This was such a great read! I couldn’t put it down! This book kept me turning page after page to see what happens next. Can’t wait for more!

I was a little worried about reading this advanced reader copy off Night of the Witch because it’s not my “normal” genre, but I absolutely LOVED it! The beginning was a bit slow with learning characters, locations and history, but it really picked up quickly! I really enjoyed our female main character and male main character! Their emotions and thoughts were complex and well developed. I cannot wait to see what book two brings up! I’m truly not sure how I can wait!!! Make sure to add this book to your TBR list for October 3, 2023!!

thank you to the author and the publishing company for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

this book was captivating, enthralling, constantly twisting an turning while keeping me on my toes, and had the PERFECT amount of romance in there to make me never want to put the book down and keep the avid romance reader in me happy, WHILE still maintaining the fantasy element and main genre of the book. the tension between the characters had me kicking my feet giggling and i overall really enjoyed the book. i just felt that some parts/points of the book were repetitive, and that the entire storyline slightly dragged on. overall 3.25/5⭐️

The premise of this book was unlike anything I have read before. Set in Germany during the European Witch Trials, Fritzi is a witch who ends up mixed up with Otto, a hexenjager/witch-hunter. The book has a duel POV which is interesting, but I also felt it was a bit disjointed at times.

Overall, the twists and world-building in this book made it a fun read, but I would’ve loved more. More lore explanation, more time with the Forest Folk, and more of the connection between the FMC & MMC. It is pretty obvious where things are heading when the book itself tells you it’s an enemies to lovers, but I felt the romance was a bit forced and surface-level. The spice factor is a 1/5, but being that this is a YA, that is probably to be expected as well.

I will keep my eye out for the next book in the series because the epilogue has me curious about what happens next. I also really like the cover art!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Firstly, thank you, netgalley, for giving me this opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is book one of witch and hunter.

Fritzi is a witch and one of only two survivors of a brutal attack on her coven by hexenjägers (evil witch hunters) .She is trying to find her cousin who was also taken by them.

Otto is a second in command Captain of the hexenjägers, he is seeking revenge for his mother who was innocently burned as a witch years ago.

Fritzi and Otto must work together to expose the Evil leader of the hexenjägers Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

I love the creative retelling of the European witch trails. I also really like the world building and the different surprising twist along the way.

It is a really nice read, and i cant wait to read more about Fritzi and Ottos adventures.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves witchy read.

All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this copy of this book.

This book was incredible! I love a book that throws you right into the action immediately. The beginning of the book right away gave you a feel for the fear the witches live in, and the conflict between the two sides. It sucked me right in.

Minor spoiler: ****Something else I enjoyed was that the enemy to lovers trope wasn't exactly an enemy. It made the love part of their relationship so much more believable. It wasn't forced and uncomfortable, it just made sense.****

I cannot wait for the next book in this series!!

WOWOWOWOWOW! First off, I need book 2 ASAP!

Loosely based on historical facts, and told from 2 POVs, Night of the Witch follows the story of Fritzi (witch) and Otto (witch hunter). The book starts with Fritzi's coven currently under siege. After her mother is killed and her entire coven is in ashes, she sets out to retrieve her cousin who was taken during the attack. She comes across a cottage and hears what sounds like another witch being attacked. She casts a protection spell on the young woman but ends up being taken herself. When she meets the kapitan, Otto, she soon finds that he's not at all what he seems.

This book was intense right out the gate, and I knew it was going to be good. It was pretty fast paced in the beginning with a major plot twist very early on (chapter 9). My jaw basically fell on the floor in chapter one and didn't get picked up until around the midway point. Things slowed down a bit here, but I was still captivated. I was so invested in Fritzi's and Otto's stories, and I absolutely ADORED Fritzi's cousin Liesel.

The overall story was written so well. It gave off a sense of "racing against time" and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I do think this is where a breakdown happened for me. A huge part of the plot was saving innocent people. There was a huge plan (that seemingly took years to perfect) surrounding that, and we were even introduced to a new minor character here, but there wasn't a lot of detail surrounding the execution of the plan. You basically had to trust that everything went according to plan. It would have been nice to have more details regarding the escape and whether or not everyone made it out.

Night of the Witch will be the perfect spooky season read. The scenes with Dieter, Kommandant/leader of the witch hunters, were especially eerie, disturbing, and just downright gave me the ick. The ending itself left me with a sense of unease, and I CANNOT wait to see how the story continues.

Overall, this was still a 4.5/5 star read for me. The romance and thrill were *chef's kiss," and I'd highly recommend it.

Review will be posted to Goodreads on Thursday, August 17. My instagram post will be live on Tuesday, August 22.

(spoilers ahead)

a disappointing 3/5 :(

i was super intrigued by the hunter vs the hunted (witch) romance aspect, so essentially enemies to lovers, which is my personal favorite trope. however, this book just had too much going on, like there were too many arcs, and the plot was convoluted. i kept wondering when i would finally be done reading. this book took me a *MONTH* to read, because i found no interest in the progression of the plot after a certain point (after otto/fritz/liesel go on their journey nearly make it to the black forest, but are about to be caught by dieter).

we find out early on that, SPOILER, the one who has been behind all the witch burnings is none other than fritz's estranged brother, which was definitely shocking to me. i think it honestly might have been better if the book ended at that reveal or after the prison break, which means the remaining 50% of the book would have been cut. the beginning was already a lot, since even before the reveal, we get an intro to the world and the main leads, the prison break, and the reveal.

i also really didn't understand dieter's motive. why did he want as much magic as possible? simply to have it? and what exactly makes fritz so special, like what about her magic is so special?

in terms of romance, i did enjoy the initial banter and the tension that always comes with enemies to lovers, but i think it wasn't slow-burn enough for me, given that these 2 characters were supposed to hate each other. however, i think otto is a very very kind, considerate, loyal (!!!) male lead.

the writing itself wasn't bad, it was easy to read, and the romance was developed well. i did appreciate the dual pov! i just wish the plot wasn't so all over the place, and that less happened, so that the storyline and worldbuilding could be more developed.

thank you to netgalley for sending me an arc!

want to commend the writers for including a trigger warning about some of the content in this book. Since this is a story aimed at teenagers and young adults, I appreciate that there was something in place to warn parents and younger readers that some of the content might be upsetting. It's like a PG 13 rating, but for books.

This book was incredibly fast paced, which is something I had an issue with. I thought the plot could have been better fleshed out and the characters developed a little better. It was too quick of a read, when I put the book down I had questions and I really thought the book could have fleshed the story out more.

Night of the Witch is told between the view points of the two main characters, Fritzi and Otto. Fritzi is a green witch who feels responsible for the downfall of her coven and Otto is a hexenjager (witch hunter) who has been hiding in plain site, ready to take down the witch hunters from the inside. When fate brings them together, Otto includes Frizi on his plans to rescue 100 accused witches and save them from a planned mass burning. All is not as it seems as their plan comes to fruition, will they be able to make it to safety, or will Dieter the head witch hunter kill them all?

The main plot takes course over three days and the whole book seems to take place in the course of a week or so. Slight spoiler here, but how are two character meant to fall in love in that time? I hate super rushed loved stories. Even in forced close proximity there is no way they could love each other that much. I really hate that trope. It takes me right out of the story and makes me put my mom hat on and wag my finger. Like little lady you are way to young and naïve.

Again, the story seemed like it could have been fleshed out more. Though I will say the magic system was very well done and made complete sense. I hate when you're reading a fantasy and the magic is overly complex or so easy that everyone has it. The idea that witches had to pull from a well and each witch has their own affinity, makes the story more cohesive. I did really like the book and I hope there's a part two that's more developed.

Thanks NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the E-arc. All opinions are my own.

Wow I really loved this book by the end. There was a bit in the beginning that lagged but once it got going I was all in. I enjoyed the mix of history and fantasy in this text and the bits of German as well. I really liked how magic worked and the rules of it. The villian was just pure evil and the plot twists were great. Definitely a great read for upcoming spooky season. I would also make sure to read some of the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book since there are some tougher scenes.

I really enjoyed the adventure and magic of this story! The dual POV was really well done. The characters feel very human and deal with very human issues life grief, emotions and being human. It feels definitely more upper YA, and deals with some hard issues due to the brutal setting of the being during German witch trials.

The romance seems to be described as an enemies to lovers story, but it was a bit too easy and quick for my liking considering both of their backgrounds.

Wow this book was such an interesting and adventurous story. It had adventure, magic and banter! It took me awhile to read because once again life kept popping up with things here and there. Then by the time I was tempted to write, sleep called for me!

So let's dive in..shall we?

The book flips back and forth from Otto and Fritzi's point of view. So fun to read from their thoughts and perspective! Both of these characters had to learn to work with each other to help save the other witches. That was the goal. While helping and learning of each other, a tiny spark flies between Otto and Fritzi. It was a slow burn in a different way. Not sure how to explain it. Insta love plus attraction? Or maybe how they saw things differently and yet they learned from each other inspired them to have feelings for each other? I could go on but I thought that aspect was sweet. So there is a sweet romance and some tiny spice in the middle of a witch hunting/evil aspect going on... but the story mostly focuses on the task of magic and what to do about the villain.

I loved the black forest and I loved how the little aspects of magic popped up. The goddesses that popped up in the book were something! I was not expecting that.

I will admit the villain was dark and creepy. I didn't like the villain at all. I couldn't believe the connection that the villain had either. That shocked me. This character does some dark things. The evil character lost their marbles. Seriously!

I do want to point out that since this book does take place during witch trials, there is a darker side to to it in this book like being chained up, in jail cells, being burned and a few other things. Just giving you heads up if it is not your thing.

The ending left me gasping! Like how is that even possible? I did not even see that coming.

If there is book two, I will definitely get it because this story took me on an adventure!

Just the Fantasy book I have been looking for!! Loved the plot and couldn't get enough. I read the whole book in one sitting!

A witchy read perfect for the autumn, witchy season! I loved the atmosphere, the intrigue, and the romance! I also enjoyed getting the dual POV. Will highly recommend, especially as we close in on spooky season.

* Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

Night of the Witch is about Fritzi, who survives a massacre of her coven, and goes to find the hexenjägers (witch hunters) responsible, to make them pay and save her cousin, the other survivor, from being burned at the stake. Along the way, she meets Otto, hexenjägers who has a secret - he's infiltrated the hexenjägers to make them pay for what they did to his mother. Only, his sister is now missing, and with no one to help him, Fritzi and Otto must team up to save Fritzi's cousin, Otto's sister, and all the witches the hexenjägers have stolen.

I actually had a little bit of a hard time with Night of the Witch. I don't think it was bad, in any way, but around the 35% mark something in the story just felt... less engaging. In some ways, this book reminded me of a more realistic Serpent & Dove, and in other ways, it felt a little too similar. Admittedly, I didn't love Serpent & Dove either, so perhaps the devout witch killer teaming up with a witch gimmick just doesn't work for me. I'm not totally against all enemies to lovers, but something about Fritzi and Otto just... didn't work for me. The attraction between them felt too sudden, and not natural in any way.

Besides the romance, the story itself was not engaging enough for me, and the last 60% was hard for me to get through.

I actually think, though, that if you were a Serpent & Dove lover, you would like Night of the Witch.

This book was wonderfully written and had the atmosphere of a dark stormy night. I loved how the main characters battled internally on what they thought was right and what was wrong. It was a delightful and engulfing read.

Usually this kind of book grabs my attention straight away, however I found myself struggling to connect with the book. Quite sad really 2.75 stars

After surviving an attack on her coven, Fritzi is determined to take down the witch hunter's leader Kommandant Dieter Kirch.
Meanwhile, Otto, as a witch hunter, also wants to kill his leader Kommandant Dieter.
Fritzi and Otto will team up to give Kommandant Dieter justice for the lives he ended.

I was so intrigued by the plot but boy I didn't expect the story to be so boring. The plot is just all over the place and things just happened without further explanation and I was just so confused the whole time. The villain's backstory is so odd and doesn't make any sense. Everything just feels so forced like the relationship between Fritzi and Otto; I don't feel their chemistry at all.
It's such a shame that I actually expected more, but this one just didn't work for me

This book really surprised me by how much I loved it. I went into it not knowing what to expect but came out reading a book that tackled so many issues surrounding religion, grief and what it means to be human. It was engaging in both plot and characters but also in the questions it made me ask of myself as I followed the protagonists' battle between what they were raised to believe and the truth in front of them.

The pacing of this story was quick and its twists and turns had me hardly seeing what was coming next. The characters were complex and well-rounded and the world-building and magic system were well thought out. This book was much darker than I thought it would be as it threads in real history from witch hunts of the past and pits family against family yet it also had moments of light that made me smile especially through the relationship between Fritzi and Otto. It was so interesting to see their relationship unfold as they each went on their own journeys of coming to grips with who they are and the wrongs they have done even if at the time they believed they were in the name of something good.

This is a story that will stay with me and I cannot wait for its sequel!

This one looked promising early on, so I requested it…however, it has dropped too far below 4 stars on Goodreads for me to spend time with it. I did not read it, but I am thankful to Netgalley for providing the opportunity.