cover image The Witches of Cambridge

The Witches of Cambridge

Menna Van Praag. Ballantine, $16 ISBN 978-0-8041-7900-3

The magic that works wonders for modern-day English witches also charms readers in this delightful and quirky romantic tale from Van Praag (The Dress Shop of Dreams). Several people are brought together by their supernatural abilities: Amandine, an art professor who can feel others’ feelings but fears her husband is cheating; her mother, Heloise, who was a psychic until the untimely death of her husband; Cosima, who infuses her café food with uplifting spells and whose greatest wish is to be a mother; her brilliant and beautiful sister, Kat, a math professor suffering from unrequited love; and their timid but kind friend, George. They all convene monthly meetings of the Cambridge University Society of Literature and Witchcraft, away from the prying eyes of normal folk. Noa, an art student, also has a unique ability: she can see people’s deepest secrets, and she always reveals them. When Noa meets Santiago, a beguiling artist who promises to cure Noa of what she considers a curse, she’s thrilled. As Noa and Santiago’s lives intersect with the Cambridge crew, secrets are revealed and danger is confronted in this intriguing and original tale of friendship and courage. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Feb.)