Long live Otto favorite book boy character in a long time. I love journey stories and fantasy romance with witches thrown in so you know I loved it. Fritzi was a really thought out character as well I loved their moments together

I read this book in nearly a single night, and I fell in love. (4.5 star rating)

Before I get into the review, though, here is a list of trigger warnings (these are all listed in the book as well):
- 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/cruelty (one memory 3/4 way into book).

Night of the Witch takes place in the late 1500s Germany during witch trials where innocents as well as actual witches are hunted down to be exterminated. I found the general story of this book to be a lot of fun. There're constant hints of the depth of the worldbuilding, and even if not everything is fleshed out, the world and story FEELS fleshed out. It feels tangible.

The characters were well-developed, if somewhat stereotypical. They don't break any molds or aren't too surprising, but they're well-done. The story follows two main characters: Fritzi, a witch whose coven has been destroyed, and Otto, a witch hunter with a secret. They two form an unlikely friendship and take off to save Fritzi's cousin who was stolen during the destruction of her coven.

My one complaint in this story was I felt the romance developed too quickly for the level of fear and mistrust that Fritzi would have had toward any witch hunter. Regardless of how good and true Otto is as a person, I felt their relationship needed more development to work through Fritzi's own trauma as well as Otto to work through the indoctrination he dealt with as a witch hunter. But other than that, I love their relationship. They're a super cute and wholesome couple, and they have really good chemistry.

The story borders on a little creepy and darker tones, which was a lot of fun. It's a great spooky season book for both the general vibes, the topic of witches and their magic, as well as the fall/winter setting.

If you like witch stories and want one with a little bite, but not too bloody, this is perfect for you.

Night of the Witch is a romantic fantasy with lots of magic and a touch of mystery. Initially on opposite sides of the witch/witch hunter spectrum, Fritzi and Otto gradually come to trust each other while simultaneously falling in love. They must combine their separate skill sets to stop Kommandant Dieter Kirch’s dastardly plans. The world-building is detailed and descriptive and it sets the scene for the protagonists’ actions. While it appears that all’s well as the novel draws to a close, there’s an interesting cliffhanger presented in the Epilogue which hints at things to look for in the next novel of this Witch and Hunter series. The narrative is a bit uneven but I enjoyed reading this enough to look forward to reading more about Fritzi and Otto.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, I loved the sound of the premise but just couldn’t connect with the characters.

Despite that I do think the writing is done really well and the world building was really good. I, personally, just couldn’t connect with the story.

The first 50% of the book had me somewhat intruiged, but after that, I unfortunately struggled to get through this.

However, I can see how a large group of readers might enjoy this book, it just personally wasn’t the book for me!

I have a "fraught" history with these authors' previous books, and although I did consider not requesting this one, I liked the concept and went in with an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised. Well-written, banter I devoured, and I story that held my attention. I am even considering picking up some of the authors' previous books I skipped, as they both clearly have the skill to craft interesting stories. I have chosen to take one star off as I felt there was some info-dumping exposition at times; I found myself skimming occasionally. However, that may not bother some people. I particularly enjoyed the well-crafted magic system here, which might not be the most unique, was fleshed out--which is arguably more important.

All in all, very enjoyable.

I DNF’ed this book. It’s a lot of info dumping and I wasn’t feeling the vibe. I do think it’s well written for what I read and the premise is interesting. I think it’ll be good for someone who likes this dub genre of witches more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Night of the Witch follows Fritzi, a witch who has lost everything, and Otto, a hexenjager who hunts witches to send them to burn. Their paths cross Fritzi becomes the sole person who can help Otto find his sister and Otto is the only one who can help Fritzi out of being a prisoner to be burned.

I really enjoyed the first 50% of the book and absolutely DEVOURED the banter/development of Fritzi and Otto. They are how you write enemies!! The world and magus system were easy to fall into, which I liked. The turning of the plot into the second half of the book is where I felt slightly less enthused. It felt like almost two different stories and I wish it had flowed better.

This is the perfect fall/winter read and I definitely will recommend it to anyone wanting a good witch/witch Hunter book.

I want to personally thank the author and publisher for allowing me this opportunity to read before the sale in place of an honest review.

World-Building:⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice:🌶️
Character Development: ⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐

Fritzi, A young witch, who is keener on getting into trouble than producing powerful spells. Word has spread of the hexenjäge’s war upon her kind. Covens, and innocents alike are falling prey to Commander Dieter Kirch, and his desire to rid the world of magic. Fritzi never would have guessed that her coven would be next, or that in a single moment, her mother and the rest of the village would be burnt at the stake, all but her young cousin. Fritzi risks life and limb trying to find a way to free her cousin and deal with the loss and guilt over the loss of her family. She meets Otto, a hexenjäge, who plans to take down its entire foundation, that is until Fritzi barges in and ruins his plans.

Otto had never believed in witches until he met Fritzi, but the moment he does he is enamored by her. Their lives quickly become intertwined, and it’s not long before they both begin to grow from enemies to attractions.
This story was riddled with history (which I loved), and the perfect pinch of fantasy.

I found it easy to read through, even though some of the names were harder to remember due to the language barrier. The only thing I wish I could change would be the amount of time it took for both parties to fall in love, and for it to be a little spicier (my preference). I felt as if their love story happened at a rapid pace, slowed down for a bit, and then vamped up out of nowhere. I also felt that there wasn't a lot of character development, and it felt as if I was being told of any development instead of watching it gradually play out.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and was very thankful it kept me occupied while on a 22-hour road trip.

I really wanted to enjoy reading this but I could not connect with the characters or the story. It went way over my head. Still, I would like to read the next one though.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐

I received an ebook galley of this book from Netgalley.

It was a little tough for me to get through the beginning of this book, but that's pretty common with me and fantasy. Establishing the lore, place, characters, and aesthetics can feel a little slow. But I found it easier and easier to pick it up and read several chapters at a time. I think it took me a few short sessions to get through the first third, and one session each to get through the middle and last third.

This book has a pretty well-defined magic system, romance, cursing in German, two perspective characters, and a medieval European setting.

I like the way the romance is written. It's undeniably present throughout the whole story, but the characters basically treat it as a subplot. They're doing Important Things and don't have time for feelings. Through a lot of the story, their attraction is inconvenient for them, and I think that dynamic was executed well.

Couldn’t really get into the story and the characters didn’t speak to me enough to care about the story. But just because I didn’t like it doesn’t mean you won’t.

Enjoyable read! It's been a while since I've read anything of Beth Revis (I especially enjoyed her Across the Universe series) so I'm glad this was available! Definitely getting a copy for our library.

I absolutely loved “Night of the Witch”!
Otto. This definitely has that enemies to lovers trope and this definitely has content that would not be great great for young adults though it does state in the categories as YA. So please check content warnings before going forward. Witch trials historically do tend to have events that happen that would be unpleasant to read.
Overall I really enjoyed the character development the overall story. Will buy a physical copy.

An interesting reimagining of the European Witch Trials. Fritzi and Otto at first meeting are enemies on principle. Witch and witch hunter quickly learn there is more to the other than they originally thought. As enemies turn into allies, something more blossoms between the two. As they focus on stopping Kommandant Dieter Kirch and saving magic, you will be left standing at a cliffs edge as you wait for the next book.

OBSESSED. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Night of the Witch. I was completely enthralled with the story of Friederike, the sole survivor of an attack on her coven, and Otto, a hexenjäger (witch hunter) who is determined to avenge his mother’s death after she was falsely accused of being a witch.

Fritzi and Otto’s paths become entwined when Fritzi foils a plan that has been years in the making. Otto is stunned by Fritzi, having never believed that witches were actually real.

I feel the need to confess my intense love for this book was always going to happen because I am a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope, but add in witches AND the fact that the Black Forest is a magical haven where any witch can run to for help — and yeah. This descendant of Baden-Wurtenberg is SOLD. I loved all of the German language and references in this book and CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on a physical copy when it’s released. I’m so sorry that no one else can read this until October 3rd, but I will remind you all!

This book has great setting and great dialogue . The plot flow between characters melds very well with the story and when new charaters were added it was a smooth transition. I can see this been a book that circulates often in my library . Thank you for letting me read.

Beth and Sara have done it again with another amazing novel!! I loved this one soooo much. Both characters were so well developed. Fritzi was BA and spunky, ready to take on the world. Otto was ready to save it and wrap it in a hug. Perfect balance. I can tell these two did their research and I was thoroughly absorbed in the world. I can't wait to read more.

When I picked up this book, I knew it was set in the middle of witch trials, which of course would be violent. It was also tagged YA where I ran across it, and although the main character is young, I would never have tagged it that way myself — please please check content warnings here.

That piece aside, I had some complicated feelings in the first few chapters, and ran a search of the male main characters name, “Otto Ernst,” (Otto Ernst Remer was German Wehrmact officer in WW2 and the first result on the character’s name) which may have colored my read of this book and its significance in a story where we’re already discussing genocide as a main plot point. I reached out to one of the authors on social media to inquire about this character’s naming but didn’t hear back — will gladly update this review if I do.

If you like stories about witches, a “good for her” ending, and can deal with the violence described, you’ll be rewarded with a gripping narrative, a magic system that’s readily understandable and engaging, and an insta-love story with its associated light smut scene.

I’ll definitely be picking up the next books in this series as they become published to see what happens with Fritzi and Otto!

A witch and a witch hunter cross paths during the attempted extension of witches and witchcraft by the Catholic Diocese and naturally they fall in love.

Night of the Witch was an action-packed novel, that did not stop from start to finish. I thought the imagery, world and characters were developed and believable, and it truly felt like being a part of the witch trials in the 1500s if magic was real. I really enjoyed the plot of this story, but there are a couple reasons I think this is a 3.5 star instead of 4 or 5:

1. I felt like the relationship between Fritzi and Otto was either not necessary and/or they fell 'in love' way too quickly. They went from being mortal enemies to falling for one another basically in the span of a single page. I felt like either their relationship needed to develop further OR the romantic sub plot did not need to exist.

2. I wish I had started out knowing that Otto wasn't actually a witch hunter. While this is a multiple POV book, his intentions were not clear from the very beginning, so I was very confused with his abduction of his sister and supposed hatred of witches. I guess it was supposed to be an aha moment that he was actually leading an internal rebellion, but this was fleshed out so early in the story that it felt a bit unorganized and confusing.

I also think being categorized as young adult is a bit misleading. This story has vivid imagery of witches being tortured and killed, specifically being burned alive. It also questions organized religion and religion in general. And while I think that all young adults should be exposed to different points of view and open-mindedness, the themes of this book were very dark. I was just surprised after reading this to see it classified as young adult.

Again, I think this is a great take on the witch trials, with great plot and writing, but I felt like a few of the dynamics were unnecessary or not well planned. I will continue this series, as I am interested to see where this goes. The ending cliffhanger was unexpected!

This book had so much going for it but the pacing was off and it needs some refining. I know this is a republished draft but it feels like one of the first drafts.