The Hedgewitch of Foxhall is that perfect blend of sweet and cozy while still having incredibly poignant moments that really convey the differing struggles Ffion, Tal, and Dafydd face throughout the book. Anna Bright builds a lush, imaginative world that feels straight from Welsh folklore, and I love that she actually used a lot of the Welsh spellings and names for the various creatures, places, and characters.

The story follows Ffion, one of the last remaining hedgewitches who has become estranged from her family after her father abandons them to serve the king and her mother follows the Foxhall coven, a group of witches that almost seem like the Welsh folklore equivalent of a commercial conglomerate who are destroying the environment. Meanwhile, brothers Dafydd and Tal, are pitted against one another to find a way to destroy a rival king’s dyke that is destroying magic and see who will inherit their father’s throne.

This story is a love triangle, and while I like that all three characters have a POV and both brother’s had distinct personalities, Dafydd’ character felt more like an afterthought at times compared to both Ffion and Tal, who easily outshined him. Tal was my favorite of the two brothers from the beginning, but part of that could have been because I didn’t feel like I really knew enough about Dafydd, and I wasn’t really a fan of his semi-creepy “insta-love” for Ffion.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to HarperCollins Children Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you NetGalley and HaperCollins for an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this sweet little magical tale of a hedgewitch and two Welsh princes out to restore magic to Wales and save the land from an invasion from Mercia. Although this is set in the 700's, there were a few turns of phrase that were anachronistic and did jolt me out of the story on occasion, but for the most part the time period felt believable. The love triangle did not bother me and I liked both love interests. I loved Ffion and her refusal to follow in either of her parents' footsteps, instead foraging in the Foxhall forest and helping the poor. And of course, who wouldn't love Cadno, her fox familiar, even though he spends most of the novel offscreen. I got quite choked up at the ending. :) I don't know a great deal about Welsh folklore, but I'd love to learn more based on the creatures mentioned in this book. This may be intended for a younger audience as the main characters are between 17 and 19, but it's an enjoyable read for any age.

I loved this book. It had witches, dragons, nobility and magic. I couldn't get enormous of this book. I will be purchasing this book to place on my keep shelf. I absolutely loved it.
I just reviewed The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright. #TheHedgewitchofFoxhall #NetGalley
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This book absolutely SHINES. I loved it desperately and inhaled it in two days flat. So lovely. I love the magic and heart in this grunge-core tale that made me care about absolutely everyone.

I just want to give the whole book a warm hug. And can we talk about the cover? I LOVE this cover, and was delighted to find the contents matched the beauty outside.

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall was my first book by Anna Bright and it 100% made me want to read more by her. Lovely lovely, warm and comforting.

This is a fabulous fantasy story with elevated vocabulary. I love the different POVs and how it slowly culminates and grows into a larger story. It's a great book to read slowly and take in. I love the theme of coven witches and magic related to nature. It made me curious to explore other works from the author.
The cover is amazing.

Before I address the story, let's get it out of the way . . . the cover??? The colors, the font, the character design, the everything??? So beautiful. I can not wait until the physical copy arrives and I can put this face out on my shelves. But enough about that masterpiece, let's look at the book itself. I love a good standalone fantasy. Fantasy can be an overwhelming genre for many reasons, but a big one is that every fantasy book seems to be part of a 10 book million page series. This book had a good balance of unique fantastical names, and understandable common English. I also really loved the characters. I really loved how feral and free Marlinchen became in Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid, and Ffion has similar vibes. She is feisty and determined and I was rooting for her on every page. The story was cozy and a perfect read for autumn, but the world building is so thorough and immersive, that I'm sure it will feel like Autumn even if you read it on release day. My only complaint, despite my original praise of it's stand=alone-ness, is that I wanted more. I know YA tends to be shorter, but 400 pages still didn't feel like enough. However, that is a great problem to have.

Official Blurb:
This fierce and smart historical fantasy is rich with Welsh language and culture, and brims with a wild magic of its own. A beautiful folk song of a novel. I loved every line.

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall
by Anna Bright
Pub Date: 12 Mar 2024

In this gorgeous stand-alone fantasy romance perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft, a rebellious witch undertakes a last-ditch quest to restore magic to medieval Wales—as two princes vie for her heart.

Magic is fading from Wales—choked off by King Offa’s Dyke, the enemy earthworks that spans the entire border. Even the dragons have disappeared. And now an attack is imminent.

Prince Taliesin would love to watch magic die. Prince Dafydd fears it, and the throne. But when their father promises the crown to whichever son can destroy the dyke and restore magic to Wales, the brothers are forced into an uneasy rivalry.

Ffion works hedgewitch magic for poor folk, not princes. Unlike the power-hungry Foxhall coven, she uses only what nature can spare. But when the coven’s greed costs Ffion everything, she will need power beyond her wildest dreams to get back what she’s lost.

So when Prince Taliesin arrives, begrudgingly seeking a witch’s aid, Ffion agrees to help him—even if it means walking from one end of Wales to the other with the most use-less peacock she’s ever clapped eyes on. Even if it means striking a bargain with Dafydd behind Tal’s back. The fate of Wales depends on their quest . . . and so might the fate of Ffion’s heart.

I devoured this book. Requested for the cover, but stayed for the fantastic story!!
Loved the magic system. All of the characters were really well developed. Often times I feel like love triangles are less who is she going to choose and more can we get this guy out of here please, but I genuinely loved how both of the princes were written. Think having chapters from each of their POVs helped make things feel more whole.
Fantastic book!!

First of all, the cover of this book is a beauty, and that’s what pulled me in.

This is a medieval, witchy, very Welsh YA fantasy. It has your typical YA fantasy ingredients, but it was fresh to me because of the Welsh elements. It’s a cozy standalone that might be a good entry point for young YA readers.

I loved the Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright. If you went to a library before weeding for the Barnes and Noble model of marketing and weeding were implemented in recent years, then you were able to mine gems that have been long discarded from collections. If you were like me and fortunate, as a young woman you found a library where there were still a few yellowed copies of an author named Mary Stewart who wrote about Arthurian lore. This book reminded me of finding one of those jewels. Bright researched and mined enough Welsh lore for a fresh retelling of a legend that is full of romance and adventure. Read this book. It is lovely.

I loved this book! Tal's character arc was my favorite to read. Although both brothers are driven by fear, I found Tal's fears to be the most relatable. I was rooting for him right from the get go.

Going into the book, I was a bit skeptical about the love triangle. Usually when brothers are involved, one is portrayed as "bad" or "evil". However, I felt that the author did both brothers justice in this book and still delivered a satisfying ending to the love triangle.

Ahhhhh Welsh folklore!! A fierce, take-no-prisoners, witchy FMC!! DRAGONS!! This book was such a fun read, and right up my alley -- Ffion is an absolutely fantastic heroine, and the two princes complement her so well. It's exactly the kind of lighthearted cozy fantasy that I've come to adore. Love love love this book!

i received an e-arc copy of this from Netgalley, and all opinions are my own.

I loved this book! When Ffion, the main character, joins a quest out of sheer rage, I that this would be a book that would be a perfect fit for me. The banter and some of the repeated lines throughout the book were enough to make me set it down for a few minutes and just bask in the moment. I loved the setting and the focus on Welsh mythology, as well as the way the cost of magic was such a central point to the story. The ending concluded just the tiniest but too quickly for me, but the final scene was exactly the way it should be.

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright is a ya fantasy with Welsh elements.
 
First, I want to say that the world building in this story was done so well. I could tell that the author immersed herself into Welsh folklore and managed to bring this across in the story. This aspect is also what made me interested to read this book. I had no previous knowledge of this topic and learned a lot, while simultaneously feeling lost as I didn’t understand certain aspects.
 
The protagonist Ffion is a witch who loves magic dearly. She grew up surrounded by nature in a tiny village and is very content with her life. But the King hates magic and wants to rid the world of it. Ffion can’t accept this and tries to stop it. She is such a fierce and incredible character, and she is my favorite part about this book.
 
There are also dragons in this book, and I love them. Even they have vanished, and it feels like this world is slowly dying. The princes also try to stop this, but they have motives of their own and therefore they were never trustworthy to me.
 
Overall, this is a cozy fantasy story that I enjoyed. 3,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

A lush, fantastical adventure that feels like the literary version of all of Hozier's music. Getting a chance to escape into Ffion's world of Welsh magic was truly worthwhile. I love when epic fantasy stories include real world themes, such as this one's of respecting the land, environment, and creatures that call our world home. Also, this book gives off such LOTR vibes! Ffion and Tal's quest is a slow burn romance and a cozy fantasy story all in one. And the scene of the final battle? I've read a lot of final battle scenes over the years and this book's battle scene was exquisitely written. It was emotional, impactful, and enthralling. I have no notes.

Ffion, a hedgewitch, is recruited by Prince Tal to help destroy Offa's Dyke before his bother Dafydd does. However, Ffion has her own mission, and they're both hiding their pasts and some secrets.

This book was wonderful. As a person who is living abroad in Wales and learning Welsh, the immersion within historical medieval Wales was well done and close to my heart. I could tell there was so much love, time, and care put into learning about Wales, its culture, and the mythology, as well as the language itself.

Ffion was a wonderful protagonist, a headstrong girl who knows who she is, which was very impactful. Both of the princes were well written, and I could see the progression of their learning and development. The plot kept me hooked, trying to figure out just how these kids were going to pull a mammoth task off, and the complicated dynamics made it interesting and engaging. I will absolutely be recommending this to anyone who loves historical fantasies.

First, look how gorgeous this cover is! It’s so beautiful. Second, if you’re into a historical setting, but filled with magic, this book might be for you. There are many magical creatures mentioned throughout the book, though I do wish we got see a bit more of them. I wasn’t obsessed with the story until about 30% in, but after that it really picked up for me. I liked the feisty, redhead witch for the main character. I also liked the princes for different reasons.
Here’s some tropes: love triangle, star-crossed lovers, parental issues, animal familiar.

Overall, a good read. I wish there was just a little more. I wanted more explanations than I was given. I’d still recommend if you want a stand-alone historical fantasy!

Reading about feral ginger-haired girls is my love language.

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall is a quiet and cozy fantasy based on Welsh historical events that happened in the eighth century. While I loved the overall vibe and the inclusion of Welsh mythology/folklore, in the end, this book lacked depth in characters that I need to remain engaged in a story.

Ffion is a feisty witch who refuses to abide by Foxhall coven's unfair rules, choosing to help all who need it, with magic that doesn't destroy the forest. Prince Taliesin and Prince Dafydd have been pitted against each other in competition for the throne. Whoever can destroy King Offa's dyke will be King. Prince Tal enlists the help of Ffion, despite his wariness of magic, to destroy the dyke and finally become King, his dream since he was fourteen.

I picked this one up for its beautiful cover and because it's recommended for Margaret Rogerson and Allison Saft fans. I can see the resemblance to these authors in the overall tone of the book: a charming and cozy fantasy, with a strong female protagonist and soft magic. The presence of mythical creatures and the inherently wild nature of the magic was reminiscent of Enchantment of Ravens and A Far Wilder Magic. Unfortunately, that is where the similarities end.

This novel needed to be fleshed out more. While I did like what I learned about Ffion, I wanted more of her. Initially, she couldn't care less about the princes, but this attitude quickly derailed into a love triangle that had a clear winner from the beginning. It's a real shame since Ffion's strong personality was balanced with her kind nature, something I feel is missing in YA literature. I wish that had been explored.

The princes were on the verge of having personalities. We get POVs from both of them, which was a nice touch, but ended up being a downfall. Too much time was split between them for me to really get to know either of them. In the end, it didn't really matter to me who Ffion ended up with since I couldn't get a firm grasp on the motives and overall characterization of the two boys.

This book will be great as an introduction to YA fantasy, and for those who read books based more on the overall feeling of a book than the content.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own

This was a stay-up-until-2-AM, read-in-one-breathless-sitting kind of vibe for me. To say I loved it would be an understatement.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.