Book Review: ‘The Witch of Prague’ by J.M. Sidorova
There’s a kind of magical realism I tend to love most—the kind where the magic never fully detaches from reality but instead makes the emotional and political truths of the story feel sharper. The Witch of Prague by J.M. Sidorova landed squarely in that space for me.
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Homeward Books for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of The Witch of Prague contains some spoilers!]
The magic within The Witch of Prague
Set in Cold War Prague, The Witch of Prague follows Alica, a teenage girl navigating a difficult home life, learning differences that shape how she moves through the world, and the kind of vulnerability that comes with being young and female in a society where power is already unevenly distributed. When she finds herself pulled into the orbit of an older woman and an unusual tapestry with the potential to influence those around her, the story begins to ask much larger questions about agency, manipulation, and what power actually means when you’ve spent your life without much of it.
What I appreciated most is that this never reads like traditional fantasy. The magical element is there, but lightly held. It never takes over the story or asks you to suspend reality dramatically. Instead, it feels woven into the book’s emotional fabric, making it much more effective. The story remains grounded in the very real constraints of Cold War Czechoslovakia, where political repression, surveillance, and limited autonomy already define daily life.
That setting is such an important part of why this works. Knowing the historical backdrop of Prague in the years leading up to political unrest gives the novel additional weight. This was a time when the state exerted enormous control, where individual freedom was fragile, and where the possibility of reform existed only briefly before being violently shut down. Against that reality, a story about influence becomes far more interesting.
Because what this book keeps returning to is power. Who has it? Who is denied it? Who learns to wield it? And what happens when someone who has largely existed at the mercy of other people begins to realize she might be able to alter outcomes herself. That tension carried the whole novel for me.
J.M. Sidorova nails the coming-of-age story
Alica’s coming-of-age arc is what really pulled me in, because this isn’t a neat story about self-discovery or empowerment in the conventional sense. Her growth feels far messier than that. She’s learning about herself, yes, but she’s also learning how control operates in families, politics, gender dynamics, and relationships. The older she gets, the less simple those systems become.
I really liked that The Witch of Prague doesn’t frame power as inherently liberating. There’s something much more morally complicated happening here. If you suddenly gain the ability to shape the behavior of others, especially after years of feeling powerless, what do you do with that? Is using that influence an act of protection? Revenge? Survival? Does intention matter if the result is still control? The book leaves space for those questions rather than rushing toward clean answers, which made it feel much stronger to me.
I also found Alica herself compelling because she feels genuinely young in a believable way. She’s not written as overly polished or impossibly wise. She makes emotional decisions. She reacts. She misreads situations. She wants things she doesn’t fully understand. That made her feel much more real than a lot of protagonists in similar coming-of-age stories.
The tapestry itself is such an effective choice because it remains strange in a way that never becomes overly explained. I actually loved that restraint. It’s not treated like a fantasy object with clearly defined mechanics. It feels older than the people interacting with it, carrying its own sense of mystery and ambiguity.
That ambiguity makes the story stronger. Because the real discomfort comes not from the object itself, but from what it represents. Invisible influence is unsettling, no matter the source. Whether it’s political ideology, social expectation, manipulation within relationships, or something more supernatural, the question remains the same: how much control can one person ethically exert over another?
That’s what stayed with me after finishing.
I also appreciated how vividly Prague comes through, not in an overly romanticized way, but as a city carrying both beauty and heaviness. The historical setting never feels decorative. It actively shapes the emotional stakes of the story.
Final thoughts on The Witch of Prague from Homeward Books
This is not a fast-paced novel, and I think readers going in expecting a plot-heavy fantasy may struggle with that. It unfolds gradually, prioritizing atmosphere, character development, and moral tension over dramatic momentum.
What I found most compelling is that the novel never separates personal awakening from the larger systems surrounding it. A young woman figuring out what influence means inside an oppressive political environment is inherently rich material, and the magical realism only deepens that exploration rather than distracting from it.
At its core, this felt less like a story about magic and more like a story about agency. About the dangerous allure of control. About growing up and realizing that power is rarely as straightforward as you imagined.And about how becoming an adult often means understanding that having influence and using it wisely are two very different things. That complexity is exactly what made this one stick with me.
The Witch of Prague by J.M. Sidorova is available now! Have you read this book? Did you enjoy the coming-of-age story as much as I did? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to continue the conversation!
Book Review: Whistler by Ann Patchett
