Book Review: A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan
As World War II rages across Europe, the future looks bleak. That is until the witches of Britain emerge from the shadows and offer Winston Churchill their help in fighting against the atrocities being committed by Hitler and his armies. Amongst them is Lydia Polk, who never expected to be chosen to work under the Grand Mistress of the Royal Academy of Witches. Stubborn, plain-spoken and from an unimpressive family, Lydia’s defiant nature and sharp tongue frequently put her at odds with the other witches at the Academy. But they all have a common enemy in the Nazis, even if not everyone at the Academy is pleased about aiding a government that forced them into hiding.
As Lydia’s abilities grow, she too joins the cause, tracking down magical relics in order to keep them out of Hitler’s hands. But when a Nazi witch infiltrates the Academy with heart-breaking consequences, Lydia’s mission becomes even more urgent. She must find an ancient book of magic that has the power to wipe out civilisations – a coveted prize that would ensure Hitler’s victory. Dropped into the heart of Occupied France, Lydia finds allies in Rebecca Gagne, a French resistance fighter, and Henry Boudreaux, a Haitian-American art historian who isn’t such a stranger to magic as he initially seems. But tracking down the book is only the first battle – for once they find it, they must also find a way to destroy it, or risk falling prey to the dark magic that fuels it.
The witches of Britain are at your service.”
Weaving together a transportive wartime backdrop with dark and immersive magic, Morgan Ryan’s debut novel is the perfect read for fans of historical fantasy. The stakes are high from the very first page and they ramp up with every chapter, painting an intense picture of a harrowing part of history we’re all familiar with. And yet this isn’t a book where the action takes place on the battlefields. This is a tale of the people fighting behind the scenes, those risking their lives by spying and lying their way through occupied land. The magic adds an even darker edge to the story but it’s the quieter, more intimate and inherently human elements that will hold readers in the book’s thrall.
The fantasy genre is populated by stubbornly headstrong protagonists and it’s all too easy for their rebellious natures to tip over into sanctimonious. That’s not the case with Lydia, whose fierce moral compass and compassionate spirit make her a character you not only care about and root for, but who you can also identify with. Rebecca and Henry – whilst initially standoffish and suspicious, and rightly so – are also overflowing with heart and bravery. These three characters have witnessed such horrors and been through so much anguish, but in each other they discover genuine friendship, and that friendship gives them hope.
A Resistance of Witches is the very definition of a pacy read, which means that it doesn’t delve as deeply into character backstories or coven politics as it could have. The small cameo from Winston Churchill, whilst rooting the story in real life history, also feels a little underplayed. After pledging their allegiance to the Prime Minister, there’s a time jump which means we miss out on three years of the war. It would have been fascinating in the beginning to see the witches take a greater part in Britain’s war efforts beyond tracking down artefacts. But these are minor quibbles for an otherwise riveting, atmospheric and darkly magical novel full of witchcraft, heart-wrenching betrayals, complicated family bonds and touching friendship. If this book is anything to go by, Morgan Ryan is sure to become an instant pre-order author for fantasy readers in the future.
★★★★
A Resistance of Witches was published by Bantam on 17 July 2025
