Immanuelle Moore is different from the other girls in Bethel. The townspeople whisper stories of her mother’s sins and how those sins lead to her death and the death of her forbidden love.

They stare at Immanuelle with both contempt and fascination. It’s as if they can sense the power that shy beauty will command sometime in the very near future. But it’s the intense eyes of the Prophet’s son that she feels even in her dreams.

“In the Scriptures and the stories, in the stained-glass windows of the cathedral or the paintings that hung from its stone walls, the angels always looked like Leah: golden-haired and blue-eyed, dressed in fine silks and satins, with full cheeks and skin as pale as river pearls.
As for the girls like Immanuelle—the ones from the Outskirts, with dark skin and raven-black curls, cheekbones as keen as cut stone—well, the Scriptures never mentioned them at all. There were no statues or paintings rendered in their likeness, no poems or stories penned in their honor. They went unmentioned, unseen.”

Not only is Ezra Chambers the heir to the Prophet, he’s also the most wickedly handsome boy that Immanuelle has ever seen. They both have secrets that no one knows – no one but each other.

Strangely, he’s become her closest confidant and friend. So when Bethel finds itself in the grips of a catastrophic plague, Immanuelle must venture into the Darkwood to stop it. And Ezra is right by her side.

Together, they will shine light into the dark hearts of the so-called faithful and find out just how far they will go to save the ones that they love.

“Their pain was the great shame of the Father’s faith, and all of Bethel shared in it. Men like the Prophet, who lurked and lusted after the innocent, who found joy in their pain, who brutalized and broke them down until they were nothing, exploiting those they were meant to protect. The Church, which not only excused and forgave the sins of its leaders but enabled them: with the Protocol and the market stocks, with muzzles and lashings and twisted Scriptures. It was the whole of them, the heart of Bethel itself, that made certain every woman who lived behind its gate had only two choices: resignation, or ruin.
No more, Immanuelle thought. No more punishments or Protocols. No more muzzles or contrition. No more pyres or gutting blades. No more girls beaten or broken silent. No more brides in white gowns lying like lambs on the altar for slaughter.”

With The Year of the Witching, Alexis Henderson delivers a debut that is both relevant and powerful. She lays down a vast austere landscape then adds characters that radiate extraordinary strength and a hypnotic brand of mysticism. The result is a stunning tale of feminist might and inspiration.

And I can’t wait to see what Alexis dreams up next…

Born an orphan and an outcast, seventeen-year-old Immanuelle Moore has never known anything outside of Bethel. As the child of a Bethelan mother accused of witchcraft and an Outskirter father who was burned at the stake, she wears the shame of her conception in her skin, and the guilt from her remaining family’s acceptance in every other facet of her existence. Determined to avoid the cruel attentions of the Prophet and his Apostles, she spends her days tending her flock and saying her prayers—at least until an accidental journey through the Darkwood shows her a future more terrifying than she ever imagined.

Even though this genre isn’t one I typically read, I couldn’t help but request this title for review after hearing so much about it. As it turns out, I’m glad I did. Given how meticulously The Year of the Witching plays out, it’s clear that Alexis Henderson hasn’t just dipped her toes in her subjects, but cannonballed into the deep end with impressive and thought-provoking results.

To say that, for a debut novel, The Year of the Witching has got a lot going on is a comical understatement. Confronting the justifiably and reliably contentious topics of theocratic despotism, gender inequity, racial diminishment, and more, it examines the heroism of one young woman who finds herself not only the epicenter of the apocalypse, but the genesis of a new world.

While its most evident—if oversimplified for the purpose of review—conflict is the use of “sin” in the subjugation, scapegoating, abuse, and eventual destruction of women at the hands of powerful men, The Year of the Witching is also propelled by many other, more subtle considerations. One example I noticed was that some of Imanuelle’s interactions illustrate competitiveness as a fundamental human trait, yet it is exercised differently based on condition rather than gender. There are many others, as well, but I think every reader is likely to see something different.

The Year of the Witching is a well-written, diligently crafted debut by an author that I’d very much like to see more from in the future. While the story is at once captivating and suspenseful, there are significant lessons to be learned and histories it would be foolish to ignore. Whether a warning about self-anointed saviors with no accountability, an exploration of the parasitic nature of absolute power (and the unconscionable cost of satisfying it), or calling out the pitfalls of tolerating the currency of guilt and forgiveness, The Year of the Witching doesn’t flinch.

I cannot rave enough about this book, or give it enough stars.
It was terrifying with a creeping dread that stole over you as one piece after another the world was shown to be rotted.
And yet, it was amazing and wonderful too. It showed a world that is far too much like our own in some ways, and yet it also showed a way to change it.
The primary characters, Immanuel and Ezra were wonderful. (There wasn't a single moment when I wanted to smack one of them! It's a first for me haha.) Their pain and confusion, their sorrow and fear, it filled you up and made you weep for them.
The story itself was deftly uncovered piece by piece, never being clear as to what was happening. it was very much like going through a fog, where you can only see a few steps ahead of yourself. The details were rich and cutting, digging into you so that it felt very much like I was in the story.

I'm torn between hoping there will be a second book, and also hoping that their story ends here.

The nitty-gritty: Dark and unsettling, The Year of the Witching is perfect for fans of horror-tinged, dystopian fantasy.

You know me, when I see a book with the word “witch” in the title, I’m all over it! So of course I couldn’t wait to read The Year of the Witching, a debut that really impressed me. Henderson’s story has familiar themes and elements—a puritanical, male dominated society reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale, and a polygamous culture where woman are little more than breeding machines, which reminded me of the Mormon faith, just to name two examples—but it also has a flavor all its own. This book felt like a dark fairy tale at times, mostly due to Henderson’s lyrical writing style, but also because the story centers around a mysterious and dangerous forest called the Darkwood. I was mesmerized by this tale of witches, dark curses and dangerous family ties, and I raced through it in only a few days.

Bethel is a village cut off from the rest of the world, whose residents follow strict codes and rules and worship the Good Father. Sin of any kind isn’t tolerated at all, and those found guilty of sins are thrown into a desolate prison called Contrition or burned on the village pyre. The leader of the village is the Prophet, a man who channels the Father and demands obedience and piety from his flock. Those women lucky enough to catch the Prophet’s eye become his wives, and after a “cutting” ceremony where the Prophet carves his sigil on their foreheads, the wives dutifully begin to produce children, their reward for these burdens being protection and lives of ease.

Immanuelle is a young girl nearing her seventeenth birthday who has never really fit in with the rest of her peers. Many girls her age are already married, and even her best friend Leah will soon become one of the Prophet’s wives. Immanuelle is teased endlessly about her mixed race appearance—her dark skin and curly hair set her apart from the rest of Bethel’s inhabitants. Immanuelle knows little about her mother, who died giving birth to her, but she is drawn to the energy of the Darkwood, a forbidden place ruled by the Dark Mother, where the spirits of four witches are rumored to live.

When Immanuelle unexpectedly encounters the witches, she triggers a horrible plague upon Bethel, a plague that only she can stop. With the help of an enigmatic boy named Ezra, Immanuelle sets out to learn more about her family history and the reasons behind the plague. Bethel may not be perfect, but it’s the only life she’s ever known, and Immanuelle will do anything to break the curse and save her family.

Henderson is brilliant at evoking a sinister atmosphere, and I loved her descriptions of the different plagues that beset the village of Bethel. One plague involves blood, and the descriptions of blood seeping up through the ground and mixing with the mud on the road makes for some very disturbing imagery. I also loved the Darkwood and the witches who live there. You’ve seen many stories with creepy forests as settings, and this is another one that worked really well. The witches themselves are more beast than human, and the author gives the reader lots of backstory to explain how the witches came to live in the forest. This is a very dark story, although some of the darker elements are off the page (rape, abuse, etc). But readers looking for an upbeat, feel good story should definitely look elsewhere.

I loved many of the characters in this book, especially Immanuelle, a girl who sincerely wants to do the right thing, but who also discovers the corruption and evil lying just beneath the surface of Bethel’s ruling faction. Ezra is the potential love interest—although Henderson keeps the romance to a minimum—but I loved that Ezra wants nothing more than to leave Bethel and visit the wide world beyond the walls, even though he’s the Prophet’s son and must pretend to be pious and loyal to his father. Late in the story, Immanuelle meets her maternal grandmother Vera, who lives in the Outskirts, the slum part of Bethel where people of color are forced to live. We don’t get to spend a lot of time with Vera, but what I saw of her I loved.

I mentioned before that some of the elements seem very familiar, and this might be the story’s only downfall. You’ll not only find hints of other familiar dystopian societies, but also the Salem witch trials and traditional fairy tales. You won’t be surprised by how horrible the Prophet is, a man who thinks it’s his responsibility to put people to death for committing the smallest of sins—even seeing someone else sin is considered a sin. But I think Henderson has done a great job of twisting these elements into a unique story that has some surprises along the way.

Despite its dark tone, I loved the story’s hopeful ending. Immanuelle stands firm in her loyalty to Bethel, and I was surprised by her choices at the end. There isn’t any indication of a sequel on Goodreads, but when I checked the author’s website, she mentions that a sequel will be out next year! This is very good news, because as I was reading I had the feeling that Immanuelle’s and Ezra’s stories weren’t finished. Readers who like their tales on the dark side are going to love this book.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

The Year of the Witching is an intriguing paranormal fantasy that is sure to sweep you away to another time. A dark, mysterious story that you do not want to miss out on. The author pulls you in from the first page in this enchanting story of mystery, magic, and witches. There are some moments and scenes in this book that were downright terrifying. I enjoyed reading The Year of the Witching and look forward to reading more from the author.

Year of the Witching is a dark feminist fantasy and not one I would have picked up on my own. I decided to download this one after it was mentioned in the sister group, and I read it with my reading sister Debra. I am so glad I read this one and had Debra to discuss this one with.

I often get lost when reading stories with fantasy or supernatural elements to the story, so it took a while to get into this one, and I had to go back and reread some parts. Once I got into the flow of it, I couldn't put down my kindle until I was done reading it. After reading and thinking about this one, I began to realize the depth to the story.

Alexis Henderson brilliantly blends horror, a paranormal dark, twisty witchy tale set the dystopian world of Bethel where the Prophet makes the rules everyone must follow. She weaves in real-world themes like racism, oppression, power and religion. The Prophet uses fear, cruelty and religion to gain power and control over the people.

Our main character Immanuelle is a strong realistic character here with her traits and development. She starts off vulnerable and flawed by her Mother's choices and lives in the shadows. She grows into a multi-layered strong character with conflicts of her own and ones she must overcome to save her family, community and home. Not only is Immanuelle a complex, fascinating character, the dynamics between her and the other characters are also.

The setting is haunting beautiful and creepy that adds a deliciously bleak and eerie feel to the story with the danger that lurks in the Darkwoods.

With every page, the tension rises to that exciting climate of a showdown between the characters, and I was gripping my kindle hoping no one would bother me till I was done. This is an impressive story, and like no other, I have read. I highly recommend it.

Bethel is a religious settlement, and Immanuelle Moore is the embodiment of blasphemy. Her mother had a relationship with an outsider of a different race, disgracing her family. As a result, Immanuelle sought to praise the Father and conform in order to prove to the community that she was like all of the other women in the settlement. She stumbled into the Darkwood where the prophet had killed four witches in the past, and their ghosts grant Immanuelle powers and her dead mother's diary. Immanuelle soon realizes that there is a darkness in Bethel, and she has to be the one to help change the community.

The leaders of Bethel, from the Prophet to his Apostles, all are older white men with multiple wives. They're racists and misogynists as well as polygamists, making sure girls can't read, and know only the history of their community. The sole purpose of women is to bear children, keep house, and glorify the men. The Outsiders at the edge of their community are looked down upon and treated badly, so by extension Immanuelle is treated that way at times by most of the people. She also internalized it, so that she never would have looked into her paternal family if the circumstances hadn't changed.

While the subjugation of women and the willingness to be complicit in that to keep power is openly derided as terrible by the text, so is revenge. The secrets kept by those in power are exposed as the book goes on, and revenge only leaves the innocent at risk of the plagues and dangers of the patriarchy. Acting like them only perpetuates the system of victimhood, only changing who receives violence and shame. Immanuelle has multiple difficult choices to make, between safety for herself or safety of everyone. Multiple changes have to be made to really alter the foundations of their society, and she is definitely strong enough to make them.

This was an interesting mix of horror and fantasy. It was dark, between the horrendous actions of people and the witches, it was full of horrors. I found the parallels between the witches, their Mother goddess and the Church's Father to be compelling. I thought that the religious element was very well done. The pacing of the book though seemed off. The characters were not the strong point of the story. In fact, I found the characters to be meh. I didn't care for them or care all tat much about what happens to them.

You know when you enjoyed a book, but you wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to someone? That was The Year of the Witching for me.

I was into the feminist witchy vibes contrasted with a dystopian Evangelical South. It also had an expertly crafted classic YA formula of adventure, mixed with “girl that never quite fit in”, mixed with love interest that felt familiar in a good way.

What kept me from being more enthusiastic though is that it went on for a little too long. As well, what could have been a meaningful undertone on race relations was presented as too unclear-and if I (someone with an English Lit degree) had trouble deciphering a YA motif, it most likely means that whatever point was being made would be straight over the average young reader’s head.

If The Year of the Witching sounds like your cup of tea, I recommend saving it for the fall and pairing it with Lolly Willowes for full feminist witch context. And if you’re local to Philly make sure to check out The Spiral Bookcase for the black cherry on top.

The Year of the Witching completely caught me by surprise, I was sorta interested because of the horror aspect but not so much the subject material when it comes to the very religious and witchy plot but I did not realize I was going to enjoy it this much. I’m not the biggest witch fan, the horror Gothic vibe is what really turned me to it. It’s not a generic Halloween witch style book, it is a straight up horror thriller in a very mature way with a chilling atmosphere and tons of blood. Do not underestimate the blood.

It’s been a while since I’ve fallen head over heels for a horror, okay let’s be honest, it’s been since Mexican Gothic. This is a fantastic open and shut reading experience that’s well, on the short side, but is so high quality and enjoyable with minimal filler, and it’s physically gorgeous.

So we’re following Immanuelle who was born a curse. She’s lives in a village that is incredibly religious. In fact, in the beginning she is partaking in what is called a sabbath where they slay a lamb and drip blood on the villagers. There's a man called The Prophet who I was legit scared of, he reminded me of the antagonist of the video game A Plagues Tale. All of his wives have a holy seal cut between there eyebrows so yes, the moment you begin reading and I’m talking about the very first page, you realize this is going to be dark and it is. It’s incredibly sinister. It’s very cult like and immanuelle sticks out among her community, not only because of her skin color but she believes she is full of sin because all she wants to do is herd sheep. Me too girl.

Immanuelle’s family is incredibly poor, they are on the brink of ruin all because their family history is connected to the Darkwood which is the forest surrounding the village and Immanuelle has always felt a strange affinity to it. The main character honestly kinda reminds me of a dark skinned Lydia from Beetle juice. At one point while herding sheep in the eerie fog, she sings a Hymn she once learned at a funeral. She’s pretty badass.

I say that though there really isn’t too much combat and action since the main character is really just trying to survive the environment she’s in by being clever and rebellious. She’s sneaking around quite a bit, it gives you a genuine feeling of being in a restricted section the entire time. It all makes the main character and some side characters as well feel very small compared to The Church. The author still keeps it very briskly paced, it all felt like a shot of fresh air. It kept me interested through out. The whole witch purging thing is yeah, a cool approach but mostly with how the author did it. I thought she was going to go for this sad depressing historical accuracy until I read and things are very over the top and twisted.

I really don’t want to give anything away. I’m trying to be as vague as possible. The story was so fascinating to learn. It was like reading an old folktale the whole time. Or it felt like when you tell scary stories around a campfire but then those stories suddenly become reality. Spooooooky.
That’s the kind of vibe this book gives off. The writing is great and it’s even more extenuated by hair raising horror inspired metaphors

Now there is magic in this book which I did not expect at all and it comes in the form of gifts. Some people are gifted with healing, some can tell truth from falsehood. All the gifts are very realistic in the sense that there's not like “I cast my fireball at you!” it’s all very subtle and connected to the holy protocol. Though it’s very rarely seen in the story at all. It’s mentioned every now and then and I think it would have been rad to have seen it used more.

Launching myself into the sun would be less stressful than reading the final chapters of this book. It did feel a little sudden and wrapped up too quickly for my taste and some things toward the end felt a little too convenient for Imanuelle but these are little things in the grand scheme of things. So at the end of the day, should you read this book? If you’re into sinister witches, bloody everything, you should definitly check it out.

This book wasn't for me. I liked the idea, but couldn't read it due to conflicts in beliefs. ..............................................................

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson is a book about woman who born cursed. Coming into herself and finding the truth, can she change the world?

I am trying to think of something I enjoyed about this book but so far I cannot think of a thing for me. This was a DNF. The main character was not intriguing to me and I just was bored. I was forcing myself to continue and make bargains with myself to read this. Now in all fairness I may just be burnt on worlds where woman are treated like crap in patriarchal society but there was nothing to distinguish and pull me into the story in the first 15% of the book. I skipped to the end and could already feel how I would be dissatisfied.

I give this two stars. I am sure some others will like it but I just had no desire to continue this book even after reading the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC. This is an honest review.

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

Pros: interesting characters, quite scary and intense

Cons: uncomfortable race relations

Sixteen year old Immanuelle Moore is the daughter of a black man from the Outskirts, who burned on a pyre for having relations with her mother. Her mother was a white bride of the Prophet, who went mad after seeing her lover die. Raised as a good believer in the Holy Scriptures, she doesn’t understand why the Darkwood, home of the witches who once terrorized Bethel, calls to her so strongly. When she finally succumbs to that call, she unwittingly unleashes a series of curses on her home.

Immanuelle is a great protagonist, conflicted in her beliefs and desires. She’s strong willed and passionate. Her terror of the witches and determination to end the curses were palpable. I loved the slow burn romance with Ezra.

The world itself was terrifying for a liberal reader. Bethel is a closed community with very strict religious rules and no recourse against the hidden evils Immanuelle discovers taking place within the church: abuse of power - physical and sexual - and the subjugation of women.

The division between the villages of the ‘holy’ white congregation and the shanty towns on the Outskirts of the black former refugees was stark and left me feeling uncomfortable. I would have thought that with the conversion of the refugees, more intermingling would have occurred. The fact that Lilith, the head witch, was a black woman also left me feeling unsettled as it seems to continue this ‘black is evil, white is good’ theme, which is clearly undercut by the churches’ abuses on one hand but not really by anything on the other. Yes, Immanuelle fought against the witches, but as she was from the village and not the Outskirts it didn’t feel like she broke that aphorism. Nor does Vera, as it’s unclear if she ever practiced witchcraft or simply used protective sigils.

The horror elements are very terrifying. There’s a lot of blood and the story centres on events in womens’ lives that feature blood. The witches are evil and things get so grim I had to take breaks when reading this. Descriptions aren’t overly graphic, so though the imagery can be intense, it never feels gratuitous.

The writing is quite lyrical, which brings the world to life and really drives home the terror.

On the whole this is a fantastic story, provided you can handle a horror novel right now.

“True evil, Immanuelle realized now, wore the skin of good men. It uttered prayers, not curses. It feigned mercy where there was only malice. It studied Scriptures only to spit out lies.”

THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING is the feminist horror witchy tale you need in your life. Dark and atmospheric with plenty of creepy moments, along with an undercurrent of love and loyalty and an exploration of the powerful bond between mother and child.

Immanuelle comes from Bethel, a rigid, puritanical society where women’s highest aspiration is to be one of the Prophet’s wives. Wives (and women) are meant to serve and there’s no higher power to serve than the prophet. That’s just the way life is in Bethel. You work, you worship, you obey and, most importantly, you stay out of the woods. The Darkwood holds danger and it’s a danger borne of secrets very close to Immanuelle and her people, and she’s thrown right into the middle of it after wandering into the woods and given a gift in the form of her dead mother’s journal. It becomes all too clear that perhaps Bethel isn’t quite what it claims to be.

“This was the great shame of Bethel: complacency and complicity that was responsible for the deaths of generations of girls. It was the sickness that placed the pride of men before the innocents they were sworn to protect. It was a structure that exploited the weakest among them for the benefit of those born to power.”

Filled with plenty of creepy moments and brimming with tension, THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING also explores several themes, the most prominent being female empowerment and a revolution to bring an end to the patriarchy within Bethel, with Immanuelle quietly and proudly leading that revolution. The story also touches on class and race, and the author does a phenomenal job exploring both and having Immanuelle experience firsthand the struggles that come along with being of mixed heritage. This book is fairly dark at times, but Henderson nicely balances the darkness with a little bit of romance, and that certainly helped to lighten things up a little.

Bottom line — I loved everything about this book, and Henderson is definitely on the way to becoming an auto-buy author for me. THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING gave off strong vibes of The Village meets The Handmaid’s Tale, and it’s a mix that worked really well for me. 5/5 stars.


*eARC received courtesy of NetGalley.

𝓑𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓭, 𝓑𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽, 𝓓𝓪𝓻𝓴𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼, 𝓢𝓵𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓮𝓻.

Debut Novel by Alexis Henderson
@lexish
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“𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚛 “𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚎𝚜” 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍.”
—𝙰𝚕𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜 𝙷𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗

Thank you @berkleypub for gifting me The Year of the Witching!
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𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝙱𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚂𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛.
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A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself, with terrifying and far-reaching consequences, in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

Alexis Henderson debut novel has solidified herself as a new voice in dark fantasy

A Hauntingly tale, The Year of the Witching is the tale of curses, witches, a dark forbidden woods.

Blood, Blight, Darkness, Slaughter.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, by Alexis Henderson Is a tension filled, deliciously terrifying southern gothic, with puritain elements, with captivating prose, you will be completely immersed within its horror drenched thrilling pages.

Alexis Henderson blends elements of both the supernatural and horror, to give us one incredible witchy books ever. This absorbing and highly compulsive read here that was so captivating that you will have the biggest book hang over ever. The authors gift of imaginative unsettling world building, along with the magic system really makes this a spine-tingling tale.
The characters are well developed and completely fleshed out. The protagonist Immanuelle Moore battles demons within the malevolent woods and her patriarchal church-based social society government. Taking place in a rigid and unrelenting town where the Prophet’s word is law and punishment is common.

I was hooked in the first chapter in this nonstop read, the storyline is perfectly executed, Henderson does an exceptional job sinking you into this stunning darkish atmospheric book. Taking place in a rigid and unrelenting town where the Prophet’s word is law and punishment is unrelenting.
The citizens of puritanical town of Bethel are forbidden to enter the Darkwood, when a series of events Immanuelle is lured in by accident, hidden truths are long time coming, as they resurface and a forgotten curse awakens.

Themes explored are feminism, theology, and race woven in such a way that their depiction is masterly done.

The Year of the Witching! releases tomorrow and if you like dark ominous gothic reads, you won’t want let this to pass you by

So I've been considering reading this book for awhile now. The cover kept grabbing my attention and I was so glad I finally did!
This is a debut book by Alex Henderson about a girl named Immanuelle who is being raised by her mothers family in a city called Bethel. Bethel is a small village run by "The Prophet", the leader of the church and his "apostles" who carry out his bidding. The story deals with sexism, sexual assault, misogyny, and racism.
Immanuelle has been raised by her mothers family since the day she was born. Her mother, a young girl who was one of the many wives of the Prophet had escaped the church to be with the man she loved. A dark skinned man from the Outskirts, a shanty town between Bethel and the Darkwoods.

Immanuelle does everything she can to fit in, be obedient and keep attention from herself. Her mother had been labeled a witch for escaping to the Darkwoods and Immanuelle has that burden to bear. A storm and a wild chase to catch her runaway ram brings her into the Darkwoods where she comes across the fabled witches of the Darkwood. They give her her mothers journal and Immanuelle realizes that her connection to the Darkwoods runs deeper than she imagined.

I really loved this book. It may very well be a stand alone novel and it certainly works as one. But I'd still love another story from this character, the ending suggests there could be one but it may not be necessary.
I think the characters were very interesting and well developed and the book kept my attention. I read it in two days. It was really, really good!

The vibe I got from this book from the beginning was like that of the movie The VVitch, except with a biracial main character. But this book begins more where The VVitch ends, when we know witchcraft is real and where its realm is.

The book also has a quasi-Christian polygamous, patriarchal, puritanical (you know, the three P's!) cult as the religious force opposing the witchcraft, and the main character Immanuelle is trying to navigate the world of discovering the truth in both practices.

It's definitely a horror novel, with so much blood that is from a lot of places: violence, rituals, menstruation, childbirth, animal sacrifice, and more! So you gotta go into this one ready for that. It actually had so many different representations of blood that it got me thinking about how blood is used is so many different ways, to symbolize womanhood, commitment, family, race, religiosity, death, etc. etc. and it really made me think how can this one thing be all these things at the same time? And I think that's what this book is trying to explore.

What's interesting and thought provoking about this book is that it isn't a straightforward story of religious cults being bad and witches being good, despite how I might want to root for witches. I appreciate that the story leaves me with thoughts to think.

For me, the downside of the book was that the world building and plot were all there, but I felt like I didn't get to know Immanuelle as much as I wanted to. She's brave and curious and righteous but didn't always feel rounded to me.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.***

The Year of the Witching is a stellar debut novel from Alexis Henderson. Immanuelle is a female protagonist that I resonate deeply with. The question of her patriarchal, religious environment will run deep with many girls who felt alone on this teenage spiritual journey.

The horror atmosphere is slow and steady and is a breath of fresh air amongst the horror genre. Witches and evil run rampant within this narrative and it is aesthetically pleasing to read. I would recommend this for fans of slow burn horror with a dash of thought-provoking questions about identity and secularism.

3.5 stars

What do you have when you add Salem Witch Trials, plagues, cursed witches, polygamy, oppression of women, fantasy settings, racial commentaries, and religious allegories together? This book.

Writing: ★★★★
Concept: ★★★★
Pacing/Plot: ★★★
Characters: ★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★ 1/2

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. A biracial girl in a town of only white people, her very existence brings shame to her family as it reminds the settlement of her dead mother's sins—and witchcraft.

The Prophet is a man (I bet you guessed) and the town of Bethel exists as a small, settlement-type town in the middle of Nowhere, Nowhere. Their town is surrounded by the Darkwood, and the Prophet's religious teachings warn of the wood's dangers and temptations. Lilith and her coven of witches live in the Darkwood and they live in sin, and if you let them tempt you you'll be lost forever.

Or at least, that's what the man says.

Like so many tales of oppressive male-dominated religious regimes, The Year of the Witching is highlighting issues of gender, power, and control—and how many of those bindings go hand in hand with some extreme conservative religions. The Prophet may be in charge and he may call himself holy, but his many many underage sister wives tell a different story by the bruises on their skin.

Combining issues of female agency and power, race and poverty, and a heavy dose of critical notes on religion, this tale was extremely representative and often sacrificed world building and plot for the sake of allegory. I'm not saying that it wasn't done well, but I definitely want to highlight that fact for other readers.

At the end of the day, I thought this was a solid debut. As someone who likes fantasy/horror speculative novels that go there and push the reader, I thought this fell short for my personal tastes. The messaging was fantastic, but the plot itself stopped its own progress by keeping it from going to that extra level. Things felt predictable—with the heart of the novel focused on the lofty concepts, it was harder for the characters to authentically reach their goals.

Without spoiling this particular novel, a good example of this would be like a book to movie adaptation. It's hard to be surprised when you go the theater to view an adapted movie from a book that you've read. You know the main plot points, you've read the book, so it's really a matter of relying on the adaptation to still surprise you with something new within the framework of something that you already know.

The Year of the Witching didn't have that extra oomph for me, but I think it did for other readers.

Thank you to Ace - Berkley via NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Year of the Witching

Author: Alexis Henderson

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Mixed race main character (it’s a bit fuzzy on what she’s mixed with but it does describe her as having darker skin)

Recommended For...: witches, historical fiction, paranormal, fantasy, horror

Publication Date: July 21, 2020

Genre: YA Paranormal

Recommended Age: 17+ (menstrual cycles, gore, animal death/slaughter, torture, death, sex mentions, domestic abuse, child sex abuse)

Publisher: Ace

Pages: 368

Synopsis: In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

Review: I really loved this book! The story was intriguing and kept me hooked from the first page. The character development was well done for most of the characters, and I loved message behind the book. The book is basically commentary on how toxic communities can become if there is a leader left with unchecked power (sound like something familiar? Good). The book was also very open about the slight racism the main character faced (without calling it racism) and was open about menstrual cycles (win!). The book also touches slightly on whitewashing history, but it’s more like “hiding that our history comes from the very thing we are trying to kill”. The book also is very feminist!

However, I did feel like the pacing was a bit too slow for me and I wish that there was a bit more world building in the book. The book also didn’t paint either side as good or evil, which works for the book but leaves the reader a bit weird on siding with either side.

Verdict: It was a well done book! Highly recommend.