But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet-her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.īefore she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches.The Witch Haven has a fascinating mix of ideas, from historical fantasy blended with mystery to modern social perspectives in early twentieth-century America. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.įrances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan.

Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.

“Spectacular, singular, and spellbinding.” -Casey McQuiston, New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue An instant indie and New York Times Best Seller

The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith