The Witch of Willow Hall

You can also find this review on my blog.

cw: familial death, incest, suicide, miscarriage, child death
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.

Sometimes I feel as if we are standing on opposite sides of a great chasm, and I must watch helplessly as the gaping space between us widens.

→ What I Liked:

The Romance
I enjoyed the connection between the main character, Lydia, and her love interest. Their interactions were by far my favorite to read and the romance was really what kept me going through this. I really wanted to know how things came together (or didn't) for the two of them.

The Readability
While it took some time to gain my interest, this took on an unputdownable quality for me. It really turned into quite the page turner and I read the entire second half of the book in one sitting.

→ What I Didn't Like:

The Characters
Besides Lydia and, to some extent, her love interest, there wasn't much depth among the characters. They all felt quite one-dimensional and were defined by one or two qualities that didn't really change. I also hated the way the older sister Catherine was written – she was a stereotypical catty teenage girl whose only purpose was to cause strife. I've been over characterizations like these for a while now.

The Lack of Subtlety
I was literally rolling my eyes at the beginning of this with how hard it was hitting me over the head with the witch stuff. There were plenty of “hints” about Lydia's true nature, but they were so blatant that they may as well have been screaming off the page. It really drew from the story itself for me.

The Ending
There was so much stuffed into this ending that it felt very rushed to me. A lot of it just felt so very... convenient. And the focus was so much on the romance and so little on the witchcraft that I was left dissatisfied and with very many questions. I want a sequel to learn more about Lydia's abilities and family history, but felt like the way this ended didn't leave much room for that.

→ TL;DR:
~Romance was enjoyable
~Page-turner
~Side characters needed work
~Lots of eyerolls
~Ending was too rushed
~Would recommend, but think of this more as a YA romance with paranormal elements than a fantasy or horror with romance on the side
~Will pick up Hester Fox's next book

This is a great book to get you in the mood for Halloween.

Because of a scandal, Lydia, her two sisters, and her parents have to leave their city lives behind and move to the country.

The house is nice, the area is beautiful, but something just isn't right. Lydia starts hearing voices, seeing people that aren't there, and has a feeling of unease.

Maybe there's a reason it was empty for so long before they moved here.

I enjoyed this book. It had the creepy vibe that I look for this time of year.
I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
2.5 stars

My thoughts are somewhat conflicted about this one.

From the synopsis I was expecting my witchy creepy stuff. And I will say, there is some great creepy scenes with some good imagery. Those scenes had me thoroughly interested and fit with all the other suspenseful books I've been reading. Yay Halloween season!

The thing is the story really favors the historical aspect with the period sensitive problems. I like historical romances and I like suspenseful stuff, but it felt like the two didn't always work together. The problems always seemed to eclipse the creepy stuff... which I thought would have been a much larger part of the book, thanks to the synopsis.

The characters weren't too bad, they were pretty real. I just never got around to liking anyone completely. The romances were pretty quick and I don't think they were fully flushed out. This might have been because it felt like the book was going in different directions.

Yet, I continued to be interested in what would happen– who would end up with who? what will happen to them all? Is she a witch or not?? It is a dark and gritty book for the most part with interesting scenes and I liked the flow of the writing.

Would I recommend this book? If you like historical books and want some suspense, totally. If you want a witch story, then no. I'll probably check out more of the authors work in the future.

Lydia has a gift that she has no idea exists. When she is angry things happen...

Lydia Montrose and her family have left Boston due to rumors circulating around town regarding her family. While her sister Catherine does not care what people think, it is hurting the family and the business her father is in. So they head off to Willow Hall, to start fresh and begin a new life.
There, they meet their father's new business partner, Mr. Barrett. Lydia is smitten with him, but as always, her sister Catherine seems to hold sway with all the men.
When tragedy strikes the family, things begin to shift. Lydia begins to see ghosts, not only of her sister, but of two women, and a little boy that seems to be somewhat of a prankster.
Lydia knows she has to do something, but she is not sure what she can do to put her sister to rest, and also to claim the happiness that she so desires with Mr. Barrett...

This book was amazing! I started it and then got sidetracked with life, but when I picked it up and started reading again, I was hooked! I could not put it down, I had to know what happened next! This is definitely a MUST read for the year!