I had such a fun time reading Olivia Atwater's The Withhwood Knot that I paused all my other current reads.

For me, this book had a great balance of gothic and whimsical. I found the writing had an easy flow, where I managed to lose the sense of time.

Perfect for an autumn/Halloween read! In saying that if you feel like a semi-low stakes, suspenseful with a clever and stubborn protagonist, cats- alive and in ghost form, and creepy Forrest.

I saw a review that mentioned that reading Half a Soul prior might help with the experience, and I am so glad I did, I absolutely loved Half a Soul. If you haven't read Half a Soul, no stress! It doesn't take anything from the story, it's more like titbits from history or math class when you were in high school, if you know it, it helps!

I can't wait to read more of Atwater's works.

First a huge thanks to NetGalley for an e-Arc of The Witchwood Knot.


Let’s get this out of the way; this was a 3.75 stars book for me & my favorite character here was Ollie!


Winnie took me a little bit to enjoy as our FMC, in the beginning she seemed a bit rude and closed off, but the more you learn about her the more you understand why.
She’s a strong FMC for sure; she’s cunning, smart and very big liar (with reason), and she’s going to fight back if you try her 👌🏽
I will not have her watch my kid but I will definitely call her if my kid ever goes missing.


Mr. Quincy without any spoilers, i am going to pretend that a small detail about him was just my imagination and not real because I cannot get over it. I enjoy his interactions with Winnie a lot but it took the majority of the book to learn more about him; I just wished we would’ve gotten more from him throughout the entire story.


At times the pacing was off and some of the magical elements/world building could’ve used a bit more work, but it is what it is. The story was still easy to follow and enjoy. More dark than the author’s other work, touches on some strong & sensitive topics but I’d say they’re handled well.


Last while I do think this can be read as a stand alone I do suggest reading the Regency Fairy Tales first.

I’d give this book six stars if I could. Although this book could absolutely be read as a standalone, it follows in the same world and some of the same characters as Atwater’s Regency Fairytale series Whereas those books could definitely be called cozy fantasy, this dealt with darker themes, and could be more accurately called a gothic fantasy. However, despite that being a throughline, because of the commonality of the world, it still read somewhat cozily to me.

Our heroine is a magician who comes to a cursed manor to help an old benefactress protect her grandson from the nefarious presence in her estate. Although the other servants in the house can’t seem to tell her what’s happening, it’s clear that malevolent faeries are involved.

The story is masterfully woven, with charming characters and themes that encourage the reader to confront what constitutes a monster and how people regain their agency after violation.

Even when constructing a darker story, there is something so inviting about Atwater’s prose. It’s such a delight to read. I’m genuinely thrilled that she’s continuing to write in this world and hope we won’t have to wait too long for the next installment. Many thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this wonderful story.

I am a fan of dark, gothic novels and this one was a delight to read! This book is the first I’ve read by Olivia Atwater, and I can’t wait to explore more of her writing. Winnie was the perfect twisted heroine of the story. I did not picture Mr. Quincy as her love interest at first but I loved their interaction. The world building was exceptional.

It would be the ideal book for dark and stormy winter months with enough horror to make it captivating. I would love to revisit this when the audiobook comes out. Great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwatch Press for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Reading The Witchwood Knot is like seeing dew gather on a spider’s web: your eyes will skim the book’s pages like a lovely dream, but the details remain hazy, so you wonder, did it happen? Was I there with Winnie?

The Witchwood Knot is a quirky haunted house story from the Victorian era littered with faeries and a heroine as tough as they come. You will giggle and shout as you race through the pages to Atwater’s newest!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy to review.

Full RTC. Out Nov 2023.

I enjoyed this a lot! It's a fair bit darker than the author's other books, with a gothic atmosphere that I enjoyed immensely.

I loved Winnie's character: she's a liar, and a manipulator, and a survivor, but that doesn't make her a bad person, or cold and closed-off. She's always doing her best to help the people around her, sometimes even at great cost to herself. I loved the little glimpses we got of her found family, and I really hope that gets explored more.

The love interest, Mr Quincy, also should have been right up my alley as a character, and he was... once we finally got to know him better. Unfortunately this happened quite late into the book, so I didn't enjoy him quite as much as I could have.

The same goes for the romance: it was great, but I only really became invested in it around the 85 percent mark. Many of the early chapters are spent setting up the atmosphere and the mystery, plus Winnie and Mr Quincy spend very little time together in the beginning due to demands of the plot (and the few times they do meet they are pretty adversarial towards each other). This results in a bit of an enemies-to-lovers speed-run. I still liked it, but I think it really could have benefitted from being spread out into multiple books.

All in all, though, this was a great read and one I'd definitely recommend!

It's a sequel series, and while it can absolutely be read first, I do think it's better to pick it up after reading the Regency Faerie Tales books: you will get all of the reference, and there are a few spoilers (particularly a pretty major one for Half A Soul).

I have to be honest, I thought this was a one off book I hadn’t realised it was one of a series. Did this stop me enjoying the book, no it didn’t. I didn’t feel like I missed out on any information at all. I liked the characters and the story gripped me, I didn’t want to put my kindle down to do other things until I had finished it. A good autumn read

The first book in a series with gothic vibes that I devoured

I had read the Regency Faerie Tales series a while ago and I had forgotten how much I loved the very "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" universe !
So it was with great pleasure that I dove back into the universe =)

What I particularly liked :

- the writing style that completely sucked me in ! The descriptions are beautifully shot (I could almost smell the blood around Mr Quincy), almost poetic and we manage to feel the slightest nuance of feelings through the writing !

- the universe absolutely brilliant ! The very gothic atmosphere with the old manor was great but I love this mix of Victorian England and fairy magic ! (I love the "cat" Ollie so much !) I always have a weakness for the Fae when they are inhuman and then if we add Irish myths ... Love at first read !

- the plot was fascinating ! I wasn't expecting at all the horrors that we discover throughout the pages (OMG the trees !!) but I loved seeing Winnie struggle to discover the secrets and lies of the inhabitants of the mansion ! And it was exciting to discover that the plot went so much further, with much bigger ramifications ...

- the characters !! I had a huge crush on Winnie who is exactly my favorite type of heroine : clever, courageous and magical ! And Mr Quincy fascinated me from the first appearance (little vibes of Mausekönig <3)
I also really liked the secondary characters, the good ones (young Robert =)) as well as the monsters (and the Fae are not the worst !)
For readers of the Regency Faerie Tales series, it's also a treat to get glimpses of old characters (even if they're not all in good standing ...)

- the touch of romance which was PERFECT <3 I loved the way Winnie and Mr. Quincy slowly go from wary enemies to a sweet, almost shy but so beautiful romance (We only have two scenes from kisses in the book BUT THIS FIRST SCENE WITH THE PIANO <3)

In short, a beautifully written historical fantasy book with a delicious touch of romance I can't wait for the next book, especially with the revelations at the end =)

For fans of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Howl's Howling Castle, I recommend it !

Our story follows Winnifred Hall who becomes a governess to a vexatious boy at Witchwood Manor. Upon arriving at the manor, Winnie meets the mysterious butler (or is he?) Mr. Quincy and discovers the manor isn’t what it seems. Witchwood has a dark side where conniving and wicked creatures reside and we are constantly left wondering who to trust and who the true monster of the manor is.

Winnie is the type of main character I adore reading about. She is brave, intelligent, and honestly quite badass. Winnie takes all of the strangeness of her world and the manor in stride where anyone else would be running for the hills.
The beautiful romance that unfolded throughout the book took me completely by surprise and ended up being one of my favorite aspects of the story. I also greatly appreciated the delicate way Atwater navigated complex topics like SA. Reading about Winnie taking back her sexuality was extremely powerful and I think a lot of readers would find it very impactful.
I do think that some readers might find the pacing off. The first 50% of the book is mostly world and plot building and the main adventure doesn’t start until about that point. Personally, I enjoyed Olivia’s writing and the characters so much that I didn’t mind one bit.
Overall, a beautifully written gothic faerie-tale romance!

Thank you Netgallet and Starwatch Press for this ARC!

Disclaimer: I was aware of the author’s other popular series, and have it on my tbr, but did not realize this book was tied to the same universe so tightly.

Marketing it as a separate new story seems misleading, as I felt I was missing crucial information to enjoy this “new” series. It would be great to make it clearer to the audience, prior to picking it up, that you will enjoy the hints and nods and be more excited for this story, if you have previously read her other work. I felt like there were gaps for me, and it just made me feel like I was missing something. It was hard to move passed and still enjoy the story.

That said, The Witchwood Knot is a great autumn spooky story for those interested in dark fairytales, but not big on horror. I would heavily advise reading her other books first. 3.5 stars (rounded up).

Thank you to Starwatch Press and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series, or part of an established universe, but I don’t think it hindered my enjoyment. Actually it made we want to go and read the other books that were alluded to.
This was a spooky mystery with intriguing characters perfect for October. But it also dealt with some very serious themes of SA and handled them beautifully. I’ve seen in some reviews that this is a bit darker than her usual writing, but I hope she keeps it’s up.

Winifred Hall is sent to Witchwood Manor as a governess with the express mission of discovering the secrets of the manor and recovering the young lord of the manor from the faeries who took him.

Maybe it’s because I haven’t read the Recency Faerie Tales series, but I thought this book was incredibly confusing. It felt half explained, and I didn’t love the narration style how it seemed to jump around from different characters POVs within the same page. Also I’m deeply upset about the rat tail randomly being a thing in the last 90% of the book.

I was very excited to receive an advance copy of this book, because I loved Half a Soul and Ten Thousand Stitches. I love reading faerie tales and with the added benefit of cute romance I was really content. I wanted to love this one as much as those, but despite enjoying it, it fell a little flat for me.

This tale is more gothic, a bit spookier than prior novels. Winnie Hall arrives at Witchwood Manor to act as a governess for a spoiled rich boy, but she has an ulterior motive: to investigate the mysterious stories surrounding Witchwood, using her powers as a cartomancer. She immediately crosses paths with a fae butler, Mr. Quincy, who is doing everything in his power to drive Winnie and the other mortals away from the Manor. Monsters are lurking not just in the wood surrounding the Manor, but in the Manor and in its residents' dreams themselves.

I loved Winnie as a main character, particularly her dry humor and her cleverness. Overall, however, I must say this book was a bit boring. A decent amount of the book is spent sitting, sleeping, or in anticipation of sleep. Also, while I thought there were cute moments between Winnie and Mr. Quincy, their romance was just lacking in development. They really didn't spend much time together, and especially when I have the romances from Half a Soul and Ten Thousand Stitches in comparison, it really was a disappointment.

Netgalley and Starwatch Press provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was such a neat world to dive into. I had not read the authors other works, but now I definitely want to!

This combines faeries, a spooky gothic house, and fairy tale vibes in the Victorian era. So many fun things to explore and a vivid world was created.

4.5 stars

THE WITCHWOOD KNOT is a gorgeously gothic fairy tale in a house attacked by fairies, following a governess who will protect her charge no matter what.

This is darker than Olivia Atwater's previous Regency Fairy Tale series, both in terms of how it means into the vicious, dangerous fae and in its themes, most notably sexual assault of minors and staff. It handles this topic so sensitively. I loved the route it took and the author's note at the end explaining why she followed a less common approach.

It also leans into the gothic of the house with its unexplained events - rattling halls, a butler who is not the butler. It was a really fun blending of traditional gothic houses and the darker side of faeries, but also retaining that very fairy tale feel at the same time with stories told throughout.

This novel is set in the same universe as her Regency Fairy Tales series though is set about a generation later, now firmly in the (early) Victorian era rather than the late Regency. There are call backs to that trilogy but you certainly don't need to have it to follow what is happening.

This also seems to be the start of a series that is not a set of related companions as there is a clear villain set up in this book for later books to develop and keep fighting. The primary villain here is defeated at the end of this book though, leading to a satisfying ending. I still want the next book though!

From slow burn fantasy romance to creepy, evil faerie vibes, The Witchwood Knot has something for everyone. I always enjoy a gothic horror so when I read the premise, I knew this would be right up my street - and I wasn't wrong!

Winnie is such a strong female character and I loved her wit and charm throughout the book. Quincy is equally likeable and I really enjoyed the romance aspect of this story, especially as it picked up a bit more during the second half.

One thing I would say is that I wish Winnie's magical abilities had been delved into a bit more as I feel like these were only really briefly touched upon in the last few chapters. But that's pretty minor and is my only negative here.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who's into fantasy romance/horror. It's the perfect read for spooky season!

Having read the trilogy of Regency Faerie Tales last year and absolutely loving them, I've been so excited to hear that this is the start of a new series: Victorian Faerie Tales.

The Witchwood Knot follows the story of Winifred Hall, who after leaving the work house and children's home takes up the post of governess at an old hall (so far, so gothic!) Winnie is also a magician though, and has expertise in cartomancy and dealing with the Fae folk in other realms. As governess she must do all she can to keep the young heir of the family, Robert, safe. But with so many shadows and apparitions stalking the house, along with servants who may not be human, the mysterious butler Mr Quincy included. Winnie must draw on all her skills to keep Robert safe.

I really enjoyed this, the perfect Halloween read and I'm already looking forward to reading the next in this series!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries meets Jane Eyre in the latest historical fantasy novel by Olivia Atwater.

This book was an absolute delight! I love the idea of faeries and other mythical creatures roaming about Victorian era England, and I found this book to be just as charming as Half a Soul. All the fantastical elements--magic and familiars and faeries, oh my!--were great and I love how everything tied together plot wise.

Winifred is a fantastic protagonist and I love that the author uses some not-so-savory elements of the time period to frame the story. It is so empowering and insightful to give voice to the darker aspects of history alongside the more fanciful magic. Mr. Quincy is an alluring villain-like character and love interest. I really like how the relationship between him and Winifred progresses through the story.

Some of the main plot mentioned in the synopsis does take a while to get going, but overall, I found the story to be a great addition to the world Atwater has created and I look forward to reading a sequel.

This book is connected to Atwater’s other series, the Regency Faerie Tales, but I don’t think you have to be familiar with them to enjoy this story.

My reaction to this book has two phases.

First 70% of the novel: OMG, it's beautiful, I'm loving everything, I want to go buy all the other books by this author, I've discovered my new favorite author.

Remaining 30% of the novel: meh.

Around the moment that marked the turning point, the love story begins to develop. What upset me wasn't this narrative twist in itself (which was entirely expected; it's a must in this literary genre). But indeed, it's probably the love story that made me fall (a bit!) out of love, because I found it forced and, frankly, way too rushed. The impression I got is that of two characters who suddenly start making out, in despair, on the eve of a risky venture that could kill them both, which of course could be a very valid motivation, if it weren't clear from the context that the author's intention was to portray True Love. As True Love, it's too hurried; and since the novel is clearly meant to be the first in a series, I'd say there was really no need to rush things, as we're only at the beginning of the narrative arc.

If it weren't for this, I would have easily given the novel five stars. It's a good read, with a gothic-but-not-too-much plot and a fantasy setting that's not trivial but not so complicated that it requires the reader to memorize too many details. It's the fantasy novel that's a pleasure to read under an umbrella (or on the couch under a blanket while it's raining outside, given the setting).

I agree with those who said that the protagonist is the most useless magician in all of fantasy literature (she apparently has only one power, which she barely uses throughout the story, finding herself having to face events only with her wit and a few magical aids that she didn't create herself). Still, all in all, it didn't seem like a big issue for the narrative. Apparently, someone made the mistake of hiring the wrong magician for a job that, I think, other colleagues would have completed much more easily.

There are so many things I loved about this book that I don't even know where to begin.
A gothic fantasy romance set in the Victorian era? Say no more - I was immediately hooked. It's been a while since a book grabbed me so intensely within the first 50 pages.

I loved the world-building and the elegantly constructed magic system.
The characters in this story are a true highlight. While I adored all of them, a certain feline companion stole the show, and I'm eager to see more of this charming character in the sequel.

While I haven't previously read her Regency Faerie Tales trilogy, this book has convinced me to explore her other books.

Thank you, NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!