When I saw that a new book by Olivia Atwater is available on Netgalley, I've requested it without a second thought. I've gotten an e-arc and that's gonna be on my list of the best things that could have happened to me this fall. I'm gonna very aggressively recommend The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater to everyone. 😅 Get ready!

First of all, I've read only Small Miracles and Half a soul by this author. And I feel like this book would be even more fun if I had read the full Regency Faerie Tales trilogy prior to picking up The Witchwood Knot, but I've really enjoyed it nevertheless and I'm already excited by the prospect of rereading it after completing the first trilogy.

In this book, we follow Winnie, who goes to a manor and tries to uncover secrets hidden there. It's set in the Victorian era and it's incredibly atmospheric. I've been intrigued the whole time. It's just perfect for autumn and if you're looking for a cozy, spooky, emotional read, that's it! It is creepy both in the setting and in the emotions that some people evoke in others. There is also a theme of trying to recover from trauma which adds another layer that I deeply appreciate in books. And I wouldn't be myself if I didn't mention a fantastic familiar that has one good eye, just like my Luna.

“I have been trying to be strong and sensible. But I am not strong—I am surviving. It is the simplest, most difficult thing in the world, because I have no choice.”

This book made me enjoy my time with it, as well as feel understood. It was a warm hug I've needed and something I honestly can't find any fault with.

It was an easy 5✨read and something that will stay in my heart for a long long time.

In The Witchwood Knot we follow Winifred Hall as she takes on the position of governess at Witchwood Manor. The job description did not mention the tortured faces in the walls or the danger that lurks in the woods but Winnie has her own secrets and plans and she’s not going to let dark magic or mysterious butlers get in her way.

I loved the gothic manor dark magic vibes of this book. I also love faerie stories when there is a bit of danger and darkness to the lore and the fae are more on the eerie menacing and wickedly clever side. There is also a delightfully cozy side to the story with protective ghost cats and freshly baked scones.

This story, while it does stand on its own is definitely adjacent to another story within the same world. For me, it still felt like it worked as its own story but also felt at times like knowing the other books would have added to the reading experience. However, I really enjoyed this and now I have more books to look forward to, so I’m not mad about it.

I think people who like Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies and An Enchantment of Ravens would really enjoy this. A really great autumn read for someone looking for gothic manor vibes.

I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This was my first Olivia Atwater book, and after finishing The Witchwood Knot I can't wait to read The Regency Faerie Tales! For those like me who hadn't previously been exposed to Atwater's work, you can definitely begin with The Witchwood Knot without any loss of understanding/subject matter. I would also recommend Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett for those looking for something else in the vein of Atwater's series.

The description of the novel barely does justice to the story - Winifred Hall arrives at Witchwood Manor in the pouring rain in the first page, and the story takes on a moody, gloomy, gothic, romantic cast perfectly tempered by Winifred's wit and faerie knowledge against the secrets and cleverness of Mr. Quincy, the wayward butler. The vibes and tone are reminiscent of the Bronte sisters and their gothic romance tales, and Atwater does an excellent job building external plot tension and internal character tension.

Winifred is not a governess, but a black magician, and she is working on behalf of her young charge's grandmother to protect him from the evil inside the walls of Witchwood Manor. Winifred bravely pursues both the cause of the haunting and the disappearance of her charge while dealing with danger from the faeries in her sleep at night and with the master of the house, Lord Longfell, in the day. Atwater is able to portray the duality of all the characters - how both the fae and humans can have goodness and darkness inside of them, and how the choices we make can make a world of difference.

I greatly appreciated Atwater's afterword to the story - how she did not anticipate the story being as dark as it is and how she wanted characters to have the ability to reclaim those parts of themselves oppressed by others. I do recommend reading that brief paragraph after finishing the book, because Atwater's motivations lend more to the nuance of how she crafted the story.

It's hard to write much more without giving away parts of the story, but this is a great read!

Olivia Atwater has such a way of making you fall in love with her characters and the worlds she builds and this story was no different. The Witchwood Knot reads like a fairy tale from the very start while the Gothic elements interweaved make the story fresh and captivating. The story pulled me in from the first page and didn't let me go until the last word.

That being said, the story did start out a bit slow and it took a while to get to the meat of the plot. I also wish there was a bit more exploration of the Witchwood Knot and some of the world-building because at times I felt like it got lost. I also would have enjoyed seeing more relationship development between Winifred and the other characters throughout the story. Overall, I still really enjoyed this story, and the ending more than made up for the slow start. I definitely would recommend it to those looking for a relatively easy Gothic read or who enjoy reading fairy tales of all kinds.

~ARC Review~

Olivia Atwater's The Witchwood Knot is an enchanting dark Victorian adventure. As we are swept into fae-Victorian England, we meet governess Winnie, who has landed herself in a precarious house.
Witchwood manor is full of surprises and unwanted guests. When her charge, the young master Robert, is stolen away into faerie, Winnie has to face the worst and make some unlikely allies.
Thank you Olivia for this ARC! I can't wait for more people to read this it was so fun and spooky! I absolutely love your prose and your unique world building. The bit of romance was also a plus ! Overall, it was such an enjoyable read, especially for fall.
4.5 /5

Wow! The story ended with a bang and I can’t wait to see where Olivia Atwater takes her series next. A lot of books usually either have a super good beginning or an amazing end. It's pretty rare for me to find one that has both but this defiantly had such a great beginning and all the way through pace that kept me wanting to keep reading like crazy and it also had an unforgettable ending.

This was a fantastic return to the world of the Half a Soul series, which I loved for its charm, witty characters, and fantastic world building. Atwater handles fairies and their lore very well, integrating them into her setting so fantastically and making them so much more than just pretty faces with a cruel streak. This book is set in the same world, but features new characters, though there are connections to the past cast. Winnie, a magician gifted at cartomancy, is hired as a governess for the Lady Longfell's grandson Robert. Her real job, however, is to protect him, as there is a curse placed on the house and Robert is likely to be the next victim. The plot revolves around discovering the nature of the cursed on the manor, and also reveals some big, overarching plot changes that show that from the end of the first trilogy, something major has occurred. There's a new Lord Sorcier and most of the fairies have disappeared from London, leaving all paths to Fairie locked. Winnie hopes to find answers to why this all happened by solving the issue of the manor. I love Winnie as a main character, she was fun and strong willed. Mr. Quincey was a fascinating character, one I had a hard time getting a read on, but ended up liking a lot. There's the suggestion of a bigger plot to be revealed in the future, so i'm interested to see where the next book leads.

A lovely gothic horror faerie-tale with a touch of unsuspecting romance. Mr. Quincey had me interested from the first moment he and Winnie met. Their brutal honesty with each other and the shedding of barriers between them felt like peeling onion layers. Every time they interacted walls seemed to crumble for their romance bringing them closer together, very slow burn with lots of plot. Winnie's undead cat had me smiling every time he showed up, the perfect protective familiar. This was a beautifully dark world to fall into. Thank you to Netgalley and Olivia Atwater for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Witchwood Knot takes place in an intriguing gothic manor that feels spooky but not scary, making it a perfect autumn read for those that that love spooky season but don’t enjoy horror. The characters really made this book for me. Winnie is very likeable and intelligent, her relaxed attitude while facing the dangers of the house kept the book feeling lighthearted through the darker events. Winnie’s adorable ghostly familiar was a brilliant addition and one of my favourite things about the book. Mr Quincy’s appearance is definitely one of the boldest choices for a love interest that I’ve ever read but somehow I still found him endearing and ended up loving their sweet romance.

While I really enjoyed the plot itself, the abduction described in the blurb doesn’t happen until half way through. I felt like I spent the first half waiting for this to happen rather than just enjoying the progression of the story, so I would have preferred not to know about this in advance. I also felt as though I was not fully appreciating some of the details of the story having only read the first of the three Regency Faerie Tales. There were a lot of mentions of characters and events from the previous series that I didn’t fully understand. I assume that Winnie’s backstory is covered in a previous book as I never felt that I fully grasped her relationship with the dowager or her motivations to stay and deal with the horrors of the house. Although I wish I’d competed the Regency Faerie Tales first, I still really enjoyed my time reading this and look forward to continuing the series.

This is definitely in my top reads for this year. My first Atwater book and it absolutely blew me away. The gothic vibes and overall atmosphere were magical.

I loved the romance so much, Winnie and Mr Quincy were developed well as individual characters before falling for each other, which is my favourite in a slow burn romance.

The character development in a gothic romance such as this is my favourite in stories like these. It allows the characters to move through the plot and enjoy the atmosphere. I enjoyed the faeries lore and the curse of Witchwood Manor.

Atwater managed to create such an excellent gothic atmosphere with magic and faeries that I was so entranced the whole time. I can't wait for the next installment after that ending and to reread this again. It was wonderful. 4.5 ⭐

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book should definitely be clear that it's related to other books in a series. Even if it's a new story in the same world, it's important for new readers to understand that they are entering a previously defined world. I wasn't interested in diving into a new series now. It also makes new readers feel left out from any of the little winks and nods that are supposed to make you excited.

For the most part, I really, really enjoyed this. It's definitely a more gothic, dark tone as compared to the whimsy of the Regency Fairie Tales trilogy and I really enjoyed that. There were a few things, though, that I wish were a little different. First, I wish that the romance was a bit more expanded in the story. I do think that Mr. Quincy and Winnie have a compelling relationship, but I felt like it would've been better if there'd been a few more scenes with the two of them together. Second, I think that Winnie's magic could've been utilized a bit more. Other than that, though I like what this book in particular has established about the world and I'm interested in seeing how it'll be resolved in upcoming books.

I will say that this book is not entirely a new series. It's an off-shoot of Olivia Atwater's previous trilogy--set in the same world with mentions of familiar characters. While I think Olivia Atwater did a pretty decent job clarifying certain plot points of the previous trilogy, it'd be more helpful for the reader to go into the book having read the other books.

I have been a fan of Olivia Atwater’s fascinating books ever since I devoured “Half a Soul” last year. And was thus delighted to get an ARC of “The Witchwood Knot,” which does indeed feel like a Brontë novel if a gothic horror romance included faeries and dark magic. I loved Winnifred (although that name makes me giggle to say out loud) and her character arc of embracing sacrifice and finding softness; Quincy was witty and tormented–as a gothic hero should be!–and I loved him too. I look forward to their further adventures!

If you liked Atwater’s other series- you’ll like this as well. If you haven’t read it- be warned you may not catch on, even if this is technically the first in this series.

Fun story, cute romance, not high stakes but still a fantasy- I’m intrigued for the rest, but I do feel I need to finish the other trilogy to be fully “aware”?

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my review!

3.5 rounded up

This was perfectly thematic for October and absolutely as enjoyable as the rest of Atwater’s books.

The end fell flat for me - it came to a sudden rushing end and I was left hoping maybe pages of my ARC were missing but alas. The build up was so well done all for it to end a bit … un-finished , but in a very dissatisfying way.

I am vaguely concerned about the idea that you can read these without reading her others - you could, but you’d be missing even more context which would truly then make the story almost impossible to follow.

Overall I enjoyed but I’m hoping the next one delves a bit deeper and takes more time to tell the story.

This is the first book I’ve read of Olivia Atwaters. The writing is whimsical. The imagery is beautiful. The world built in this book makes me want to read more.

Delightfully moody with fun characters. I wanted slightly more from it, but I think that might have required a longer book. this truly lived up to the description of a gothic and all of the plot points that genre usually works with. I often find contemporary stories fail to truly live up to the genre or don't give those more traumatic elements their full weight. I thought Atwater overall did an incredible job and I'm excited to see where the series heads!

This book was seductively dark. I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of character and their trauma portrayal. The twists, the nuance, it was delightful. The style of telling isn't what I'm used to and it was so refreshing.
Absolutely going to recommend this book when it hits my shelves. I'm so excited to tell people about it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. "The Witchwood Knot" is a great ready for this spooky time of year. From the opening chapter, it is obvious that we are in a place with dark magic and danger. When Winnie is called upon to be a governess at Witchwood Manor, she is aware that something is happening below the surface and that it has something to do with the faery realm, but how much she will come to learn and what that informs her about her own past is far from what she anticipates. Her initial meeting with the butler, Mr. Quincy, is something of mutual disgust, but that will change for her also.

When it comes to strength, Winnie has had to learn the hard way. But in many ways, her youth was the fire in which her iron will was forged. She doesn't shy away from things that others might run screaming from. Her daring nature is part of what makes this such a fun read. Who knows what she'll do next or what we'll learn about her next. The other thing I really enjoyed was the descriptions of both the manor and the knot. I could see them vividly which just added to the atmosphere in this darkly magical story.

As this is the first in a trilogy, some of the other characters have been introduced in such interesting ways that I look forward to getting to know their stories in the next books.

What I really liked about this book was the setting. In the “afterword” the author said that she really wanted to write a gothic book, probably fascinated by the vibe that Wuthering Weights gave her. I think she did an incredible job! Throughout the whole reading I felt I was in a dark and gloomy forest, sometimes I even got chills by the descriptions.
The main character was the strong-minded and independent woman that I needed to read about during this time of the year. Whenever you feel like you’re not capable of doing anything, you read about Winnie’s effort in saving the small little boy that she despised. About that, I really liked the relationship’s dynamics about these two characters, the softeness some of their conversations is a glimmer that made the surrounding setting less scary.
The mos important thing that I noticed was how much the author was subtle with a really such a delicate matter as raping and child abusing.

The only thing that I didn’t really appreciate was the romantic part. I found that a bit too unnatural. The whole thing happened too quickly, I felt that in a moment everything changed, but there wasn’t a specific event that made everything turn, it was just like the author decided that from that moment on, there would be more romance. I’m really sorry about that because this was a great book, but maybe it’s also because I’m not a huge romance reader and maybe I don’t really understand the trope that is happening in the story.