This is a book set in a secondary world pre-industrial revolution world with witches and warlocks. The more magical people appear to inhabit the mountains and hills and most of the “normal” folks on the plains do not believe in magic. The primary protagonist, Elodie or “Dee”, is sent to a rural mountain town to become a lady’s maid. While suspicious of how she got this job, Dee nonetheless sets off for sights unknown. With a wretched family life at home, this isn’t a hard decision. Dee very quickly realizes this will not be a normal position.

While I did enjoy parts of this book I also found myself more than a little bored at times, unsure if I wanted to finish reading the book. There were moments of excitement, mostly in the last 20% of the book.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Elodie is a young woman his is mistreated and used by her family. A mysterious letter shows up offering her a job at Black Oak Cottage. She is forced to take it and as she makes the trip there, she learns that she will be a witches servant. The old witch of the cottage is dead, but her young apprentice has taken her place. Elodie must decide whether the risks of working for a witch are worth it to stay, or if she should flee while she can.

This book is not what I had expected, but it wasn't bad. I really enjoyed the descriptive story telling and the story itself. It is original, fast paced, and intriguing.

However, it was a bit boring and unstructured. Characters were often added to the story, then not talked about again. Things kind of just happened that did not make much sense. I was also severely lacking the magic aspect that I hoped for in a witch novel. I want to know more about the world and the characters, but I don't know if this one pulled me in enoigh to pick up the second book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

This book was certainly unexpected. Not necessarily in a bad way. I didn't love this one too much, but I didn't hate it. I felt like there is a romance that was starting up, but it kind of came out of nowhere? There was no real... development of that relationship. The conflict fell a little flat for me, at least until the very end. That being said, there were some twists and turns that left me reeling in a good way. I mentioned the conflict being flat until the end, because the book felt like there was no pacing until the last 30% or so.

The characters were okay. I didn't feel one way or another about them. I felt like the main character, Elodie was a little bit... naive. That being said, I think she was SUPPOSED to be naive. This is a girl who has never left the family home, leaving home and being thrust into this new world that was very very unexpected, and new to her. The witch in the story, Aleida Blackbone can step on me. I would LET her step on me and thank her for it.

All that being said, if I get the opportunity to read the sequel, I will. I think that the story has some potential!

I really couldn't get into this story and that's not the author's fault. I might try to read this book again when I'm not so busy and distracted.

This was a DNF for me. That doesn't happen often but this just wasn't for me. I'm sure there are lots of others that would love it!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

This book is boring. I wish I could just leave my review at that but I have to have so many words. I dont even know what to say about this book because nothing happens.
A girl is sent from her family that pretty much hate her to a witch that didn't even know she was coming. But dont worry she's not that evil of a witch. Its just a lot of the girl trying to get eggs and get some money it seems like

This is a fun fairytale type story. I think readers of Naomi Novak and those who enjoy Alix E. Harrow’s new book will enjoy this. It is a coming of age with some very complex family relationships. There is an interesting mystery running throughout the book. I really enjoyed the story and was drawn in right away. I enjoyed Elodie as a main character—she is plucky and determined. I am excited to read the rest of the series and hoping some of the other interesting characters appear and get developed more. Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I read this book in a single day. It’s a very fun story. .Kind of reminded me a bit of a Baba Yaga story of the bold and true peasant girl getting mixed up with dark magic but pulling through with hard work and spunky spirit. Only the evil witch is gone and the witch she ends up having to serve is the very grouchy apprentice that killed her. I highly recommend. It would be a suitable read for a teen as well even if it’s not a YA book.

This book was unfortunately not for me. I wanted to love it So much but couldn't bring myself to get into it. Others may enjoy it but just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

When Elodie receives a mysterious letter informing her she's been given a position at Black Oak Cottage out of town, she doesn't expect to find herself in the middle of a magical fight. The war between Gyssa and Aleida has left scars on the younger witch, and Gyssa is dead. Gyssa leaves behind dark forces and terrible creatures, ones that Elodie and Aleida will have to defeat if they wish to survive.

I found this to be an engaging read. It is the first in a series, so it's setting up the narrative of future books, but there is enough action and development to make it interesting. I liked Aleida and Elodie, and am interested in seeing what their future holds!

Sooooo good! Real rating is a 4.5

I will admit, I had not heard of this book or author before I got my hands on this book. So with almost no hype, I didn't have the highest expectations. Boy, was I blown away!

This book starts off like a classic fairytale. A girl is wronged, unappreciated and treated poorly by her family (her step father in particular). She is mysteriously sent away to work as a servent for a woman who lives very far away. Then, she finds out the woman is a witch and has no idea who sent for her.

This is a beautifully written story. The author uses beautiful discriptive language to discribe a picturesque, if not somewhat foreboding, landscape. She brings the characters to life and makes even the mundane tasks of cleaning the cabin seem magical.

I truly enjoyed every minute of this book, and had a really difficult time putting it down (stupid work and adult responsibilities!) She used humor and made the characters multifaceted and real. I truly look forward to reading the next book in the series. I hope this turnes out to at least a trilogy, because the author has done something very special here.

Let me just start off by saying, if you want a fast paced, feminist book about Witches with extraordinary world building, then pick this up! This is one of the best witch books I’ve read in a long time! I’m always on the hunt for witchy books that have the kind of vibes this book had. I was hooked from page one and even after finishing the book I’m still hooked and want the sequel!

DNF at 35%

I thought this was going to be right up my alley but sadly, it was just not for me. It has one of my least favorite tropes right at the very beginning, a mom who chooses a man over her daughter... and it kind of went downhill from there.

The writing was good, but the plot was just boring. for a relatively short book, everything seemed to be moving along quite slowly and I just wasn't gripped.
I think this may be good for people who read more YA and like a slower paced book, but it just wasn't for me.
The traveling chapters seemed strange and pointless and I'm not sure why the random wizard was introduced unless he shows back up later.

A Curse of Ash and Embers by Jo Spurrier was a fantastic surprise read. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this early. I took a chance on an author I hadn't heard of, the storyline sounded like it could be interesting. A young woman, Elodie, get a letter for a job far away. What she sees and is exposed to there is beyond her world, but just what she needs. I loved this story and am really looking forward to the next one. The writing pulled me in and kept my interest throughout. I love finding new authors to add to my list.

This was a middle-of-the-road read for me. While I liked a lot of aspects, there were some things I disliked, and overall, I just didn't feel strongly enough about the book to really warrant adding an in-depth review to the blog.

Loved this book - fast paced and a little bit magic. I liked it SO much that even though I received an ARC from NetGalley (thank you) I bought book 2, Daughters of Lies and Ruin the day I completed book 1. Can't wait for Book 3!

Can we take a minute and celebrate a YA fantasy novel that's not 800 pages long? I love getting lost in a long book, but I also love what this book what able to accomplish in a reasonable number of pages. It's a pandemic, folks - and while it's a happy accident that this book fits into the new parameters many of us have for reading, it's reason to celebrate this book nonetheless.

First books in a series always have a heavy burden - build the world but also give us a full story. A Curse of Ash and Embers does exactly that. I loved the world, love the beginning of the relationships, and really enjoyed Elodie. She's not a surprise beauty with flowing long locks. She's her own person and I look forward to future books where she gets to come into her own.

OK, first of all, what is with titles like these? So many books have titles that are essentially: A ___ of _____ and ____./A verb of noun and noun. I suppose that's just the current trend. ANYWAY, about the book:
This would fit into the genre of "dark fairytale," with witches and potions and girls in run down cottages hidden in the woods. Like many current YA titles, it has world-building (done very well) and fantasy aspects, but the protagonist, Elodie. Oh, Elodie. Where have you been all my life? She doesn't have powers, she doesn't have a ton of secrets, she's not royalty. She's just...Elodie. She's just doing her best and doing what she can and it is simply awesome. Seriously, authors - write more characters like Elodie. Teenage girls need that.

I enjoyed this book! It was a short, quaint read filled with alluring descriptions and a solid story. I think that it could have been more fleshed out, but considering the length of this book, the amount it accomplished is great. I like the thrilling aspect of this book, and the darker side of YA fantasy. I wish it had been longer, and I think it could have been much more. However, the book was fleshed out in a splendid way, and the writing was great.

A book with that unique charm of fun fantasy stories. In this incredible world, there is the incomparable Gyssha Blackbone, she has a somewhat creepy activity, the fabrication of monsters. One day she passes away, and it's up to Elodie to clean up the mess. She is hired by the Black Oak Cottage for this titanic task. When Elodie arrived at her workplace she had no idea what she was going to do for a living. Elodie also does not know that she is going to work for a witch, her mistress had no idea either that she was going to receive a new housemaid. Gysha's latest curse left Aleida almost dead and now with monsters prowling the forest, the demonic tree hiding in the orchard and the angry warlock demanding pay for her debt. This series of events causes Adelaida to ask Elodie for help in solving these problems. A very entertaining book because of the atmosphere of magic that Elodie experiences. I really liked how the story begins, with Elodie at home with her mother and stepfather. I didn't expect her stepfather to ask her to go work at the house of someone Elodie didn't even know. Another aspect that I really liked is that the book is so entertaining that I didn't want to stop reading. I loved that it is part of a series, so I hope to read book 2 soon and know what will happen next. I thank NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers, and Voyager - AU for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.