Happy Saturday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for THE WITCH HUNT! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Sasha Peyton Smith to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!
The Witch Hunt by Sasha Peyton Smith Series: The Witch Haven #2
Published on October 11, 2022 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Mystery, YA
Pages: 352
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram
The lush and pulse-pounding sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Witch Haven follows Frances and her fellow witches to the streets of Paris where family secrets, lost loves, and dangerous magic await.
Months after the devastating battle between the Sons of St. Druon and the witches of Haxahaven, Frances has built a quiet, safe life for herself, teaching young witches and tending the garden within the walls of Haxahaven Academy. But one thing nags; her magic has begun to act strangely. When an opportunity to visit Paris arises, Frances jumps at the chance to go, longing for adventure and seeking answers about her own power.
Once she and her classmates Maxine and Lena reach the vibrant streets of France, Frances learns that the spell she used to speak to her dead brother has had terrible consequences—the veil between the living and the dead has been torn by her recklessness, and a group of magicians are using the rift for their own gain at a horrifying cost.
To right this wrong, and save lives and her own magical powers, Frances must hunt down answers in the parlors of Parisian secret societies, the halls of the Louvre, and the tunnels of the catacombs. Her only choice is to team up with the person she swore she’d never trust again, risking further betrayal and her own life in the process.
What would you do if you spent the day with Frances? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
That poor girl needs to relax! So I’d probably take her on a day of all my favorite things to do on a weekend in Washington D.C., where I live. We’d start the day at a Soul Cycle class, I think she’d find listening to music in the dark extremely cathartic. Then we’d do lunch downtown and wander around the National Gallery of art before returning to my apartment to stream tiktoks to the tv. For dinner, we’d go to my favorite rooftop sushi place and we’d totally have plans to go out on the town, but end up going home early to watch The Great British Baking show in our pajamas. The goal is to keep her from thinking about murder for a full 24 hours.
If Frances were to hang out with other fictional characters, who would they be and why?
She and the Haxahaven gang are always attempting break-ins and heists but they’re so bad at planning them. I’d love to put her with the Six of Crows crew for a bit so she could learn how to really execute a scheme. Plus I think she and Inej would really vibe.
If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?
I’d love to attend a party in Holly Black’s Elfhame. I’d probably get tricked into making some sort of terrible bargain with a fae, but the fancy dresses might be worth it.
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
A disposable camera with pictures of me and my loved ones at this point in our lives, the notebook I still have with all my terrible college poetry mostly because I want it to be physically buried and a copy of The Witch Haven with all my secrets written in the margins.
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I loved all the research regarding early 1900s fashion and beauty. One detail I really wanted to work in but never found a way to involve how women of that era got those big, poofy buns. They’d save the hair from their brushes, roll it into balls, and keep them to use as padding in their hairstyles later. They called them “rats.” It was like the original bump-it.
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from The Witch Hunt?
My very favorite line is the last line of the book. Writing that ending felt like closing out a chapter in my own twenties. It was definitely the most emotionally satisfying part of the book to write. My second favorite line is probably
if he’s dead to me, I need to stop laying flowers on his grave.
So much of the book deals with still feeling love for someone who hurt you and not knowing what to do with it.
About Sasha Peyton Smith
Sasha Peyton Smith is the New York Times best selling author of The Witch Haven and The Witch Hunt. She’s passionate about well-curated road trip playlists, soup recipes, and stories about complicated girls. Originally from Utah, she now lives in Washington D.C. with her partner and collection of porcelain hands.
What do you think about The Witch Hunt? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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