review: the witch of belladonna bay by suzanne palmieri

With her brother in prison for murder, Bronwyn finally returns to her hometown after fleeing years ago. Until now Bronwyn had never met her 11 year old niece, Byrd, who possesses the same powers that led Bronwyn’s mother to the opium addiction that caused her death. The Witch of Belladonna Bay alternates between Bronwyn and Byrd’s narration, but also inserts a bit from Bronwyn’s mother. The use of three female narrators all with magical powers was confusing at times. Suzanne Palmieri included a lot of excess information (particularly about Byrd’s mother and Bronwyn’s fiancé) while leaving out other details. The nature of the magical powers was quite vague, so that I was always wondering why the mother needed drugs to escape.
3/5
Review copy provided by BookSparks PR.