A dark fantasy thriller that I thought I would like more based on the description!

Two hundred years after a woman hangs for witchcraft in Belfast, she is back for revenge. After she caught a demon/vampire/serial killer in the middle of one of his six ceremonial kills, she was blamed for his crimes and became his sixth victim in the noose. The same demon is back for his next set of six victims -- but the young woman also plans on using the magical witchcraft of her followers to banish him once and for all and make the townsfolk pay for their past transgressions.

Young Maggie Malone is responsible for her eight year old brother, Jinks, after her mother died and her father began to only care about his next drink. She has to keep them both safe from crippling poverty and disease that is ripping through the slums of the town -- but little does she know she is this all powerful witch's chosen one.

A neat concept, just didn't feel really fleshed out in its execution.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quill and Crow Publishing House for an e-arc of The Famine Witch. I really wanted to enjoy this, but I had to DNF at 17%. I can't really say why I didn't want to continue this book.... it just didn't grab me. Some of it was a bit too descriptive for me, but that's not really a problem. Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. I might come back to it at some point, but as of now it's a DNF.

I truly think people will love this book though and I would recommend to others who are looking for some witchy vibes with a historical setting.

A well crafted blend of historical fiction and dark fantasy that gripped me with the first page. It is a tale that is both haunting and mesmerizing. The supernatural aspects are woven seamlessly into the story creating a chilling atmosphere. I highly recommend.
Many thanks to Quill and Crow Publishing House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlängerung) nicht lesen konnte.

I won't be giving feedback on this book due to the recent actions of the author. This is no reflection on the publisher; I'm sorry the author made such poor decisions at the expense of others.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book should have been brilliant but in an attempt at over dramatization it was just cr*p. Everything is repeated multiple times to really drive the point home. I stopped just over half way through because I dreaded having to read it and the narrative was just too annoying that it put me in a bad mood when I was reading it.

I picked this up because I was looking for newer Witchy books to highlight as a book of the month. Sometimes I wish I could read a bit faster so I could have done this review a bit earlier on, but I have now accepted that all things will come in the end, I will figure out how to balance my life I just need some more time to figure it all out.


What intrigued me about the synopsis was that it has a historical setting. I have never read anything set in Belfast, I also do not know much about its history. I love history, but I sometimes forget how much I enjoy historical settings. History compared with the supernatural works very well, especially in the 1800s. There was a lot of superstition in that time, about what causes disease and failing crops. I think this book plays into this aspect very nicely, it seems a very accurate depiction of how people would think about these things.


This story is told from multiple perspectives, we meet both bad guys of this story, Bloody Hands and Fionnuala the Black Lady. The focus from their perspectives was mainly on Fionnuala and then on Bloody Hands. I would have liked it, if there were more Bloody Hands chapters, it would have made the story even darker. I also feel that there is a lot about his story missing, for example, the reasoning behind his six victims, and what kind of creature he is. Why he slumbers for 200 years? None of these things are explained clearly. If he is a creature from Irish folklore that is famous in Northern Ireland then I might get that this is not explained, because an Irish audience probably grew up with the stories. However, if the author wants to appeal to a broader audience, that is not familiar with the mythology like me, then you will have to explain these things, to the audience.


In this book, I learned a lot of new words. English is my second language, I had to look up some of the words because they were terms that are not used in our language today. This is not a criticism of the book, not at all, I think the right terminology used, is important for the story, especially when you are writing historical fantasy. I also liked that there are Irish terms, however it was not easy to look them up, while I was reading. I would have liked to know that there was a Glossary of Terms in the back of the book, it was not indicated in the table of contents. I will state that this was an eARC so maybe this was resolved in the final copy. I thought I should mention it, in case they haven't fixed this.


Overall I thought it was a good depiction of the time and place, I love the balance between fantasy elements and history. I enjoyed all the characters in this book, also the religion of this book was not Catholic, they were mentioned but the story's religious sidestep is based on Protestant beliefs. This is a change from what you read in most witch trial-based books, I thought it was an interesting fact.

I gave The Famine Witch 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Net Galley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for the ARC of this book. These are my honest opinions.

Belfast 1847 during the Great Irish Famine was an extremely painful time in history. Stephen Black captures the suffering, but adds some fantasy, in the way of witches and a dark forces to create a story that was a good read.

The first dark force is a serial killer “Bloody Hands”, preying on the starving people at their greatest time of need. The other is the Black Lady who has been plotting her revenge on the town for 200 years. She also seeks Bloody Hands - because she isn’t happy with him either.

Throw in two orphans who are trying to be a family while not starving to death. It turns out that it’s up to them to save each other and their town.

I enjoyed this book and it’s a short, quick read. There were areas that fell a little flat and areas that could have been a little more detailed. The writing was okay.

Overall, I enjoyed this book.

The Famine Witch is an extremely slow book that could not hold my attention. I tried several times, but gave up in the end.

The Famine Witch is gripping and dark right from the very start. It didn't take long at all for me to become emotionally involved with the characters and the need for an outcome, I ended up binging it in just a matter of hours. The blending of horror and history is always a winner, made even better by the Irish touch.
That being said, my only gripe is the length. I felt like I needed more. Other than that, The Famine Witch delivered everything I could have wanted in a haunting, dark fantasy. There are a few minor content warnings, like this may not be for you if any kind of children suffering can be a tough read for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy, The Famine Witch is available now.

So many descriptive, yet unnecessary, pseudo-haunting adjectives that they made a good beginning an incredibly slow experience that didn't allow me to enjoy the reading. I could not finish (this is written in the style of the novel, just so you have an idea)

i did not finish, because it did not hold my attention and lose its appeal to me. thank you for the opportunity, though.

This is a well written historical fiction story that blends with fantasy and horror. The writing is melancholic and atmospheric, however, perhaps becomes quite dense at times. I was entertained by the conflict between two villains but found the motivations of the villains to be ambiguous and lacking depth. The internal monologues of the villains were quote repetitive at time, so the book may have benefited from being slightly shorter in that regard.

I also was unsatisfied with Maggie and Annabelle’s friendship – it left it moved too fast and was too brief for the weight given to the relationship by the characters.

For its flaws, I would recommend this book for a someone looking for a dark historical and fantasy fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill & Crow Publishing House for ARC.

Dark, intense and gripping.

Mingled the horrors of the real world and the famine with the horrors of the other world!

If you're looking for something dark, historical, folk loreish, this is for you.

If you like historical and witchy fantasy, this book is for you. The story follows the revenge of the Black Lady as well as the path of Maggie regarding witchcraft and how the town sees her. The story is set 1847, during the Patato Famine and I think it captures the way the people tried to survive it quite well.

It is a bit dark and filled with death, so be cautious.

My thoughts on…

THE STORY: 

The story is a mix of historical fiction with paranormal elements.

As the story opens, it is 1647 and readers meet The Black Lady. She is accused of being a witch. She is marched through town and then hanged for actions that she did not commit. She vows to make those in Belfast pay one day.

Two hundred years have passed, and it is time for Bloody Hands to make his return and claim his six. This is also a perfect time for The Black Lady to seek her vengeance on Belfast, and on Bloody Hands. After all, he is the reason she was hanged.

This was a clever way to have The Black Lady return - picking a historical moment and thrusting readers into that time. Readers experience the hunger, the filth, the hopelessness of those most affected during the famine in Belfast.

There are three major elements to the story - the murders at the hands of Bloody Hands, the vengeance of The Black Lady, and the famine. Because of the living conditions, illness also spreads quickly. 

There is a lot of death.

While all of this is weaved throughout the novel, the center of the novel is the feud between Bloody Hands and The Black Lady. Her ultimate goal beyond Belfast is to bring Bloody Hands to a stop once and for all. 

This is what readers are waiting for the entire book - the final showdown between these two characters.

THE CHARACTERS: 

This novel has four main players - Bloody Hands, The Black Lady, Maggie Malone, Jinx Malone.

Bloody Hands has one purpose: to bring chaos to the story. And does he ever. Readers will learn who and what he is, but the author reveals this slowly. Almost too slowly. So be patient.

The Black Lady we meet in the prologue. Readers will experience her walk to the gallows. She is the pettiest character in this book, and I was here for it. It was earned. Her motives are not what they seem, so readers should buckle up when she is on the page. She was my favorite character.

Maggie and Jinx Malone - the brother and sister duo. Maggie has magic she doesn’t quite understand, and The Black Lady watches over her because Maggie follows the old ways. Her motivation is to keep her brother Jinx safe. But Jinx does not always do what he is supposed to do, and Maggie seems to work hard to keep him out of trouble. He serves an important purpose to the overall story, as does Maggie. 

WHO WILL WANT TO READ THIS: 

This book is going to appeal to those who enjoy historical witchy tales, especially those that are a little darker.

FINAL THOUGHT:

I want to share something that did bug me during the reading of the book. The author kept referring to the death of The Black Lady as her being “hung.” This is a sticking point with me as a reader because the proper term is “hanged.” I have been reading witchy books for a really long time, and this is the first I have encountered where the writer chose “hung” over “hanged.” This may not bother most readers, but it really bothered me.

A really interesting read, I felt it a little slow in parts but overall I enjoyed the premise and the mystery!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review!

Was a good historical witch book. I felt it dragged a little more then I wanted but overall was a good book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Maggie and Jinks are siblings living in Belfast during the Potato Famine of 1847. Danger comes at them from all sides and Maggie prays fervently to the Black Lady, a powerful witch that lives on the mountain. The Lady listens, but her help comes with strings attached and she may not be the answer Maggie was hoping for.

This was an interesting book. There were moments where it was a bit repetitive and slow. And also there were zombies? I felt that at times the author was just going for shock value instead of things that would add to the story, but overall it was a good book. I'd say 3.5 stars.

This book seemed like it had a very interesting premise. But the writing and tone were extremely florid and overly dramatic, which made it difficult for me to connect with the characters—they felt like melodramatic stereotypes, which was disappointing considering the real suffering that the people in Belfast went through at this time. A more gritty and sparse tone could have really added to the story and driven home the situation the characters were living in. I really tried to plod through the extreme overuse of adjectives, but after the third anachronism at 9% in, I just didn’t have the patience any more.