Witchy Wednesday Yet Again: A Review of The Making of a Witch by Judy Molland

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

As promised, I have a very special review for you this week. Today’s review is brought to you by She Writes Press. They aren’t paying me for my review, they just sent me the book for free. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you very much to She Writes Press for sending me a copy of today’s read. It truly means a lot to me when someone out there wants to send me books. Thank you, thank you! And what book was I very kindly sent?

Please give a warm welcome to The Making of a Witch by Judy Molland! The Making of a Witch releases on June 9, 2026.

As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on this site then you will know I simply love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning. I also have a quick content and trigger warning. The Making of a Witch has mentions of animal abuse along with rape and sexual assault. While these topics are not discussed in detail, please note allusions to these topics are made throughout the novel. Now let’s crack in.

Inspired by her real-life ancestor, Judy Molland brings Alice Molland and 17^th century Exeter, England to life. At only ten-years-old, Alice begins developing her skills as a healer. She has to be careful with said skills though. Right at the beginning of this story, Alice must attend the execution of her friend and mentor Diana Luscombe. It’s important, more so now than ever, to tread carefully. While her prowess as a healer is known, one wrong step could cost her her life.

With the threat of death always in the back of her mind, Alice grows up. She hones her skills. She also meets a boy and falls in love. Said boy isn’t great cause once Alice becomes pregnant, he leaves her high and dry. Given her circumstances, the only thing left for her to do is leave Exeter.

So Alice moves in with her aunt and uncle. She gives birth to her son Tommy and continues her work as a healer. Being both a healer and mother to a bastard child has many townsfolk against her and it’s not too long before her new community, and the father of her child, charge her with witchcraft. But will she survive? Or will she too meet the executioner’s block? Find out in The Making of a Witch.

At its core, The Making of a Witch is the story of one woman’s want of more out of life and enduring in a society intent on othering and punishing her for her intelligence. The Making of a Witch highlights how women were made to endure in silence lest the hardships grow worse. It’s a story that is sadly always relevant.

Now, as I’ve stated, Judy Molland used her ancestor and her witchcraft charge as the basis for this novel and the main character. But Alice Molland is fully fictional personality wise, and she’s the exact character I want to root for. Alice is intelligent, willful, and loyal to her loved ones. But she’s not a perfect character. When it comes down to it, she’s all about self-preservation. She knows when it’s time to leave and fight another day.

Alas, Alice is the lone strong character. All minor characters, and the few additional main characters, are nowhere near as active as Alice. I don’t want to call them static, nor do I want to call them stock characters, but they’re only one maybe two steps above. Everyone else’s relevance to the plot is minimal, and the difference in both relevance and quality between Alice and all the other characters is clear. The Making of a Witch really is Alice’s story. Everyone else is simply set dressing.  

* Le sigh *

My issues with this novel don’t end with the characters. The transitions of this novel are clunky. The scenes do not flow. One will end and the following will abruptly start. The scenes are far too fragmented.

And issues with the writing don’t end there. So many things are often repeated to readers. Every character who cares for Alice must remind her not to make herself a target for witch hunters by being bold with her healing skills. I do not need that reminder drilled into me. This story is set in 17^th century England. Even if I didn’t know much about England’s history of the time, I am able to use context clues to know things weren’t great for women at the time; especially women who were othered like Alice. Show, don’t tell.

The Making of a Witch is not without positives. Aside from loving the main character of Alice, I appreciate all the nature imagery and attention to detail when it comes to the traditional healing practices. This attention to detail is top tier. Judy Molland clearly spent time researching herbalism and the various natural remedies used throughout the novel. The same can be said about the historical setting. The details are there.

Thank you once again to She Writes Press for sending me a copy of The Making of a Witch. I really appreciate it when someone out there wants to send me books. Thank you, thank you!

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I will see you all again next week for another very special review. If you can’t wait that long then you can always follow Reading Has Ruined My Life over on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily so come back often to revel in literary goodness. You can also follow the blog on Twitter and BlueSky (@RHRMLBlog). If you want something not related to books then I highly suggest checking out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. The show stars me and two of my dearest friends as we talk about everything and anything. We have episodes on Scooby-Doo, Disney, Barbie, bad 90s wrestling, and so much more; there’s bound to be something that strikes your fancy. Nothing to See Hear can currently be found on Spotify and YouTube.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!