Trial by Fire Blog Tour: Josephine Angelini's Top 5 Books about Witches

Today I'm thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour to celebrate the release of Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini. Josephine will be sharing her favourite books about witches but before I hand over to her let me tell you a bit more about her new book!

I'm a witch, and witches burn.

Lily Proctor is allergic to virtually everything, and growing up in Salem she's never been able to do the things her friends take for granted . . . which is why she's determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class when she wishes she could just disappear - she does.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - a terrifying new world where she is overwhelmed by new desires and new experiences, and her weakness is replaced with extraordinary power. She soon discovers that this world is ruled by dark and powerful witches, and that the strongest and cruellest of all is Lilian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. Thrown into a war she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

How can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

Worldwalker Trilogy:
Trial by Fire
Trail of Tears (2015)

Visit Josephine Angelini's website for more information

What do you think? Doesn't it sound awesome? I've actually been lucky enough to already read the story so I can tell you right now you're going to love it! Look out for my review that will be posted later today but in the meantime let me hand you over to Josephine Angelini so she can recommend some of her favourite books!

Top 5 books about Witches

by Josephine Angelini

I tried to think of my all-time favorite witch books, and I have to admit it was hard. I don’t think I’ve read that many books about witches. Sure, there are plenty of books with witches in them, but my exposure to books where witches are at the heart of the story is slim. In a way that’s good. I didn’t feel like I was copying others while I was writing Trial by Fire. I just did what popped into my head and let other people decide if they’d seen it before.

Here are five good books (and I use the term “book” loosely on some of these entries) about witches.

1. Wicked by Gregory Maguire. I loved this book, but I loved his Confessions of an Evil Step Sister even more, I think. No witches in that one, though.

2. Harry Potter (like, all of them) by J. K. Rowling. I know—technically this series is about a wizard, not a witch, but since Hermione is such a huge character it’s gotta count, right?

3. The Crucible by Arthur Millar. A play, not a book, but one of the cornerstones of my idea for Trial by Fire. Also, it’s just a superior piece of writing. I think everyone should read it, even if you aren’t forced to in school.

4. Grimm Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm. This is pretty much my childhood introduction to witches, and therefore, my innermost understanding of witches in general. The witches in Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have loomed large in my mind for all my life and, strangely, I’ve always loved them. Maybe what I loved was a woman in power. A woman wearing the crown is always nice.

5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I waited to read this until after I’d finished Trial by Fire just in case there was any overlap and I needed plausible deniability. Our books are so different, which was a relief.

Thanks for a fabulous guest post Josephine! I have to confess that I've only read the Harry Potter ones but I do have several of the others on my to be read mountain just waiting for me to get to them. I think I'll have to bump them up the list now!

What about you? Have you read any of the books on Josephine's list? Which are your favourites? Do you have any recommendations for other witch books you've loved?