Review: The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an advanced copy of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  This was released on June 24, 2019.

I really enjoyed this book. It has a bit of historical fiction, a bit of magic, and some interesting family dynamics. I didn’t realize this was the 2nd book in a series, having said that this book can be read as a standalone. It 100% stands on its own. Knowing that there is another book about Deliverance Dane I want to go read that now after reading this. I certainly didn’t need to read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane to follow along with this but I want to know more about this family of magical ladies.

This book follows Connie Goodwin as she navigates her busy life as a Professor at Northeastern trying to get tenure, a mentor to graduate students and doctoral candidates, writing a book, a friend, a daughter, and a romantic partner to the wonderful Sam. Connie is an expert in magic in the Colonial age of America, but what no one knows is that Connie is the descendent of a long line of women who through the help of tinctures and “recipes” were able to wield power of their own. Connie learns through her mother, Grace that Sam’s life is in danger as none of the men in the family have ever lived. Connie is determined to use her family’s recipe book to solve the age old mystery and save her beloved. In addition to Connie’s perspective, we alternate with the many women who came before her and wielded the magic Connie is trying to uncover. As we learn their stories, we come to meet Temperance Hobbs and come to understand why she was so important.

This book is so well researched. I love a good story with magic and Howe did an amazing job weaving in the history of the different time periods into the story. I also loved getting to know about the life of the doctorate candidate and a college professor. I really liked the writing style and character development in this book. I really loved the characters and their interactions. We have some great female friendships, a good healthy romance, a good mother daughter relationship. None of these relationships are perfect, but they are all written realistically. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.


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