books what my brain considers a fair shake, and stopping reading literally one percent in didn't feel ~~fair~~; after all, some books have rough starts and end up great!
it doesn't really get better, though, and to be honest, I mostly skimmed this shit. I found protagonist lucky's treatment of her supposedly beloved grandmother cruel and lacking in compassion. it is very queer (dimaline is a bisexual woman, and in all seriousness, after reading this book, I lowkey think she has, like, lesbian separatist leanings to be honest!), and, to dimaline's credit and my relief, venco is not trans-exclusionary—one of lucky's coven's members is a young trans woman—but there is a later throwaway hogwarts reference that made me cringe mainly just for cringe's sake lol. I get it, cherie, I loved harry potter too, but we don't have to draw on that as our primary allusion anymore lol. um, I learned about pennsylvania german powwow/brauche and yarb doctors and granny women of the ozarks, so there's another tick in the plus column.
the goal of the primary antagonist—whose name is jay christos L O LLLLL—is "to keep the witches from assembling, to keep the old guard safe and prosperous and male"—not, notably, to preserve the 'old guard,' which might suggest that dimaline and the narrative disagree with its existence, but, you know...
in sum: call me a communist hag who can't abide liberals (I am begging someone to please do this), but my core ideological disagreement with this book's premise is that, instead of thinking that we can Save the World by replacing one particular group of people in power by placing another group in the very same positions of power, I think that, um, it's the systems of power in and of themselves that are fucked. I have simply endured too much on our burning planet to think that ceo feminism with a cutesy witch label slapped on (like I said in my previous update, it is a TRAVESTY that popular culture has all but ruined the concept of witches at this point...I AM DEVASTATED) is what will save us. I am WEARY!
two stars rather than one because I finished it, and because as bad as its framework is, it could have been worse.
so this book and I weren't off to a stellar start a few short pages in. but I was was willing to overlook the things that were making me narrow my eyes dubiously and forge onward, because I was quite taken with dimaline's the marrow thieves , which I found to be a solid work of YA that integrated serious themes while also just plain telling a story well and crafting a fun piece of literature about and for teens.
(maybe I need to reread the marrow thieves, but it's frankly baffling to me that the person who wrote with such richness—to my memory—about broad systemic issues there (the basic premise is that the indigenous peoples of north america are being hunted for blood and exploited via a revamped system of the concentration camps called residential schools) is the same person who demonstrates such a superficial understanding of gender and class here.)
so you know. I kept reading. but then I hit this passage, about which I previously posted an update:
In reality [VenCo] was a massive enterprise to headhunt, recruit, and place exceptional femmes into exceptional roles—captains of industry, influencers of culture, makers of laws. For the chance to brush shoulders with feminine greatness, companies paid dearly, unknowingly shaking their own colonial foundations.
I mean, kill me, you know?
pretty sure we're all on the same page here, but I do want to highlight my two biggest issues here: first, the use of the word 'femmes' to mean 'women,' which is just so embarrassing it makes my teeth ache. unless we're speaking french, 'women' and 'femmes' are not the same goddamn thing, and their venn diagram is not a perfect fucking circle. GRINDS MY GEARS, Y'KNOW.
secondly...'captains of industry'? (and 'influencers of culture' and 'makers of laws' are not irreproachable either, but that first in particular, like, what are we, robber barons lmao?) sounds like cherie dimaline is a true believer in CEO feminism, how mortifying! has anyone told her? the concept that companies are SHAKING their COLONIAL FOUNDATIONS through the mere act of, um...hiring women...makes me want to gag. like, lol. we all know this meme, right? well, the u.s. navy posted this at the beginning of june this year (and took it down less than a day later lmaooooooooooo love when our military–industrial complex imperialist overlords just can't manage to please anyone, aw shucks), and my point is just that like...that's the vibe that this prologue was emanating, you know? YOU KNOW? I THINK I KEEP SAYING YOU KNOW BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I'M LOSING MY MIND A LITTLE.
in all honesty, the title alone should have been enough to clue me in: VenCo, Coven, ha ha, you get it, they're a company of witches...hashtag girlboss!
and that's the whole thing. girlbosspower, yes, girl, get it! if we get eliminate men from positions of power and install women instead all the world's ills will be solved! how? well, that's never explained, but don't worry about it, they just will, handwave handwave handwave!
(there's also some weird stuff going on, sexually speaking, with the crone's chauffeur, that, again, felt very...What If Women In Positions Of Power Instead Of Men And Then Women Can Exploit Men Like Men Exploit Women, #Equality! BUT HEY!)
(AND THEN there's a low-level venco sycophant with a "bun of twisted dreads," and maybe this is a nitpick, but my understanding as someone who is not black is that there's been a shift toward describing the hairstyle formerly commonly referred to as dreadlocks simply as 'locs' rather than as 'dreads'; obviously, people can describe their own hair however they like, but given that dimaline isn't black, this usage did ping a little flag in my brain.)
and remember, all of this is in the prologue alone!!
unwisely, though, I failed to DNF after the prologue; I usually try to give books what my brain considers a fair shake, and stopping reading literally one percent in didn't feel ~~fair~~; after all, some books have rough starts and end up great!
it doesn't really get better, though, and to be honest, I mostly skimmed this shit. I found protagonist lucky's treatment of her supposedly beloved grandmother cruel and lacking in compassion. it is very queer (dimaline is a bisexual woman, and in all seriousness, after reading this book, I lowkey think she has, like, lesbian separatist leanings to be honest!), and, to dimaline's credit and my relief, venco is not trans-exclusionary—one of lucky's coven's members is a young trans woman—but there is a later throwaway hogwarts reference that made me cringe mainly just for cringe's sake lol. I get it, cherie, I loved harry potter too, but we don't have to draw on that as our primary allusion anymore lol. um, I learned about pennsylvania german powwow/brauche and yarb doctors and granny women of the ozarks, so there's another tick in the plus column.
the goal of the primary antagonist—whose name is jay christos L O LLLLL—is "to keep the witches from assembling, to keep the old guard safe and prosperous and male"—not, notably, to preserve the 'old guard,' which might suggest that dimaline and the narrative disagree with its existence, but, you know...
in sum: call me a communist hag who can't abide liberals (I am begging someone to please do this), but my core ideological disagreement with this book's premise is that, instead of thinking that we can Save the World by replacing one particular group of people in power by placing another group in the very same positions of power, I think that, um, it's the systems of power in and of themselves that are fucked. I have simply endured too much on our burning planet to think that ceo feminism with a cutesy witch label slapped on (like I said in my previous update, it is a TRAVESTY that popular culture has all but ruined the concept of witches at this point...I AM DEVASTATED) is what will save us. I am WEARY!
two stars rather than one because I finished it, and because as bad as its framework is, it could have been worse.
January 28, 2023
This book wasn’t what I was expecting from the description but it was a fun ride. I will say the plot took a while to really pick up, but while I was waiting for the story to really progress the book was full of amazing imagery and the relationships between women and their meaning. The take on magic and feminism and the connections between the women were great and I am hopeful there will be a sequel. The characters were each unique and while you did get to see some of the backstory of each of them I think there is so much more we could learn about them all, even about Lucky (who was the main focus of this story). Long ago a strong witch in Salem predicted that the North American coven would find each other and come into their power but it was far in the future so she set up a spell to lead the women to themselves, their power, and most importantly together.
December 16, 2023
So, so many trigger warnings in this story but I loved it.
The story telling style was warm and familiar, reminding me of my grandparents and their friend manner of telling a tale. A little humor. A little sorrow. A dash of cautionary warning. A little magic. Monsters that look human or are human. It is a tangle of western superstitions, indigenous myths, and African American spirituality. I grew up with all this and enjoyed it all.
But, seriously, check for trigger warnings.
Representation: racial diversity, LGBTQ+, Feminism, most people are working class, working poor or just plain poor.
The story telling style was warm and familiar, reminding me of my grandparents and their friend manner of telling a tale. A little humor. A little sorrow. A dash of cautionary warning. A little magic. Monsters that look human or are human. It is a tangle of western superstitions, indigenous myths, and African American spirituality. I grew up with all this and enjoyed it all.
But, seriously, check for trigger warnings.
Representation: racial diversity, LGBTQ+, Feminism, most people are working class, working poor or just plain poor.
February 6, 2023
Loved it! I always gravitate towards tales involving witches, so that's why I picked this one up. This one surprised me with how good it was - it seemed different than most of the stories I've read about witches. This was a big scavenger hunt with a lot at stake.
The Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone set up the story that they need to have a coven in North America, and the timeline is short to make this happen. They have some of the members, but not all. The members selected must have found a certain type of spoon. Lucky finds one and is invited to Salem to meet the six witches already found. They need one more witch, so they work together in the hope they can find her.
There's a witch hunter who is tracking the witches and is determined to foil their plans. Lucky has taken the lead in the search for the final witch, so now the witch hunter is after her.
There was good suspense and lots of action, so the story moved at a good pace. I liked the relationship between Lucky and her grandmother, Stella. Lucky herself is a great character. The women all seem strong. They are a diverse group but seemed to treat each other as equals.
Thanks to William Morrow through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on February 7, 2023.
The Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone set up the story that they need to have a coven in North America, and the timeline is short to make this happen. They have some of the members, but not all. The members selected must have found a certain type of spoon. Lucky finds one and is invited to Salem to meet the six witches already found. They need one more witch, so they work together in the hope they can find her.
There's a witch hunter who is tracking the witches and is determined to foil their plans. Lucky has taken the lead in the search for the final witch, so now the witch hunter is after her.
There was good suspense and lots of action, so the story moved at a good pace. I liked the relationship between Lucky and her grandmother, Stella. Lucky herself is a great character. The women all seem strong. They are a diverse group but seemed to treat each other as equals.
Thanks to William Morrow through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on February 7, 2023.
March 1, 2023
I'm here for this book.
I love the representation of so many different cultures and their unique types magic and beliefs.
I also love the LGBTQ inclusion.
I do feel like the secret keeping and poor communication wasn't necessary, but I liked the rest of the story enough to overlook it.
I love the representation of so many different cultures and their unique types magic and beliefs.
I also love the LGBTQ inclusion.
I do feel like the secret keeping and poor communication wasn't necessary, but I liked the rest of the story enough to overlook it.
March 25, 2023
Weird book in that I'm really not sure what I thought of it. The characters were interesting enough that I became invested in what happened to them, but...Is this supposed to be a series? The worldbuilding was not fleshed out enough, the villain and his bizarre incubus-like powers weren't explained enough, there was almost no magic on-page besides a lot of dreamwalking.
I did love, love, love that a trans woman was one of the coven.
But the maiden, mother and crone of Venco were not shown nearly enough. I have to conclude this is meant to be a series because they were neat and I wanted more of them beyond these glimpses at greater worldbuilding. We'll see, I guess...
I did love, love, love that a trans woman was one of the coven.
But the maiden, mother and crone of Venco were not shown nearly enough. I have to conclude this is meant to be a series because they were neat and I wanted more of them beyond these glimpses at greater worldbuilding. We'll see, I guess...
February 7, 2023
VenCo centers around Lucky St. James who lives in Toronto with her elderly grandmother Stella. Lucky discovers a hidden passageway in her apartment and inside finds a tarnished spoon. The spoon has the word SALEM etched along its side along with a picture of a witch. Little does she know that this spoon will connect her to a network of witches who have been anxiously awaiting someone to discover the spoon.
Meet VenCo, a company run by witches who are hidden in plain sight. For hundreds of years, they have awaited the moment that the seven hidden spoons will all be discovered. Upon the discovery of these hidden spoons, a new era will begin- an era that will return women to their rightful power.
But as VenCo and the witch's power falls into place, a powerful adversary is stalking the women’s every movement. Jay Christos, a deadly witch hunter who is as old as witchcraft itself, has his sight set on VenCo.
VenCo is a fast and fun read. The story centers around the importance and power of female relationships. I liked getting to know all of the women in this story and I enjoyed learning their backstories. This book contains a diverse set of characters and I loved the indigenous as well as the lgbtqa+ representation.
I alternated between reading and listening to the audiobook and I highly recommend both! The audiobook is narrated by Michelle St John who did a fantastic job.
Readers who enjoy stories about witches, found families, and female empowerment will love VenCo. VenCo by Cherie Dimaline will be available on February 7, 2023. Many thanks to Bibliolifestyle, Libro FM, Harper Audio, and William Morrow Books for the gifted copy!
Meet VenCo, a company run by witches who are hidden in plain sight. For hundreds of years, they have awaited the moment that the seven hidden spoons will all be discovered. Upon the discovery of these hidden spoons, a new era will begin- an era that will return women to their rightful power.
But as VenCo and the witch's power falls into place, a powerful adversary is stalking the women’s every movement. Jay Christos, a deadly witch hunter who is as old as witchcraft itself, has his sight set on VenCo.
VenCo is a fast and fun read. The story centers around the importance and power of female relationships. I liked getting to know all of the women in this story and I enjoyed learning their backstories. This book contains a diverse set of characters and I loved the indigenous as well as the lgbtqa+ representation.
I alternated between reading and listening to the audiobook and I highly recommend both! The audiobook is narrated by Michelle St John who did a fantastic job.
Readers who enjoy stories about witches, found families, and female empowerment will love VenCo. VenCo by Cherie Dimaline will be available on February 7, 2023. Many thanks to Bibliolifestyle, Libro FM, Harper Audio, and William Morrow Books for the gifted copy!
April 11, 2024
This book discusses important but difficult topics through many trigger warnings. I appreciate the author bringing attention to these issues. However, there were too many details and repetition which slowed down the story.
The book had potential for a powerful narrative. Some themes and messages were impactful. But a more concise writing style could have had more impact.
I lost focus at times due to lengthy descriptions or repetitive passages. This disrupted the plot flow. Tighter editing could have made the book even more engaging and thought-provoking.
Sumary of the story
The book had potential for a powerful narrative. Some themes and messages were impactful. But a more concise writing style could have had more impact.
I lost focus at times due to lengthy descriptions or repetitive passages. This disrupted the plot flow. Tighter editing could have made the book even more engaging and thought-provoking.
Sumary of the story
Lucky St. James discovers a magical silver spoon that reveals she has magical powers and is connected to a network of witches. There are seven such spoons that together can empower women if united.
Lucky works with Myrna Good and their organization VenCo to find the remaining six spoons. However, they are hunted by the witch-hunter Jay Christos who wants to stop them.
Lucky and her grandmother go on a road trip to New Orleans to find the last spoon. There, the final confrontation will determine whether VenCo succeeds in their mission to empower women or if they remain oppressed.
April 14, 2023
it took inhuman willpower to finish this book. so disappointed that it was so incredibly boring.
thank you to libro.fm, the author, and the publisher for an alc of this book
thank you to libro.fm, the author, and the publisher for an alc of this book
November 17, 2022
VenCo has an opportunity to be a story with a bit of a supernatural element that brings a diverse group of women together against the patriarchy. Instead it feels aimless, leaving many potential storylines unfulfilled. The book starts with a trio of women – the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone – who are apparently concerned about getting a coven together in North America, and the increasingly short timeline in which to do so. Then they mostly disappear from the book except to (metaphorically) wring their hands about whether the coven will assemble in time. There’s really never any explanation in the book about why there’s a timeline for this.
Meanwhile in Toronto, Lucky, who hasn’t been nearly as fortunate in life as her name implies, discovers a spoon that triggers said coven to realize they may still meet their timeline after all, as it means Lucky is their next witch. Lucky is invited, along with her grandmother Stella, to Salem. She quickly discovers that it really isn’t for a job opportunity, but since her life hasn’t been going so well she decides, why the heck not? Now this could be the point where Dimaline goes full blown women power. Six of the seven women are together, they can look for the final witch together before the big, bad witch hunter comes to find them, right? Nope. After sending them off to a bar to get full blown drunk by a bartender that isn’t a witch herself but provides assistance to them, Lucky gets sent off on her own on a scavenger hunt to find the final witch. Since Stella is less than all there Lucky takes her along for the ride so she can keep an eye on her. Which she does not so fantastically when the two aren’t bickering with one another.
Soon the witch hunter is after Lucky, which the rest of the coven, safely scrying away (looking for the same spoon as Lucky) in their protected home, neglect to tell her about. Naturally this will lead to an epic showdown between Lucky and Jay, the witch hunter, right? Also nope. The ending of the book feels incredibly anticlimactic. There’s really no dynamic relationships in this story except for between Lucky and her grandmother. Which is really a shame. Many of the women in the coven are marginalized or abused women, so coming together as a unit to defeat the witch hunter would have been a better approach. Even a more good vs. evil dynamic between Lucky and Jay that built up of the course of the book would have been better.
It just feels like Dimaline had so many options in this story to elevate Lucky or the whole group of women, but she threw too much into the story and then chose the path that was the least interesting. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Meanwhile in Toronto, Lucky, who hasn’t been nearly as fortunate in life as her name implies, discovers a spoon that triggers said coven to realize they may still meet their timeline after all, as it means Lucky is their next witch. Lucky is invited, along with her grandmother Stella, to Salem. She quickly discovers that it really isn’t for a job opportunity, but since her life hasn’t been going so well she decides, why the heck not? Now this could be the point where Dimaline goes full blown women power. Six of the seven women are together, they can look for the final witch together before the big, bad witch hunter comes to find them, right? Nope. After sending them off to a bar to get full blown drunk by a bartender that isn’t a witch herself but provides assistance to them, Lucky gets sent off on her own on a scavenger hunt to find the final witch. Since Stella is less than all there Lucky takes her along for the ride so she can keep an eye on her. Which she does not so fantastically when the two aren’t bickering with one another.
Soon the witch hunter is after Lucky, which the rest of the coven, safely scrying away (looking for the same spoon as Lucky) in their protected home, neglect to tell her about. Naturally this will lead to an epic showdown between Lucky and Jay, the witch hunter, right? Also nope. The ending of the book feels incredibly anticlimactic. There’s really no dynamic relationships in this story except for between Lucky and her grandmother. Which is really a shame. Many of the women in the coven are marginalized or abused women, so coming together as a unit to defeat the witch hunter would have been a better approach. Even a more good vs. evil dynamic between Lucky and Jay that built up of the course of the book would have been better.
It just feels like Dimaline had so many options in this story to elevate Lucky or the whole group of women, but she threw too much into the story and then chose the path that was the least interesting. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
November 7, 2024
Cherie Dimaline's storytelling skills are vast, and this is one more book that proves it. VenCo is brilliant and witty, filled with women who are relatable and interesting. Cherie tackles the patriarchy and leaves it where it belongs - defeated and obsolete. Her generational witch mythos is rich and beautifully bittersweet. And the epilogue gives me hope we'll get more stories set in this beautiful world!
April 23, 2023
VenCo by Cherie Dimaline was such a compulsively readable novel for me and I was THIS close to finishing it all in one day. I was really impressed by how much Dimaline was able to fit into the storyline, and even though it is 383 pages, I would have taken 400+ I enjoyed it so much. I have been really into anything with witches and/or wizards since reading the Harry Potter series, and this adult version with old magic, witches, and feminism was right up my alley. The majority of the story is told from Lucky's viewpoint which I loved, but I'm glad that we had other viewpoints as well including Jay Christos. This became such a sweeping tale with quite a few different elements and although the title is VenCo, the 'company' felt like a very small aspect of the overall plot.
I listened to the audiobook and even though there is just one narrator, I thought Michelle St. John did an incredible job and I didn't find myself wishing for a full cast. The pacing is on the slower side, so it was also nice to have the audio to keep things interesting and I would definitely recommend it if you like listening to fiction. While this isn't really a mystery, there was still a surprise at the end that I didn't see coming, and I LOVED the epilogue. The worldbuilding was something I was a huge fan of, and I especially loved Lucky's grandma Stella. This was my first time reading Dimaline but it most certainly will not be my last!
Thank you to the publishers for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I listened to the audiobook and even though there is just one narrator, I thought Michelle St. John did an incredible job and I didn't find myself wishing for a full cast. The pacing is on the slower side, so it was also nice to have the audio to keep things interesting and I would definitely recommend it if you like listening to fiction. While this isn't really a mystery, there was still a surprise at the end that I didn't see coming, and I LOVED the epilogue. The worldbuilding was something I was a huge fan of, and I especially loved Lucky's grandma Stella. This was my first time reading Dimaline but it most certainly will not be my last!
Thank you to the publishers for my complimentary listening and reader copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
January 31, 2023
I love witches and I loved The Marrow Thieves, so this was an interesting read! The plot was slow in the beginning, but it picked up, and I was very invested in the story of women's power and indigenous representation.
June 11, 2023
I just loved this book. Thanks, Lindsay for getting it for me. 😘 I’m becoming quite a Cherie Dimaline devotee. I’ve read 3 of 4 of her books and have her 5th on preorder.
This is her most accomplished novel, with nothing stray or out of place. Great characters, all of them, and a creepy villain.
This is her most accomplished novel, with nothing stray or out of place. Great characters, all of them, and a creepy villain.
January 15, 2023
Rating: 2.5 / 5
DNF at the halfway mark (50%) because by then the plot STILL hasn't picked up and nothing has happened.
So...here's the thing about good exposition--the rule about good exposition, if you will.
THE GOLDEN RULE OF GOOD EXPOSITION IS THAT IT DOES NOT PASS THE 30% MARK.
Heck, even the 20% mark is kind of pushing it, unless you're interlacing everything with action along the way.
You know, action? As in...things happening?
Just to make our definitions clear, you know.
Except...it doesn't matter, because 200 pages and 50% in...and this book doesn't have anything happening in it.
Not anything worth the 50% mark, anyway.
Not anything worth the depth or description and flowery language describing things and characters experiencing things that need to be described.
None of that.
It just isn't worth it.
______________________________
Points given where they're deserved, I really like how Cherie Dimaline has gone her research into Witchcraft faith, culture, and practices. As a Wiccan, I was happy that I already knew all of the references she made, even while at the same time I didn't quite appreciate all of them--because, just to be clear, the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone are all one and the same being, in the spiritual figure of the Goddess, and so treating them as as separate wasn't a-okay with me and my spiritual beliefs, but I tried to ignore it.
Ultimately, everything with regards to witchcraft was treated with respect, if not with an obvious pro-feminist take on everything.
Again, that's okay though, because I felt that the message was well and good.
______________________________
It's just too bad that the story was maybe 20% message, 50% description, and left only 30% for the plot to actually happen, which I assume it eventually does by the end.
It's too bad that I lost my will to care to find out, eh?
DNF at the halfway mark (50%) because by then the plot STILL hasn't picked up and nothing has happened.
So...here's the thing about good exposition--the rule about good exposition, if you will.
THE GOLDEN RULE OF GOOD EXPOSITION IS THAT IT DOES NOT PASS THE 30% MARK.
Heck, even the 20% mark is kind of pushing it, unless you're interlacing everything with action along the way.
You know, action? As in...things happening?
Just to make our definitions clear, you know.
Except...it doesn't matter, because 200 pages and 50% in...and this book doesn't have anything happening in it.
Not anything worth the 50% mark, anyway.
Not anything worth the depth or description and flowery language describing things and characters experiencing things that need to be described.
None of that.
It just isn't worth it.
______________________________
Points given where they're deserved, I really like how Cherie Dimaline has gone her research into Witchcraft faith, culture, and practices. As a Wiccan, I was happy that I already knew all of the references she made, even while at the same time I didn't quite appreciate all of them--because, just to be clear, the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone are all one and the same being, in the spiritual figure of the Goddess, and so treating them as as separate wasn't a-okay with me and my spiritual beliefs, but I tried to ignore it.
Ultimately, everything with regards to witchcraft was treated with respect, if not with an obvious pro-feminist take on everything.
Again, that's okay though, because I felt that the message was well and good.
______________________________
It's just too bad that the story was maybe 20% message, 50% description, and left only 30% for the plot to actually happen, which I assume it eventually does by the end.
It's too bad that I lost my will to care to find out, eh?
October 10, 2022
I have been obsessed with Cherie Dimaline since I read The Marrow Thieves, and VenCo did not disappoint! The second I saw a Dimaline book about witches, I knew I needed it. VenCo surrounded themes of feminism, social issues, intergenerational trauma, and class divisions in a way that represents every marginalized group and is accessible for everyone– something I love about Dimaline’s books as a whole. The suspense of VenCo had me on the edge of my seat while the action had me falling out of it. Lucky’s relationship with her grandmother Stella is so beautifully raw with hints of back-and-forth, humorous banter that made me fall in love with their relationship and road trip adventures. Lucky’s coming of age storyline and her finding herself magically is something everyone needs to read. What would you do to protect those you love when they are all you have left?
Action packed. Adventure. Drama. Funny. Heartfelt. I NEED A PREQUEL/SEQUEL PLEASE!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Action packed. Adventure. Drama. Funny. Heartfelt. I NEED A PREQUEL/SEQUEL PLEASE!
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 16, 2024
Lucky St James is taking care of her grandmother, who is forgetful and needs tending to, when they get the eviction notice and Lucky has to figure out what she's going to do with her life when she stumbles onto a little silver spoon, with the words "Salem" on it. Soon, Lucky finds herself on the hunt for the last witch to fulfill a coven.
I loved the premise of this novel. I think it got a little lost in the middle with the Benandanti coming after them, that it lost the "witchy" bits about it. I wanted so much more magic and less of the manhunt aspect. I feel like we didn't really get to see what this coven could do, and I was waiting with bated breath for something amazing.
I loved the premise of this novel. I think it got a little lost in the middle with the Benandanti coming after them, that it lost the "witchy" bits about it. I wanted so much more magic and less of the manhunt aspect. I feel like we didn't really get to see what this coven could do, and I was waiting with bated breath for something amazing.
September 3, 2023
2.5 stars, DNF @ 65%
I wanted so badly to love this book, but the writing was such a struggle and I finally gave up when my buddy read partner finished it and told me it didn't get any better. I loved the indigenous representation, the inclusion of a fantastic trans woman, casual queer rep everywhere, and the relationship between Lucky and her grandmother Stella... but none of that was able to redeem this book from the fact that it suffered from poor pacing and far too many characters and perspectives. I think VenCo tried to do too many things in too few pages and that ultimately hindered the entire book from succeeding.
Buddy read with Malli! ♥
✨ Representation: Lucky is Métis, Freya is trans, multiple side characters are queer and/or BIPOC
✨ Content warnings for:
———
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I wanted so badly to love this book, but the writing was such a struggle and I finally gave up when my buddy read partner finished it and told me it didn't get any better. I loved the indigenous representation, the inclusion of a fantastic trans woman, casual queer rep everywhere, and the relationship between Lucky and her grandmother Stella... but none of that was able to redeem this book from the fact that it suffered from poor pacing and far too many characters and perspectives. I think VenCo tried to do too many things in too few pages and that ultimately hindered the entire book from succeeding.
Buddy read with Malli! ♥
✨ Representation: Lucky is Métis, Freya is trans, multiple side characters are queer and/or BIPOC
✨ Content warnings for:
———
twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog
September 25, 2023
The first third of this book, I thought I was going to read an insta-fave. It was still good, but there seems to be a curse on books that rely on city-flavor to fail in capturing that feeling, and to lose themselves, like so many of us do, in the city scenery.
CONTENT WARNING:
Things to love:
-Sisterhood. I just love seeing women supporting each other, especially in fiction. It's not common enough for my liking.
-Family. On top of women caring for women, this has family that is loving! Hooray!
-Whirlwind action. You're kept running the whole book in a way that was both frightening and freeing.
-Prose. There are certain lines that are wonderfuly evocative and poignant.
Things that left me wanting:
-Big bad. So, the evil here is the partriarchy, which makes sense for a "witches they could not burn" sort of story, but it's all wrapped up in one man. That makes him both moustache twirly and also kind of pulls the rug out from under the villainy. If there was 1 dude responsible for killing whole generations of women, that would be like, best case scenario, you know? We could find the serial killer and put him down. Institutions are so scary because they have no faces, and there's no telling when what seemed like a safe passage will become a coffin.
-Running down the clock. Because of an earlier set up, we knew the "day" things would go down and that it would succeed, so everything up til then felt like flavor instead of quest progression.
-End. Rushed, pat, unsatisfying. We build up so much that should be reckoned with, and the reckoning is just vengeance. Which again undermines the feminine horror element. Because, again, if you could tell who the bad man was, this world would be a lot less scary, and the harm perhaps less pernicious. We don't grapple with that, and while I can understand why we wouldn't want to, why tell the story of women overcoming masculine systems if we aren't going to address women in a masculine system?
-Gross romance vibes. The conflict here needed a certain set up, and the set up the author chose involved a sort of, like, r*pe fantasy vibe that just felt very at odds with the story being told.
Glad I read it, I think this author is massively talented and I like the stories she wants to tell, I just think this one ran away from her a bit.
CONTENT WARNING:
Things to love:
-Sisterhood. I just love seeing women supporting each other, especially in fiction. It's not common enough for my liking.
-Family. On top of women caring for women, this has family that is loving! Hooray!
-Whirlwind action. You're kept running the whole book in a way that was both frightening and freeing.
-Prose. There are certain lines that are wonderfuly evocative and poignant.
Things that left me wanting:
-Big bad. So, the evil here is the partriarchy, which makes sense for a "witches they could not burn" sort of story, but it's all wrapped up in one man. That makes him both moustache twirly and also kind of pulls the rug out from under the villainy. If there was 1 dude responsible for killing whole generations of women, that would be like, best case scenario, you know? We could find the serial killer and put him down. Institutions are so scary because they have no faces, and there's no telling when what seemed like a safe passage will become a coffin.
-Running down the clock. Because of an earlier set up, we knew the "day" things would go down and that it would succeed, so everything up til then felt like flavor instead of quest progression.
-End. Rushed, pat, unsatisfying. We build up so much that should be reckoned with, and the reckoning is just vengeance. Which again undermines the feminine horror element. Because, again, if you could tell who the bad man was, this world would be a lot less scary, and the harm perhaps less pernicious. We don't grapple with that, and while I can understand why we wouldn't want to, why tell the story of women overcoming masculine systems if we aren't going to address women in a masculine system?
-Gross romance vibes. The conflict here needed a certain set up, and the set up the author chose involved a sort of, like, r*pe fantasy vibe that just felt very at odds with the story being told.
Glad I read it, I think this author is massively talented and I like the stories she wants to tell, I just think this one ran away from her a bit.
April 5, 2023
VenCo is a book about witches and their plan to create a coven that will save the world.
And even though many ingredients were used in the story and could have made it perfect, the whole book felt half-baked, from start to finish. The story lacked pace, as the main character jumped into being a witch with no prior knowledge, training, or even explanation of who she is now and how to use her powers. Then she started moving from one place to another, seeking the seventh witch. Everything felt rushed and partial. Even that final showdown was rushed and convenient. Not to mention the ending which was more like the beginning of a second book, concluding into nothing.
Also, for a book about witches, it had no magic in it. The magic system was never explained and the plot points that the story raised were simply thrown into the mix and left there to sink in.
Finally, the villain was boring, and it was like he was forced to appeal as the 'bad guy'.
And even though many ingredients were used in the story and could have made it perfect, the whole book felt half-baked, from start to finish. The story lacked pace, as the main character jumped into being a witch with no prior knowledge, training, or even explanation of who she is now and how to use her powers. Then she started moving from one place to another, seeking the seventh witch. Everything felt rushed and partial. Even that final showdown was rushed and convenient. Not to mention the ending which was more like the beginning of a second book, concluding into nothing.
Also, for a book about witches, it had no magic in it. The magic system was never explained and the plot points that the story raised were simply thrown into the mix and left there to sink in.
Finally, the villain was boring, and it was like he was forced to appeal as the 'bad guy'.
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