The witches of New Orleans’s Chanticleer coven know that magic is dying, slowly taking their members with it. The coven’s leader, Nicholas Marin, is still powerful but is busy drowning himself in self-pity and loathing while sleeping with his dead son’s former girlfriend. His living son is mimicking his father and slowing drinking himself into oblivion. His only daughter, Alice, has been hidden away on a magically secluded island for mentally unstable witches after witnessing her oldest brother’s suicide. Both his coven and his family are in tatters, and Nicholas is doing nothing to help either one.

"New Orleans, witches and a bit of voodoo make for a fun, wonderfully appealing story.... J. D. Horn does a wonderful job of building his magic system, and it feels very natural in a New Orleans setting."

Evangeline owns a strip club in the city, and is well-known for her business and her past with the Marin men. While her relationship with Nicholas is complicated on numerous levels, the biggest gulf in their relationship is magic. The sticking point: Evangeline has magic, which Nicholas never thought much of to begin with, and it’s growing stronger, something he is unaware of because it’s clear he doesn’t care enough about her magic to ask. For her part, Evangeline fails to mention the change to him too. It’s only when Alice returns to attend the funeral of her grandfather, Nicholas’ father and the former leader of the Chanticleer coven, do the secrets holding everyone together --- and driving them apart --- finally start to show themselves.

Alice is unsure of herself, her place in her family, and what her magic can and can’t do. Coming home after years of seclusion leaves her more confused than she ever thought possible. When her father steps down as the head of the coven, the new leadership change is more than eye-opening for the remaining members.

Oh, my. New Orleans, witches and a bit of voodoo make for a fun, wonderfully appealing story. Did I mention fun? If you like stories with magic, you’ll want to read this novel. It evokes a dark and mysterious tone, and is just delicious. Witches will always get me to read a book. It’s a literary weakness for me, and one in which I regularly indulge, which is why I couldn’t put this book down. Author J. D. Horn does a wonderful job of building his magic system, and it feels very natural in a New Orleans setting.

THE KING OF BONES AND ASHES is the opening installment in Horn’s Witches of New Orleans series, and I’m already looking forward to the sequel.