The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, by Katherine Howe, is a delightful story. The excellent tale keeps the reader continually reading just to discover the next twist of the story. The paranormal element folds right into the story; or is it the other way around? As the story develops humor, tragedy, friendships, and family relationships provides the theme that fills out the story-line. The descriptions and character development offer the tale enlivening details to keep readers attention. ( )

Unfamiliar with this author, I spotted this book at the library on an All the Buzz shelf. I haven't read many books whose theme is driven by witchcraft but this one seemed unique. Toggling back and forth between the 1600s in Salem and the present, we are immersed into two connected worlds. And like all well written stories, we grow eager to learn the connection.. Katherine is a good storyteller there's no doubt. Thoroughly enjoyable, it's engaging and well paced. I felt the end was somewhat weak but not enough to destroy the story. I'm intrigued by witchcraft now and will be reading another book she wrote with a similar theme. ( )

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe may be a sequel to The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, but it is not necessary to read one before the other. While there are references to Deliverance and her book throughout The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs, Ms. Howe provides all the background you need to understand Connie's story. I say this with confidence because I did not read the first one but thoroughly enjoyed its sequel.

For any reader who is not in academia, Connie's story about her teaching and the pressures to obtain tenure and publish her book are fascinating. At least, I thought they were because they are so far removed from the corporate world, where increasing sales and lowering costs are the driving forces of any decision-making. The world of academia appears just as cutthroat but more nebulous, wherein your success or failure hinges not on the company's performance but on your own ability to put up with the constant research and competition. I appreciate this insight into a world that never interested me for my own personal goals but remains such a large part of our educational system.

The other half of Connie's story, the witchy one, is downright fun. I love a good witchcraft story, especially one where almost all of the characters maintain that belief in witchcraft has merit given its influence in our society and the fact that such belief continues in our highly logical, scientifically-minded world. Her urgency to save Sam from the family curse does remind me of Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, but that is where the similarities end. The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs has more gravitas to it, surrounding its tale of magic with scholarly insight that makes the story that much more believable.

While The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs has its moments of darkness, the story as a whole is an entertaining one. Ms. Howe's approach to the idea of witchcraft, as well as the practice of it, lends credence to its possibility. At the same time, Connie's desperation to save her partner and uncover more of her past in order to do so makes you understand the scholar's excitement about research, that thrill of finding something no one else did, of making connections that have the possibility to change someone's life, of physically touching the past in a way that most people will never be able to do. It is almost enough to change my mind about getting a doctorate. Almost being the operative word. ( )

As much as I loved The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, I didn’t much love the sequel, The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe. Having anticipated the book, I was disappointed by its story strands that unravel as they seem to lead nowhere and are left unresolved. Much is implied, and much is left out or not explained. I’m not big on innuendos. Tell it like it is, or don’t bother telling it at all. I liked the alternating parallels between Connie’s life in 2000 and Temperance’s life in the 1660’s. I liked the chain of names handed down from mother to daughter through the generations. I also like the references to witchcraft and folklore. I didn’t like how the spells weren’t fully explained or how some things were alluded to but never really stated or addressed. By the end, I felt like I was looking at a tapestry with a recognizable picture yet too many loose strings left dangling. ( )

I am always leery when I am told that I don't have to start off with the first book in a series since they can be both read as standalones. I ended up being a little bit lost since there are references to events that happened before. Also, I had a hard time feeling engaged with the protagonist, Connie Goodwin. I thought she was selfish and her not telling her long term boyfriend Sam about what was going on was confusing as anything to me. The ending felt like a bit of a letdown actually. There didn't seem to be much real stakes in the book and I was more interested in learning about witches in the U.S. Southwest and other locations that was brought up via another character.

"The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs" is a sequel to "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane". This book takes place about 10 years later (2000) and follows Connie Goodwin who is trying to get her book ready for publication and is seeking tenure. She's happy with her long-term boyfriend. We quickly find out that Sam wants to marry, and Connie is reluctant. When she goes back to her family home (that is located near Salem) she finds that there is more to her history than she knows and she is faced with giving up Sam or finding a way to break a curse.

Connie takes some time to warm up to. For me I had a hard time with her ignoring her mother and her boyfriend's pleas to get a cellphone finally and also to just call if she will be late. She's focused on her work and book and just takes Sam for granted. I wish that these two had at least one real conversation about their relationship. Instead we hear about a prior event and then they both dance around knowing that some things in their lives are about to change. It was exhausting.

A secondary character who is one of Connie's students, Zazi is more interesting, at least she was to me. She's applying for a position at Harvard and is dealing with some prejudices about her subject matter, being a woman, and also a woman of color too. She ends up helping Connie with her research into her own family.

There's another character that I guess was in the first book, Thomas, who just didn't fit. I don't want to have spoilers, but he was just kind of blah.

Connie's boyfriend Sam and her best friend Liz are given very little to do. Sam keeps pushing Connie for more than she wants to give and Liz is pushing her to stop looking into things.

The writing was good, Howe definitely did research into England, Salem during the witch trials and after. Howe shows Connie in 2000 and jumps back to show different ancestors of her traveling from England and then settling in Salem, Massachusetts. The one we stay most focused on in this one though is Temperance Hobbs and get to see how it links to what Connie needs to do in her present timeline. The flow was fine and I didn't get distracted by showing Connie in the present and the different women in her family in the past. I was actually really interested in seeing how life was back in the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s.

The setting as I already mentioned changes. We start off in winter in 2000 and go back and forth to previous ancestors of Connie's. We focus on the Milk Street House which is near the woods where something special is located. It takes us until the end of the book to figure out what and I was a little bit disappointed by that reveal.

The ending was nice and all, but it didn't feel wholly satisfying. ( )