I am struggling to get into this book and have to mark it at DNF at 20% for now. I don’t like to leave negative feedback but the story is moving very slowly.

I am 8 chapters in, Carrie Morgan is back in town and that’s about all we know. She’s greeted the mountains so nothing bad will happen, we’ve mentioned this several times over. There’s an old love interest who has just discovered she’s back in town but we don’t see his POV. We do see his wife’s POV and it’s very bland there as well.

None of the characters are particularly inspiring or relatable, and even after 800 (kindle) pages we know very little about what is actually happening. The book blurb makes it seem like there’s a disappearance of Matthieu as a main plot but he hasn’t even been mentioned yet.

I wanted to love this book but it’s falling very flat for me. I’m keeping it on my want to read list but may wait for an audio version.

ARC REVIEW

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells
Rating: 🌟⭐️⭐️🌟
Clean read with minor language and innuendo

Carrie is finally coming home. It’s been a decade since she left but that all feels like only yesterday in the shade of the mountains. There’s a strange history between her family and the mountains. One she’s not sure she even believes. But her great-aunt certainly does. Now home, Carrie must decide whether she will finish the task left to her by her grandmother and leave once more or if Woodsmoke is truly the place she is meant to be. She must content with her past and struggle for whatever future she might desire. Carrie can only hope the mountains will forgive her for leaving in the first place.

I expected this to be a more spooky read, but it mostly turned into a drama about restoring old relationships and unraveling the past. There was some creepy aspects, since we don’t really know whether or not the mountains are semi-sentient, but there wasn’t any real otherworldly effect until near the end of the book. I truly enjoyed the read, it just wasn’t what I was expecting from the cover and description. Great read, though.

I dnf’ed around 40%. I just found myself not wanting to pick it back up. The writing was very good at times, a tad clunky at others. I didn’t enjoy the rotating pov’s, whenever it got around to a ‘Jess’ chapter I felt disrupted.

“The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells” is a mesmerizing tale that intertwines its narrative with a beautiful and enchanting quality reminiscent of the captivating prose found in Adrienne Young’s work. It delves into a spellbinding story of lost love and the magic of reconnecting with one’s origins. Right from the beginning, I found myself spellbound by the atmospheric world painted within its pages, to the extent that I could envision myself nestled in Ivy’s cottage, surrounded by the mystical allure of the mountains. I cherished yet devoured every word. This book has all the components to make for a cozy read. I would have personally liked a bit more magic and for the characters to be developed a little further, but all in all, Greenlaw did an incredible job. This book teetered at the 4.5 mark for a bit, and I was almost disappointed at the end, but the epilogue sealed this in at five stars for me. I’d read this one again and again. ✨💕

✨Magical realism
✨Multiple POV
✨Mystery
✨ Small town
✨Splash of Romance
✨ “Witches”


Thank you, thank you, thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon Publishing, for providing me with this ARC. This was such a refreshing and delightful story. You bet I’ve already preordered a signed copy to add to my home library.

Pub Date: Oct 22, 2024

I found it difficult to get into this book, as it was very slow and I didn’t find any of the characters particularly interesting or relatable.

I didn’t care about Carrie leaving Tom at the altar, wasn’t moved when Carrie and Jess made up, and didn’t shed a tear when Cora and Howard died. Despite how much world building and character development there was in the beginning of the story, each person in this book was pretty bland and forgettable.

From the blurb, I was under the impression that Matthieu’s disappearance would be a main focus of the book, when it actually only took up about the last 20 minutes. That was disappointing, since that storyline was why I had chosen to read this book.

Sadly, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells just missed the mark for me.

Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read an advance copy!

Short Synopsis:
Carrie Morgan left Woodsmoke 10 years ago without a word. But her grandma has passed, and now she’s returned to fix up her cabin and then leave again to return to her life.

My Thoughts:
The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells is filled with lyrical, atmospheric prose in the vein of Adrienne Young. I was enthralled by the town drama and kept reading figure out the mysterious woods (and if Mattieu is real or a figment of the magical woods!)

I did find this one rather slow to start, but the second half picks up. It was lacking in character development too. I still don’t feel like I know our main characters beyond their immediate thoughts even though I’ve spent 300 pages with them.

This is one for cozy fantasy and mystery fans.

What You’ll Find:
Small town
Magical realism
Mystery
Returning home
Magical woods
Family of “witches”

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the ARC!!

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells was everything I wanted it to be! It have lovely descriptions of nature and atmospheric shivers. I love that the author showed more fraught emotions over a friendship, with romantic relationships being more of a back burner. There were a few inconsistencies, or even wide leaps, to keep the plot moving along that I found annoying. Overall, it felt like taking a plunge into “Practical Magic” and finding a new story as yet untold.

This was such a wonderful story of family, love, and magic. Definitely one for he cozy spooky season!

Every time I have picked up one of Rachel's books, I have been in a 'blah' mood, which is tricky as a mood reader. Yet, she has managed to make me feel things so deeply again! Her stories are mellow and cozy and atmospheric, but they're filled with so much heart that they have a tendency to sneak up on you. For instance, I was 10% of the way through this one when I realized I couldn't put it down. It had slowly seeped into my soul and nourished some part of me that I didn't know needed it.

The story follows Carrie (mainly), who had just returned to the small town of Woodsmoke after her grandmother's death. She intends fix up her grandmother's cottage by spring, sell it, and be on her way. Although, things aren't so easy when she's spent the past 10 years feeling like she doesn't have a home, not that Woodsmoke feels much like home when she returns. Her ex-fiance has married her best friend, so her return stirs up gossip. And her aunt, Cora, has made people feel uncomfortable with her meddling and peddling of spells. But it's not until Cora hears that Carrie has received help on the cottage from a man who comes and goes with the frost that she's truly alarmed.

First of all, the atmosphere of The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells is *chef's kiss*. It's like that fall/winter in a small town cozy that many viewers of Gilmore Girls adore. In that vein, there's also multi-generational tension with Carrie, Cora, and Jess all dealing with decisions and mistakes from their past which greatly impact their present. Jess isn't a Morgan, but you can feel her closeness to the family and her understanding of the magic and her hurt by Carrie's leaving Woodsmoke 10 years prior.

I loved that this story was written in 3 points of view -- Carrie, Jess, and Cora. It added so much to the tension and history and relationship between the three women. While this story had some element of magic to it, it's predominantly about these three women and the curses and spells that bind us.

If you're looking for a cozy, heartfelt read for spooky season, give this a try!

Thank you to Avon/Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis made it sound perfect for spooky season - a romance with a touch of mystery and a FMC who perseveres. Unfortunately, it kind of fell flat for me. I didn't feel the magic element was well developed/explained, there were a couple plot lines that were forgotten about... I feel like if it had an opportunity to go through and be edited to fix those issues, it could be a fabulous book. Just feel like the editors rushed this and did the author a disservice.

I was hoping this would be more magical.

Rating: 3 ⭐️

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells follows three women. Cora, the 80-year old great aunt to our second POV character Carrie, and Jess, Carrie's ex-best friend. After 10 years away, Carrie has finally returned to Woodsmoke in order to fix up the cottage left to her in her grandmother's will.

My main problem with this book is its multiple-POVs. Jess's POV, specifically, felt unnecessary. Whereas Cora and Carrie's storylines revolved around their family's magic, Jess's story revolved around her marital problems.

Jess is not a Morgan. She has no magic. Her only relevance to the story is what she means to Carrie. So, to spend so much time on her thoughts and emotions when we could have been spending time with the far more interesting Carrie or Cora was lame. I really liked the scenes with Carrie refurbishing her grandmother Ivy's cottage or uncovering the mystery of Matthieu. However, that kept getting interrupted by Jess' broken marriage.

For a book focused on generational magic, it was decidedly bereft of it. Many of the chapters included interesting passages from the Morgan Book of Spells. However, those passages never seemed to truly influence the plot in any meaningful way. Nor, it seemed, did magic as a whole.

The ending was a bit of a let-down. It wasn't what I was hoping for and what I felt the story was leading up to with its inclusion of the passages from the Morgan Book of Spells. Overall, while there were definitely some interesting aspects to this book, it failed to adequately explore them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me access to The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.25 stars.

So, I was really wanting to love this one. I flew through the first 41% of it, even though the entire time I was thinking that it just felt like it was trying too hard to fit itself in the cozy, witchy, Practical Magicy genre. The writing was a little awkward, too.

Then, I took a break from it for a few days and found that I just didn't have the urge to pick it back up. I also couldn't remember what had happened in the first 41% of it either. But, I made myself get back into it thinking that it could have just been my mood at the time. I flew through the last 59% of it and initially felt like it had gotten better and that maybe it even deserved a reread later when my mood was different.

Unfortunately, after thinking about it, I still had those awkward feelings about not really enjoying it. I even decided to lower my rating. Sure, there were some interesting secrets, lies and drama that happened in the plot. But, the story just didn't hit. The main character and the love interest didn't have me fully invested, and I definitely did not like the main character's former best friend, Jess. There were also a couple plot holes that left me scratching my head.

So, for now, I'm rating it 3.25 stars. It was just captivating enough to be a fast read, and, initially, it was mildly satisfying at the finish, but thinking about it after the fact left me not so satisfied after all. I still might go back and reread it in the future, but it did not give me the ultimate cozy, witchy feel that I wanted.

Thanks Netgalley for the e-arc.

I was really looking forward to this book, but it didn’t hold my attention well. I really appreciate the arc, but I just don’t think I clicked with it. The atmosphere was great and it was perfect for fall. I just didn’t vibe with it. I found myself bored and wanted to put it down to go read other things. I definitely think this would be perfect for some people, I just was expecting a bit more from it.

This is a perfect spooky season read, I had such a great time with this story! The atmosphere, the magic. Ugh. Practical Magic vibes all around. I love Greenlaws work and she continues to be a top author for me and I'm so excited to get my hand on a physical copy of this book.

This was such a fun, whimsical read! If you enjoyed Practical Magic, pick this one up! I got the same vibes from page 1 throughout the entire book. Honestly, an October release is perfect because this is a perfect witchy read.

Carrie returns to Woodsmoke, having inherited her grandmother's cabin with the intention to fix it up. She meets and begins to fall for a stranger who disappears when the Frost melts, causing her to rush into the mountains to find and save him.

This story really captivated me with the relationships between the women and the relationships they have with the mountains and Magic.

A fabulously magical book just in time for spooky season; self-described as “a tale that begins as a love story and ends with a curse.”

There are three POVs: Carrie Morgan, who has returned after a decade to the village of Woodsmoke after her grandmother Ivy’s death to renovate and then sell her cottage; great-aunt Cora, Ivy’s 80 year old younger sister, known as a bit strange around the town, but whose “spells” and tokens are grudgingly welcomed; and Jess, Carrie’s former best friend, now uncomfortably married to Carrie’s ex (Tom) ten years later and mother to six year old Elodie.

What’s commonly known is that there’s the “curse of the Morgan women” who pass down a book from grandmother to oldest granddaughter (always skipping a generation), “The Morgan Compendium,” filled “tales of the mountains, of the seasons, warnings and curses and fables and recipes and spells, shared around the fire on winter nights.”

It’s the collected stories of every Morgan woman who’s carried it, going back generations. The book is currently in the temporary custody of Ivy; Carrie is the next to inherit it. The belief is held that “when a story is no longer shared, it becomes a secret. Then it all too easily either withers and dies or grows into something quite monstrous: a curse.”

The book also has recorded memories of other Morgan women who have disappeared into the mountains: Great-great grandmother Tabitha’s sister Sybla; Clémence Morgan’s sister Abigail; Nora Morgan’s Edith. And there are “rules:” Don’t stray from the path. Accept the gift even if it wasn’t left with good intent. “And if you see someone stepping off the mountain trails, or hear a voice luring you away, never follow.”

Carrie tries to follow the “rules” (including leaving salt, lavender, and fennel on windowsills), but she just wants to fix up the cottage and escape gossipy Woodsmoke again as soon as possible. She needs help, but the only available village handyman is her jilted Tom, so she hires a man renting a nearby cabin for the winter, Matthieu, whose brother also disappeared years ago into the mountains. Matthieu and Carrie grow close and Carrie reconsiders her decision to leave Woodsmoke. Cora warns her that Matthieu, like the men of the cursed Compendium stories and women they bewitched, will disappear when the frost thaws... and he does.

I loved the story and wanted more! The characters are all richly drawn and the story is, indeed, magical and romantic. This is a book I’ll be recommending over and over. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Matthieu, however, has midnight blue eyes, “the deepest navy,”like the other young men who tempted Morgan women.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Although Matthieu's wildflower bouquets contain yarrow and evening primrose — evening primrose wilts quickly once picked.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager/William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

OK, confession, firstly, I predominantly picked p this book based on the cover...yes, yes I know you don't judge a book by its cover, I've said the same myself so many times, but come on......just look at it!!

It's so chuffing gorgeous, I'll definitely be buying the paperback to add to my keeper shelf (I need this on my keeper shelf, it's look super pretty!🥰)

So, I would have been a little red-faced if this book hadn't been excellent, right, but thankfully my diving on the cover was the right move as the story within is just as beautiful as the glorious cover on the outside, in fact, it's easy to say I have fallen head over heels in love with this beautiful book!!

This tells the story of Carrie who returns to the mountain town of Woodsmoke after travelling she must return after her grandmother dies and leaves Carrie her dilapidated old cottage in the centre of Woodsmoke. She is determined not to stay, that she will only be there long enough to renovate the cottage. That is until winter comes and a mysterious stranger appears to shake her life up a wee bit!

Carrie knows the legend that circulates in Woodsmoke, that on the first of the snow, a stranger appears only disappears without a trace, this is exactly what happens with Matthieu, but Carrie fully believes that he's real and even more so in danger and sets out on a journey of lost love and self-discovery.

I really liked the magical aspect, to me it felt more like folklore/nature powers style of magic than witches and wizards type of magic. I loved the fact that Carrie's female line can harness the power of nature!

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells is an utterly charming, beautifully written magical romance interwoven with personal drama, loss and love. I was completely lost within the pages and captivated by the highly original story!

Highly recommended!

Thank you net galley for the arc of the woodsmoke womens book of spells. I love anything witchy and this book did not disappoint it was so cozy and I loved reading about the women through the generations. This book could be a Netflix series!

YES YES YES. this is *the* spooky season book!!! while it may not absolutely knock your socks off, it was the perfect atmospheric read. i sat and finished it in one go, and had an absolute blast jumping into this world and i highly recommend for the good ol ‘ber months!!

🏔️ Book Review 🏔️
📚: The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells
🗓️: Pub. October 2024!
⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells is a moving, magical, sophomore novel by @ . It's a story of love and what you'd do to keep someone in your life. Grandmother to granddaughter, mother to daughter, great aunt to great niece, best friends turned sisters, the Morgan Women grapple with the legacy of their family and the price the mountains of Woodsmoke requires.

I loved how the relationships didn't end with pretty bows and everything forgotten. Sure, there were bows, but those bows were still marred with the flecks of mud flung from the wilderness surrounding the town. A little bit of realism in a story marinated in magic.

The relationship between the magic of the Morgan Women and the mountains was an interesting element that enhanced the story. I loved how big of a role the magic plays without being a convenient way to close a plot hole or bring about a conclusion that seemed hopeless. It's at the base of every problem and every decision the women in this story make.

If you like books about old magic, romance in every stage, friendships, coming home and finding your roots, and finding your true self, this book is for you!