I honestly had no expectations coming into this book. I got it because it was a "read now" on Netgalley and I enjoyed the first Snow Like Ashes book by Sara Raasch. Also I loved the cover.
This book started with a bang! We are immediately thrown into Fritzi's world at the worst point possible. Her mother locks her in the cellar using magic. The hexenjagers (witch hunters) have found their coven and come to burn all the witches. Fritzi is able to get out, but the damage is done. She is the only survivor besides her 9 year old cousin Liesel who gets taken back to Trier by the hexenjagers.
We then get thrown into Otto's world. He is a hexenjager and takes off to capture his sister who he says is a witch. But after travelling for days through the forest, Fritzi happens to hear the arrest. She goes to help Otto's sister and she just...vanishes. So Fritzi gets arrested instead for actual witchcraft.
I was so interested in both of these character's stories immediately. Fritzi was forced to survive alone, searching for her cousin. It was obvious from the get go that she would do anything for her fellow witches and for her family. She was determined and loyal. Otto is devious and cunning, but really a cinnamon roll. I don't want to say too much about the side characters, because I think it would be better and more fun to not give any spoilers at all, but there were a lot I really liked. Dieter, the leader of the hexenjagers however, was pure evil. One of the most ruthless characters I have read about in a while.
Like I said before, we are thrown into both of these characters stories and they are thrown into each other's stories. There are actually a few plot twists near the beginning, one I was expecting and one I was not. After we get these plot twists, the story really gets going and a lot happens. There is never a dull moment. It was a lot, but I was able to follow easily and I thought everything flowed together nicely. The ending was really action packed and intense.
There were a few trigger warnings mentioned at the beginning and they were definitely well worth the mention. Some parts were a little intense, but also really proved how evil Dieter was.
It is indicated this is the first in a series and I would be very interested to continue on, especially with that epilogue!

Night of the Witch, by co-authors Sara Raasch and Beth Revis, is the first installment in what appears to be a duology called Witch and Hunter. Even though this is a fantasy, it's set in a world that reflects our own and it takes place in the Holy Roman Empire which means that a lot of history is strewn across the book. The story is fictionally based on real events that happened in Germany (1591) and later spread across Europe before finding a way to the Salem Witch Trials in what will become America. The story is told in a dual points-of-view.

The only survivor of a brutal attack on her coven in Birresborn where she watched her mother and entire cover slaughter, she’s determined to bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. She also has to make up for a fatal error which I will not spoil. Read the book! Otto is a hexenjäger—but that’s just his cover. He and his sister, Hilde, have been planning their move against the witch hunters for 10 years as a way to avenge their mother, who was wrongfully burned by their father as a witch.

When Otto and Hilde take the first step in their bid to destroy the hexenjägers from within, Fritzi mistakes Hilde for an innocent victim, and her errant protection spell backfires, casting Hilde into the magical ether (The Black Forest) and painting Fritzi as an undeniable witch. Otto is forced to arrest her, his plan for revenge in tatters and his sister missing, while Fritzi is now a prisoner of the very organization she fears most. But after a time, Otto realizes that Fritzi may be his key to rescuing hundreds of people arrested for being witches.

Unwilling to trust each other, Fritzi and Otto can’t deny they have a common enemy. An enemy that is as familiar to Fritzi, as her own face. They team up to stop the hexenjägers and find Hilde. Their quest takes them from the oldest city in Germany to the heart of the Black Forest, through hidden aqueducts to magic wellsprings. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

*Thoughts*

While the story is entertaining, the final chapters of this book are the most revealing and leads to a stunning, but a wholly not unexpected ending since this is a duology. For years, Fritzi ignored the voice in her head telling her to let go and accept her destiny as a witch who uses wild magic. It isn't until she finds out that her own brother, Dieter Kirch, who has been killing innocent people to gain power for years, that she understands the severity of her own actions that led to her coven's ending. It is also at this point that she and Otto team up to become Warrior and Champion. It was absolutely a good idea to alternate narratives to fill in the blanks as each character is struggling to learn how to deal, and maybe, love the other. I understand that the next book comes out in 2024, but I will be patient in finding out how Fritzi, and Otto deal with what's coming for them.

Thank you to the publisher for an eARC provided via NetGalley for an honest review.


CWs: domestic abuse (memories), unjust imprisonment, body horror, murder, physical torture, psychological torture, emotional manipulation, loss of body control through magical means, child abuse (memories/aftermath), animal abuse (one memory) [Content Warnings taken directly from a page in the beginning of the book]

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the setting of late 1500s Germany. I liked that it was a lesser known setting of witch trials and hysteria than Salem, and I really enjoyed it. I also liked the inclusion of German words throughout (as someone who took German in high school it was a fun test to see what I remembered), but they didn’t impede the understanding of what was happening.
The characters were really well written. Fritzi is a witch who specializes in herbs, plants, and potions and she’s riddled with guilt over the destruction of her village. In her quest to Trier to find and rescue her younger cousin Liesel, Fritzi crosses paths with Otto, a hexenjäger, who arrests her. Fritzi was a great character. Her feelings came through so strongly, and I was able to connect with her during her journey. Otto was also a great character. A witch hunter who doesn’t believe in magic, and who then accepts the existence of Real Witches and protects them on their journey to the Black Forest. Otto was one of my favourite parts of this story, and I really liked his relationship with Fritzi. The progression of their relationship was fantastic, and they had some sweet moments and also moments of fighting and fire.
The pacing of the story was really good. It moved at a good pace, and it didn’t feel rushed. It had moments of fear, tension, romance, triumph, and overall was a fantastic story.

I’ve been highly enjoying star-crossed romantasy with witches and witch hunters. While I did like the differing angle of the witch hunter being a double-agent of sorts, there were parts of this book that fell flat for me, including it being hard to imagine the residences and forced chemistry.

I also get that there were some historic ties here, and it ends with a note about that, but I found myself pulled out of the story with the historic info dumps like these:

“Coburg was the city where Luther translated the Bible from Latin into German, allowing any man—at least any man who could read—to have access to the Lord’s Word.”

“The Bible may be free to be read, but already people within the Protestant religions are seeking to limit interpretations different from their own. The same old prejudices are rising up against the Jews,”

An enemies-to-lovers young adult romance set during the brutal witch trials in medieval Germany, Night of the Witch is an epic, darkly magical adventure.

Beth Revis is one of my favorite authors, so I was so excited to see her delving into a witchy romance alongside Sara Raasch. Shout out to Beth for sending me an ARC of the book!

The tropes of the book were what drew me in - enemies to lovers, historical YA fantasy, and forbidden romance between a witch and a witch hunter. But Night of the Witch very much surprised me with where its plot took me and how it all ended.

Fritzi and Otto are wise beyond their years (religious trauma and baggage will do that), and I loved watching them realize how much they have in common and how their goals align. I also loved Otto's quick realization that Fritzi doesn't need a protector, she needs a warrior to fight with her and for her.

While this book is very much marketed as a witchy romance, I loved the world-building and pacing - especially since all of it was inspired by real history. And just like real witch trials, there are many dark and disturbing aspects of this book, some of it toeing the line between young adult and adult themes.

Speaking of adult themes, since this is marketed to YA audiences (14 and up), there's no "spice" or "smut." However, there is a *bath scene* that definitely steamy without crossing the line into adult content.

Overall, I had a great time with Night of the Witch, and it's a perfect book to release during October's spooky season.

Loved this one a lot its got witchy vides. I would write more but that means I would spoil this for everyone which I do not want to do at all lol. But I will get getting a physical copy of this and doing a reread and vlogging and blogging the whole thing. I highly recommend this to everyone looking for a good witchy vibe book and a good book for spooky season.

Did someone say ENEMIES TO LOVERS.... YES PLEASE!! Thank you NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER for the gifted e-ARC. BINGE WORTHY READ!!

It is being marketed as a Young Adult fantasy romance. For most of the book, I would agree it reads YA. Then there is that one chapter. While I don't think there is anything wrong with some romantic aspects of YA this seemed a little much for the age group. It did do a fade to black, kind of, but there was quite a bit of full-blown romance-level stuff until then. The only thing it didn't do was actually name the body parts. I'll move on from that into the story though.

Night of the Witch follows two main characters. We are first introduced to Friederike, Fritzi, just after her 18th birthday. She starts off in a traumatic place and will spend a very long time-fighting feelings of guilt for what happens to her coven. Fritzi is a witch skilled with planets and potion-making. Several times she shows how much of a survivor she is as well. Next, we meet Otto Ernst, a captain of the hexenjagers. From the beginning, you see that he does not believe the same as the zealots of the group. Otto is a planner who thinks things through a lot. He is also compassionate and wants to make the world better than it is.

The book starts Fritzi out in the midst of her coven being attacked. Due to her mother's protection spell, Fritzi is spared and only able to escape her basement some hours or a day later. By then she has lost all but her young cousin. Fritzi then sets off toward the city of Trier where the hexenjagers are. On the way, she meets Otto. After a misunderstanding, Otto must take her into custody so as to not blow his cover. This does make convincing Frizi that he is not evil and she should help him much harder. But after seeing her powers Otto has no choice even if he is terrified of her.

The book moves along at a fastish pace. Most of it takes place in the span of two days. Then we have a traveling time skip section. The last part of the book though is the showdown with a twist that was unexpected. This does serve to set it up for the conclusion to the duology but without the epilogue, one would assume this could be a standalone still.

Overall the book was a decent story. I liked the elements of historical time expanded and added on to make the witch hunters. Also, the level of magic and the Black Forest was a good touch. There were issues with characters but that is just from personal taste. The way the characters were acting seems accurate to their ages and experiences. I do question how she couldn't have known one key detail especially after we saw that memory of the kitten. Since this is going to be a duology I will be reading the next one though. If it was a full series probably not.

A new approach to the Witch Trials, this story take a "wait, prosecuting people is wrong?" approach. I didn't feel the chemistry between the two protagonists at times and I wanted them to remain platonic so that we could see more of the story. The world building was interesting and I highly enjoyed the lore, but the romance plot took away from what would have been a great story!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was immediately intrigued from the start of the story, as this book was set during the European witch trials. The world-building was fascinating and the main characters were interesting. I was initially intrigued by the romance between Fritzi (a witch) and Otto (a witch hunter), as enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. However, I found their romance to be rushed without the anticipated tension that I love in romances.

Overall, if you're a fan of historical, supernatural romances, then this book is for you!

This book certainly kicks off with a bang, plunging readers into the heart of medieval witch trials in Germany. The book showcases a promising blend of history and fantasy, all framed within engaging world-building.

The story of Fritzi, a witch, and Otto, a witch hunter with a secret agenda, has potential. However, their insta-love romance feels hurried and lacks depth, detracting from the overall narrative.

The pacing and character development are inconsistent. At times the story grips you, especially during suspense-filled confrontations, but there are stretches where it drags. Also, the characters, while intriguing, don’t quite make a lasting impression.

Overall, "Night of the Witch" is a decent read with an interesting fusion of history and fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and the authors for the advance review copy!

I loved this book! The first chapter drops you straight into the action. The world-building and pacing of this story were great. It was an excellent blend of fantasy and history, with familial bonds and romance. I enjoyed how this story wrapped up and the epilogue sets the stage for the next book - which I will be impatiently waiting for!

3.5 stars.

Night of the Witch is about some medieval German witch trials, where like in Salem, most of those burned were innocent.

Fritzi is an actual witch, who saw her coven killed and burned. She’s trying to find her cousin and help her escape when she gets captured by Otto, a witch hunter. But there’s more to Otto—he actually infiltrated the witch hunters in order to bring them down, so he and Fritzi fall into instalove and start working together.

The romance felt very out of place, very quick with no real relationship progression. But the storyline was interesting, I was hooked on the suspense of the fight between the witches and the evil witch hunter leader. It did feel as if some things were just bypassed and left unexplained, but regardless, I was interested in how it ends.

I enjoyed Night of the Witch, but not sure if the cliffhanger hooked me enough to continue with the series.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the review copy.

This one is OK... The premise is interesting but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

It's supposed to be an enemies to lovers but they fell in love in less than two days! Also, it was very slow, with fantasy books, a good portion of the books are spent world building, and making sure that we have an understanding of what is happening, but here it just dragged, and then all the action was at the very end.

I did hate the evil guy, which speaks to the quality of writing of the book, but the other characters just felt meh to me. The historical background was extremely well done, and I felt bad for the witches, so again, amazing writing. Maybe I wasn't in the right head space for this one, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNFed at 35%

I thought the premise of this book was really interesting and I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, I couldn't really connect with the characters for a few reasons.

First, we are thrown into the story during an attack on Fritzi's village and everyone but her and her cousin are killed during the battle. Her cousin is taken by the witch hunters, so her goal is to get her cousin back. However, because we aren't given any time with the coven before the attack, all we have is Fritzi's thoughts about the other characters. So while it makes sense that Fritzi would want to get her cousin back, we're never shown how close she is to her cousin, only told. There are moments here and there with memories, but they are usually just short lived thoughts on things that happened.

Both Fritzi and Otto are also very vague about things. We're in first person point of view, so them not saying what they are fully thinking just feels annoying rather then mysterious. For example, Otto is very vague until 20% in where he tells the reader he is working to undermine the with hunters, a twist that is in the summary of the book. With Fritzi, we know that she feels guilt about something that happened, but it's just mentioned and never elaborated on. Obviously we would find out later in the book, but I just got more and more annoyed every time some other vagueness was mentioned without explination.

Finally, where I was in the book, Otto and Fritzi were beginning to notice how each other looked in a way that felt like it was going to dovetail into instalove. Otto has known Fritzi for maybe two days and already threatening anyone who hurts her in his head. He was literally just about to send his sister into similar circumstances.

I was so hyped for this book. And I was equally hyped to have gotten the arc from netgalley....but unfortunately I found most of the book dreadfully boring. I had to really push myself to finish it. The story just didn't flow well for me. I do enjoy slow paced books but this just dragged. And I couldn't muster enough interest in any character, or the plot or any of the world building, no matter how hard I tried. Tbh if this wasn't a netgalley read I wouldn't have finished it.

Thank you, NetGalley and SourceFire for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this in two days.

The story was fantasy meets historical events with an Enemies to Lovers romance.

Loved:

*Dual-Povs and both MCs. Fritzi's backstory and personality won me over more than Otto's but I really loved that the Witchhunter fell hard first.

*The historical worldbuilding was spot on. The author effortlessly blended witch trials with the coven magic.

*The romance. The shared trauma of the MCs.

Why four?

*The romance was quite quick and I think the yearning/tension could've been prolonged.

*I wanted to know more about the different types of magic but we only really saw Fritzi's and her sister's - hopefully in the sequel!

Overall I loved this witchy romantasy and cannot wait to get the sequel.

Title: Night of the Witch
Author: Sara Raasch; Beth Revis
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

A witch and a hunter. Vengeance is their mission. Love is their destiny.

Fritzi is a witch. A survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she's determined to find her only surviving family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader—Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger and a captain, the second in command to Dieter Kirch—but that's just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjagers burned his innocent mother alive and since then, he has been planning a move against the witch hunters that tore his family apart. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they've done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other, despite their common enemy. But all they have is one another, and they both crave revenge. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

This started off a little bit slow to me and I got bogged down while Fritzi was on the run, but it picked up when she and Otto met. The historical background was horrifying, although I’d never read anything in this time period/space. I was engrossed by the end, and would be happy to read more of this setting and these characters.

Sara Raasch is a bestselling author. Beth Revis lives in North Carolina. Night of the Witch is their newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.)

I was so excited to read this book after all of the hype, but I really struggled to get into it. The pacing felt off for me, and I could not get invested in the characters. Perhaps it's just not my type of story, but I'm so happy to see the many positive reviews. I must say, the writing is beautiful, and I hope others will find more enjoyment from this one than I did.

2.75 / 5

I loved the synopsis! A witch and a witch hunter are thrust together to fight a common enemy. It sounded very much like "Serpent and Dove" to me, and I adored that trilogy.

Unfortunately, the book did not live up to my expectations. The witch history was interesting but underdeveloped. The relationships and the story itself felt rushed to me, almost like the entire story was insta-everything. I don't usually enjoy insta-love unless it's done well, and I really expected this to be an actual enemies to lovers. Especially that one is the hunter and the other the hunted.

I had a difficult time connecting with the characters. The pacing was a bit messy, not only between Otto and Fritzi but also in the story as a whole. I didn't feel the love between the two main characters, nor did I really care about them getting together. It's unfortunate because I had high hopes for this book. I must admit I compared it a lot to "Serpent and Dove," and as mentioned above, I adored that series. So not standing out in contrast hurt the experience for me.

It wasn't a bad story, but I definitely had to skim through and jump to the dialogue to take me to the end.