fantasy and gothic.. what else do you wish for?

The world building… exceptional. Mysterious, complex, layered. Is the best way to describe the book.
I’m just blown away from this book. Can’t wait for the next.

This was such a beautiful novel! It was somehow combined themes of gothic romance, Celtic fae mythology, and Victorian historical society – and I loved it. Add in the intriguing mystery and the darker themes, and this book was unlike any I’ve read.

“There are faeries, then, at Witchwood Manor.”

Firstly, the worldbuilding was phenomenal. I’ve read a fair few novels with the traditional fae mythology mentioned in The Witchwood Knot, but none had such intriguing and beautiful descriptions. Atwater’s depictions of fae monsters and card games and twisting mazes was so captivating and fascinating, and I enjoyed every page.

“Innocence is so offensive, isn’t it?… It is never content in its existence. It must force itself upon the rest of the world, insisting that true horror is a fiction.”

This novel also contained a few themes darker than expected – so check those triggers lovelies (let me know if you need me to write them below). I thought the author wove them into the story brilliantly, and they neither detracted from the plot nor were brushed over, which I appreciated. The quote above especially is such a unique take on the world and our constant determination to look on the bright side – I loved it.

“The world would be more comfortable without us, Miss Hall… But I have never troubled myself overmuch with making other people comfortable. I would rather carry a knife.”

I ADORED the main characters, especially our FMC. She was so strong and steady – she knew herself, and was capable and calm. Certainly a nice change from fiery, sarcastic heroines (who I also love, but who seem to be in every book these days). She also had a subtle sense of humour which I treasured.

“I would have you play my songs until your fingers bled… I would compose new music, just to hear you play it with such passion. I cannot bear it, governess – how dare you love my music more than I do?”

And the romance THE ROMANCE. It wasn’t the most prominent plot point, but it was so easy to obsess over nonetheless. I’m always a sucker for a traumatised, dark-haired MMC who believes he’s a monster – and this book provided. I don’t want to say too much about them and spoil, but I loved these two.

Overall, I’m so very glad I read this one. It has the most immaculate vibes and beautiful worldbuilding, and I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC copy.

Absolute banger!

When Winifred Hall arrives at Witchwood Manor for her job as governess, she meets the butler, Mr Quincy. But both of them are hiding something as are others in the Manor!

Winnie is there to protect the Dowager's Grandson from the malevolent spirits but there's much more going on!

A gothicy, fantasy/horror lite story with an enemies to lovers plot, total spooky vibes, a very cute romance AND a fiesty undead cat. What more could you want?

I adored Winnie! She is unflappable, so strong, so matter of fact, a liar and so very determined. Oh and also utterly hilarious without even trying. 'Oh dear. It seems a faerie has just stolen all of my unmentionables.'

This was a fantastic read and I need more! I'm off to stalk the authors socials to see if there are any hints of a next book!

Mmmm, delightful gothic fantasy!

There’s clearly a depth of worldbuilding that’s gone here, and I believe previous books are woven through, but you don’t need to read them to delve into The Witchwood Knot.

This is lovely and dark, with a complex mystery and a heaping of fae.

I really loved Winnie, she felt authentic and her growth through the book was wonderful.

The romance felt like a bit of an afterthought, but not so much to be a distraction. The book could have done without it, but it wasn’t a problem that it was there.

I will be eagerly awaiting the sequel!

This was a whimsical, clever, gothic novel by Olivia Atwater! I really like how it mildly interlinked the previous stories as backstory, but you don't have to have read them to enjoy this story. It also has a more modern twist on the classic gothic trope: in this story, the main character arrives at the old manor knowing something is off, but not sure what, and is determined to figure out how to help correct the situation. There's magic and a touch of romance and it gets quite dark--I read it in only two sittings! It also does deal with some heavier topics (TW for SA), but it was handled very authentically.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Witchwood Knot was an exquisite experience and my first Olivia Atwater book, though it’s definitely the first of many. I read most of this story in one sitting, curled up under flannel blankets, with my cat and a hot mug of earl grey tea, and if I can make one recommendation to you, it would be to do exactly that as well.
Delightfully creepy and darkly whimsical, The Witchwood Knot is a story for my gothic girlies and gorlies who (like me) enjoy ghosts and hauntings and tortured, soft-hearted love interests, but who (also, like me) need these elements to be a soft pg.

Winnie, the MC is perhaps the most likeable and relatable main character I have had the pleasure of being introduced to and I took to her almost instantly. And Ollie, her undead cat familiar?? ARE YOU KIDDING? I love him so much. The romance was slow and doesn’t entirely reveal itself until around the 50% mark, but I found this to be quite to my liking, as it was more of a subplot until that point and the main plot kept me engaged enough to not even be bothered.

There was a bit of lore and some backstory that I found just a little bit confusing, but I didn’t think it took away from my experience or the overarching plot—if anything, I am now more intrigued and want to read the other series by Ms. Atwater. The saddest thing about this story is that I will never experience the cozy magic and delight of reading it for the first time again. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5, and I can’t wait to read more from Olivia Atwater.

"The Witchwood Knot," Olivia Atwater's latest venture, marks a departure from the lighter tones of her "Regency Faerie Tales," embracing a darker narrative set in the Victorian era. This novel blends elements of gothic horror with Atwater's signature enchanting storytelling, making for a captivating and slightly eerie read.

The book dives into this gothic horror vibe that's perfect for a chilly fall night. The story revolves around Winnie Hall, who's not just your typical governess, but a magic practitioner sent to figure out what's up with the spooky Witchwood Manor. The manor, with its mysterious aura and hidden secrets, is a character in its own right, setting the stage for a tale of intrigue and supernatural occurrences. Mr. Quincy, the manor's enigmatic butler, adds to the mystique with his otherworldly presence and suspicious demeanor.

Central to this narrative is the stark, unflinching theme of male human greed – a hunger for property, wealth, and dominion over things better left untouched. This thematic exploration adds a profound layer to the storytelling, making it more than just a spooky tale.

The beginning might feel a bit slow. Winnie comes off a tad patronizing, and it takes a bit to get used to her. But stick with it! A little less than halfway through, things start to pick up, and her character really starts to shine. Plus, her dynamic with Mr. Quincy? Chef's kiss! It's sweet, it's fun, and it gives off that warm, fuzzy feel amidst the spooky backdrop.

Oh, and I can't forget about Oliver, Winnie's undead cat. That little guy is a whole mood, especially with his disdain for men.

So, if you're looking for something with a bit of gothic spook, a sprinkle of romance, and a whole lot of magical charm, "The Witchwood Knot" is your book. It's a cozy, yet thrilling ride, and a great pick for anyone who loves a good haunted house story with a twist.

This book is a bit darker and twistier than this author's previous novels set in this world, and I had a whole lot of fun reading it.

I loved the gothic and haunted nature of the house. I really enjoyed Winnie's interaction with Mr. Quincy, the sass and banter between them were quite delicious and I loved every time she outsmarted him. The undead kitty companion was the icing on the cake and I loved every scene he was in.

I'm looking forward to seeing where the next book is going to go, I hope it features one of Winnie's sisters!

In the Witchwood Knot we have a gothic Victorian fairytale but for adults.

Winnie Hall is a governess appearing at the manor to watch over and teach her young charge all while uncovering a mystery or two. During the course of said sleuthing, we meet “Mr. Quincy” and quickly learn that he is also not whom he appears to be.

Winnie is a FMC after my own heart because she doesn’t take any meds or sass from anyone, unlike what we typically get in Victorian era worlds.

And dare I say the romance I didn’t really see coming? Love that for them (and me) because I very much love when the villain gets the girl.

I do believe I was at a disadvantage not having read the Regency Faerie Tales trilogy so I wasn’t sure about this authors writing or some of the characters but alas, I liked it just the same and enough that I will check out her previous work and venture a reread of this afterward.

The Witchwood Knot is a wonderful read as we are well into fall and even into the transition towards winter. You can feel the gothic Victorian vibes jump from the page and that alone was worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Winnie arrives at Witchwood as a governess, but we soon realize that she is there for more sinister, magical reasons because Witchwood is cursed. Winnie must use her wit and thinking to break the curse or it will affect the future heirs of Witchwood.

This book promised a lot, but did not deliver. The beginning of the story was filled with lush, descriptive prose, but this was not continued throughout which was frustrating. It felt like the author did a lot of telling instead of showing. At numerous times, the author incorporated whole flashback chapters that felt out of place and would have been better suited to being sprinkled throughout chapters. The characters were not that interesting and the enemies to lovers romance felt SO forced and uncomfortable.

The Witchwood Knot is an incredible feat- a dark, gothic fantasy with rich worldbuilding, vivid characters, and a compelling mystery with life and death stakes that sets the stage for bigger battles to come. Winifred knows a lot about magic and faeries when she arrives at Witchwood Manor, but she quickly understands that she knows just enough to make her aware of her ignorance. Olivia Atwater is a master of “show, don’t tell,” and part of what makes this story great is how truly unpredictable it is.

In Winifred and Mr Quincy, Atwater gives us one of my favorite setups, where the love interests are inherently, inescapably at odds and working against each other, until of course, they are not. Winifred is competent and brave and not nearly as cold or detached as she would like to be. Mr. Quincy is delightfully cunning and sinister with a surprisingly soft and gooey center, revealed in a way that’s truly earned. The way their mutual wariness fades into respect and then deepens to something more is masterful. Such. Delicious. Chemistry

No one is only one thing in this book. There is no assumption that characters must be “likeable,” even children. Robert, Winifred’s charge, is refreshingly snarky and full of bravado, as a young lord might well be. Winifred abandons her search for her long lost faerie mentor to rescue him because any child is worth saving, as she herself was once saved. A central tenet of this text seems to be that while we may be shaped by what happens to us, our true character is defined more by the choices we make.

I thought Atwater handled the trauma in Winifred’s life deftly and appropriately. There is no gratuitous sexual assault on page, thankfully. We see from the beginning how being a girl and then a woman in the world has shaped Winifred, without needing to know all of the details. The backstory we do get comes at the right moment when we need to understand the root of Winifred’s deepest fear, the articulation of which in turn helps her (and the reader) understand something essential and pivotal about Mr Quincy- the person his choices have made/continue to make him versus who he might have become.

I don’t want to give anything more away about this gem of a book. I will now need to read everything that Olivia Atwater has ever written.

CW: mention of child sexual abuse

I didn’t even realize until a couple of weeks ago that a new Olivia Atwater book was coming out soon, and ofcourse I couldn’t stop myself from requesting an arc because how can I miss it. And this turned out to be both what I was expecting and more.

Firstly, I was very excited to know that this book is set in the same world as the Regency Faerie Tales trilogy. So I went in expecting a similar charming and cozy fantasy story with some mystery and lots of love, but this one is definitely much darker. The author creates a very good gothic atmosphere in Witchwood Manor and we can palpably feel the eeriness of the place, always worried about what monster might be lurking around in the corner (or the walls or under the floor). I also really enjoyed how the author incorporates some of the history of our main character Winnie, as well as world building information about faeries, in the form of short stories within the narrative, told as cautionary tales to a young boy. This structure gives the book a gothic fairytale vibe and made it quite enjoyable, despite some of the darker turns it takes. The writing is easy to breeze through like how I’ve come to expect from the author, with enough unpredictability to keep me hooked.

Winnie is an interesting protagonist. I liked how we don’t get to know her properly in the beginning and her backstory is unraveled slowly due to circumstances. She gives out a cold and guarded impression due to her history, but it was nice to see her start feeling for the people she meets in Witchwood manor, and making choices which she never thought she would. Mr. Quincy is an enigma until we get to know his story and then it’s quite easy to sympathize for him. There is some banter between them but their dynamic progresses from prickly and antagonistic to falling for each other fairly quickly, seeming a bit unrealistic, but I guess that was unavoidable considering it’s a short book. The rest of the cast is also written well and it’s not hard to like some of the other characters, but most of them get very little page time. I also really enjoyed the little mentions of my favorites from the previous trilogy, though the current timeline might mean that we’ll never get to actually meet them again.

Overall, this was a short gothic fantasy with fairytale vibes and a willful protagonist who I came to like. It is both whimsical and dark, and concludes satisfactorily but also leaves enough loose ends that it’ll be interesting to see how it all resolves in the next book, and I also wonder if we’ll meet these characters again. I look forward to it.

Really good fun! I wasn’t expecting this to be so gothic, since my only point of comparison for Atwater is Half A Soul, but I absolutely devoured it. Wonderfully obstinate heroine, great supporting cast, a love interest who grew on me with time, and great pacing. Just as a note, I didn’t realize this was a sequel series to the Regency Faerie Tales so I think it probably has some spoilers for later books in the first trilogy but I’ve only read the first book and I was able to follow the story without any problems. The romance gets resolved but the larger plot ends on a bit of a cliffhanger— I will certainly be looking out for the next book!

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Gothic Fantasy
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 11/28/2023

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: The ailing Dowager of Witchwood Manor has brought on a governess to protect her grandson from the dark faeries that plague her manor. The governess is a magician and must work with an unlikely ally to save her ward and those who reside in the manor.

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: As the first book of a series, be aware that it ends on a cliffhanger. This is a wonderfully dark and mysterious faerie tale full of twists and turns. This is a quick read with a beautifully crafted world, which is amazing with how short the book is.

There is mild, Victorian Era romance, but it’s very minimal and not really a main driver of the plot. If you’re looking for spice, you won’t find it in this book.

I still have a ton of questions….I am left wanting more; I want to know more about the Mr. Quincy and more about Winnie. I want to hear more about Master Robert and Lord Longfell. I’m hoping that the next book will go more into the construction of Witchwood Manor and more on how the curse and Knot came into existence.

The book seems to go by quickly, but it doesn’t lack too much when you take into consideration that it is the first of a series. I like the book, but I would have loved more character development. Truly I wish it was longer, but overall -- you should read this book if you like Gothic fantasy (that isn't driven by romance), magic, parallel worlds, and unlikely allies.

A lovely, truly morose Victorian novel, The Witchwood knot encompasses all the wondrous little fairytale terrors, from wistful dream realms to vengeful ghosts, wrapped up in this beautiful little gothic telling.


For fans of A.G. Slater and Holly Black’s grim depiction of fairies, this will truly be a treat! The lore is something akin to Grimm’s Fairytales with a sprinkle of the macabre. The Witchwood Knot is full of creatures that bait humans into revealing their true name, favors that bind magic, familiars that only exist in the dark, and a manor chock full of magic, monsters, and ghosts (every dark fantasy reader’s favorite triad). At every dark corner in the novel, I found something new and grisly to explore.

The writing itself was wondrous and thrilling. The work was brimming with compelling themes and stubborn, ruthless characters worthy of the landscape they occupy. From the brooding Mr. Quincy, clearly taken from a thread of Wuthering Heights (no complaints here!), to the cunning governess, Winifred Hall, all of the players were immaculate. And for the characters to be dropped in the center Victorian England—the environment was the perfect realm for these little conniving, clawing creatures to come out and call forth chaos.

Even though this story is fresh, it feels like a re-telling—but not in a stale, predictable way, but beautiful and whimsical, in its own right. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Publishing for the ARC.

This review can also be viewed on Goodreads and Instagram (see links attached).

Loved loved LOVED this book! Huge thank you to Netgalley & Starwatch Press for approving my request to read this! This is my first time reading Olivia Atwater and I am declaring myself obsessed, once I finish this review, I’m gonna go buy her entire backlog and read everything else she’s written. This was such an enjoyable piece of speculative fiction, absolutely perfect for readers who enjoy the dark whimsy and cozy charm of authors like Diana Wynne Jones and Heather Fawcett.

Thank you Netgalley and Starwatch Press for sending over an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3,75 stars*

First, I want to state that I haven’t read any of Atwater’s other series, the Regency Faerie Tales. The Witchwood Knot is a spinoff of this series and reads as if it’s a mix between Emily Wilde and Wuthering Heights. In this story we follow Winnie, who gets hired as a governess at Witchwood Manor. The manor is deeply unsettling and when first arriving, Winnie notices there’s something wrong. While taking care of Robert, she needs to solve the reason behind the tormenting of the staff.

This was a great read for Halloween. Going in this, I expected a cozy fantasy romance, and that’s mostly what this book is. The story is well written, with lovable characters and a beautiful gothic atmosphere. The romance is a bit of a slow burn and doesn’t really come into play until the end of the book. I also enjoyed the mystery plot. The worldbuilding was a bit vague at some points, but most faerie stories feel like this to me. Maybe some things of the plot would have been clearer if I read the author’s other series before this book.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend this if you liked faerie romance like Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries or other cosy fantasy romance like Legends and Lattes. I also can see myself reading other work of this author.

3.5 stars

Things I liked:
-the gothic fairytale vibes
-Oliver the undead cat
-the imagery of the Witchwood Knot, looking through mirrors and seeing the other side of the manor, the toy soldiers, etc.
-Winnie was a wonderful protagonist

Things i didn't like:
-the story was slow, I would have liked more action and romance
-I felt at times that I was missing something

Overall this was good, I just wished it would have been shorter or less slow.

Olivia Atwood books are now filed in my mind as *treat read*. This was darker than her previous books but the world of faerie remains the same. I loved all the characters. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC!

I loved this Victorian gothic fantasy. Great mood setting and perfect book to read in the fall or winter. This book gives dark fairytale (with literal faeries) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

There was a subplot of romance that I honestly did not see coming. Once I got the initial hint of it, I actually didn't love it at first- but by the end of the book, I was suddenly rooting for these characters like my life depended on it.

Overall really liked this book! Looking forward to see what Olivia does with the rest of the series.