Perfect gothic read for this time of year! I really enjoyed this story and characters. My favorite was Oliver. Who wouldn’t love an undead cat familiar who hates men! I love it when they main characters have growth because of each other and for Winnie and Mr. Quincy 10/10 loved reading their growth.

Winifred, a determined governess with a unique profession, is on the hunt for the elusive Fair Folk. When she's hired to dispel a curse that plagues a house haunted by the Fae, she adopts the guise of a governess, concealing her true mission. However, when her young charge is abducted by the Fair Folk, Winifred's unwavering resolve to rescue him leads her on a perilous journey. With her shrewdness in dealing with the Fair Folk and her resourceful connections within the household, she endeavors to break the curse and save the boy.

“The Witchwood Knot” by Olivia Atwater was a good book. I loved the colorful characters and the whimsy but also darker themes. I enjoyed how smart Winne is at manipulating the Fae. I ended up being entranced by Mr. Quincey even though his back story was brief and rushed at the end of the book. 4 out of 5 stars because it was worth reading.

Gothic and rich, yet somehow also delicate and sharp, with a wonderfully grounded and stubborn protagonist. There’s enough callbacks to her Regency Faerie Tales series that I’m ready to start Half a Soul all over again, yet possessed of its own unique character.
For those who love romantasy, but also for those who love A.G. Slatter and T. Kingfisher.
Wonderful.

This book was nothing like I expected but I loved it. Loved everything about Winnie. Her strength, attitude and courage all amazing. Throw in a haunted mansion, ghostly wall faces and fairies and it’s the perfect spooky season read.

A sharp and beautifully gothic fairytale romance set in a magical version of Victorian England. This is the book of my dreams: perfectly elegant prose, an eerie haunted mansion, and a clever heroine who’s smart enough to outwit faeries. I’ve read all of Olivia Atwater’s novels (including the short stories) but this particular one is my favourite. It has everything one needs for a perfect story!

Faeries of the Witchwood Manor have stolen its young lord but this particular governess intends to steal him back. When her bratty young charge transforms overnight into a perfectly behaved young boy, Winifred soon realises that the real boy has been abducted by the Fair Folk. It would seem that the lord of the manor is the only man who doesn’t believe in fairies which leaves Winnie in the unenviable position of the young boy all by herself.

Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, as its a pathway to faeries and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious fair butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot though it would seem she is thwarted by magic and fair tricks at every turn.

Winnie attempts to get through with her usual wits and cleverness but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust? Surely not the dashing and enigmatic Mr Quincy who’s charming smile and devilish charm leave her breathless. Will her fears of what men become when their desires aren’t reciprocated come to pass? This novel covers some dark topics in an exceptionally beautiful and thoughtful way. It reminds us that we can still open our heart to those who earn our trust, and to protect ourselves against those who leave us feeling fearful.

Thank you to Victoria Editing for an advanced reader copy via NetGalley of The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater

“The hundred eyes of Witchwood Manor loomed above, grinning through torrential rain.”

Perfect spooky opening for a dark gothic fairy tale. I would definitely check trigger warnings for this title. I finished last night and I’m still unsettled. The predatory nature of men in power was depicted perfectly in this novel. As was the ability and importance of taking back ones agency after trauma. Although Atwater doesn’t shy from tough subject matter, this story was significantly darker that the Regency series. I have read the first two in that series and I think if I had read the 3rd I would have more insight on some of the characters mentioned. Winnie was a very strong willed character, which I really enjoyed. I loved her initial reaction to being asked to be a governess haha. Her “pet” Ollie, think bone dog from Nettle and Bone, was my favorite. I love an undead familiar. He also made me think of Shadow from Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Fairies. Ultimately the perfect companion :) Although, we were warned in the beginning of the potentially triggering content, I was surprised by how unsettled I was while reading and for a prolonged period after. I do think that last bit of the book resolved a bit quickly for my taste. It felt like something was missing. I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes next as well as catching up on Longshadow.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title.

I didn't realize this book was part of the same universe as some of the author's other books. Learning this after the fact, I realize it doesn't really work as a standalone story. Some of the context was lost on me and I was slow to catch up on the world-building and a couple of characters mentioned in passing. Aside from that, I enjoyed reading from Winnie's perspective and having that insight into how her mind works. I loved that she didn't take anyone's bull from the get-go, didn't blindly trust everyone, and showed an impressive amount of backbone. I'm hoping the author writes more books from Winnie's point of view or at least has her return for a cameo.

I just wanted to say that I absolutely LOVED and devoured this book! I love anything fae but this was a breath of fresh air and enthralled me from the very first sentence.

Gothic vibes? Ghostly cats? Cunning characters? A cursed and haunted manor? What more could you possibly need!

Needless to say, I will definitely be reading more of Olivia Atwater!

I cannot stress enough how much I love this book. It has been not only the first gothic romance I have ever read, but also it's the first book by Olivia Atwater that I have ever read. The setting was perfect, from the dark vibes of Witchwood Manor to how each character behaved, The book talks about sensitive topics (such as sexual abuse) with a lot of care and respect.
The female main character, Winnifred is witty and funny but also really caring. I loved her personality and her way of solving the problems that came upon her throughout the book, wether that was a mysterious butler or a twelve year old. I loved her interactions with all the side characters, Cook and Margaret had their own personalities and I enjoyed how every one of them had a relationship with Mr. Quincy, especially Cook. I have to say that at the beginning of the book I wasn't sure about Mr. Quincy, he was so dark and mean (he had his reasons to be honest) but the more he came up, the more I liked him. He had his secrets but in the end, he just wanted to help other people.
English isn't my first language, and sometimes I had to look certain words, which honestly I liked. It made me be more attentive and immersed in the reading. I learned new words and discovered a new favourite book, it's a win/win situation. The writing creates the perfect atmosphere for the book, and at moments I had the same feelings as the main character.
I will be recommending this book to everyone I know, it is perfect in every sense and words cannot express how grateful I am for having the opportunity of reading this e-arc. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Olivia Atwater.

A delightfully gothic fairytale where ghosts linger in the walls, monsters lurk around every corner, and the Fae are ever present.

This was such an Excellent Read for Spooky Season. The horror aspects had me both cringing and cheering with delight. The tight plot leaves no lingering threads, wrapping up everything neatly with a black silk bow.

Atwater continues to write my preferred version of the Fae, full of spite, deeply conflicted, and yet always drawn to humanity with the dread of a moth towards a flame. Mr. Quincey is a fine addition to this roster and fans of Astarion from Baldur's Gate will adore him.

While you do not have to be familiar with Atwater's previous trilogy, fans of it will find delightful peeks beyond the mirror of previous characters. Be warned, the ending is Particularly Devastating and made me screech like a pterodactyl, longing to know WHAT IT ALL MEANS?!

Amazing. I loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had so many good elements to it: a bit of goth, some faeries, a mystery, and a cat familiar! I finished this book in a day; it was very well-paced and well-written with great attention to detail and a riveting storyline. My interest in following along with the adventure never waned, and I found it very easy to keep up with the story without plot points getting jumbled or losing my place in the world itself. I really enjoyed the characters and their rapport was witty and intelligent enough that I never found anything to be cringy (as is sometimes a problem in books). I would definitely recommend to those who are looking for a good spooky, quirky, and entertaining read.

The Witchwood Knot is the first book in Olivia Atwater's Victorian Faerie Tales Series. Set in the same world as Half a Soul, The Witchwood Knot has a darker gothic vibe than Atwater's Regency Faerie Tales. Our heroine, Winnie Hall, arrives at Witchwood Manor to statt her role as governess and quickly discovers herself in a twisted web full of faeries, ghosts, and more. I devoured this book in a couple sittings, reading late into the night. You will love this book if you are a fan of Atwater's other novels or gothic romances.

The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater was such an enjoyable yet dark gothic read and I think anyone who enjoys reading gothic fiction will love this book. It’s set in the same world as Atwater’s regency fairytales trilogy but you’re introduced to new characters such as Winnie and Mr. Quincy. It was dark read and I was thoroughly spooked at some points but it was so engrossing and I couldn’t stop reading it. I really have to give it up to Atwater for how she handled certain delicate topics and I think she does a very good job of explaining it in her author’s notes at the end. I really do hope we get more from this world because I loved reading it.

Olivia Atwater is quickly becoming a new favorite for me. The Witchwood Knot is considerably darker in tone than any of the Regency Faerie Tales books set in the same world with a haunting gothic romance vibe. Fans of T. Kingfisher's fantasy works will be right at home here.
The Witchwood Knot is a story about a haunted house. Like most good haunted house stories, there are generational sins that must be uncovered and no easy answers to how to set things to rights.
This book begins a new series set in the world of Regency Faerie Tales and I cannot wait for the next volume. The Witchwood Knot is absolutely getting a spot on my pre-order list.

*Review was posted to Goodreads on 10/9/23
*Goodreads review link is below

RATING: 4✨
SPICE: No spice (2 kissing scenes)
Trope/Setting Highlights:
✔ ~300 page gothic fantasy with slight romance subplot
✔ Set in a magical version of Victorian England
✔ Magic practitioner FMC (mid-to-late 20s age)
✔ Fae-like creature MMC (old as balls)
✔ Fairytale/folktale vibes
✔ HFN (potential series setup?)

Review:

This is an arc review – thank you to NetGalley and the publisher as always, extremely grateful for these opportunities!

The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater is a tale that weaves together elements of gothic horror and dark fantasy to create a nearly 300-page myth for adults. Because that’s exactly what it felt like. It had the whimsical, and at times, obvious, prose of a children’s fairytale, the plot and world-building of a young adult story, with adult main characters.

And like with all great tales, this one had a stark and obvious theme: the cost of (male) human greed. Greed for property. Greed for wealth. Greed for things that have a choice not to be ours.
All in all, it’s a book that knew what it wanted to be and succeeded, for the most part.

Our FMC Winnie Hall (not her true name) arrives at Witchwood Manor to outwardly fill the governess position in the house, when really Winnie, a magic practitioner, has been called by the dying dowager to investigate the haunted manor and rid it of its curse before her death. To protect her grandson.

At Witchwood Manor, Winnie also meets Mr. Quincy (not his true name), our MMC and the apparent butler of the manor. Winnie knows magic, knows of beings beyond human, and there is certainly something off about Mr. Quincy…

"He was a tall man of short black hair and ghastly pale complexion. His eyes were narrow and naturally suspicious, tinted the colour of dark red wine."

Is he faerie? Is he a spirit? Or… is he something entirely different?

Without going too deep into the plot, overall, I think the premise of a haunted manor is usually going to lend immediate credence to a gothic tale, as it did here, as well as a cast of mysterious characters with motivations only know to themselves. In that sense, the style and aesthetic of the story itself was a success.

The pacing and characterization (particularly of Winnie) felt a little slow and uneven at the beginning, nearly up until the halfway point. Winnie actually got off on the wrong foot with me because I felt that she had an overall patronizing and sneering tone, while she often accused others of having the same, which felt ironic to me. So, it definitely came on a little strong. But as we got to the halfway point, and more action started to happen, more things started to unfold, I saw Winnie begin to flesh out as a character. Not only were some of her current motivations and backstory becoming clearer, but I also started to see her character grow in her interactions with others, a stark change from the beginning of the story. I think if we got softer dialogue from Winnie at the start, as well as some inner monologue (rather than muttering out loud to herself which Winnie does way too much) or sooner flashbacks, the beginning of her character arc would match the level of the latter half.

I loved Oliver, Winnie’s undead cat familiar. He was protective of her in life and is even more so now in death. And he like, really, really, hates men. Hah. Loved Oliver’s and Winnie’s bond and relationship.

Speaking of relationships, I ended up adoring Winnie and Mr. Quincy together. It really felt that they both grew as characters because of each other, not the only reason, of course, but it was like they were a pillar for each other to make the other better. Their romance was sweet, clever, fun, and meaningful in many ways, as it is in direct contrast to the dark, selfish interest of the dowager’s son, Lord Longfell. The way these three characters and their innermost struggles build off each other is masterfully done. The second half of the book really is where this story shined.

I’ll be honest and say that this is my first Olivia Atwater read, I haven’t previously read her Regency Faerie Tales trilogy, so I believe there’s some context I definitely missed. It makes me wonder why this story didn’t act as a fourth book in Regency Faerie Tales, but with the way this book ended, I think it’s setting up for a bigger series at player.

If there is a next book I have a feeling it won’t be with Winnie and Mr. Quincy as main characters (PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG), but please please pleaseeee let us see them as side characters at least!

Overall, The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater is the perfect Fall read to get your spooky vibes vibing. It’s blend of dark fantasy, gothic horror, and slight romance felt like a cozy, warm blanket over the cozy, warm blanket I was already wearing🧡

I thoroughly enjoyed this! Set in the same world as Atwater’s Regency Fairytales trilogy, it follows Winnie, a magician turned governess trying to negotiate the mysterious Witchwood Knot to get her charge back and along the way she falls for Mr Quincy aka Quintus. I really hope this world gets expanded with further stories as there is so much potential.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! Set in the same world as Atwater’s Regency Fairytales trilogy, it follows Winnie, a magician turned governess trying to negotiate the mysterious Witchwood Knot to get her charge back and along the way she falls for Mr Quincy aka Quintus. I really hope this world gets expanded with further stories as there is so much potential.

The Witchwood Knot was marketed as a Gothic and Victorian Novel. I have two issues with this marketing, the first one being that this novel is not Gothic, it uses elements from the Gothic tradition but it is not Gothic in its essence. My second issue is that it is not Victorian (or Neo-Victorian for that matter) either, i guess we are supposed to know that this novel is set into the Victorian age because we are told so in the synopsis and because there is a manor but other than that nothing could have made you think that it was set in this period, which was disappointing.
I have not read this author other series but it is set in the same universe which may be why I was a bit confused by the system. I guess that some of the characters from the original series make a comeback in this one and it may be why there are chapters where we’re told a fairy tale to keep us to speed, and tbh I hated that. I found the whole faerie tale thing very lazy and i would have loved to see this stories incorporated in the narrative more naturally if it makes any sense.
I did not care for the characters either, and I think that the most of the story being set in her dreams may be one of my biggest issue, there was absolutely no stakes because of that and it made me care less and less about what happened to the characters, also the fact that one of them cannot die even if they’re insured added to my indifference.
Also if you didn’t like Cardan’s (from The Cruel Prince) tail then i have bad news for you.

I loved this book so much!

I read an eARC of this book so that you to the author, publish and NetGalley.

This book is absolutely wonderful. It walks the perfect line between beauty and menace. We have a Governess who has travelled to a creepy mansion to educate the young grandson of the countess whose health is failing. However the governess has a history with the countess and is in fact secretly a magic practitioner in a world where this could get you in serious trouble. She is there to protect the boy from faeries and try to unravel a magical mystery at the house called the Witchwood Knot.

Throw in a butler who is not what he seems, a cook who solves problems with scones, a protective cat, wonderful folklore tie ins and you have a book that is equally charming and thrilling to read.

For what is not a very long book, the richness of the folklore, the magic and faerie is very impressive, immersive and detailed. I love books like this where faeries are dangerous and beautiful. This gets the level of menace just right.

Our MC is brave and clever. She genuinely wants to help people and we get glimpses into her past and why she travels this path.

This was my first book by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I will be exploring her other works now after this one was so good!

This book does not stand alone and I question the publisher's choice to market it as the first in a new series instead of a continuation of the author's previous one.

At first I thought this book was so subtle that I didn't understand the main character's motivations, the purpose of certain elements, or the reason for certain events. But then there were parts that were the opposite of subtle (the names of children in a family are Primus, Secundus, Tertia, Quarta, and Quintas?) that I don't think subtly was intented at all. I think some of the issues could have been fixed in editing.

Almost immediately after arriving at Witchwood Manor as governess to a child she despises, Winnie's employer exits the story. She is now employed by a man she considers a threat. She sticks around and it's not really clear why. For the kid who doesn't connect with her? For the rat-man butler, Mr. Quincy, who torments her? To lure out a faerie? Her motivation needs to be more clearly defined because the first 50% of the book has you wondering why she hasn't walked away from this disaster of a house. Had the story further developed a relationship between Winnie and the child, her extraordinary efforts to help him would have been believable.

The backstory of the other series that is critical to understanding this book is given through one story told to the child, one story not told to the child (introduced with "This was the faerie tale which Winnie did not tell.") and one story shared between Winnie and Mr. Quincy.

To have an absolutely loathsome character turn into a love interest at 80% is strange and jarring. This is really stretching the bounds of the enemies to lovers trope. There's a prior connection between them because of music, but it's explained in a confusing way: "All the strength and satisfaction she had drawn from her mastery of the requiem had been born of Mr. Quincy's sentiments and talents." There's also a point where they talk about innocence that is confusing: "Innocence is so offensive, isn't it? he asked her finally. "It is never content in its existence. It must force itself upon the rest of the world, insisting that true horror is a fiction."

Time is not handled well here. There's a point where Winnie puts her charge to bed after breakfast. Also, the house that we are expressly told only had two staff members: a cook and a maid, suddenly has staff as the big confrontation looms. These are the things that could have been ironed out in editing.