What worked: Action-packed historical fantasy filled with magic, betrayal, and witch hunts. The research behind this engaging fantasy brings life to this witchy tale.

The friends-to-enemies angle starts slow. At first, Fritzi hates all hexenjagers-witch hunters-especially after she witnesses her whole village and mother being slaughtered. Fritzi's rage and anger lead her to the Black Forest for protection only she happens on another witch being rounded up by the dreaded hexenjagers. This is where she meets Otto, who has his own secret.

This is a page-turning novel with twists and turns that keep readers guessing. The idea that there actually were witch hunting/burnings in Europe adds to the realism.

The chemistry between Fritzi and Otto builds while the world around them erupts. The reveals are surprising. So are the betrayals.

The ending hints at a sequel. So readers will see what happens further in this witchy tale!

Based on the Medieval German Witch Trials of the 1500s, this historical fantasy weaves its own magic on readers with two characters that need to work together to overcome evil.

Thank you to sourcebooks fire and the authors for the arc.

I dnfed at 5% because my brain couldn't get past them using the word nepotism after they explicitly stated the year and the word wouldn't have been around. Yes this is a fantasy but it seems like our world adjacent so to say the year which was in the 1500s but use a word that wasn't around yet some reason really bothered me.

I enjoyed this book! The plot was a bit slow for me, and the romance felt a bit too insta-love, but overall it was an okay read. I did like the main characters, but the romance felt forced, and there wasn't much chemistry there. The plot was pretty good though, and I'm interested in seeing what happens next!

In Night of the Witch, a witch and a witch-hunter are thrown together against a common energy: the leader of the witch hunters who have killed their loved ones, Kommandant Dieter Kirch. This book is set during the Witch Trials in Germany, and includes elements of German in its story.

Fritzi, the witch, survives an attack on her coven and is searching for her remaining family. Otto is undercover within the witch hunters, plotting revenge against those who killed his innocent mother. When they join forces against the Kommandant, neither is sure they can trust the other, and then love blooms.

I really wanted to like this book, but it felt quite uneven in terms of plot, pacing, and character. There was a lot that came across as underdeveloped — the setting, the magic, the romance. While there was a lot of good historical content, this wasn’t enough to lift the story. Also, for a young adult book, the sex scene seemed very mature. There’s a lot of torture, and some quite graphic scenes. I think with some more work it would be a good read, but for me, right now, it was only okay.

I received an e-ARC from the publishers, Sourcebooks Fire, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A survivor of a deadly attack on her coven, Fritzi, is determined to bring down a group of zealot witch hunters as revenge. To do that she must take down their leader and join forces with their captain, Otto. Vengeance is their mission, love is their destiny.

This was a beautifully crafted and thoughtfully written debut to the series. It's very atmospheric, I felt transported almost immediately. It's a reimagining of the European Witch Trials which I must admit I wasn't very educated on but it inspires me to research further. It was a bit long for me, but the writing kept me engaged and I was turning every page eager to see what happens, especially in the last quarter of the book. I love the cliffhanger ending as well since I know another installment is around the corner.

I will say this book is pretty graphic. No detail is spared so it's not for the faint of heart. I did feel a little sick to my stomach at times with the more graphic imagery.

Overall, ,a unique foray into the witch/magic genre and I'm excited to read more!

Thank you to Net Galley and Sourcebooks Fire for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review

really good fantasy setting, great romance, love the world building and the power-magic-setting. I don't know what more to say than this is a really good fantasy witchy book, I can't find anything negative with it (apart from the MCs' names... but that might just be a cultural prejudice), great October read and Otto (can't believe this is his unironic name) gave me butterflies. he's so baby and protective i love him

The story alternates points of view between Fritzi and Otto. Fritzi is the daughter of a powerful witch, but she doubts her own power because of a mysterious voice in her head she’s been taught not to trust. Otto also doubts the authorities in his life. First, because his father was cruel and then because he doesn’t even believe witches exist. He is sure the people the soldiers burn are innocent. And he’s determined to save as many as he can.

I really enjoyed the way the story is anchored both in history and folklore. It felt very immersive. I also liked that Otto separated his trust in the church from his own personal faith. It allowed the story to explore ideas about faith as something separate from an institution. I really liked how the narrative explored that theme with both Fritzi and Otto.

Something about the story reminded me a lot of the duology that starts with GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE by Beth Revis. Plotwise, the two have very little in common. The fact that both stories contain a strong, magic-oriented heroine alongside a politically strong/savvy hero might be why I kept making that connection.

The story is also a bit dark– delving pretty unflinchingly into the history of the witch trials in Europe. It’s got a pretty fiery romance in it, too, so it’s not all grim.

In any case, I think fans of that duology or of European history in the late 1500s will find this an engrossing story. I am really glad I read it, and I think if there’s a follow-up book, I’ll be sure to read that, too.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

I really enjoyed this book! And I’m kinda mad that who knows how long until the next one 😅 But first up, some of my “in the moment” thoughts and reactions.

•Loving all the history sprinkled throughout
•The forbidden attraction/romance is everything
•The actual gasp when I figured out what was going on with hexenjägers
•Why do all the good things just get chased away by the bad??

I loved the historical element to this story! I didn’t know much about the Trier witch trials and it was interesting to learn a little about them!

Fritzi was a fun character and I really enjoyed following her! It was kinda weird because at the beginning it seemed like she was pretty young but then it kinda shifted to her being more of an adult. Kinda cool but kinda confusing. But she was strong and resilient and passionate about what she believed in.

Otto was a sweetie and I loved him! I loved his character and I loved that he wasn’t biased or thrown off about the fact that she was an actual witch. He was brave and stalwart and willing to fight for what’s right.

I’m really interested to see how the story progresses and especially with the Three Goddesses and wild magic. Overall, really enjoyed the book!

Spice level:
Would say there’s enough detail in the one scene that I wouldn’t consider it YA. But there isn’t too much described outright, mostly implied. However it is at the end of a chapter and easily skipped if you want.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

Night of the Witch is a book I had to read. Historical fiction wrapped in fantasy is like a siren song to me. Add the fact that Sara Raasch and Beth Revis penned the novel, and Night of the Witch was one of the novels I was most excited to read this fall.

Maybe my hopes were too high, but I did not love Night of the Witch as much as I wanted. My main issue with the story is that the writing is too simplistic for my taste. Simple sentences and short, stilted dialogue made me believe the book was geared toward middle grades rather than the young adult category as advertised.

Adding to my general dislike is that the authors interspersed German words into the story with no rhyme or reason. I majored in German and love seeing the language in books. Even so, I could find no pattern for when or why Ms. Raash and Ms. Revis would exchange a word in English for one in German. The replacements were too random and did nothing to enhance the story. From what I could tell, the German words did nothing but remind you that the story takes place in Germany.

My other concern about Night of the Witch is that I struggled to buy into the insta-love between Fritzi and Otto. There is almost no development for either character, and their attraction to each other, especially Fritzi towards Otto, makes no sense. That's a lot of fear and hatred to overcome, and Otto's actions towards Fritzi upon first meeting do nothing to endear him to her.

Lastly, the German major in me wanted more world-building. I wanted to learn more about the hows and whys behind the creation of the Hexenjaegers. Plus, I know the layout of German medieval towns versus villages, but most of the readers of Night of the Witch will not. This geography plays a vital role in the politics behind the story, and readers need to understand all of it.

Some of my issues with Night of the Witch are due to the fact that I am familiar enough with German and German history to want more of it. I believe there is a lack of world-building to explain the story. Also, I found it difficult to buy into Fritzi and Otto's all-consuming insta-love. Are any of my concerns enough to prevent me from reading the sequel next year? Of course not! Where Night of the Witch excels is with the fantasy element, and I need to know how the battle between Dieter and Fritzi will ensue. Still, I will approach the sequel with much lower expectations.

I absolutely LOVED The Night of the Witch! Fritzi was probably my favorite character, but I really enjoyed having Otto’s perspective as well. The stakes and motivations were really strong for all of the characters, and I definitely can’t wait for the sequel!

A witch and a hunter. Vengeance is their mission. Love is their destiny.-
_
This starts with the witches and witch hunters. Pretty wild battle between the two start it off.
Really enjoyed the enemies to lovers between the witch and the witch hunter who was attempting to fight from within. They ended up being a really good team and had great chemistry.
This was a interesting take on the witch trials and I loved it. Loved the relationships between some of the characters.
The Kommandant was a creep and don't trust those that enjoy massacres and blindly follow orders.
That epilogue setup for the next book. I'm biting my nails.


Thank you sourcebooksfire for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

3/5 Stars

I really loved the idea behind this book. I'm a sucker for the witch and the hunter trope. Unfortunately, this wasn't a total hit for me. While I did enjoy some of the magic and world in this book, I was very bored. I found that I wasn't at all invested in the characters or the story. I will say this has more to do with the writing for me. I just don't think this is the author for me as I've read other books by this author and felt very similar. Overall, it was an okay read but it just wasn't a hit for me.

great book and loved the mystery through out the book. I loved the characters and how they grew through all of their adventures. I enjoyed this book and this author and will check them out again add them to my reading pile.

This was a BLAST to read! Such a fun and unique plot line. There are so many fantasy novels out there, and at times they can get repetitive in their story telling. I thought this one felt original and kept you on your toes. It’s had the perfect amount of romance, horror vibes, family ties and character growth. The ending gave me goose bumps and am excited to see where the author takes us in the next book! WOW. I honestly have no negative feedback!

I plan on posting a Review in a couple days, will come back and add a link to it! Thank you for the advanced copy!

Night of the Witch by Sarah Raasch and Beth Revis
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🌶️/4

*Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!!*

I was apprehensive going into this book because some of the reviews are harsh. Imagine my surprise when I found myself really enjoying this book and disagreeing with the negative reviews! I thought this book was fast paced, exciting, and unique. I love that it was based off of true historical events and had a German background. I felt like Fritzi and Otto were both fairly likeable and the romance was sweet and didn't feel forced. I really enjoyed this story and I'm definitely excited to pick up book 2 when it comes out!

This is one of those books where I was sold on the description but it just fell flat.
Fritzi is a real witch, unlike the average folks being accused of witchcraft across the land.
Otto is the witch hunter that arrests her after a chance encounter.
Fritzi is sweet but my goodness is she naïve. And at points she’s suddenly brazenly bold in her sexual advances, which I normally have no problem with but it seemed so out of character and it is a YA book so it was strange.
The pacing wasn’t consistent to me. A lot of nothing happens, and then a bunch of stuff happens all at once and then things slow back down. One day will be really long and dragged out, then it’s days later and things skip ahead but nothing happens, then another day drags out and has a ton packed into it. There’s also a lotttt of real life history that’s packed into the book. While it is interesting, it really dragged the pace down. Since there is an additional history section in the back I wish more of the history would have been added there.
The romance was also paced weird. I read other reviews that said it was instalove and I was getting close to the 50% point and nothing happened so how could it be instalove? Nope. It is. Again, the pacing is strange so 50% in and it’s still really the first day we see them alone together.

The plot with the main protagonist could have been developed a lot more. There’s a lot of history but it wasn’t explored in a way that was satisfying.

It’s also written in first person present POV, which is not my preference at all. I know plenty of people don’t mind it though.

The plot was interesting and the future books could be interesting but it’s just not for me.

Check the CW and take the animal abuse serious if that is a problem for you.

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

Night of the Witch by Sara Raasch and Beth Revis is a fantasy romance between a witch and a witch hunter that drew me in with a stunning cover and kept me hooked with a rapidly paced plot.
What I Loved
-Good Dialogue
-High stakes
-Excellent Character work
-rapid pace kept me turning pages
What didn't work for me as well
-I longed for more fleshi9ng out of the world at large and the history behind or witch vs hunter conflict. ( With this being a book one it is my hope we will see more of that later in the series.)

Who I would recommend this book for

Fans of the serpent and Dove series or the book Give the Dark My Love will find themselves right at home in this story .

The first book in the Witch and Hunter series, "Night of the Witch" tells the story of Fritzi and Otto. One a witch and the other a hexenjäger, the men tasked with finding and burning witches. After Fritzi's entire village is destroyed and her family murdered, she must escape and elude the hexenjäger. When she is captured by Otto and his group of witch hunters, she has no trust for any of the men. Except Otto is more than he appears and he has a plan to topple the hexenjägers. The book is giving forbidden romance mixed with Salem Witch trials. I did really enjoy that the book focuses on witches from other areas of the world. So many witchy fantasies have been set around New England or in an alternative world. This felt like something a bit different and that was refreshing.

Side note:
Not going to lie, I originally only picked up this book because I had heard of the drama surrounding the pre-order campaign. As a teen librarian I try to read through as many "controversial" books as possible before they make it to the shelves. All that being said, I think the "spicy" pre-order print is a bit misleading to how much mature content is actually in the book. The plot does heavily rotate between the witch vs hexenjäger and the romance between the two, but this is not an adult or new adult romance. The single sex scene is not 100% fade to black, but if is not nearly watch you would expect based on how things have been hyped up.

A super fun start to a series, and I am VERY excited to continue it! The characters were really well thought out and written, and there seemed to be a lot of attention to detail for the witch trials, they seemed to have done their homework to keep historical events accurate. I LOVED this one! For a YA especially, it was hard to put down.