A cozy witch book is something I would typically love, unfortunately this one was not for me. I will say, I think this is a me problem - as many other people seem to love this book!

My major issue is that I wanted more magic. I felt like the story lacked the magical element that I had anticipated based on the name of the book and the description. Also, I love multi-POV stories, but with this story the different POVs hurt the flow and made me not feel attached to any of the characters. I thought the book did have a really great atmosphere and was written well but it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you for Avon and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

2.5/5

This was super fun little romance about a Carrie moving back to her hometown and decide whether she wants to make a life for herself there or go back out and see the world. While she fixes up her grandmothers home she and the town have to deal with the repercussion of her coming back, Carries former best friend and ex fiancé are now married with a daughter and her friends has secrets of her own. Carrie’s aunts the local town witch also is keeping secrets and then there is the new man in Carrie’s life who may or may not be the mountains form of revenge against Carrie for leaving. Overall it was a fun little romance with practical magic like vibes.

An enchanting, mystical story of the fictional Woodsmoke mountains and the Morgan women that have lived there for generations. Carrie Morgan has recently returned to Woodsmoke after inheriting her grandmother’s cottage. Now, Carrie must face her family’s heritage and decide if Woodsmoke holds her future.

This is a mystical story of finding home, love and one’s place in the world. While it is a bit short on actual magic, it is a lovely story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/ Harper Voyager for an early read in exchange for a fair review. I enjoyed and recommend this book – It’s a perfect Spooky season read.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells is the perfect book for a Fall night. Full of magic and with a mountainous setting, the story covers generations of Morgan women who pass down a book full of spells, recipes and family history.

The book focuses on Carrie Morgan who returns to Woodsmoke after 10 years when she inherits her grandmother Ivy’s cabin. Carrie is convinced she is only staying long enough to renovate the cabin during the winter in order to sell it in the Spring. When she meets a mysterious stranger during the first frost who offers to help with the renovations, Carrie ignores her Aunt Cora’s warnings about a family curse. As the current holder of the Book of Spells, Aunt Cora can’t help getting involved in the townspeoples lives until her meddling uncovers a ripple of chaotic events.

Full of magical realism and romance with themes of grief and friendship, Greenlaw’s story slowly unravels and the character’s relationships unfold to draw the reader in. An enjoyable and entertaining novel about coming home.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced reader’s copy.

Rachel Greenlaw's "The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells" is a captivating and enchanting read that weaves together the past three generations of Morgan women, their connection to the mountains of Woodsmoke, and the evocative Book of Spells from centuries long ago. I initially thought this would be a book with more of a magical storyline and feel, but it is more of a love story with some paranormal and mystery elements.

The book is centered around Carrie, who ran away from the town of Woodsmoke ten years ago when she was 18 years old and has never looked back until now. Her grandmother, Ivy, has passed away and left Carrie her cabin at the base of the mountains, not too far from her aunt Cora (who currently holds the Book of Spells). Carrie's return to town creates all sorts of rumors and disruptions for the townspeople, her former love, and her best friend.

The Book of Spells has been in Cora's possession for many, many years, but it didn't originally belong to her. What she's done and given up to become the holder of the book has created a self-centered, controlling, bitter, and crazed old woman.

Even stranger are the tales told in the Book of Spells from generations of Morgan women that are beginning to unfold in Carries' life. One in particular is a mysterious man named Matthieu, who is here to search the mountains for the body of his brother, who went missing many years ago. But Matthieu disappears when the frost melts away, just as the stories are told.

While I enjoyed the blossoming love story between Carrie and Matthieu, I also found it frustrating. She had all these doubts about him when comparing him to the stories in the Book of Spells but did nothing to prove his legitimacy.

Greenlaw's writing style is engaging, and the underlying messages were very thought-provoking - searching for answers and finding closure, chasing ghosts and guilt from your past and the damage it can do, the torture of bitterness, deep friendships, and craving a sense of belonging and feeling rooted to a place of our own.

Overall, it was an enjoyable mystery-love story.

Thank you, #NetGalley, #RachelGreenlaw, #AvonPublishers, and HarperVoyager, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #TheWoodsmokeWomensBookofSpells

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells is a story of magic. The Morgan women pass down a book, from generation to generation, full of spells, recipes, and warnings. The lives of Carrie, Cora, and Jess collide when Cora's meddling causes an unfortunate series of events.

I really enjoyed the magical realism in this story. The magic and the mountains were almost another character. Our main characters were realistic and enjoyable, while also being extremely frustrating, Cora in particular. I found Carrie to be the least interesting character, and I wasn't quite sold on the romance between her and Matthieu. The friendship tension was great, and I wish we got to read more of Jess and Carrie together. Their dynamic was the most interesting to me.

The POV switched back and forth a few times, which was a little confusing, but overall this was very enjoyable.

This book has several elements to it - mystery, the paranormal, romance, self-discovery, friends reconnecting after a falling out...and while for the most part it was all woven together fairly well, there were a few points where the story felt a little flat to me.

The falling out between friends who end up reconnecting - very well done. The tension, the trauma, the reactions from all parties - the author did a great job of pulling you in and getting you invested in the situation.

The romance side...to me, it felt as though Carrie jumped on Matthieu to spite Cora, and to just feel something other than her own grief and self-doubt about being back in her old hometown. I didn't really feel any great chemistry between the two. And it didn't help that Cora kept insinuating that Matthieu isn't real - gaslighting much?

I definitely felt that Cora was written over the top. I think she wasn't intended to be a very likeable character (I mean, on some levels you feel sorry for her, but she causes a lot of chaos herself). She was definitely a very covetous person, especially towards her sister Ivy in regards to the book and even Carrie herself.

I liked the book, but there were definitely some points that kind of lost me.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. If you are looking for a cozy fantasy that touches on coming home, grief, and has practical magic notes this is a great book to pick up. The story of the town is well written, the romance is bittersweet, the magic that is in the FMC family is ancient and the characters are well fleshed out and feel like they could be real people. Great read for a windy autumn night, huddled inside with a hot cider.

The title and cover itself gives one a sense of the magical atmosphere written within the book. The author painted a picture of the mountains and town that I could really see. Unfortunately, the book did not contain much magic, rather it contained the handed down remedies of old. The book was written in three different perspectives. I can't say that I liked any of them. The story unfolds slowly as we learn that Carrie has returned to town after staying away for ten years. Her return is to claim the cottage that she inherited from her grandmother, Ivy. The mystery of why Carrie left town in the first place, never to return for ten years, is SLOWLY revealed. At the same time we meet Aunt Cora, a very bitter woman. This book barely reached three stars in my view. I thank NetGalley and Avon Books for the complimentary digital ARC. This review contains my own thoughts.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw combines magical realism, folklore, romance, and more in a heartfelt novel set in Carrie Morgan’s hometown of Woodsmoke. Carrie left the mountain town ten years ago. However, her grandmother has died and left her the dilapidated cottage she grew up in as well as her candle shop. Carrie plans to renovate the cottage during the fall and winter and sell it in the spring. She meets Mattieu as the temperatures drop and the first frost appears and hires him to help her with the renovations.

Despite her great-aunt Cora’s warnings about the old stories, Carrie falls for Mattieu. When he goes missing, Carrie decides to search for him despite the warnings. Is he real or not? Is this Carrie’s forever home or will she continue to travel the world?

Carrie is curious and doesn’t always listen to others. She feels adrift and unsure of her place in the world. She hasn’t even painted in a year. Will she find the answers she’s been seeking for the last ten years in Woodsmoke?

This story felt warm and cozy, but slow and somewhat disappointing. There wasn’t as much magic as I was expecting. Additionally, it was told from three different points of view and switched back and forth in time. This tended to adversely affect the flow of the narrative. Threads woven into the storyline include family, friendship, self-discovery, relationships, grief, and small-town gossip and treatment of those who are different.

Overall, I enjoyed the entertaining and atmospheric story, but it wasn’t what I expected. However, the world-building was excellent and it was a nice change-of-pace read that was also thought-provoking. The exploration of relationships was well-done.

Avon and Harper Voyager – Avon and Rachel Greenlaw provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for October 22, 2024.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 rounded up to 4/5. This was a beautifully written story. It’s very cute and cozy and I loved the concept of the story however it was a little underwhelming. I wish that there had been more to do with magic than it did. This is written in 3 POVs but we barely saw the connection between the 3 main characters. I wish we had saw more with Jess and Carrie, the friendship between them was my favorite part but I feel like we were missing a lot. Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review!

I would give this a 3.5 stars. The story was very intriguing and had a lot of elements. I love that you got three different love stories happening. A lot of it was about self discovery and healing. It was not just about love, it was about the town, the whispers of magic. I loved the friendship aspect of it and getting to see two best friends lost try to find their way back to each other. The ending had me going! I couldn’t put it down when all the action started to happen!
With that being said, the beginning took me a while to get used to switching from 1st person to 3rd person. I really enjoyed the different perspectives and to see other characters story play out. As much as I loved there being three povs I do wish we had more of Carrie and Mattthieu getting to know each other and really falling for each other, it felt a bit rushed and not entirely believable on his end. With that I did enjoy reading this and following along different characters. I actually really liked Tom and Jess’s story and Howard and Carries. This book felt like I was reading Practical Magic and I love that movie!

This book is written from 3 different views. Cora, the great aunt and current holder of the Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells. Carrie, the great niece that has just inherited her grandmother's cottage in the mountains near her great aunt Cora. Carrie will be the next one to receive the spell book, but she has taken great care to separate herself from the family magic. The third POV is Jess, Carrie's former best friend.

I found this to be an interesting story and loved the aspect of the mountains holding magic. I also enjoyed Carrie's POV and her renovation of her grandmother's cottage. The relationship and the mystery behind the man she meets in the mountains is intriguing. I really liked Cora and her quirkiness, with flashbacks of story's surrounding the generational magic.

Although I enjoyed the story, it was not at all what I expected. There is mention of magic and the Book of Spells, but it really takes a backseat to the rest of the story, which focuses more on family and friendship related drama. The whole point of view from Jess focuses on her broken friendship with Carrie and the issues she is having with her marriage. I do like her character, but I feel like the story would have benefited more from additional input from Carrie and Cora. It is a great story but don't go into it expecting a lot of magic!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review


This was okay, I wanted to like it more, but the book didn't click or have the depth that I wanted it to.

This book sucked me in with a premise that reminded me so much of southern Appalachian folk stories and the magic women of that region. I really liked how this book centered on three women all dealing with holding on too tightly and not letting go enough and learning to work through grief, guilt and becoming new people. I’m really glad I pre-ordered a special edition of this book as I think it will be one I think about for a long time. 4.75/5

Thank you netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I did enjoy this book and it did deliver cozy, magical, october season vibes! The hardest part to grasp, for me, was the multiple POVs (3 different voices/POVs) got a little confusing for me. I found it a little hard to keep track but the heart of the story was intriguing and interesting to follow! It kind of reminded me of Practical Magic in a way, just a little more mysterious and fantasy like so i enjoyed that.
I don't read a lot of fantasy but loved the fantasy aspect of this book and think it would be good for those just dipping their toes into that genre! Overall I think it could use better use of the POVs, maybe just 2 instead of the 3 but still a good fall read.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells follows Carrie, who returns to Woodsmoke after ten long years following her grandmother’s passing. The book is told in 3 POVs: Carrie’s, along with her great aunt, Cora, and best friend, Jess. What follows is a cozy, magical story revolving around the Morgan family’s magical history and its reverberations into the present day.

I really, really wanted to like this book, but it fell short in some ways I just couldn’t get over. First, I felt Jess and her storyline were kind of superfluous to the plot. Jess is not magical, nor a Morgan, and her POV largely revolves around her marital problems. It felt like the Morgan’s magical storylines kept getting interrupted by Jess’s POV. I wanted more magic in this book, and Jess’s side story really took away from that.

Second, the book started off slow and stayed slow. I don’t mind this pace, but it felt like not much was happening throughout most of the book. It didn’t keep my attention, and I didn’t find myself very motivated to pick the book back up.

All of that being said, I loved the writing and truly felt transported to the Woodsmoke Mountains! I also loved the inclusion of passages from the Morgan Book of Spells. I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the gifted ARC

"The magic of the mountains is a dark thing, demanding a price, demanding blood from every Morgan woman for every bargain made in its shadow, or so it's whispered around the town."

Carrie Morgan returns to her hometown after ten years of running away, hoping to settle down. Jess Gray, riddled with guilt, is conflicted by the return of her former best friend. Great-aunt Cora, has meddled and bargained with the magic of Woodsmoke Mountain out of misguided and greedy love, can she make Carrie stay?

Told from the points of view of Carrie, Jess, and Cora, The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells weaves a tale of folkloric magic, a family torn apart, and the bonds of friendship that can never be broken. If you're a fan of magical realism, you will probably really enjoy this one. I'll definitely read more by Rachel Greenlaw. Gorgeous writing.

Thank you to Rachel Greenlaw and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC of The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells in exhange for my honest opinion. I really liked this one. Four Stars.

Carrie returns to the small town of Woodsmoke when her grandmother dies and leaves her the family cottage. Carrie agrees to renovate and leave in the spring, but a mysterious stranger to town has her re-examining her "do-it herself" attitude, and changing her perception of whether she can belong in the town she left behind.

This review may contain spoilers.

Right from the beginning I found the setting confusing. The small-town feel, mountains, town name, and close-knit community made me think we were in Appalachia. However, slang and language made it feel like the UK, even though from all my understanding the UK is flat. It wasn't until a crowd-source suggested Wales that I was able to slot the setting into place. This still pulled me from the story again and again, and would have been very easily resolved by a quick mention that, hey, we're in Woodsmoke in northern Wales!

The book is ambiguous about the magic elements. Is the magic real? Is the family just obsessed? Is it all coincidence? Again, the ambiguity may appeal to readers who like to draw their own conclusions, but did not appeal to me.

Some of the tension was rushed for a neat ending.

Overall, this book had promise, great premise. Could have used further editing on the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

4.5 stars

I loved this book way more than I expected. When I got the arc and reread the synopsis, it didn’t seem like a book that would suck me in. I thought it may be good, but something I’d have to make sure to pick up to finish. This was not the case. I started it late last night and didn’t want to stop. I finished it today and was sobbing at the ending bits. There was not much actual magic. It was more in a presence and the atmosphere of the book. Those always seem to pull me in. The love interest was perfect. I’m obsessed with the whole “is he real, is he magic” thing. While I didn’t love Cora’s POV at first, I soon learned to. I resonated with Jess a lot at the beginning. Feeling overrun and under appreciated with a child keeping you crazy and a husband not fully there. I was always looking forward to her parts. Everything came together nicely. The character growth was fun to watch. I will definitely be needing a copy of this book for my trophy shelf.