Y'all, when this baby hits Booktok I think it's gonna check all the boxes. Before reading, though, make sure to check your content warnings. The authors freaking deliver. Check your hearts, witches!

Our heroine is Fritzi, a young witch who begins the book experiencing unimaginable tragedy as she loses her entire coven to the hexenjägers, the 16th century German witch hunters. She believes that her young cousin has survived and in her quest to find her, she is captured by Otto, a double agent who is trying to bring down the hexenjägers and has been plotting to free hundreds of innocent prisoners. One thing he hadn't considered was that there were REAL witches like Fritzi!

I found the characters in this novel to be utterly charming and the love story is definitely swoon-worthy. I think the authors Sarah Raasch and Beth Revis definitely find their best groove when writing the tender low-spice love scenes. They may not be explicit but they are deeply romantic-- almost spiritual and poetic.

The villain Kommandant Kirch is truly bone chillingly creepy and it's a bummer that the pacing of this novel felt so off because otherwise I would have found myself fully immersed in this love story. I'm not sure if it was due to having two authors or another reason but I found myself surprised that bits of it were so compelling and well written and then it would seem deeply awkward and a bit cheesy. It is YA and I know it's geared towards a younger audience, but the inconsistency was difficult for me.

I found myself fascinated enough to hop on Wikipedia and dive down a rabbit hole to research more about these historical horrors. It's clear that the the authors did an excellent job of bringing the violence, persecution, and cruelty to life while still creating a compelling and charming narrative. Looking forward to the sequel!

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to provide my unbiased opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC to review!

As I've said before in another review, I love witchy stories. And this was a really good one! I haven't read that many set in Europe, so when I saw this was set in Germany, I knew I had to try it!

It's the perfect combination between historical fiction and fantasy, genres I both love. It was easy to get into, though some parts in the middle were a little bit slow. Characters were great and the villain was an actual real villain, which was interesting for sure!!

This was a really interesting read. I thought the blending of historic 16th century Germany and fantasy was woven beautifully. The characters were well developed and had depth and growth. The villain was truly evil, and you felt it with every action on his part.

There were some really big surprises for me in this book, as a reader, that I did not see coming - and I really appreciated that. This story really pressed all of the right buttons and was thought-provoking, particularly regarding ideas of organized religions, the nature of good and evil, as well as love.

Overall, it's a really great story.

Thanks to NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 20% of the way through.

I really couldn't connect with the characters nor the story. The premise is really compelling but the execution fell flat for me. Worldbuilding was meh, the magic system was incredibly boring which is saying something. Definitely not the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this opportunity to read rage and review this Arc which will be available October 3,2023!

German based lord with witches and witch hunters. Yes! Gimme gimme gimme! This is a story about Fritzi who is a hexen and Otto a hexenjager aka witch Hunter. Slow burn, lots of action, betrayals and uncovering plots. Mind the TW as they are many and DARK. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the mixed of German lore with this world. It was a fun read

This book is set during the European witch trials and follows Fritzi, a young witch who is fleeing from where here coven were attacked and Otto, a commandant and witch hunter with an alterior motives.

This was a very enjoyable read. It did take me a while to get into it the book but once I did, I enjoyed the story and with the cliffhanger ending, I'll definitely be picking up the next installement.

This would be great for fans of Serpent and Dove and would be a great autumn read. It's witchy, suspenseful and the setting had Grimms fairytale vibes.

Thank you to Net Galley for suppling me with the eARC in exchange for an honest review

Wow! This book was incredible!

The story was so up and down and I had no idea what to expect next. Enemies to lovers has always been a favourite trope of mine and this book did it Justice. I cannot wait for the next book.

*more in depth review to come on my instagram whilst I gather deeper thoughts about this book!

This was a great story that had great details of what was happening and a fascinating.details of all the magic. There was also great chemistry w the characters. This was full of love witchcraft and war which kept the reader in suspense. I don’t normally read this type of book I was glad I did and will read more by this author.

Night of the Witch" by Sara Raasch is a delightful magical journey. The way she crafts the fantasy world is truly impressive, and the characters are captivating. The plot is full of surprises, making it an engaging read. The magic system and world-building are immersive, and the themes of friendship and sacrifice add depth to the story. If you love fantasy, this book is a must-read. Sara Raasch's storytelling talent shines through, and I'm eagerly awaiting her next creation!

I received an ARC from the publisher and this is my honest review.

"How many times can one soul be yanked out of hope and back again before it breaks? One more time, I think. Always one more time."

Night of the Witch is a blend of magical fantasy and German history regarding witch trials. We follow two perspectives — one is Fritzi, a good witch, and Otto, a witch hunter. They first cross paths in one of the raids on a suspected witch village. Fritzi immediately hates Otto, but we quickly learn that his motivations are different from the other hunters (but of course, Fritzi takes a while to believe this). The main plot follows the suspected witches being burned in Trier, and the battle between good green magic from the Well, and evil wild magic that corrupts witches. We see Fritzi grapple with the difference between these sources — all witches in her coven are only allowed to practice good magic, but we learn more and more that wild magic has significantly more power. There’s also great banter between the characters, and discussions of religion that emphasis personal faith versus politicized hatred. I'm normally not a fan of religion in books because it can be very preachy, but this is far from it. There's criticism of organized religion, as the witch hunters are operating under Christian beliefs, while still leaving room for personal faith.
I much preferred the first half of the story because of all the banter & humor. There’s more political tensions and war in the second half, which always bores me a bit as we’re just getting descriptions and actions without dialogue. I also loved the banter between Fritzi and Otto, so I was sad to see it wane out about 40% of the way through as their relationship got more physical. I think this aspect was very rushed and unnecessary, but it seems to be common in newer YA. Which reminds me - I love how smart Otto is. I am so used to characters in fantasy never learning their lesson and always making rash plans. But everything Otto does is well thought-out, and I greatly appreciate that. Fritzi does makes a lot of assumptions at first, bu I was happy to see her grow out of them.

Also ... the epilogue …. wow.

I was so excited to delve into this world, a witch meets witch hunter, enemies to allies to lovers tale with inspiration drawn from the European witch trials. Night of the Witch had so many elements that I crave in a story and while I definitely wasn’t disappointed, I didn’t connect with the characters quite the way I would have liked to. Despite that, I did really enjoy reading about Fritzi and thought her chemistry with Otto was wonderful. I am definitely intrigued and am anxiously awaiting the next installment!

I was so excited to get my hands on this book from Sara and Beth as I've enjoyed other books by both!

I wasn't disappointed! Filled with drama and action and unexpected twists and turns, it had me turning pages quickly. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers and add in the witch vs witch hunter dynamic... and a crazy relative - count me in - I'm very excited to see where this goes in book 2!

Thank you for an early copy!

I am speechless. I got a review copy of Night of the Witch from NetGalley and WOW. I had this on my TBR but was not quite sure as I have not read either of the authors before (and yet I own a few of their books, oops). But honestly I’ll read anything with witches. And then throw in a Witch Hunter. I am sold.

Fritzi is a witch on the run to save her cousin Liesel from the witch hunters, the hexenjägers. She befriends a Jäger, Otto, and they must work together to take down the kommandant of the hexenjägers.

I really appreciated the historical background of this story. While fictional, it is based on the witch trial of Trier in Germany. I love any story with some true historical background. I truly was so excited to read this book every time and never felt like there were any lulls in the story. I do feel that Liesel acted older than her age of ten, but I really only cared about that a few times. I really liked the basis of magic and the Well that witches magic is pulled from. If you at all like witches, this has got to be on your list.

I devoured this book! Not only because I've lived in Germany before and could connect with the language, cities and events (hello Christkindlemarkt) but the story line about a witch and a witch hunter was so captivating and well written that I couldn't put it down. The relationship between two people seemingly at opposing ends of the story coming together for a shared purpose to save not only themselves but magic itself was filled with moments of romance, suspense and fantasy. I loved every minute!! I've always heard about the Salem Witch trials and the atrocities that were acted upon in the name of faith. I loved the added historic note at the end of the book, about the real Trier Witch Trials from 1581-1593 which executed an estimated thousand. It was eye opening! Especially because it was the largest mass execution in Europe outside of war and it was SO impactful that it sparked a revival of witch trials which reached us in the USA with the Salem Witch Trials.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book!*

Night of the Witch has an almost Brothers Grimm, Hansel and Gretel vibe to the story. It had a minor enemies to lovers storyline (though honestly they skipped through the enemies part pretty quickly). This was a solid read if you like witch-based fantasy with historical elements. I wish I had seen a tiny bit more character development as well as more insight into the villain's motives (him just being crazy and evil doesn't feel enough to me).

Perfect for fans of everything witchy, enemies to lovers, and interesting foreshadowing. This book has a dual point of view. Interesting read. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.l

“Night of the Witch” is a YA fantasy about a witch hunter and a witch (bit of Nina and Matthias vibes). However, neither quite fits into their role: Fritzi has an affinity for wild magic, which is forbidden; Otto is forced to arrest members of his own family in order to maintain order.
I did not enjoy this book mainly because the two main characters were so deeply, incredibly boring. There was nothing compelling about it, and I could see exactly where the story was going from the outset. If an author is going to jump on the enemies-to-lovers bandwagon, they could at least do something original with it. Not so here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. 🖤💚

***Check trigger warnings beforehand, there are a few heavy scenes and topics covered.

Fritzi is a witch who has just lost nearly her whole coven and way of life. On her way to save her cousin, she is thrown into an undercover witch hunter’s plot for vengeance by saving convicted witches from the stake, and a relationship grows between the two, but will they be able to stop what’s coming together?

“Only I will now hold my fate.”

4.25 stars, I enjoyed this!! I thought the characters were wonderfully fleshed out and the plot made sense and was very cohesive. There are a lot of German terms used which really helps pull you into the story and see the picture the authors are painting. I loved the enemies to lovers plot line and the magic system the witches have. The dual POV got confusing occasionally but once you get used to the switches and the world building, it’s a very enjoyable read. I will definitely be reading the next one!!

“We are not born into our nature; we choose it. And although the people and places around us may influence our lives, our decisions seal our fate.”

First thought - There had better be a second book soon.

This book checks off all of my boxes when it comes to fascinating characters, sibling interactions, magic and sorcery, historical fiction, and a little bit of romance when the characters aren't fighting for their lives.

Raasch and Revis have crafted a story and set of characters that are destined for great or nefarious outcomes. The struggle between good and evil is constant through the story, as every great fairy tale should have. This is no happy ever after story. It's a what's next and who's going to survive story. Well done!

Fritzi is a witch, and after watching her whole coven, save for her little cousin, killed by witch hunters she sets out to free her cousin and destroy the hunters. Otto is a witch hunter who has not only ever seen a witch, but knows that the witch hunts are a cover for vile men to do vile acts, and has been plotting to take them down for killing his innocent mother. When Otto and Fritzi’s paths cross they form a tentative trust to enact their plans, but everything is infinitely more complicated than either of them knows.

This has the same setup as Serpent and Dove but is so much better. There’s added complexity with the real life events as the setting, and the characters have more depth and motivation for what they do. I think the dual POV was really well executed as well.