The Women of Wild Hill
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By Kirsten Miller
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1 review
It’s always three, isn’t it? Three furies, three fates, three graces. Science still has no explanation for the number three, but women instinctively feel its power. We don’t know why three works, but we know it does. Three is the number that gets the job done.
Five generations of Sadie Duncan’s descendants claimed the beautiful Wild Hill as their home, each generation of witches stronger than the last. Then, in the aftermath of a tragedy, the last of the Duncans, prophesised to be the most powerful of their kind, abandoned Wild Hill forever.
Brigid moved to California and turned her gift into fame and fortune. Her sister Phoebe settled on a ranch in Texas, where women visit in secret for her tonics, and Phoebe’s daughter, Sybil, became a famous chef.
Now Brigid, Phoebe, and Sibyl have been brought back to Wild Hill for one thing: The Old One, furious at the path mankind has taken, has chosen them to lead a magical revolution. But first, the Duncan women must confront their pasts, because only once they have each stepped into their power can they fulfil their destiny…
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This was a really enjoyable, well written book. The characters were all really distinctive and immediately felt real - there are quite a lot of characters in the family tree but the book spends a long time introducing each one so it wasn't overwhelming and we can get to know each one in time. In fact, the characters were really my favourite part of this book - all these Duncan women feel like people I would like to meet, and it's enjoyable to spend time with them.
The one thing that stopped me from reading this in one or two sittings was that the early part of the book felt like a lot of description about things that have happened, that doesn't really take the story anywhere, and the main bulk of the present plot takes a little while to kick start. But once I realised and rolled with the fact that the past really IS the story, it got easier. I do think in general it could have stood to lose a little and condense down a bit, but there is a lot of great stuff in what is there.
If you're interested in a moralistic, environmentalist fable, focused on the power of women and nature, you'll enjoy it. If those sound like not your cup of tea, probably best to skip this one!
