Publishers Weekly
06/10/2024
Akumiah’s sweet urban fantasy debut features three young Black women making their ways in both the real and the magical world. Maya West is a queer fashionista PR assistant; Gabbie Nwosu is a teacher who moonlights as a crafting queen; and Delali Tamakloe is a former child star turned academic wunderkind. The women have nothing in common—until they all wind up in the same bathroom at the same time on the day that happens to be all three’s 22nd birthday and, together, they come into their magic powers, bonding them for life. Meanwhile, in the Sphere, the witching world that runs parallel to Earth, Nadia Nox, a scientist with the Witch Health Organization, investigates why, ever since a historic betrayal in the Sphere, witches have only been able to have non-witch babies. When her search brings her into contact with the newly witched trio, Maya, Delali, and Gabbie are drawn into the complex politics of the Sphere. Akumiah makes her heroines feel real, though readers will wish each woman got a bit more backstory. A fairly open ending will also leave readers hoping it’s just the first foray into this intricate world. One-part fantasy and one-part celebration of sisterhood, this is a loving paean to all that can be accomplished when women pool their experience and power. Agent: Deborah Schneider and Penelope Burns, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. (Aug.)
writer for the New Yorker and the Paris Review Addie Citchens
H. B. Akumiah’s Bad Witches is Charmed meets Sex and the City meets The City We Became, and I’m here for all the fun, smart, stylish, magical joy of it.”
author of The Three of Us Ore Agbaje-Williams
I loved everything about Bad Witches. I wish I could cast a spell to go back and read it again for the first time. I can’t remember the last time a book was so unique, exciting, well executed, and funny at the same time. With a rich and incredibly crafted story, characters I cannot wait to meet again, and an ending that left me desperate for more, I know this is the beginning of not only an absolutely stellar series, but a truly thriving career for an exceptional writer. Bad Witches is phenomenal!”
contributor for Vogue and elsewhere Grace Byron
Girls who behave rarely make history, so it’s a good thing Akumiah’s witches are the kind you’d love to gossip with at a party over drinks. A witty, perfectly mixed cocktail full of twists, turns, and fantastical intrigue. Perfect for anyone who wants to read about New York halcyon days without teetering into excess. Immense fun.”
award-nominated author of the Scapegracers trilogy August Clarke
Wit, grit, and glamor reign in Bad Witches. All the rhinestoned thrills of nineties TV friendship dramas doused in Dirty Shirleys and lit on fire. I tore through it in one sitting. This debut is such a delight!”
writer for Observer Grace Byron
Girls who behave rarely make history, so it’s a good thing Akumiah’s witches are the kind you’d love to gossip with at a party over drinks. A witty, perfectly mixed cocktail full of twists, turns, and fantastical intrigue. Perfect for anyone who wants to read about New York halcyon days without teetering into excess. Immense fun.”
