I love books involving witches. I love forbidden romances too. Good story for October. The book was okay, nothing memorable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2.5/5 stars

I really, really wanted to love this one and if I took it at face value....I might have. But if I spent more than a few seconds thinking about this story, there were glaring plot holes and contradicting developments and a romance that just, exists with no build up. It's a really cool idea and not terribly written but it very much felt like a draft that no one read deeply enough to find inconsistencies and holes.

If you want a quick, easy, witchy read - this will probably be fun for you. It was enjoyable enough to read, if the pacing felt slow at points - but if you want something intellectual with a tight story that will really catch you by surprise and make you think....this might not be for you.

This book really could have been perfect for Halloween time - sinister reimagining of witch and witch hunter?! Check check. Sadly it did not live up to that for me. It was boring and nothing much seemed to happen until the very end and then a cliffy? Not sure I’ll continue with the series but do think there may be more action in later books as this was the set up. Maybe?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy!

As a fan of Beth Revis and witches, I couldn’t wait to read this book. I’m so glad I enjoyed it as much as I have her previous books! This book grabbed me from the beginning and didn’t let up.

I was really into the witch books this year and this one really hit the spot. From the characters to the way magic worked for them I was hooked!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This is a book perfect for spooky season reading. I enjoyed the chemistry between Fritzi and Otto and must say at first it was unexpected that these two teamed up together to defeat the witch hunters.

I love books of magic, I'm just so drawn to them ✨

So when Sourcebooks Fire posted, Night of the Witch on a 24hr 'read now' option on NetGalley, I took a chance. I didn't get to read it right away and I did finish it a week behind pubday BUT I really really enjoyed it!

I went in completely blind, so it did take a few chapters before I finally got hooked. It was a lot darker than I was expecting towards the end then my normal cozy witchy reads, but it brought a whole new layer to the tale. I was constantly routing for the MCs ❤️‍🔥 and now here I sit knowing I have to wait til next fall for book2:
Fate of the Magic!!!

Some favorite 🔥 Highlights!
✍️
"The thought makes my fists bunch. I will do this to save the innocents. But if anyone hurts her, they will pay."

"I swear I can feel his grin in the darkness. And the sensation of him smiling in this space of sightlessness but being unable to see it is unbearably intimate..."

“that I want you to throw me against the wall of this castle and make me see that god of yours.”

"She is a feast I will spend the rest of my life starving for."

“I need you to know, this is not some illicit tryst I ask of you,” I say, searching her eyes. “When I say I want you, I mean all of you, for all of time. I do not want your body alone, Friederike; I want you, and I give myself to you, all of me that you desire.”

"I pull us both back into the darker water as I worship at the altar of her lips."

#nightofthewitch
#sararaasch #bethrevis #sourcebooksfire #forbiddenromance #darkmagic #witchtrials #witchyreads #bookreview #5starread

Shocked to say I DNF'ed this one, and I'm stumped as to why. It has everything I normally love about YA fantasy. Quick pacing, accessible world building, and conflicted characters. Not to mention I'm a sucker for the hunter and hunted romance trope. I'll probably try it again someday, but for now, I'm not quite in the mood for it.

This book was a little disappointing. I thought it would be more of one thing but it headed in a direction that I didn’t love. I DNF at around 20%. The cover I feel like doesn’t fit the story that well and maybe that’s why I felt like I was expecting something else

I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I thought this would be right up my alley, but for one reason or another it missed the mark. It starts off strong, but then drops off and is incredibly slow. There are a lot of instances of telling instead of showing and overall the story is too long.

Awesome book! Here are some facts/tropes:
✨️historical fantasy
🧙🏼‍♀️witches
🔥witchhunt
🗡rebellion
❤️romance
🌶lil bit spicy
🤭forbidden love
🩷enemies to lovers
👥️family issues

This book was so amazing! I loved the historical part of the european witchhunt, but of course, the added spice of witches being real, completely sealed the deal. I also absolutely loved otto and his own backstory, which absolutely added to the story. And I barely ever love epilogues but this one... I cant even. This was amazing!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review.

The hexanjagers have destroyed the last true coven of witches—Fritzi’s family. She and her young cousin, Liesel, are the only witches left. But Liesel has been captured, and Fritzi later arrested by Otto, captain of the witch hunters. How can Fritzi even save herself without her coven and a favor from a goddess?

The answer turns out to be Otto—a man who chose to go undercover as a hexanjager in order to destroy what the church has caused. He will stop at nothing to bring order back to the people but is in desperate need of Fritzi’s help. But how can a witch trust a witch hunter?
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This was an epic read. Full of history, action, magic and even a little romance, it was thrilling from the very first page all the way to the very last. I enjoyed reading both from Fritzi’s and Otto’s POVs and felt they were equally compelling characters. And Dieter was such a great villain. i’m looking forward to seeing what becomes of everyone, as well as with Fritzi’s magical journey.

But two things that irked me: Fritzi & Otto felt like a forced pairing. I really enjoy enemies to lovers, but their connection felt a little hollow and too obvious. And another thing that irked me was how the facedown with Dieter was sort of underwhelming. It felt like the authors were trying to force the suspense at the end rather than just hammer everything all home. But I’’m still really excited to read the next development and would absolutely recommend it.

Night of the Witch is a YA fantasy about a witch and a witch hunter. Fritzi's coven has been attacked and she is one of the few survivors. She knows her cousin was captured so she makes it her mission to rescue her and get vengeance on the witch hunters. Otto is a captain of the witch-hunters and when his and Fritzi's journeys cross paths, they become reluctant allies. The romance is enemies to lovers with dagger-to-the-throat vibes. I was not sure what to expect with this book but I really enjoyed the plot and all the small plot twists along the way. I don't want to give away too much of the plot since I liked going in mostly blind. I also did enjoy the romance but I will say that I did not connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. I feel like this is because I did not know them well enough. However, I still enjoyed the story overall and would recommend it if the synopsis seems interesting to you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Perfect for fans of witches and enemies to lovers.

Fritzi is determined to bring the witch hunters for all the lives they have ended. She meets Otto, a witch hunter, and is unsure if she should trust him despite their common enemy. They uncover more of a plot regarding the witch hunts.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really liked the plot and the characters of this book as well as the setting. The romance was also good. This is the first book of a new series, so I am excited to read the next book when it comes out. I didn’t give this book 5 stars because it did not give me the feeling that other books I have rated 5 stars have. There was nothing super extraordinary about this book. It was still good though. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I liked the idea of this book but I struggled with getting through the story a little bit. The book was very long, but not filled with action or anything really, just lots of slow journeying and tons of religious/architectural history that I was just not into. This is the first in a series and I would love to know how everything plays out overall, but I am just not sure that I am going to read the next book(s?) to find out.

This was heavy on romance, the forbidden kind between a witch and the witch hunter sent to hunt her down... But nothing is really as it seemed. At times, the romance felt a little bit like instalove, which I was not really feeling for the overall plot of the book, I would have liked a little more push and pull between the two to really get into feeling them together, this just felt too easy and not engaging enough for me.

This is a solid first book for anyone who wants a slow burn paranormal romance filled with history and betrayal, with a few twists at the end to keep you guessing what will come next.

This wasn’t my favorite book I read in October, but I still enjoyed it. Mad about the cliffhanger but that’s more of a personal hangup. Pacing felt odd at times, but I overall enjoyed the story. Will definitely pick up the next book in the series because I have to know what happens!

This one was a bit hard to rate because I liked a lot of elements in this story, but there were a few that didn’t quite fit to the way this is told at all. So, four stars because it’s a good look into a historical event with a fairly well-developed arc and characters that work. However, the last 30% are where a bit of that disconnect really takes root.

This was a stunning exploration of becoming someone stronger and harder after tragedy. Fritzi and Otto are great characters who develop in strong ways and the evolution of their relationships with others was so well done. I loved the way their backstories were handled, and the slow integration of trust and love into their interactions. Raasch and Revis did a stunning job with their characters, and I love them all, even the ones I hated.

However, those characters are led on a quest that eventually tears the magical realism of the whole book. In the last 30 percent, the whole tone and aesthetic changes to account for what it’s like in the Well. Which would have been fine if there had been more fantastical elements to other aspects of the story. It was jarring to see the discrepancy. I can admit, that’s likely the point, but it feels disjointed because the transition in tone is disjointed. Those two scenes didn’t ease readers into the transition comprehensively. Maybe if we had seen Liesel’s test that wouldn’t have been the case?

Other than that, this is an exceptionally-written book with relevant themes and an interesting plot. I’d put the writing at a little more academic than your average fantasy, but it adds a seriousness to the events and character that’s necessary for carrying such heavy subject matter.

Overall, I’d say if you liked The Crucible, are interested in witchy tales, or love history, read this one.

3.25 stars - Fritzi's witch coven was attacked, and she was determined to bring the hexenjägers, also known as witch hunters, to justice. She would need to take down their leader, Kommandant Dieter Kirc. Otto, the second in command to Dieter, and Fritzi meet and join forces to kill their common enemies.

The story is told from Fritzi's and Otto's point of view. The book was okay. There is a slow build and it bored me most of the time, so it was hard getting into the book. The romance between both characters seems a little forced. The story did end on a cliffhanger, but I am not sure I would pick up the next book.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've read a couple of witchy books this spooky season. Some were good, and some were not so good. This is one of the good ones. Maybe the best one.

(The other contender for the top spot would be Hex and the City by Kate Johnson. But that was a mad-cap rom-com with the craziest plot and characters so honestly couldn't be more different in vibes to this one which is why you can't really compare them. I loved both but for very different reasons.)

This one is a blend of history and fantasy, set in Germany in the late 1500s. The witch hunters are called hexenjägers as you might have noticed from the blurb and it's a take on the Trier Witch Trials which, unfortunately, were all too real.

I had an absolute blast with this one. It's fast-paced and action-packed which I love. It had great, realistic and sympathetic characters, amazing world-building, a fantastic villain and really high stakes (this may or may not be a pun).

If your main enjoyment in books is the romance part - it has that too! Enemies to lovers would be the trope although it's not long until our pairing realises they might not exactly be on opposite sides as they initially assumed because Otto is a man with a plan, working undercover within the hunters to avenge his mother.

I really enjoyed the romance aspect and it really helped drive the plot, although as I've already mentioned, the plot is very action-packed and page-tuner-y anyway! I would only say the switch from enemies to lovers was a little too sudden for me personally. One minute she's fighting like a hellcat next minute she's winking at him. It seemed a little abrupt for this slow-burn fanatic but in the end, I loved the romance that blossomed so it's all good.

Sidenote: I don't know what it is with publishers consistently listing books that read as Adult as YA...but this is another example of that. It has on-page sex and violence and it's a book for adult readers.

Thank you to Sourcebooks for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.
4 stars ★★★★

This is an incredible new series with well paced storyline and lots of action .

Thank you for the arc