I enjoyed certain parts of this book, particular stories of the women involved and, others, not so much. It started with promise, sort of went downhill in the middle then picked up with Morwen's story. Unfortunately, that was about as good as it got.

The final story, to me, seemed disjointed and lost. Almost as if the Author had run out of things these women and their descendants could do. In the final story, she has a tendency to use the same words over and again; did she lose her thesaurus?

Despite this, I will try reading some of her other works in the hopes it was just this story she had difficulty holding together. ( )

Spanning from Brittany in the 1820’s to London during World War II, this is a family saga with a twist.

The book almost reads like a book of 5 short stories. Stories that are connected yet complete in themselves. Told in separate sections starting in 1821, each section focuses on the life of each of the 5 witches in the Orchiéres families descendants and revolves around the relationships between mothers and daughters, each generation’s loves rivalries, and the fight they face to keep their beliefs and craft hidden.

The different women in each story are all distinct characters and not all are very pleasant or likeable! I did find that some stories were better than others with the best being Nanette’s story which takes us through the main storyline and taking us on to the next generation.

The world war 2 part will require you to suspend reality and embrace the magic of the witches and even though it maybe a stretch of the imagination it is a great addition to the book bringing real life history and giving it a whole new magical spin to it.

The only thing i am a bit disappointed in was the ending but perhaps it’s been left open for a sequel. I really hope so!! ( )

I was bored and gave up when the audio narrator mispronounced Samhain. ( )

This lackluster novel about several generations of witches grinds it way through 130 years before finally petering out in an open-ended conclusion that leaves several questions unanswered. One hopes there is no sequel in the offing.

First and foremost, the characters in Morgan’s tale are all denied, for one reason or another, the kind of lifelong study of the craft deemed de rigueur in most literature for a successful practitioner. In this world, however, it’s apparently enough to be born into the line and then, when the time is right, you simply light the candle, sprinkle a little salt around, mouth a few lines of tortured doggerel and presto!, you’re a successful spell casting, crystal gazing potion brewing witch.

Which brings up another issue and is something that has annoyed this reviewer for years in novels of the occult. Why do the charms and spells need to be in badly-written quatrain format? Why can’t one just say “Farmer Brown is a mean nasty man and he should come down with a bad case of boils until he learns to be nicer”? No, it has to be crunched and cajoled and massaged into something like “Mother Goddess, heed my call, / Farmer Brown is worst of all. / Bless the kettle as it roils, / Curse his ugly form with boils”. Or something equally banal. All the characters in ‘Secret History’ commit this particular sin in one way or another, until one wishes Mother Goddess would apparate at some point and say “Just spit it out, girl!”

Morgan also manages to ignore the entire Romani culture, despite repeatedly telling the reader that it gave birth to her characters. In fact, there’s a whole lot of telling going on here, and not much showing. The characters move around the chessboard Morgan has set up for them, going through the motions that will advance the plot, with nary a surprise or an emotional punch to be had. ( )

Good premise, but hardly scratched the surface of these women’s lives while giving enormous attention to mundane chores they did. You come away knowing more about milking goats and planting potatoes than you do about witches. This story could’ve used a strong editor. And likeable characters. I regret that the author didn’t choose to tell a riveting tale just about the first witch, Ursula (the old). Instead you’re intrigued by Ursula but then the stories just go downhill from there and never up the hill again. Sorry, but I would not recommend.

( )