BookLife published this review on February 8, 2024, which was also featured in a BookLife supplement of Publishers Weekly on March 11, 2024.

With a keen eye for atmospheric detail and a clear passion for history, Trahan’s debut novel deftly explores the resilience of women faced with decades of generational trauma and a legacy as enchantresses. With a backdrop spanning Louisiana and Mississippi, the plot traces threads through the lives of two women in time spanning from the 1940s to 2010s. Suzanne, the divorced mother of twins, is blessed and cursed by clairsentience. Her romance with too-smooth sociopathic real estate developer, Max, however, catapults her onto a journey of self-discovery, beginning with his unstable temperament and lies about his dead wife, Farrah. Addy, meanwhile, is a bright young aspiring clothing designer, who finds herself burdened with the extrasensory abilities that plague her family line. She, too, finds herself in a bad romance, one stained by violence and betrayal—this time with a young pilot at the tail end of World War II.

Ghosts take top billing in this perceptive and thoughtful fantasy tinged with horror. While Suzanne never much believed in her mother’s hoodoo teachings, a legacy of her Choctaw ancestry, she’s dealt with the spirits all of her life as a conduit and guide. Her journey parallels beautifully with Addy’s in that Addy wasn’t allowed much of an education in the hoodoo practiced by her grandmother, Mimi Jeanne. She, like Suzanne, had one foot in the spirit world and the other on Earth. Elegant details are painted with broad strokes, transporting readers to timelessly beautiful locations.

While the time jumps are, at first, jarring, their rhythm soon becomes clear, offering delicate layers of perspective. Chapters with Suzanne’s narration and contemporary perspectives are largely told using third person and present tense, while those in the 1940s favor past tense, which creates strikingly different moods. Sexual assault, violence against women, gaslighting and emotional abuse all make an appearance, but are sensitively handled.

Takeaway: Time-crossed novel of spirits, generational trauma, and two remarkable women.

Comparable Titles: Joyce Maynard’s The Bird Hotel, Jessica Dodge’s Misplaced Magic.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

BookTrib published this review on February 5, 2024, offered by Natalie Garrison.

Here’s the link: Enchanting Fantasy Romance Celebrates Generational Love | BookTrib.

Excerpts: “Deborah Trahan is a natural world-builder, as her debut novel transported me to the warm salt air and blooming flora of the Louisiana Gulf Coast. I was immersed in the practice of hoodoo, from shuffling angel tarot decks to hanging blue glass bottles outside the house for protection from evil. She also did a magnificent job giving the characters their own unique personality traits, one example being Suzie often pouring herself a chilled glass of Moscato before a tarot reading.”

“The book had the ideal balance of romance, magic, history and thrill making this novel a truly addictive read. Trahan not only does a beautiful job with world-building and character personalities but also her writing style is fast-paced and life-like, making me feel as if I was an apparition in the story watching the plot unfold.”

“Those who have watched and enjoyed shows and movies like Practical Magic, The Craft, American Horror Story: Coven, and Witches of Eastwick would surely enjoy A Southern Enchantress.”

Reedsy Discovery Review, by Julie Porter, was published December 22, 2023

5-STARS! Read the entire review [Spoiler Alert!] Here’s the link:

A Southern Enchantress by Deborah Trahan – Reviewed by Julie Porter | Reedsy Discovery

Excerpts: “Deborah Trahan’s Contemporary Fantasy Magical Realism novel tells the story of a family of mostly women who share a magical and dark disturbing past. This past binds them to each other even beyond death.”

“Addy and Suzanne are exceptional protagonists, and both their stories are superbly interwoven by similar experiences with men and a stronger link that is revealed later in the book.”

“What is more important than the Lafountain’s relationship with men is their relationship with each other. Even though there are some things that are hidden and need to be discovered, the family members love, care for, and will protect each other. This is the type of family that guides, advises, and assists their loved one, dead or alive.