Book Review: To Rescue a Witch

I had the privelage to read To Recue a Witch last year, and absolutely relished it. So you can imagine how quickly I jumped on the chance to read the sequel/prequel, To Condemn a Witch.

Those of you who have followed my blog or reviews for a while may have noticed I’ve been on a hiatus of sorts. Between moving into a new house and adjusting to juggling life as it has become with work and my littles, I have struggled to make time for my first love: books. But summer allowed me time and space to catch up with myself in so many ways. And when I saw another novel by the lovely Lisa A. Traugott, I knew it was time to read and to share my love for yet another historical fantasy.

Intrigued? Keep reading for my review + the giveaway!

TO CONDEMN A WITCH

By LISA A. TRAUGOTT

Historical Fantasy

Publisher: Rose Castle Media

Pages: 399

Publication Date: August 11, 2025

A stolen scroll. A cursed bloodline. A prophecy that binds three witches across life and death…

Scotland, 1729. When clairvoyant healer Fiona MacLeod discovers an enchanted scroll, she awakens a prophecy linking her fate to two other women: Eleanor, a servant-turned-mistress caught in a scandal, and Matilda, a vengeful ghost burned for witchcraft. Together, they must form a coven—maiden, mother, and crone—to protect a changeling child marked by ancient magic.

But a ruthless witch hunter is closing in—one who will stop at nothing to destroy the child and the women sworn to defend her.

Spanning the infamous Hellfire Caves of England to haunted Scottish glens and the wilds of colonial Virginia, To Condemn a Witch is a haunting prequel in the Tales of the Witchblood series—a dark tale of feminine power, sacrifice, and the unbreakable bond between witches who rise, no matter how often they are condemned.

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When I realized this was a prequel to To Rescue a Witch, I wondered if it would prove unnecessary. So much of what I loved about the first book was the journey both William and Annaliese took, a journey filled with peril and the ultimate choice: who will you choose to be? In To Condemn a Witch, Traugott shifts the question to this: will you deny who you truly are?

Set more than a decade prior to the events of the first book, we meet a young Fiona, the future wife of the first book’s protagonist, William. Fiona watches on as her aunt is burned alive for witchcraft. Aunt Matilda may be a witch, but she’s innocent of the crimes she’s accused of. It would seem all is lost, and both Lord Blackmere and her coven sister will escape without justice. Until Matilda throws her final curses.

Twenty years later, we discover Matilda remains near Fiona in spirit form, using fire festivals to inhabit her niece’s cat, among other creatures. And right away, I realized the magic we saw in the first book was but the tip of the iceberg. Fiona is forced to practice the old ways in secret now that she’s wife to the often absent Lord William, and the local reverend breathing down her neck. William’s too busy in the business of “fixing” his best friend and employer, Lord Hallewell’s mistakes, to support her. And in true period fashion, rather expects Fiona to fill the role she married into, and keep the witchcraft out of it.

But witchcraft isn’t so much a practice as a heritage of blood. Fiona inherited the gift and the legacy of her ancestors, and this same gift is shared with both enemies and the mysterious Eleanor. If you read the first book, you already know that Eleanor is destined to be Annaliese’s mother. I didn’t think I would feel so pulled into her story, her doomed romance with Lord Hallewell, until it is unveiled Eleanor may be more like her daughter and Fiona than I had believed. Before the end, justice is found for some, hidden truths are unveiled for others, and an even greater battle is yet to come.

To Condemn a Witch is a complex narrative with layers upon layers, artfully arranged by the brilliant Traugott. The language of the novel is near enough for us to understand, yet rich with the past. I adored the way the author weaved Celtic lore and magic into the pages. Yet I would not recommend this to the faint of heart. The subject matter is often brutal and difficult, but I loved it all the more for its honesty. If you love historical fantasy, rich tales of love and loss, with a dash of tragic romance thrown in, you’ll devour To Condemn a Witch as eagerly as I did.

MEET LISA A. TRAUGOTT

Lisa A. Traugott is the award-winning author of the Tales of the Witchborn series (To Rescue a Witch and To Condemn a Witch), a haunting historical fantasy saga in the realm of ghosts, goddesses, and rebellion. She double majored in history and theater to guarantee unemployment yet somehow became a full-time author. An original cast member on American Grit with John Cena, she also had five lines on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She lives in Austin with her husband and two kids where they enjoy walking ghost tours and telling scary stories around the campfire. You can get a FREE chapter of To Rescue a Witch at LisaTraugott.com.

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