A SPELL FOR CHANGE by Nicole Jarvis – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Spell For Change by Nicole Jarvis
Published by Titan Books on May 6 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical fantasy
Pages: 480
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Ghosts, demons and magic infuse this well written, high-stakes tale that addresses racism, queer love, interracial relationships and much more.

A Spell For Change is an unexpectedly thoughtful and emotional story that takes place after World War I in a small town in Tennessee. It’s also a demonic possession story, which I wasn’t expecting and never would have guessed based on the lovely cover design. Nicole Jarvis excels at immersing her reader in a specific place and time, when racial segregation and class divide were the norm, and along with her carefully developed characters and just a touch of otherworldly magic, the story is an unusual mix of elements that somehow worked.

We follow three main characters who all live in the small Appalachian town of Chatuga. Nora Jo is the teacher at the town’s only school, and it’s a job she loves dearly. She enjoys her quiet and predictable life, that is until a strange man knocks on her door one day. Everett Harlow tells Nora Jo that he senses a latent magical ability in her and want to help her unlock her potential by training her in the art of witchcraft.

Kate is a young Black woman who can see visions of the future, and although she’s always hated these visions—what her parents call “fits”—she can’t escape them. So when she starts to have visions of handsome man, she does everything she can to make them come true. Maybe this mystery man is the key to her future freedom.

Finally, Oliver is a veteran with both physical and emotional scars from the war. His best friend Tucker Lee died right in front of him, and he’s unable to get over the loss. Not only that, but when he returned to Chatuga, he started to see ghosts. Now he’s haunted wherever he goes, but the only ghost he can’t see is Tucker Lee’s.

All three characters’ storylines eventually intersect in some interesting and terrifying ways. Nora Jo’s lessons in magic and witchcraft become increasingly disturbing, Oliver’s ghosts start to warn him that something dangerous is coming, and Kate’s visions turn deadly. At the center of these omens is Harlow, who may or may not be more than he appears.

Jarvis takes her time setting up the story and delving into the lives of her characters, and I appreciated the slower pace in the beginning, since there is quite a bit to absorb. We learn that Kate’s father may soon be laid off from his factory job, and so the family is thinking about moving to Nashville and tearing their children away from everything that’s familiar to them. Kate is a hard worker and contributes everything she can so they can stay in Chatuga, but she’s barely eighteen and can’t control their decisions. I loved hearing about Kate’s visions and how the family copes with them, as well as the possible reason she has them in the first place.

Oliver’s experience in the war colors his present life, and he’s never far away from the awful memories of watching Tucker Lee die. Oliver himself came back with a lung condition and struggles with it daily. He has no desire to see ghosts, and yet he can’t escape them. I loved the way the author portrayed the aftermath of the war and the effect it has on everyone, not only those who fought in it. The heartache of loss is palpable, and although I don’t read many stories set in this time period, I was surprised how emotionally invested I became in the characters’ lives.

I love Nora Jo’s story as well. She’s the most forward thinking one in the story, a woman who wants to make her own way in the world without having to rely on a man—something that just wasn’t done in the 1920s. She also bucks tradition when she falls in love with another woman and is determined to create a future with her, no matter what anyone else thinks. The only thing that didn’t work for me when it came to Nora Jo was her involvement with Harlow. I couldn’t figure out why a smart, self reliant woman would agree to meet with a strange man in the middle of the night, agree to cut herself in order to increase her magical abilities, and blindly do whatever Harlow asked her to do. Luckily she redeems herself at the end of the story, though.

As for the demons, they don’t really make an appearance until the last hundred pages, and from that point on the story changes abruptly from a quiet, more character focused tale to one of frantic action and terror. This shift was a bit jarring, although don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed these parts a lot. I do wish the author had introduced the demon storyline sooner in the story, though, which would have added more tension and mystery. There are some hints early on, but they ended up being more confusing than anything else.

But that being said, I loved the way the author wrapped everything up. There’s a nice, emotional twist at the end involving Nora Jo that I absolutely adored, and despite some of the terrifying things the characters go through, Jarvis gives her readers an upbeat, hopeful ending. I enjoyed A Spell For Change a lot, and I’m looking forward to more of Nicole Jarvis’s books.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.