The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells was a unique and fascinating read of magic, romance, and the ripple effect that decisions have on the future. I loved the themes surrounding reconnecting and rekindling past friendships as well as finding love. I also found Greenlaw’s writing to be beautiful and descriptive. It really felt like we as readers were in the scene at times because the writing was that vivid. The story as a whole was fairly cozy, though, I did find it to be missing some of the magic I was hoping for. I also found Greenlaw’s way of presenting the plot to be engaging between different character POVs and different timelines. This book also hit at just the right time. It’s well worth the read, but if you’re a mood reader, I recommend reading it during the fall/winter timeframe for peak coziness and atmosphere.

I don't know what to think of the book but it felt like something was missing, or maybe my expectations were misaligned. I was expecting a cozy mystery with a bit of romance and bit of magic/fantasy/supernatural element sprinkled in. But this read completely different to me and I don't know how to describe it...other than to say the storyline felt passive and a bit disjointed. Perhaps it's because there are 3 POVs and multiple timelines, and I'm not always the biggest of that but in many novels it works. And I don't think it entirely worked in this novel or for me and that all made this book very slow moving, especially in the first half. What I did like was the concept of the Morgan women having a book of spells, and certain 'powers' that go with it. The power of the mountains and the concept of paying something to receive your wish. It's the execution that didn't work for me but I'm sure another reader would better appreciate. 2.5 stars for me.

This book was like a warm blanket on a cool day.

With a non-linear timeline and different POV's, this is usually not the kind of book I would give a good rating. I feel like going from one POV to another and bouncing around in different time periods is confusing...but...this one drew me in and I fell in love with the story.

A love story, a cautionary tale, living life, coming home, all surrounded by the inherited familial magic of Cora and Carrie. Find a quiet afternoon to immerse yourself in this story.

Well written with a compelling storyline and characters you won’t soon forget, Rachel Greenlaw weaves this story masterfully.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw is the perfect cozy read for witchy season. Greenlaw combines magical realism with folklore in this enchanting tale of finding one’s path and place of belonging. I found myself drawn to the mountains right along with Carrie Morgan and not wanting to leave. All of the relationships Carrie must navigate in order to find her own roots in a small town were thoughtfully crafted. From spells to curses and lost loves to new romances, this book kept me guessing and wondering what relationships would thaw and grow stronger after the winter frosts.
Thank you, NetGalley, Rachel Greenlaw, Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! This was the perfect read for getting cozy by a fire (and maybe motivate me to do some home projects).

⋆⋆½ — lovely prose, reminiscent of maggie stiefvater and adrienne young. an atmosphere that resembles that of zella day's song hypnotic. the angsty, nostalgic small-town magical realism would usually be right up my alley, but i couldn't connect to the characters this time. a problem because this was definitely a character study and had no semblance of anything close to a plot. the story was mainly about carrie's homecoming, and her slowly learning to love her hometown again. she wasn't a particularly interesting character, but jess and cora were even more irritating, and being forced to read from their povs every other chapter very much lowered whatever enjoyment i had in the earlier chapters. jess especially. i do not care about her tradwife marital problems. for a book where all three povs are female, it's odd that the book seems to be 60% about men? i wouldn't classify this as a romance, and yet. so. many. men. i'm sure even straight women have other topics to consider?

thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

This book was not at all what I expected. It was more magical realism than cozy fantasy. I thought it was going to be more witchy as well. I liked the 3 main characters in the book however I did not need all 3 of their POVs and think the book would have flowed better if there were only 1 or 2 narrators. I wish that the romance was more than a subplot and was better developed. However, I really enjoyed how the female relationships developed. It was well written and a good concept, but I thought it could have been executed better.

Told from three women’s points of view, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells crafts a tale filled with romance, self-discovery, second chances, and a bit of folklore and magic.

Overall, I adored the theme of the book at its core—a story about finding yourself, closure, and your way back home. With the small-town setting, seasonal changes, mysterious mountains, and tall tales, the atmosphere of the novel was also really intriguing and kept luring me back in. I also am a sucker for a sweet romance, and I loved this one!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

“The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells” is an enticing tale of magic, friendship, and facing the past. This one is for fans of Adrienne Young’s adult novels. Carrie returns to her mystical hometown, after 10 years of absence, to fix up her grandmother’s cottage. She left her fiancé, her best friend and her family many years ago and now she must face them. I was immediately drawn into the mysteries of this story. It was intriguing to place the events of the past and understand the characters and their intertwining relationships. This book also has some magical elements and curses that unfold throughout the story. I really enjoyed this one! It’s perfect for the autumn and winter seasons!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Morgan women are deeply connected to the mountains of Woodsmoke, with the ability to share the power of the town with townspeople who need their help. Carrie left the small town years ago, only to return when her grandmother dies and stipulates that Carrie must stay in her cottage and restore it over one winter. Carrie left behind her great aunt and her ex best friend, and coming home brings multiple complications to her life.

This beautifully written story is incredibly atmospheric and evocative, with the mist rolling in off the mountains and the lyrical descriptions. Greenlaw's writing sets an enchanting mood, putting the reader in the right spirit for magic.

At its core, it is a story about family, obligations, and finding our own path. Carrie is reluctant to come home and be seen as one of the Morgan women again, with all of the rumors and responsibilities that go along with her last name. She finds a distraction in a beautiful man who comes down from the mountains one morning, pouring connection and romance into this read.

This book had me completely captivated, and I finished it in a single day simply because I couldn't put it down. It would be a fantastic one to add to your fall reads if you enjoy family stories, tales of finding yourself, and a little bit of magic

While I enjoyed The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells, I felt some undefined something was missing. The story of a stranger who appears with the frost and is gone with the spring thaw was interesting, and the snippets of Carrie's ancestors' lives made me want to know more about them. However, I kept waiting for something, I'm not sure what, to happen or appear. Still a very enjoyable read.

The Morgan women are so different, and they have lived in a town where they have never been accepted. And Carrie has always felt that, even though she has tried to fit in she knew she was just different, and she would do anything to leave. And she did and 10 years later she’s back in her hometown trying to find her HOME and renovating everything her grandmother left for her. This book gave witchy vibes when it came to her great aunt Cora who has this crazy obsession with the Book, that was handed down to the oldest Morgan daughter, there is a story behind THAT and I love how the book goes back years and years between Cora and Ivy and Carrie and her upbringing, until now and how it all connects and the sacrifices that were made, especially when it comes to Cora. I don’t know what I was expecting when I started to read this book, I loved the mystery of a “folklore” that haunts these women and the mountains. It was pretty awesome, and so heartfelt, especially toward the end.

A cozy Small town spooky/witchy book that will tick every fall vibe you’re seeking for spooky season. It’s a delightful, atmospheric read that has interesting relationships spanning multigenerations in the same setting. I would classify this as magical realism, but the magic is somewhat understated. Similar to practical magic in a way. There is a nice little mystery taking place throughout the story with just a dash of romance.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw is a book about longings and belonging, and not-belonging, about families, love, friendship, community and heritage. I had some frustrations with each of the viewpoint characters, and I’m uneasy with some of the conflict resolutions, but overall, it was an easy and mildly spooky read.

The book opens with Carrie Morgan returning to her hometown of Woodsmoke after a 10-year absence — or rather, to the cabin she just inherited from her late mother Ida. It’s a while before she works up the courage to actually go into town, because she’d left quite abruptly, leaving her fiance Tom at the altar and never so much as writing a postcard to her best friend Jess as she traveled around Europe. Her plan is to renovate the cabin, sell it, and leave again.

Her great-aunt, Cora, has other ideas. The Morgan women have a long tradition of making bargains with the mountains, along with making folk remedies, giving warnings never to step off the paths into the wilds, and basically meddling with the townsfolks’ lives to try to protect them. Cora wants Carrie to stay forever and take up the Morgan mantle, and their inherited book of spells, remedies and stories.

Meanwhile, Carrie meets a mysterious stranger, Matthieu, and hires him to help with the renovations. She initially scoffs at Cora’s warning that this man may be a mountain manifestation who’ll break her heart and vanish when the frost melts. As Cora’s tentative relationship with Matthieu deepens, we also see flashbacks revealing backstory including the beginnings of Cora’s courtship by Howard, plus the challenges they now face as an aging couple, along with the rising tensions between the now-married Jess and Tom that surfaced with Carrie’s return.

Although I started out with little sympathy for Carrie’s abandonment of her roots and friendships, I came to understand that this was partly due to unconscious reactions from her life having been meddled with before. Everyone else but Howard has secrets about bargains they’ve made in the past, and there is very little openness about what people really want. There is a lot of blame going around from people who are far from guiltless themselves. But given how things resolve mostly happily at the end, there is some hope that the next generation will learn to talk about their feelings before things go bad.

Despite the many references to “the mountains” and plants that grow around them, I didn’t get a strong sense of place — no mountain is individually named, for instance (fake names for fake mountains would have been fine with me, but I don’t think they’d be so nebulous for the inhabitants). In fact, for quite a while I assumed this was set in the Appalachians instead of England, until I was clued in by words like “greengrocer” being used.

Moreover, Carrie is an artist, but she’s creatively blocked, so we never see her process, although it’s stated that she has started to sketch again, off-camera, by the end. For these and other reasons, the novel never felt quite grounded to me. But that fits quite well with Carrie’s emotional state, as she struggles to decide what’s real and what’s not, and whether she can trust herself and others, and with the mental and emotional turmoil of the other characters. The arguments did feel pretty real, although I was often offering counter-arguments to them in my head.

This is a pretty light read, but then again, it’s not trying to be a heavy book. It’s primarily a semi-supernatural romance, blended with mystery, home renovations, inheritances, and homecoming. If that sounds like your kind of thing, it may be a good choice for reading this October.

After 10 years away, Carrie Morgan must return to her hometown to renovate the cabin her grandmother left her after she passed. However, it is not a warm homecoming. Carrie ran away 10 years ago on her wedding day and has not talked to anyone since. Oh, and the man she was meant to marry is now married (with a kid) to her childhood best friend. And if that's not enough, the Morgan family is known to have magic and the mountains make bargains with the Morgan family only.... but there is always a price.

I was really intrigued by this premise and I enjoyed the multiple points of view. I think I had a really hard time with Jess, Tom, and Carrie. I felt like the relationships were really broken and quite antagonistic and don't feel like it resolved in a super realistic way, especially given the timing. I just wish there was more interaction between our characters (narrators) because they're all in the same small town but they're never with one another but are always thinking about one another.

It's definitely a fun, fall book. I just wish I got a little more. A little more into the family lore, a little more into the relationships, a little more into the stories at the beginning of the chapters. It feels like there was a lot of potential that wasn't necessarily tapped.

A very beautifully written story about female friendship and womanhood. Perfect to read in November! I found the pacing a little off.

3.5⭐️

Carrie Morgan has returned to Woodsmoke after 10 years of running from her family’s legacy. She has returned to fix up her grandmothers cottage after her passing, so she can sell it. Her great aunt Cora is still living in Woodsmoke, along with her childhood best friend Jess. The Morgan women have a book that has many tales from over the years, and the book is passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. One tale in particular is about a stranger who appears as the first snow falls in winter & then disappears as the frost thaws in the spring. The only problem with that is the stranger always leaves behind someone with a broken heart. As the temperature starts to change, Carrie meets someone named Matthieu who offers to help her fix up the cottage. Carrie is convinced he’s real, but everyone else can’t say the same.

This book follows 3 POVs: Carrie Morgan, Cora Morgan, and Jess. I loved having the different POVs & it was definitely helpful at times for understanding situations better. The book was good & I enjoyed it, but it just didn’t “wow” me, so that’s my reason for 3.5⭐️. I was hoping it would be a good witchy read, but there wasn’t much on the witchy side of things like I had in my mind. I didn’t really feel super attached to any of the characters either, but I enjoyed the friendship aspect of the book. The book was focused on relationships, friendships, family & self discovery. I definitely loved the themes of the book! It was nice to learn about Carrie & Jess’s relationship as they grew up & what tore them apart. I don’t want to say much about Matthieu & spoil the story. I didn’t see some things coming, so that was a crazy surprise to the story.

I would recommend it for a quick read in the fall because it was definitely a cozy read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Greenlaw & Avon Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A light and atmospheric tale of love and loss in the mountains. Carrie has come back to Woodsmoke and she's renovating her grandmother's home- but she doesn't plan to stay. And then she meets Matthieu, who will, as the legend says, disappear. This is told by Carrie, her great aunt Cora, and her sorta friend Jess (whose POV doesn't add much to the story). This isn't as heavy as it could have been nor as eerie but that doesn't mean it isn't a good read. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good one for travel or a lazy rainy day.

Everyone in this book needs therapy, desperately. Truly needs therapy.

Carrie moves back to Woodsmoke after her grandmother, Ivy, dies. Ivy left her a cottage and the lease to her candle shop and tasked her with fixing them up.

Cora, Carrie’s great-aunt, holds the book of the Morgan women and their stories/spells. She has missed Carrie for years and now that she’s back, she wants her to stay.

Jess, Carrie’s best friend from childhood, is conflicted about her being back in town and wants her to leave but also stay and rekindle their friendship.


So, my thoughts:
- Howard is the best of them all.
- The rest are the ones I’m more concerned about getting therapy. Jess and Cora are on a whole other level though, because damn.

I thought it was weird from a writing standpoint that we had an insight to characters whose POV it was not, like Tom and Howard. It didn’t make sense that that character would just know what the others were feeling.

It was never fully explained why the book skipped a generation and it was handed down from grandmother to oldest granddaughter.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This book felt like a Hozier song to me. The story was full of so much folklore and magic.

Carrie Morgan has returned to Woodsmoke, her hometown, after her grandmother passed away and left her an old cottage, that she must renovate, in her will. Carrie is hoping to also come to terms with the reasons she left ten years ago. With her return, an early frost also hits the small town, and with the frost comes a man who may or may not be part of a curse.

I loved the atmosphere of this story and where the plot went. This is the perfect cozy book to read during the Fall.