BOOK REVIEW | DUST ON THE ALTAR | MICHELLE WINKLER

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dust on the Altar is a dark urban adult fantasy with magical witches and a touch of sci-fi. It's set in an alternate Earth timeline, where cities are ruled by technology and their citizens have marginalized witches to the townships, where they can practice magic with little fear of reprisal.

Jade loves her life in Sun City: their technology is cutting edge, she's right-hand woman to the country's most powerful business owner, and no one suspects she's a Witch. But when her old coven's High Priestess and last remaining family member is murdered, she’s expected to leave her beloved city life behind, regain the powers she abandoned years ago, and take her place as coven leader.

 Going back to Sugar Hill won't be easy. She'll have to find a way to reconcile with her former best friend who's the man she must now call partner, find the keys to her ascension ritual, and stop a Witch who will do anything to bring his daughter back from the dead.

 With the coven's magic fading and a whole township counting on her to bring it back, will she find the strength to face the ghosts of her tragic past, or will she run from her responsibilities, again?

REVIEW

I originally came to this book when I read an excerpt of it in 2021 as part of the BBNYA. I was immediately hooked at the time and thought that I would really like to read the rest of this book, so I bought it not long after the competition ended.

Fast forward four years and I still hadn’t read this book, so I thought I would eventually get on with it.

The book tells the story of Jade, a non-practising witch who lives in the futuristic Sun City. However, when her aunt, the leader of the coven dies, she is called back to the town that she left after her parents died when she was a child.

Leaving her high-powered job in the city behind, along with her best friend, she embarks to take up the mantle of High Priestess. However, she soon discovers that things are not what they seem and that things she thought buried will come back to the surface.

Mixing sci fi and urban fantasy, Dust on the Altar is an interesting mix of genres. And along with a good cast of characters, I found myself soon racing towards the end.

In Dust on the Altar, Michelle Winkler builds a uniquely vivid world that gives a good background to the story and the mix of the futuristic and the olde world settings works really well.

Additionally, the characters are relatable with some interesting arcs. Jade at times could be a little annoying, but that’s what makes her so good, as guess what? People can be really annoying.

If you like a tale of witches, friendship, loss and a good dash of magic, Dust on The Altar is well worth a read.