Thank you NetGalley,

This book was marketed as The Good Place meets American Gods. I haven’t read American gods but I love the Good Place. But this book does not have the same humor or charming characters as the Good Place. I am a little disappointed.

For fans of:
- Masters of Death
- When Among Crows
- A Sorceress Comes to Call
- Evocation

The Drakeford family has been plagued by a horrible curse for centuries. Generations upon generations have met a miserable ending, their humanity slowly slipping away from them until they devolve into wretched monsters and die. Maggie is the most recent Drakeford to succumb to the curse, but she hasn't resigned herself to her fate just yet. She dreams of living a normal life and one day freeing herself and her little brother, Lump, from the =ir curse. When opportunity comes knocking in the shape of a sleazy demon called Laszlo, she decides to do whatever it takes to free the Drakefords.

This book includes:
- incredibly witty platonic banter
- demons with desk jobs
- ancient beings and their political machinations
- a dreadful curse
- unreliable allies
- strained family dynamics
- the modern supernatural

If you love clever characters and high-stakes quests, "the Witchstone" is for you. I enjoyed this story immensely. The wit and banter between Laszlo, Maggie, and Lump while they followed the demon through an international scavenger hunt had me giggling while I read. "The Witchstone" was very well written and totally immersed me in its world. I also felt like there was significant depth to the curse beyond the supernatural. Maggie was also fighting against psychological generational curses, and I loved that the author included that, instead of just resting on the spookiness. Still, the book manages to be lighthearted a fun whilst exploring deeper themes.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Veronica Roth for the opportunity to review this book. This review is also available on my GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

Years ago, my son and I devoured Henry Neff’s Hound of Rowan series, which are fine examples of fantasy writing for older kids and fantasy-loving adults. I was intrigued when I saw The Witchstone, Neff’s debut novel specifically for adults. I was not disappointed. At all.

Neff’s storytelling ability shines here as he develops characters that leap off the page and who are caught up in one of the most unusual stories I’ve read in a while. There are certainly some traditional storytelling conventions here - such as the quest at the heart of the story taken up by three “heroes.” But this is a kickass quest tale bookended by a terrible curse and an epic battle (which cemented my thought that this would make an awesome movie!)

The level of imagination on display in this story combined with the skillful writing secures Neff’s spot as one of the best fantasy writers of his generation. I was reminded a bit of Alex Grecian’s Red Rabbit and definitely had some Christopher Moore vibes from Laszlo.

Highly recommended.

This book was an absolute hoot, and I devoured it like the perfect extra dirty martini. "The Witchstone" is a captivating fantasy novel that effortlessly weaves together humor, adventure, magic, and mystery. Neff's storytelling prowess shines through in his richly imagined world and well-developed characters, each with their own unique quirks and motivations. I laughed out loud several times at Lazslo's quips and antics. Overall, "The Witchstone" is a must-read for fans of sardonic demon main characters offering a spellbinding journey that leaves a lasting impression.

I was IMMEDIATELY hooked. I read the first chapter and the whole writing style had it playing out like a movie in my head! The cover got me. Then I read the description and I knew it would be right up my alley. The whole premise of the Demon Society is so cool. The structure was set up, and the way it was mapped out so clearly so you weren't confused which could have been by the complexity of it. I am a fan! I would have paid full price and more for this book!!

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review!

This book is a fast paced and laugh-out hilarious read that will have you devouring pages of this story! Laszlo is a level III demon who has been slacking off big time on his curse keeping job responsibilities. When the boss comes to the office to do a major shake down on demons doing their work, Laszlo is given six days to work with the Drakeford family's generational curse in exchange for staying alive. This is a sobering slap in the face for Laszlo who has gotten used to keeping life interesting: sipping martinis, some light thievery here and there, messing with humans, and keeping life interesting after existing for nearly eight centuries. As he works with the two young Drakefords, Maggie and her brother George, none of them could have foreseen the adventures waiting for them as the time to break this curse relentlessly comes close to running out.

The characters are well defined and plucky, the pacing is great! It has a delightful lord of the rings feel to it as we find our characters thrown together on a mission. We also come across many magical creatures that round out this world. I really enjoyed this book, especially with Maggie being a very strong and resilient female lead who is determined to make her own story. 5 Stars and I'm hoping that this might become a series as it's so much fun.

I unfortunately wasn't enjoying the writing style or Laszlo much and vowed to give it 50 pages. Even more unfortunate was around that mark the female character is introduced with an attempted sexual assault. So, I looked at some reviews and saw that was a recurring theme. I like dark books, I'm used to such scenes but this was not handled in a way that could work for me. Especially since it seems like that was part of the curse.

Devilishly fun and delightfully wicked, this book was an absolute joy to read. For the people who like their fantasy on the sillier side, this brought so much humor to a heartfelt story.

You know, sometimes I forget how much I like a good demonic contemporary fantasy. It’s not really a heaven vs. hell thing like Good Omens, but a pact with the devil (or demon) gone wrong can be so entertaining. It’s even better when the demon is a bit of a git.

Speaking of gits, our demon of the hour is Laszlo. He’s gotten to the lowly rank of a Tier 3 demon working as a Curse Keeper purely through the power of nepotism. All that comes crashing down as a much higher ranking demon called an Overseer shows up to audit his job performance and finds him lacking. Rather than going straight into the sludge-machine, Laszlo’s parentage gets him six days to generate some misery and despair from the cursed Drakeford family.

The Drakefords are a miserable bunch with a miserable lot in life. They live in a small town in the Catskills where they act as the village sin-eaters, paid in cash and a cruel peppering of stones for their services. The Drakeford curse goes back centuries to when a Drakeford interrupted a witch’s ritual and burned her at the stake. As she died, she cursed the Drakeford line to complete the spell that was interrupted and until then each Drakeford reaches a certain age and begins to slowly deform into a monstrous figure. Maggie, it seems, has begun that horrid transformation even earlier than her father did, so when Laszlo shows up on her front porch promising help in breaking the curse she’s… well, she’s skeptical. I can’t blame her - handsome guy shows up claiming to be a demon there to help break a curse that’s gone on for centuries? Yeah, right.

Anyway, to the reader and the Drakefords it’s clear that Laszlo has something up his sleeve, but at some point I began to wonder if he was really trying to do the right thing (skeptical) while still trying to save his own skin. Laszlo is basically an expert in all the self-serving sins du jour. He’ll steal, lie, cheat, gluttonously quaff large chocolate milkshakes, and in general, live for the finer things in life. His journey with the Drakefords across New York City, Liechtenstein, and Rome is quite the adventure and he’s trying to live his best life for the next six days while also achieving his nefarious goals.

The Drakefords themselves - specifically Maggie and her younger brother Lump (George) - are a tough, determined bunch and I couldn’t help but to love them. Maggie just wants a proper life for herself and now that she has even an inkling of a chance, she’s damn well going to try to fix things. Lump is an incredibly intelligent but sheltered kid with a newfound addiction to soda. He’s hard not to love, especially as the story progresses. 

The Witchstone definitely took me by surprise with its quality storytelling. It’s darkly humorous and really kept me on my toes because Laszlo, Maggie, and Lump were always on the brink of peril. Considering Laszlo is such a self-indulgent demon and has an unsurprisingly irreverent sense of humor (he refers to Bill Drakeford as a human sloppy joe) he’s actually good. The Witchstone has a ton of heart, plenty of action, and a hell of a finale, so I’d definitely recommend it especially for those who may have read and enjoyed Claudia Lux’s Sign Here.

4⭐️ “The Witchstone” by Henry H. Neff - available now!

This urban fantasy/paranormal novel had my attention from chapter one. The novel follows the adventure of Laszlo (demon & a Curse Keeper), Maggie Drakeford (19-year-old curse bearer), and Lump Drakeford (11-year-old curse bearer) from the nowhere town of the Catskills around the world in six days to break the Drakeford Family curse.

The banter, character growth, vivid descriptions (sometimes grotesquely descriptive 🤢), and wild deceptions made this book so captivating. My favorite character was of course Laszlo. A sassy, trickster, playboy 800-year-old demon makes for a hilarious character you can’t help but root for even when it’s hard to say what his end game is — besides helping himself out.

The only thing I will say, is as someone who has trypophobia (fear of holes) in relation to skin there were some spots that I had to skim because it made me nauseous reading. It played a significant enough role in the novel that at points it did get a lot for me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book.

❗️Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.❗️

The Witchstone is the first adult book by Henry H. Neff. Do not confuse this book with a children's book! I hope this review isn't nonsensical, because I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. as I could NOT go to bed until I read the ending; I just HAD to find out what happens! This book had disgusting body horror, curses and demons. In a word, it was AWESOME! Who knew a book starring a snarky demon could be so much fun?!

Laszlo Zebul is an 800-year-old Class III demon. and the least productive of Hell's Curse Keepers. He oversees the Drakeford Curse, which involves a family in upstate New York and a mysterious black stone. The curse is interesting enough, having colonial origins and mutating victims, among other things. However, Laszlo couldn't be bothered with maximizing the curse's potential; he'd rather drink, hustle the hustlers on Manhattan's subway, sunbathe...basically anything but his work. Unfortunately for him, his division is under new management. Laszlo’s Curse Keeper ratings are so abysmal that he’s given six days to improve or he’ll be "crucibled" and returned to the Primordial Ooze...or be downed as an energy drink. Maggie Drakeford is a 19-year-old Curse Bearer who's been stuck in the Catskills and has been nowhere else. The Drakeford Curse has taken most of her father's humanity and is quickly claiming hers, too. All seems lost, until one night Laszlo shows up at the family farmhouse and informs the family that they have only six days to break the curse until it becomes permanent. He's a demon, and Maggie knows she can't trust him, but this may be her only opportunity to save herself and her family. Thus begins an international quest that takes them to Central Park, the mountains of Liechtenstein, a 5-Star Zurich hotel, and Rome (where they visit the time-traveling vault of a demonic crime boss). As time quickly runs out, they will uncover a secret that will threaten the Lords of Hell.

The cover of this book really caught my eye, and the description captured my interest. "Body horror" is not my thing, but I can bear to read about it as opposed to seeing it on the screen. (And may I say, simply, EWWWWWW!) The story sounded like a road trip to Hell and back, however, so I just had to read it. I was not prepared for the level of humor I would find. There were times I almost snorted water out through my nose! I love, love, LOVE Laszlo's snark! He was quite the interesting character. He was lazy, uncaring of his job, sexually sleazy; he was basically interested in having a good time. He was the youngest son of His Fiendishness Baal Zebul. Say that quickly, and you'll know who his daddy was. He was obviously not proud of his offspring; he had no problem with his son being melted down if he didn't raise his horrible ratings. Laszlo's goal, in order to stay alive, was to get the Drakefords believing their curse could be broken...and when he would finally reveal his deception, they would be broken by despair, which would boost his ratings. He worked hard to make Maggie believe he was on their side. And then there's Maggie. Her life has been nothing but heartache. The family lived in a rural farmhouse without an indoor toilet. Now THAT's depressing! Her father was losing all of his humanity to the Curse, so Maggie had taken on his duties as Sin-Eater for the townspeople...and they treated her abominably. The Curse was coming upon her earlier than it had her father, and she despaired of what was to come for her 11-year-old brother George, aka Lump. Maggie knew she couldn't trust Laszlo - he was a demon, after all - but what else could she do? She had to take any possible chance to break the Curse. She was a tough young woman; as their quest progressed, she learned more and more of what she was capable. Their quest to look for items necessary to break the Curse was horrifying at times; but oh, so funny, too. Their visit to a cave in the Liechtenstein mountains was especially terrifying; the huge crow-things were horror personified. It was the humor, though, that kept me entranced in the story. I can't give away the show-down which occurred near the end of the book, but I can tell you that it kept me on the edge of my seat! Supporting characters were wonderful. Father Angelo was a Catholic priest in Rome who gave shelter to Laszlo, Maggie and Lump. I just adored him; I loved when Laszlo asked him if he could go to confession! Fr. Angelo, though amusing, made one think deeply on the meaning of sin and redemption. My favorite characters, however, weren't the two leads, but Lump and Clarence, a co-worker of Laszlo. Lump was a whip-smart boy, terrified of things he saw and experienced, but yet brave enough to face them. He was eager to experience new things after having been stuck in his family's little corner of the world. Lump's relationship and discussions with Laszlo were especially amusing. And Clarence was an absolute hoot! He was a part-goblin shark demon, his lower half being that of a sheep or cow. How anyone that sweet and funny could be a demon is unthinkable. He helped out Laszlo from afar and would give him warning of the coming assassin. He shrieked and panicked a lot, but you just had to love him. I loved the ending of the story, and I'm seriously hoping Mr. Neff will turn this into a series. I don't want to let these characters go!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This book wasn't what I expected exactly. But I loved ot. The banter is great, ans almost reads like a movie!!! Loved Laszalo and Maggiel. Only downfall is I would have liked to get to know Maggie's character better. I feel like we got a glimpse at the end :) a very fast paced and fun read. Thank you Netgally

Thank you very much for the ARC. This was EXCELLENT. I loved so much of this. It was exactly the kind of book I needed. The high stakes, the deception, the humor, the characters. It grossed me out some times (especially the airplane bathroom moment).and the ending was spectacular. Just when you think you knew how the twist was actually going to go it got more intense. It was truly the most fun I've had reading a book in a while.

Thank you Netgalley, Blackstone, and Henry H. Neff for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Witchstone is the most fun I’ve had in a book in a long time. The book is fast paced and hilarious. I love the banter between Lazlo, Maggie and Lump. Lazlo is like their weird uncle who can’t help but be an asshole, Maggie is this protective fierce sister who occasionally gives into the joy to have a laugh, and Lump is just this dorky kid discovering the world for the first time and winning the hearts of those around him. It’s darkly funny, and weirdly heartwarming in places and.

A family without hope who really is losing everything, a demon who desperately is trying to save himself and one epic adventure.

This is definitely I novel I have already told my friends about and I will definitely be buying a copy for myself.

DNF @ 53%. Strike one was introducing the female character via attempted sexual assault, strikes two and three were subjecting that same character to sexual assault via her own body being hijacked from the inside. With pretty clear indications this would only escalate. I'm really disappointed as I was otherwise enjoying the book, but seriously?? Is this necessary?? In 2024??? Surely we can do better than this.

In this darkly humorous tale of curses and supernatural beings, a sleazy demon must help a desperate family break their centuries-long curse before the curse becomes permanent. Lazlo, a low-level demon and Curse Keeper, oversees the Drakeford Curse on Hell's behalf. 'Oversees' is putting it loosely, as Lazlo is notoriously useless and has never even met his Curse Bearers, the Drakeford family, whose curse he is supposed to manage. But when a new boss from Hell comes into town, Lazlo must shape up and do his job--but he's only got six days to prove himself. Enter Maggie Drakeford, nineteen years old and already afflicted by the family curse. Maggie and her younger brother Lump agree to help Lazlo break the curse and save their family, and a crazy romp through New York, Liechtenstein, and Rome ensues as they race against the clock to find curse-breaking items, get information from ever-stranger supernatural beings, and discover life-altering secrets. Naturally, though, Lazlo has his own plans for the successful end to their six day trial.

This story was funny and original. Maggie was a sympathetic character, but it did take a while for her to really pop of the page. Her realism and despair paired nicely with Lazlo's carefree attitude so the story didn't get *too* dark and depressing. Also, it was refreshing that the main male/female characters remained platonic friends. While I don't normally hope for books to be turned into movies or shows, I feel like this one would make a great Netflix special.

I went in with zero expectations and finished with The Witchstone being my first five-star read of the year. Seriously. I'm still thinking about this book weeks later!

Hilarious, debaucherous, and weirdly heartfelt (emphasis on the weirdly), Maggie, Lump, and Lazlo are the strange cousins at Thanksgiving you're both eager to see and a little afraid of what trouble they're going to cause...because they will cause it. The banter is sharp and witty, the adventure refreshing, and the magic and creatures unique. Each character, including the villains, feels well-rounded, and the plot is never so obscure you feel left out of the loop or find yourself doubling back to ensure you didn't miss anything.

Fast-paced but never rushed, charming and sarcastic, The Witchstone is breaking my book-buying ban. I loved every minute of it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC of The Witchstone.

I finished this book last week and I'm still thinking about multiple times a day. How is a book about a generational curse and demons so funny?! I loved it from beginning to end. Laszlo is an endearing asshole— I shouldn’t be able to love a demon but I do. The Ancient Infernal Society of Curses Keepers reminds me of a more adult version of Monsters Inc. Keep that image in mind and you'll thank me later.
Somehow Maggie feels super relatable even though she’s a 19 year old who is literally turning into a monster. And Lump. My dear sweet Lump. I wanted to jump into the book to hug and protect him. I love that kid.

The Witchstone is perfect for fans of Christopher Moore. It's been a long time since I had such a fun reading experience.

The narrator is fantastic. I was able to differentiate between characters and that made this book completely come alive. I was lucky enough to be able to read and listen to the audio version of this and neither disappoints. Fantasy is not a genre that I normally read. As a matter of fact, I barely dip my toes in it. But this was so real and the places and things that the demons do are in current, actual locations. The characters have depth and feelings and the emotions they expressed made them come alive. How can one laugh at and become a fan of a demon such as Lazslo? I have no idea. But I do know there is comedy and true laugh out loud moments. There is suspense and mystery. There is a generational curse and plenty of magic and this should be added to your summer TBR as fast as possible.

The marketing invoking Good Omens isn't far off on this one. In some ways this is more coherent with better pacing. The cast of characters more personable and the narrative more straightforward. That said, Laszlo as a protagonist is at first glance the kind of inept and unlikable that is often endearingly hilarious, and the Drakeford siblings are sweet and ill-fated. But as the story chugs along, something about Laszlo seems persistently unempathetic and the Drakeford curse is horribly menacing to the point of forcing the reader to sit through multiple attempted sexual assault in service of said curse. That element is so jarring and uncomfortable, it often broke the playful and whimsical tone of the overall narrative. That said, it is largely a romp with personable cast of characters which is at best, fun, and at worst, derivative.