🎧Song Pairing: Monsters - James Blunt

💭What I thought would happen:

A witchy book I put off because the GoodReads rating was skunk junk

🗯Thoughts:

I don’t have much to say. I felt like it was a mixture of a forest witch, Greek mythology creatures and the 3 fates all put together with their own agendas. I just made this book sound cool. It’s not.

The set up was kind of janky then when the boulder started (this autocorrected to sharted and honestly having a hard chuckle) rolling I no longer gave a hoot and a holler.

I just wanted to laugh for a second at the problem with listening sometimes…the narrator kept talking about a lock but in a context that made BO SENSE…why? They were referring to a loch 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

I found the beginning of this book to be slow and confusing, which unfortunately set the tone for how the book was going to go for me. The narrator has a beautiful accent, but it also made the book difficult for me to understand.

I wanted to love this book because it’s historical fantasy and witches which are totally my jam. Unfortunately, this book fell flat in many ways.

I didn’t really love any of the characters and that made connecting with the story and rooting for the heroes rather difficult. I also felt like the romance plot wasn’t really romance? It was definitely not my favorite.

Overall, I’d read more of Paige Crutcher’s books but this wasn’t my favorite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love these type of Halloween novels. I loved the world building and the characters. I couldn't get enough and I never wanted it to end. I would totally ready another one about this world.

Intricately woven world in which an island in Scotland has been completely trapped. due to a curse, and how a coven of witches overcame it. Well written and descriptive with delightful narration.

Audiobook ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

I listened to the audio of this and might have enjoyed it more if I had read the book myself. The timelines jump back and forth and I had a hard time keeping up. It is witchy, otherworldly, and includes a mother-daughter story as some themes.

THE LOST WITCH
Paige Crutcher, Author
Aoife McMahon, Narrator
Romance

Brigid has traveled from 1922 to 2022 with no memory of the travel. The one thing she knows is she has to work her magical descendants to save Evermore. She also must trust the mysterious Luc Knightly.

This book is full ups and downs. Then a lot of sparks between Brigid and Luc. You will find this book leaving you wanting more. I would give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

2.5/5 ⭐ -

I'm sorry to say this just was not the book for me. I couldn't stay focused to the audiobook, and when I did focus on it, I just wasn't having fun listening to it. The basic premise of the storyline of a witch taken 100 years from her time to deal with a curse/ problem he caused, without the memory to do so was interested, but I couldn't fall in love with this book.

Brief Plot - 1922- Brigid desperately wants a baby, and agrees to a deal with the many of an enemy coven. But as her daughter becomes ill, Brigid does everything in her power, to include forbidden magic, to save her child. 2022- Brigid awakes with no memory of how she has traveled to the future, and most of her life prior (to include having a daughter). With her two nieces, she is tracking down her memories and resolving a curse she *may*​ have caused 100 years ago

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an eARC copy of the audiobook of The Lost Witch, by Paige Crutcher, narrated by Aoife McMahon. This is my honest, unpaid review!

This started took a while to hook me, but once it did, I enjoyed this good vs evil tale. The feisty characters where my favorite part of the book. The pace lagged in a few spots, and the big reveal about Dove, Brigit, and Knightly was obvious from the start. Enjoyable but forgettable.

I DNF'ed this book about 30% in. It was a bit hard to follow the plot and didn't keep me interested enough to want to find out what happens to the characters.

This was a witchy book that included time travel & amnesia and included lots of magic. I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration (especially the multiple witch voices).

The Lost Witch (A Novel) by Paige Crutcher
Narrated by Aoife McMahon
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Romance
Published: December 27, 2022

The Lost Witch is a standalone witchy tale set in Evermore, Ireland by Paige Crutcher.

I definitely got lost in this book! The story was captivating and I loved the characters. The time travel element was done in such a unique way. I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by the author!

The narration by by Aoife McMahon was absolutely incredible! I loved listening to her bring the characters and this story to life! She helped me to feel like I was in the book!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Lost Witch by Paige Crutcher follows Brigid Heron on a journey through time to find her daughter and save her beloved town of Evermore. When Brigid’s daughter is taken by magic, the Goddess of the lough transports Brigid through time to find the answers she needs to make everything right again.

When Brigid arrives 100 years later in her town with little to no memory, she finds two other witches living in her house who help her discover the past in order to save the future. With the help of her family and the long-lost love of her life, Brigid vows to find her daughter and save Evermore from the monsters and evil witches that will stop at nothing to destroy her for her powers.

While I enjoy a cozy mystery once in a while, this one didn’t really do it for me. The narration of the audiobook was not enjoyable. Certain character portrayals were incredibly annoying. The storyline, while somewhat interesting, was so confusing that I didn’t know what was going on or if the events were real or taking place in a dream. The story jumped around a lot and I lost track of which character was doing what. There may have even been a little bit too much action in the story to be able to make sense of it all. The book was like a nine-hour battle with very little background information. I liked how the story started and ended but the middle was too confusing. I listened to the audiobook for fifty percent of the book and then had to switch to the physical book just to get through it; reading the words made the story much easier to understand.

The theme of this novel was the basic love, family, and good vs. evil that has been done many times before but I will say the inclusion of bits of Irish folklore is was helped bring this story to life. Had there been more background information about the characters and the events taking place, I feel that the story would have had better flow. I feel there should be another novel just about the Goddess and the different realms to prepare the reader for this novel. One thing about this novel that was entirely unneeded was the podcast segments inserted into the story; there is nothing I dislike more when I’m trying to follow a storyline.

Sadly, I would not recommend this novel as it failed to hold my interest for the majority of the time. If you do decide to give it a try, I suggest reading the book versus listening to the audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC to read and review.

This wasn't a typical genre choice for me, but the story was interesting and the audiobook version kept me entertained. Brigid Heron is a powerful witch in 1922, who is transported 100 years into the future through some choices that she makes. Now, 100 years later, her town of Evermore off the coast of Ireland is overrun by dark forces, demons, and the witches of Knight. She has to work with her descendants in order to repair the damages done through her dislocation in time, and restore order to the town and its people. The narrator, Aoife McMahon did a fabulous job with the voices, particularly when the witches of the covens were all talking at once. For the lovers of fantasy and witchcraft, you might want to check this out. Thanks so much to Paige Crutcher, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC audiobook!

I truly enjoyed this book and the audiobook narrator is fabulous! The story is charming and new and very fun. A world locked behind the barrier of a lock, monsters, magic, mayhem, and time travel abounds. It is a great read and a great time. The only thing that took it from 5 stars to 4 for me is that the ending seemed hurried. We spent so much time with these folks and the climax and ending happened in the blink of an eye.

I listened to this Audiobook and I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with it in exchange for my review.

First of all, the narration by Aoife McMahon is incredible. Her accent makes the entire world of Evermore come to life and you can feel the characters shining through her voice. I loved it and would listen to anything she narrates going forward.

Bridget is a witch, and she wants nothing more than unconditional love, and is willing to do anything for a child. This starts off a story that involves time travel, a coven of enemy witches, a demigod, a goddess and 3 badass friends who work together to save the world. I loved this book - it was a little hard to get into as there is a LOT of information but it is such a fun witchy world I was sucked into it and enjoyed everything. Beautifully done.

✨ Review ✨ The Lost Witch by Paige Crutcher; Narrated by Aoife McMahon

Brigid is a witch in the town of Evermore (Ireland) in 1922, and we jump quickly into her magical dealings with her goddess as well as Evermore's competing god Luc Knightly, both who are battling over access to the Lough (the lake of dreams). Suddenly Brigid is transported 100 years into the future and the town of Evermore is facing demon creatures invading the town constantly. She wakes up without her memories, but surrounded by her ancestors Ophelia and Finola, as well as Luc, but who's side is Luc really on?

This was a really delightful magical story with gods and goddesses, fairies and demon creatures, and witches from different centuries. The audio narration and accent were so much fun and had me hooked into this book (and the competing group of witches have an amazing creepy voice - LOVED them). The book mixed humor and fantasy and romance and family and friendship, and it was a great listen.

It did stretch on a little long in places and my mind wandered a little, but overall this was a delight of a book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: fantasy/magic in a real-ish place
Location: island / small town in Ireland
Reminds me of: Luc/Bridig were giving me Addie LaRue vibes in places, but definitely different
Pub Date: out now

Read this if you like:
⭕️ magic and witches
⭕️ Irish mythology
⭕️ time travel

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillian Audio and #netgalley for an advanced audio and e-copies of this book!

The Lost Witch
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Fantasy
Format: Kindle eBook and Audiobook
Date Published: 12/27/22
Author: Paige Crutcher
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: This story combines fantasy, paranormal, romance, and time travel with witches with magic and sprinkling in heartbreak. I had both the kindle version and audiobook. There are two timelines, 1922 and 2022, mainly narrated by Brigid. The narrators were great and really moved the characters along in an easy to follow complicated story. At times the novel was a little slow but I believe this was due to Brigid’s memory gaps. I preferred the audio over the kindle for this novel, it was easier to follow along with the audio. My favorite characters were probably Ophelia and Finola. There was good chemistry between Luc and Brigid. The characters were well developed with depth, wittiness, chemistry, had magical flare, and creative. The author’s writing style was complex, magical, good world building, and kept me engaged. I would recommend trying out the audiobook version.

The Lost Witch had potential for 4.5 to 5 stars. The storyline was there, the characters made sense and were witty, which I loved. Unfortunately, the first fifty percent of the book seemed to drag on and, while it definitely helped in the build of the story. I felt it could have been about half the length and readers would have received a better experience.

I am someone who is quick to DNF a book, usually around twenty percent, and I almost did with The Lost Witch. I’m glad I didn’t because I did wind up liking the book. What I didn’t like about the beginning was all the unnecessary hopping around and events that required me to reread sections to fully understand. I struggled significantly with the pacing because I found it difficult to connect with the characters. At around 38%, I did start to enjoy the perspectives, timeline and voice.

As I said, I am glad I stuck with the book, as I enjoyed it immensely. The last half was straight forward, the hopping around was minimal and easier to follow, fast-paced, and even have a nice little dabble of love.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for a free copy of The Lost Witch in exchange for an honest review.

The Lost Witch is a story full of magic and quirky, likable characters.

It follows Brigid, a witch in 1922 willing to do anything to save her daughter. After her daughter is swept away by a magical lake, she makes a deal that sends her 100 years in the future, to a town that's trapped and besieged by monsters.

There's so much I enjoyed about this book. The characters are fun, especially Finola and Ophelia, two witches in the present who help Brigid. They had a great sense of humor and "let's make the best of this" attitude. And their podcasts and newspaper reports added a spark to the whole book.

The setting was also great, full of magical lochs and wee beasties who are not nearly as pleasant as that name makes them sound. I'd like more of my books to include the phrase "wee beasties." I listened to this along with my physical copy, and the Irish accent just made the book so much better.

Where the book fell short for me was the plot. I struggled a bit to understand what was happening. A character mentions they've never seen a person, and then it becomes evident they spent a lot of time together. For most of the book, I wasn't sure what Luc (the handsome demigod) was trying to accomplish or what his motivations were. Which were probably deliberately opaque for most of the book, but it just confused me. And don't ask me how the magic of the loch or the witches of Knightly worked. Once I stopped trying to figure out the rules of what was happening, though, I enjoyed the book and the writing. 3 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for sending me a copy of the book, and Macmillan.Audio for my audio version!