Alice Hoffman’s The Witches of Cambridge Kicks Off New Series

Alice Hoffman shared the cover of The Witches of Cambridge exclusively with PEOPLE; the novel is the first book in a planned trilogy and will hit shelves this summer.

The story follows Ava and Lauren, two very different young women who are recruited into the Lilith Society, a historic secret group for witches. As the legacy of McCarthyism hangs over the city and girls begin to go missing from the society, the pair confront the possibility that the state’s legacy of witch trials may still be alive.

Hoffman says the novel began as a term paper when she returned to Harvard and touches on themes of love, magic, sorrow, betrayal, sisterhood and best friends.

The book has received early praise from authors including Leigh Bardugo, who called it “rich with history, heartbreak and magic.” The cover image is credited to Alyssa Peek and Scribner.

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