One of the best books ive read all year. Think of Romeo & Juliet but with witchy vibes. Magical duels, love, family feuds and a morally grey love interest. Everything i love in one book. I cannot wait for the second book. Thank you NetGalley and Sophie Williamson for this ARC Copy.

A Thrilling Yorkshire Journey into the Supernatural - "The Twisted Mark" Review

🔮Tropes:🔮
-Witches
-Hidden society
-Spicy
-Mystery
-Paranormal
-Touch Her & Die
-Burn the World for Her
-Treachery
-Twisted


As a Yorkshire resident, "The Twisted Mark" had me hooked from the very beginning with its vividly depicted setting in the heart of our beloved county. The story follows Sadie, a fiercely witty and no-nonsense female protagonist. Her frankness and the open, relatable way she discusses her personal life feels like you're sharing secrets with a friend.

Sadie pays a high price for her brother, Bren, and this becomes a central point of intrigue. The supernatural world presented in the book is captivating. The author’s portrayal of witches as a product of both humans and demons adds an exciting twist to the narrative, inviting readers into a world teeming with supernatural creatures, including enigmatic vampires.

The question of whether Sadie and Gabriel are fated mates keeps readers on edge, and the mystery surrounding Bren’s allegiance adds complexity to the plot. Sophie Williamson expertly keeps us guessing and glued to the pages as we struggle to unravel the enigma behind Sadie's family secrets.

"The Twisted Mark" is filled with twisted turns and a hint of kink play, bringing a unique flavor to the narrative. The complex dynamics between Sadie and Gabriel add depth to their relationship, with moments of passion and tension making their connection utterly engaging.

As the story unfolds, unexpected developments occur, and readers will find themselves sympathizing, loving, and occasionally cursing the characters. The final pages of the book deliver a heart-pounding conclusion, only to set the stage for a new and thrilling adventure in the sequel.

Sophie Williamson has crafted a story that leaves you craving more. "The Twisted Mark" offers an enthralling mix of humor, romance, suspense, and the supernatural, creating an irresistible journey that fans of the genre won't want to miss. I can't wait to join Sadie on her next adventure.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this amazing book!

Overdone tropes. The protagonist is a typical Mary Sue and her love interest is boring. Reads a lot like fanfiction especially with the Romeo and Juliet-esque vibes.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first in the Witch trials series and follow Sadie and Gabriel in a witchy romantasy / enemies to lovers adventures. I was completely hooked from start to finish and THAT ENDING! omg nearly finished me!

I really enjoyed reading this, and found it hard to put down. Some of the storylines could have been explored further, so this is 3.5 stars for me.

The Twisted Mark is a dark fantasy romance with Romeo and Juliet vibes, except this isn't love at first sight, it's fear, hate and unexplainable lust. And while there is a feud between two powerful families the stakes are made higher by the involvement of magic.

This book follows Sadie who fled the magic and comfort of her home town after a disastrous night that could have destroyed her eldest brother, and family heir, had she not made a bargain with the son of the rival family. Gabriel. In exchange for him letting her brother go she bargained away her magic and her body. However, when he doesn't decide to collect that night she flees to London and starts a new life as a lawyer in London.

Six years later her family need her to come back and save her brother once again. He has been accused of murder, not only that but the murder of the head of the rival family and Gabriel's father. She has been hiding from Gabriel, not using her magic so he couldn't find her, and trying her best to live a normal life; but now as her brothers only hope she must return. She takes precautions, disguises herself with magic and continues to repress the power within her but with the strange link between her and Gabriel he quickly discovers who she truly is and so the games begin.

Sadie desperately wants to find the truth and free her brother, but she can't seem to stop thinking about the man to whom she owes a great debt, and not all her thoughts are necessarily bad. She must fight against him, her own desires and her families secrets to get out of the town with her heart and body still intact.

While this book ends with some of the story tied together we are still left wondering what will happen between Sadie and Gabriel, what the repercussions of the secrets she has discovered about her family will be, and how her life could possibly return to the 'normal' it was before.

This is a fairly easy read and I look forward to seeing how the story continues in book two.

this book was truly outstanding! As the introductory installment of a series, it began at a slower pace, with the author meticulously constructing the world for the characters and providing the necessary backstory to set the stage for the present narrative. However, once this groundwork was established, the story became a thrilling rollercoaster of action that held my undivided attention.

Throughout the story, my emotions swayed between sympathy and growing frustration with the Sadlers, particularly their alarming indifference toward Sadie's well-being. Her brother Bren's unexpected plot twist left me utterly flabbergasted The characters were exquisitely developed, each possessing layers of complexity that made them neither entirely virtuous nor entirely wicked, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the narrative. I found myself deeply enamored with both Sadie and Gabriel as individual characters and found their dynamic together even more captivating.

I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series, as this book has left me hungry for more. This was my first encounter with Sophie Williamson's work, but it most certainly will not be my last.

I'd give this book a resounding 5-star rating, and I am absolutely counting down the moments until the next installment. The ending left me yearning for more!!

I felt like this book was such a fun and magical read!! This has everything! Enemies to lovers, rivalry’s, witches who are lawyers!!, romance, I hate that I love you, it truly had it all!!! I loved this a lot and cannot wait to read more!! Thank you so much for giving me a copy!! Now onto book two!!

I did not manage to read this unfortunately, due to unforeseeable issues at home. I did not manage to read this unfortunately, due to unforeseeable issues at home.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review.

I'll be honest. DNF at 46%.

This book has a slow start and I was deeply uninterested in any of the characters.

I really didn't love that Gabriel blackmails her into potential sexual slavery to steal her magic, and then he also has the audacity to be offended that she thinks he would collect on the deal??

ALSO. It's mentioned that he's just finished uni at this point, and that she's about to go. SO HOW OLD IS SHE, GABRIEL? Is she a teen being pressured into a magical sex bargain with an adult???????

I really, really don't like Gabriel, and I find that such a disturbing premise. Her family also sucks, they're either useless or dismissive and seem to exclusively use her for their gain.

I just could not keep going with this nonsense. 1 star.

I loved this book! I could not put it down as soon as I started reading. This is like Romeo and Juliet with magic and a hint of Grease. This book had so many twists and surprises. It kept me on my toes the entire time. I loved the mixture of the family drama and the trial. Sadie is strong and determined to help her family but also do what she wants. I loved the buildup between Gabriel and Sadie through the book. The ending was heartbreaking but necessary. I can’t wait to reread it and continue the series!

fantasy romance that has your enemies to lovers trope, forbidden romance, morally gray characters, family rivalry, secrets, betrayals and a murder mystery! It is a journey filled with suspense, tension, magic binding spells, sizzling romance, and unexpected twist and turns. It does not end on a happily ever after. However, it does have a happy ending. Is it love or is it obsession? A dark and twisted paranormal romance that will have you on the edge of your seat and turning pages as quickly as you can so you can see what happens next.

Very original, featured the cliché of enemies to lovers, had two main characters from different families. This book also had a lot of aspects of magic in int. It was genuinely novel and energizing. The romance was one of the plot's main elements, but there was also mystery, and I'm sure there's still a lot more to learn as the series continues. Overall this was a really good read, and I can not wait for more.

I had some difficulty starting this book, but after the first couple of chapter I read it non stop! This is a great enemies to lovers book, I didn’t know what to expect from the description and was pleasantly surprised. The only negative I found to both Sadie and Gabriel’s characters were their proclivity for promiscuity while still being interested in each other. It kind of gave off the cheating vibe in my opinion, but it definitely was different in terms of the type of romances. Overall I really liked and will read the sequel! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to read a book based on witches. I love fantasy books but haven’t read a whole lot with main characters and entire cities as witches. I liked the MFC and MMC along with the supporting characters. The plot was well developed but I wish the book contained more world building and background as to the witches powers and how an area full of witches functions etc. Also how the witch and human realms exist. It alluded to it but I would have liked more description. Overall the story line was good, the book was well paced and kept my attention.

Sadie Sadler lives a quiet life in a big city, away from her entire family. Her family protects the city of Mannith with magic. She, too, can do magic, avoids it at all cost. Utilizing her magic would alert Gabriel Thornber and she's hidden from him for years. She bargained her power (and her body) years back to save her brother's butt after he got in to trouble. So, now, she's determined to stay off Gabriel's radar, lest he call in on that bargain.

But, her brother has gotten himself into trouble again and is on trial for murder. Sadie is the only one who can save him, But that means, coming right back in to Gabriel's circle.

I enjoyed this. My only qualm at the beginning was Sadie being offered up sexually as a bargaining chip. However, Gabriel does redeem himself and isn't quite the monster that he's portrayed as initially. Sadie also realizes she doesn't really know how her family protects the city of Mannith after all. I got really invested in the characters.

Of note, this is the first book of a series.

I want to first thank both NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book I received!

This review is coming a little late because quite honestly I just didn’t know how to articulate my feelings on this book.the idea of this book and what I thought it was going to be like had so much potential it is a new exciting premise to me and I think the aspects of the book that reflect that initial idea were great. I wish I could’ve seen more of that. The actual book however felt both slow and fast and in both ways the plot suffered. I was not sure why anything that was happening was happening and why no one seemed to be using logic and reason. I love and understand that sometimes YA needs to be a bit more simple and straightforward but I’m sorry nothing made actual sense. It was more heavily Y than it was A if that makes sense. The plot felt randomly generated and then the story was just kind of slapped in around it. The writing was forgettable you can decide if that’s good or not because I genuinely can’t remember what I thought of it.

Beyond the plot the relationship both did not make sense and was annoying. Like I’m sorry Gabe and Sadie together were just so uninteresting and nonsensical. Beyond that they could not figure the romance out to save their lives I will admit I deeply dislike Why Choose and if that’s what this was I wouldn’t fault them for my own personal taste but I don’t even think(how can I be sure idk) that’s what this was supposed to be. The other characters were so flat I don’t feel they’re even worth mentioning in this portion of the review.

Overall the story had potential and I didn’t dislike all parts of it however it lacked so much depth and backstory that I couldn’t really enjoy it reading it felt more like a chore.

This story did not make a lot of sense to me. It intrigued me at first, I wanted to know what had made her run away and hide her magic for 6 years. Only to be extremely put off by the revelation. It seemed like a gross exaggeration to me. Almost all the reactions Sadie had were blown out of proportion in my opinion. I wasn’t really buying it. I struggled to get through the book because of this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me an ARC of this story for my honest review.

This story follows Sadie Sadler, a witch who has decided to no longer use her powers. However, when her brother goes on trial for murder and Sadie has to act as his defense attorney, all bets are off.

Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the storyline and thought the idea was unique in comparison to some of the other fantasy novels out there. There was a good mixture of magical creatures and interesting explanations of how they can or cannot procreate.

However, I found all of the characters unlikable, including the protagonist. There were also various subplots that I felt added nothing to the storyline, and would have preferred more detail spent elsewhere, such as in the courtroom scenes.

My rating for this book is 3 stars, as I believe it was good for a debut novel and there are probably others who would enjoy this book if they are able to overlook the things that I didn't love about it.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book! Witchy, fantasy romance that had a lot energy and tension for an enemies to lovers! Secrets, magic, disguises, clever, and kept up with plot and pace. It had darker, morally grey vibes and included some legal drama out of London. Interested in where the story goes!

I honestly didn’t like a single character in this book, and for me, that’s a major dealbreaker. They felt so unidimensional and borderline boring that I struggled a lot to get into the story. I couldn’t care for them and that hurt, because the rest of the story was far more interesting.
The dreams were too much for me. I personally don’t like when a book abuses that resource, because it becomes confusing.
That being said, there were a few unexpected twists that kept me intrigued and the pacing was really good, so overall it was not a bad book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.