First Witches Club Summary: A Cozy Coven of Rebirth
Three Marriages, One Small Town, and a Shop Full of Magic
In the mountain town of Hemlock, Oregon, three women learn on the same afternoon that their marriages are not what they believed them to be.
Nora, Daisy, and Soraya barely knew each other in high school. Now they meet again in a hospital lobby, each carrying a private heartbreak.
Their paths cross a second time at Lady’s Mantle, a newly opened occult apothecary run by an elderly woman named Aggie Green.
Maisey Yates’s First Witches Club follows what happens when the three women take jobs at the shop and begin testing the idea that intention, intuition, and friendship can produce real change.
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TL;DR: The Quick Briefing
First Witches Club is a contemporary women’s fiction novel with magical realism and romantic comedy elements.
Three thirty-something women in a conservative small town lose their marriages within weeks of each other and rebuild their lives through a shared coven.
- Who: Nora Clarke, a freelance writer raised in foster care; Daisy McNamara, a mother of three and youth theater director; Soraya Nichols, a church wife and sourdough baker.
- Where: Hemlock, Oregon, a mountain town dominated by a mega-church and its expectations for women.
- Catalyst: Aggie Green hires all three at Lady’s Mantle and teaches them that magic is the channeling of intention and self-worth.
- Central turn: A joint revenge hex produces dramatic consequences, pushing the women to redirect their power toward community and healing.
- Ending: Each woman claims a new life, a new relationship, and shared ownership of the apothecary.
Book Details at a Glance
- Genre & Subgenre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction / Magical Realism / Paranormal Women’s Fiction / Romantic Comedy
- Core Narrative Tropes: Betrayed wives finding empowerment, coven of female friends, small-town secrets, second-chance romance, bad exes receiving karma, small-business transformation
- Tone & Atmosphere: Cozy, witty, emotionally grounded, whimsical, and empowering
- Primary Conflict: Three women facing sudden marital abandonment and financial insecurity must overcome fear and societal conditioning to reclaim their independence
- Pacing Style: Character-driven with fast-paced multi-perspective escalation, shifting between humor, emotional breakthroughs, and magical twists
- ISBN: 978-1662535451
- Pages: 367
- Book Structure: 39 chapters with alternating points of view between Nora, Daisy, and Soraya, plus one climax chapter narrated by Alexandra
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First Witches Club Summary
Spoiler warning: This section describes the plot from beginning to end, including the ending.
The novel opens with Nora Clarke visiting Alexandra Stone, a prominent Hemlock community figure who is in a coma after a car crash.
In the hospital lobby, Nora reconnects with Daisy McNamara and meets Soraya Nichols, who is crying in front of a gift shop display.
The three spot Alexandra’s husband, Christopher, walking hand in hand with a younger woman. They leave for lunch at Louie’s, where Soraya explains that she threw out her husband David after he sent an explicit photo from a church bathroom.
Daisy reveals that her husband Jonathan left her for a twenty-five-year-old named Amberly. Nora keeps quiet about her own situation, insisting that her dentist husband Ben is on a self-discovery retreat in Chile.
Walking through town afterward, the women find a new occult shop called Lady’s Mantle. Its owner, Aggie Green, reads tarot cards for each of them and hires all three on the spot: Daisy as bookkeeper, Soraya as baker, and Nora at the counter.
Aggie teaches them from her grimoire that magic is not dark or demonic. She describes it as the active expression of intuition, intention, and self-worth, then gives each woman a bay leaf for writing a small intention.
Small breakthroughs follow quickly. Nora wins a mural commission at the Holly Theater, Daisy receives an offer from former teen actor Zach Woods to fund her youth production’s sets, and Soraya watches David suffer a string of humiliating blunders at their sons’ baseball game.
Personal crises escalate anyway. Nora learns that Ben’s retreat is a cover for an affair with a woman named Tara, Daisy discovers Jonathan plans to marry Amberly, and David threatens Soraya with eviction.
During a late-night gathering in the apartment above Lady’s Mantle, the three women remove their wedding rings and place them around a burning candle wick. They cast a joint hex for revenge and karma, calling themselves the First Witches Club.
The hex produces a cascade of real-world damage. Jonathan cuts off a finger with a power tool, Ben falls down a mountain in Chile, and David’s affair with Pastor John’s wife, Stephanie, is broadcast on the church’s screens during Sunday service.
Pastor John burns David’s house to the ground in an arson attack. Soraya’s sons are near the fire, and Soraya briefly withdraws in guilt before Nora and Daisy convince her that their real power lies in building community for women in need.
Each woman then takes charge of her own future. Daisy buys Zach’s fifty-one percent stake in Jonathan’s construction company for one penny, completes a corporate takeover, and begins a relationship with Zach.
Soraya moves into the apartment above Lady’s Mantle, leaves church dogma behind, and starts dating Declan, the owner of a tabletop game shop across the hall who is grieving his late son.
Nora demands a divorce when Ben returns, confronts her own emotional walls, and admits she has been in love with her foster brother and electrician, Sam Reynolds, who has loved her for twenty years.
At a Beltane tarot night, the coven joins local women in a healing spell for Alexandra, who is undergoing emergency brain surgery.
Alexandra wakes from her coma and reveals that her crash was an attempted murder by Christopher to hide tax and wire fraud, leading to his arrest.
The book closes with a community feast and silent auction in the park that launches the Alexandra Stone Fund for women escaping domestic adversity. Back at Lady’s Mantle, the three women find a farewell letter from Aggie gifting them the shop and personalized Queen tarot cards.
Linking arms under the streetlights, Nora, Daisy, and Soraya recite their protection incantation.
The novel ends on their sisterhood, their magic, and their new beginnings in Hemlock.
Summary by Chapter (Spoilers)
This section offers a brief look at each chapter for readers who want to see what is inside the book.
The novel contains 39 chapters, preceded by a playlist and epigraph and followed by acknowledgments.
Chapter 1: Nora — Nora visits Alexandra Stone’s hospital room and reconnects with Daisy McNamara. She, Daisy, and Soraya spot Christopher Stone with a younger woman and head to lunch together.
Chapter 2: Nora — At Louie’s, Soraya and Daisy describe their broken marriages while Nora hides her own doubts about Ben. The three discover Lady’s Mantle and receive tarot readings from Aggie Green.
Chapter 3: Soraya — Soraya’s Bible study leader, Kristi, pressures her to forgive David and take him back. Soraya refuses to accept blame for his betrayal and orders Kristi out of her house.
Chapter 4: Nora — A tripped breaker brings Sam Reynolds to Nora’s house to repair the fuse box. Sam criticizes Jonathan’s shoddy construction work and gently questions Ben’s retreat.
Chapter 5: Daisy — Daisy meets Zach Woods at a coffee shop, then joins Nora and Soraya to discuss their finances. The three walk to Lady’s Mantle to ask Aggie for work.
Chapter 6: Nora — Aggie hires Daisy for the books, Soraya for baking, and Nora for the counter. She introduces her grimoire and gives each woman a bay leaf for a written intention.
Chapter 7: Daisy — Zach offers to fund the sets for Daisy’s youth production at the Holly Theater. That evening, Nora reveals her mural commission, and the women celebrate their first manifestations.
Chapter 8: Nora — Nora paints her mural while Sam installs a new stage electrical system. The women package herbs at Nora’s house and agree to attend the next day’s baseball game.
Chapter 9: Soraya — The three attend a baseball game to support Soraya’s sons despite cold stares from church members. David suffers a series of physical blunders on the field.
Chapter 10: Nora — Ben tells Nora their marriage is part of his unhappiness and asks her to stop calling. At Lady’s Mantle, Aggie leads her through a love intention spell.
Chapter 11: Soraya — David threatens to evict Soraya within a week unless she returns to him. She burns a scripture verse as a spell, and Aggie offers her the apartment above the shop.
Chapter 12: Daisy — Aggie gifts Daisy an art-deco tarot deck. After an argument with Jonathan over their children, Daisy recites a karma spell directed at him.
Chapter 13: Nora — Nora meets Sam at Trigger’s bar, where he looks up Ben’s hiking group online. Nora sees photos of Ben carefree in Chile and realizes she has been lied to.
Chapter 14: Soraya — Nora reveals Ben’s affair and Daisy reveals Jonathan’s engagement. The three remove their wedding rings and cast a joint hex around a candle wick.
Chapter 15: Nora — Sam and Zach help move Soraya’s belongings out of David’s house. Nora admits Ben’s infidelity to Sam, and the women settle Soraya into the apartment.
Chapter 16: Soraya — Soraya meets Declan, her neighbor across the hall. She, Daisy, and Nora dance in the kitchen and toast to their new beginnings.
Chapter 17: Daisy — Zach offers to sell Daisy his fifty-one percent stake in Jonathan’s company for a penny and confesses his attraction to her. They spend the night together.
Chapter 18: Nora — Madison Stone is hired as the café barista, and the women do a tarot reading. Nora draws the Five of Cups while Daisy and Soraya draw cards of choice and power.
Chapter 19: Soraya — Soraya attends Sunday service, where David confronts her in the lobby. An explicit video of David with Pastor John’s wife is broadcast to the congregation.
Chapter 20: Daisy — Soraya details the church scandal over coffee, and the three shop for her date outfit. Daisy meets Amberly, who is warmer than expected.
Chapter 21: Nora — Nora finishes her mural on the theater’s opening night and attends with Sam. Pastor John confronts Soraya, who stands her ground, and Daisy receives a standing ovation.
Chapter 22: Nora — Aggie teaches Nora about wormwood and gives her a self-love pouch. At Sam’s house, a romantic moment sparks, and Nora pulls back out of fear.
Chapter 23: Soraya — Aggie guides Soraya through brewing a tea for sensuality and self-worth. Declan invites Soraya to dinner, and she accepts.
Chapter 24: Daisy — Jonathan cuts off a finger with a power tool and is rushed to the ER. Nora then learns Ben was hospitalized after falling down a mountain in Chile.
Chapter 25: Soraya — Soraya’s son texts that someone is breaking into David’s house. She and Nora arrive to find the house in flames and Pastor John in handcuffs for arson.
Chapter 26: Nora — Nora goes to Sam’s house, where he accuses her of being emotionally unavailable and using him. He asks her to leave.
Chapter 27: Nora — Daisy tells Nora that Sam is in love with her. The three women agree to redirect their magic toward helping other women and plan a community open house.
Chapter 28: Nora — The women forage in the woods for Beltane flower crowns and brooms. Daisy announces her plan to take over Jonathan’s construction business.
Chapter 29: Daisy — Daisy signs the paperwork buying Zach’s majority stake for one penny. She walks into Jonathan’s office with Nora and Soraya and announces she now owns the company.
Chapter 30: Soraya — Soraya brings her sons to Declan’s game shop and apologizes for her past rigidity. She uncancels their date and tells her sons she is dating him.
Chapter 31: Nora — Ben returns from Chile and tries to reconcile, calling his affair a lapse. Nora demands a divorce and walks out of the house.
Chapter 32: Soraya — Soraya wears a lavender dress on her dinner date with Declan, who shares the story of his son Brody’s death. They kiss outside her building.
Chapter 33: Daisy — The coven hosts a Beltane tarot night for twenty-five local women, including Kristi. When Madison learns Alexandra suffered an aneurysm, the women join hands in a healing spell.
Chapter 34: Nora — Nora drives to Sam’s house and confesses her love for him. Sam admits he has loved her since they were foster kids, and they reunite.
Chapter 35: Alexandra — Alexandra wakes from her coma and reveals that Christopher pushed her car off an embankment. She vows to bring him to justice with the coven’s support.
Chapter 36: Daisy — Christopher Stone is arrested for attempted murder. Jonathan tries to reconcile after Amberly leaves him, and Daisy rejects him.
Chapter 37: Soraya — Soraya and Declan settle into their relationship without rigid timelines. Her bond with her sons remains strong.
Chapter 38: Nora — Nora finishes packing her house and donates it as a sanctuary for displaced women. She moves in with Sam and begins writing her first book.
Chapter 39: Nora — The coven hosts a community feast and silent auction launching the Alexandra Stone Fund. They find Aggie’s letter gifting them the shop and personalized Queen tarot cards.
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Characters in This Book
| Character | Role |
|---|---|
| Nora Clarke | Freelance writer and muralist who divorces her husband Ben and admits her love for Sam Reynolds. |
| Daisy McNamara | Mother of three and youth theater director who takes over her ex-husband’s construction company. |
| Soraya Nichols | Sourdough baker and former church wife who leaves her husband David and dates Declan. |
| Aggie Green | Elderly owner of Lady’s Mantle who mentors the three women and gifts them the shop. |
| Sam Reynolds | Electrician and contractor who is Nora’s foster brother and has loved her for twenty years. |
| Zach Woods | Former teen actor and business partner in McNamara Construction who sells Daisy his majority stake. |
| Declan | Owner of the Dice & Dragons game shop and former ER doctor grieving his son Brody. |
| Ben Clarke | Nora’s dentist husband who carries on an affair in Chile while claiming a retreat. |
| Jonathan McNamara | Daisy’s ex-husband who leaves her for Amberly and loses a finger in a power-tool accident. |
| David Nichols | Soraya’s ex-husband whose affair with the pastor’s wife is broadcast during a church service. |
| Alexandra Stone | Hemlock community leader whose coma and recovery expose her husband’s crimes. |
| Christopher Stone | Alexandra’s husband who attempts to kill her to hide financial fraud. |
| Amberly | Jonathan’s twenty-five-year-old fiancée who eventually breaks off the engagement. |
| Madison Stone | Alexandra’s daughter who becomes the barista at Lady’s Mantle. |
| Pastor John Pruitt | Head pastor of Hemlock Christian Fellowship who burns down David’s house. |
| Stephanie Pruitt | Pastor John’s wife, involved in the affair with David Nichols. |
| Avery, Wren, and Alden | Daisy and Jonathan’s three young children. |
| Levi and Jaden | Soraya and David’s teenage sons. |
| Kristi | Soraya’s former Bible study leader who later attends the Beltane tarot night. |
Books Like First Witches Club
- Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman — Shares female sisterhood, small-town gossip, hereditary magic, and women uniting against toxic relationships.
- The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike — Centers on three divorced women in a small town who bond over newfound magical abilities and independence.
- The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix — Blends female friendship, conservative church culture, and marital disillusionment with dark forces threatening a community.
- Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen — A magical realism novel about female bonds, culinary magic, healing from past trauma, and romance in a small town.
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna — A cozy story with quirky witches, found family, self-discovery, and second-chance romance.
- In Five Years by Rebecca Serle — Follows a woman whose carefully planned life is overturned, with close female friendship at the center.
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