The December Witches by Jennifer Claessen Blog Tour

 I am beyond happy to be a part of the blog tour for Jennifer Claessen's novel The December Witches. Take a look at the blurb:

 December is Clemmie Merlyn’s favourite month as it usually begins with birthday cake and gifts. But as she turns thirteen, it begins with a Clemmie, and Clemmie alone amongst all witches, is full of magic. So full of magic she might not make it to the end of the month. As the snow spirals down, anxious Clemmie and the young hags will have to find some way to stop her exploding.

Because someone, or something, has chosen Clemmie and made her their One True Witch. But magic is meant to be shared and no-one can survive being filled to the brim with starry power. Can the Merlyn and Morgan covens finally take on the ancient twisted magic of their ancestors? And can they do it in time for Christmas?

This is the conclusion to the A Month of Magic trilogy. I only found this out after reading the book so I can report that this story can easily be read as a stand-alone book.

I enjoyed this from start to finish.

It is a tale that offers mystery, magic and an abundance of love with a real sense of community.

Clemmie as the protagonist was brave, bold and it was a joy to watch her find herself as she became filled with a magic she never knew she could possess.

A wintery story fit for the season.


I have an extra special treat for you today because the lovely author has given me a fantastic cookie recipe to share with you all because what's better than reading a book? Reading a book with a cookie to eat whilst doing so!

Connie’s Cookbook

There are five ‘coven elders’ in the Merlyn family and that can get confusing! But Aunt Connie is the fiery ‘hearth witch’, red is her colour, the kitchen is her domain and it is her cookie recipe which you see evolve throughout.

I’m not a very good cook but I do love baking biscuits and sweet treats with my family and also love an experimental recipe. 

Extracts from Aunt Connie’s cookbook – not a spell book! – throughout The December Witches shows how her recipe changes depending on who she is baking for and as her nieces grow up.

Christmas Cookies

100g butter – Needs more butter! Biscuits snap, cookies are fat.

100g sugar 

2 eggs 

300g plain flour

Christmas Gingerbread

100g salted butter

3 tbsp golden syrup

100g dark muscovado sugar

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoons 2 tablespoons  3 tablespoons ground ginger!

1 tsp ground cinnamon

225g plain flour

50g icing sugar

Aunt Connie also put lots of funny little notes in her recipe books:

Icing sugar and butter to make buttercream. Don’t let Mirabelle add too much purple colouring, it stains the kitchen table.

Made a different batch of cookies with Clemency – needs more fire!  She’s only three but I’m sure she takes after me.

Adding a zingy lemon drizzle for Prudie. The icing complements the warm ginger very well. Good job Con.

Ginger needs a small sharp knife to peel it. DO NOT let the young hags do this! They are still very small and stabby.

I recommend both of these recipes and the gingerbread genuinely can be made into a gingerbread house, though as Aunt Connie says, this needs the hands of a whole coven to prevent collapse.

The Merlyns are, at their heart, very messy witches and a little bit of gingerbread house collapse is no bad thing – then you get to eat it!