My thanks to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells is a strange gothic romance focused on a book of lore and mountain magic, including tales of a handsome man who comes with the frost and disappears with the spring thaw. There is small town distrust, curses, jealous sisters, friendship that transmuted into sisterhood, and warnings not to go looking for those the mountains take.

This is a vividly written story about the roots that tie us to places and people, the holes they can leave when you sever them, and the true costs of meddling with magic. There are secrets and mystery, gossip and rumors, all set under the foreboding shadow of mountains whose magic can just as easily break you as fix you.
The tension underneath the plot rises steadily throughout the book. The more answers you get about the past the more you can see where things are headed in the future. I honestly didn’t expect to be surprised by the end of it but I was. I was so sure for most of the book where things were going but there was just enough ambiguity that it left me curious and I’m glad I followed it through to the end.
I enjoyed this enough to recommend this to other readers but not so much that I think I would read it again. Unraveling what happened in the past was the most interesting part for me. I appreciated the focus on the deep love that can exist between friends and family. The romance aspect sort of fell flat. Carrie falling in love is a pretty key component of the plot but I didn’t really sense the chemistry there at all. Matthieu as a character needs to be somewhat mysterious, but I think it goes too far in that he feels like a plot point instead of a fully rounded character. That combined with the multiple perspectives and the time jumps left me wanting a lot more from their relationship.
If you’re interested in subtle magic, family drama, non linear timelines, and a bit of mystery then this would probably appeal to you.

This was a delightful and fun story!
I do have to say I wish I had waited to the winter time to read this book up. This is the perfect cozy, snowy day read. I might just have to pick it up again around Christmas!


Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells- I felt like this book pulled me apart stitch by stitch as we got into the history of why the FMC Carrie left Woodsmoke, the rift between her & her childhood best friend Jess, and her grandmother & her great aunt; thankfully, the ending satisfyingly put me back together. I found myself sad and angry for Carrie when learning her history. I will admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of Jess’s chapters, but I grew to like her more as the book went on. I enjoyed the combination of the current timeline with pieces of the past dropped in along the chapters. The use of magic was interesting and not how we typically see magic utilized in more lighthearted reads and it definitely fit the tone of the book better, I was a bit confused by an explanation and outcome for a certain piece of the magic in the book, but I sometimes lose the thread when certain aspects of magic are explained within stories.
I think fans of Spells for Forgetting and Practical Magic (the book, which I found to be darker, not the movie) would really like this one. Thank you @netgalley and @avonbooks for the ARC! 🏔️📖 🧙‍♀️
#magic #netgalley #fallreads #romance #paranormal

Carrie left Woodsmoke a decade ago with chaos in her wake. When she returns after the death of her beloved grandmother, she isolates herself with a mysterious man fixing up the cabin she inherited. When he disappears unexpectedly with the frost, is it the mountain's magic, or something less sinister?

This book was a cozy read perfect for autumn, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and lore of the mysterious mountains.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This was one of the best novels in this genre that I've read in some time. It was so well done, the characters and their development was executed perfectly. I love when a character can grow on you the more you read, and the author definitely achieved that.

A bit about the story:
Carrie Morgan moves back to her hometown of Woodsmoke to renovate the cottage her grandmother left her. She hasn't returned home in a decade, and is planning on selling the cottage and leaving. As a Morgan, she never really fit in anyway, as her family has a reputation of being witches. However the whole town turns to them when they need help themselves.

Cora, Carrie's aunt is worried about Carrie leaving again. She so badly wants her to stick around and take her rightful place there. Carrie met Matthieu as the first frost came in. Cora knows that curse well, and what it means, and tries to warn Carrie that he will disappear forever once the frost and winter have gone.

I received a free copy of, The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells, by Rachel Greenlaw, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. When Carrie's grandmother passed away she inherited her cottage in Woodsmoke. Carrie did not leave Woodsmoke on a good note and is a little wary about coming back, until she meets Matthieu, can he help her fix the cottage? This was a pretty nice read.

"The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells" by Rachel Greenlaw offers an intriguing premise centered around a group of women and their magical abilities, promising a blend of mysticism and personal empowerment. However, despite its potential, the novel fails to deliver a cohesive and engaging story.

One of the primary issues is the lack of a clear and compelling narrative. The plot feels disjointed, with various storylines that don't seamlessly connect. This fragmented structure makes it challenging to stay invested in the characters' journeys or the overarching storyline. Key plot points often feel rushed or underdeveloped, leaving the reader wanting more depth and clarity.

Character development is another area where the book falls short. While the concept of a group of powerful women is appealing, the characters themselves are not fleshed out enough to make a lasting impact. Their motivations and backstories are often glossed over, making it difficult to empathize with or understand their actions.

Greenlaw's world-building, while imaginative, can be confusing and inconsistent. The magical elements are not always well-explained, and the rules governing this world seem to change without sufficient explanation. This lack of clarity detracts from the immersion and enjoyment of the story.

The writing style, although descriptive, sometimes becomes overly flowery and hard to follow. This can make the narrative feel sluggish and bogged down by unnecessary details, detracting from the pacing and overall readability.

Carrie Morgan left Woodsmoke, not content to stay in town , following the family's tradition of healing and spells. Upon returning to town after the death of her grandmother, she plans to stay only as long as it takes to do repairs in her grandmother's cottage and sell it. Carrie is also dealing with the people hurt by her past actions and the appearance of a mysterious man. Healing and the casting of spells come with a price. How much truth is there to old wives' tales and legends?
Family ties and the bonds of friendship.
#TheWoodsmokeWomensBookofSpells #HarperCollins #Avon #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw which I give about 46 beezilluIon gold stats. Like many of the people of Woodsmoke, I believe in the magic of the mountains. This is a beautifully written book about that magic.

If you are looking for a cozy feel good book to read on a chilly night this is the one. Rachel Greenlaw does an amazing job of helping you connect to each and every character through different POVs. While I found Cora to be frustrating at times, I loved how Greenlaw helped us connect by showing us flashbacks. I also loved how she keeps us guessing as to if Carrie’s love interest is real or just part of her imagination. I think each character has an important lesson that helps the reader connect to them.
Carrie - you can’t always run away from your past
Jess - picture perfect people aren’t always what they portray on social media
Cora - meddling never ends up the way you had hoped

Things that I liked:
Different POVs
Short chapters
Flashbacks that help the reader understand the present
Cozy setting that gives Practical Magic vibes
Epilogue that actually tied the ending up nicely

Things that I wished for:
Chapter on Ivy’s POV
Flashback of Carrie and/or Jess

I really enjoyed this one! It follows a family who are the last magical family in the region.
I loved that it spans multiple generations and is a slow Cosy read. The fact that it shows magic isn’t a fix it all thing and there’s give and take and that magic has consequences was great!

Thank you, Netgalley!

The book is more a slow, cozy read than I expected. The book was a little underdeveloped, but overall I really enjoyed this magical journey Rachel Greenlaw took me on. I recommend giving it a try to see what you think. It was more a 3.5 for me but given the star options, I'd boost it to a 4 rather than dock it to a 3. Look forward to more work by this Rachel.

A fabulous magic novel! The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells introduces us to the Morgan family, the last ones in the Woodsmoke mountain region who are in the know about the magic it gives and takes.

I loved that this book focused on multiple generations of women, showing the ties between and the growth of the characters. The book flashes back and forth between the history of the Morgan women and the present day. I love how we don't dwell in the flashbacks, only long enough to understand the present. Some books get mired in flashbacks in order to give context, and this books only lingers just enough.

You may find yourself wincing on the first couple pages where the prose seems unnecessarily flowery, trying to set up the magical vibes of the book. However, the prose settles down very quickly and you ease into the small town, feeling right at home. The writing style allowed me to easily picture this small town entering into winter with the cool breezes and chill in the air. Reading this in July made me desperate for fall leaves. You don't often see magical/witchy books set in winter, and that was a breath of fresh air.

Other things I loved about the book:
- I appreciate that the magic in this book isn't a cure all and that magic has consequences. it is a give and take.
- While the book has a strong cozy vibe, it is grounded in real life issues of belonging, grief, friendship, trust, and character growth. You will like this if you like cozy novels but be prepared for real life issues.
- Great pacing. I never felt like I HAD to set it down. Read it in just a few days.

Romance/Spice:
- I would say this is less about the romance and more about the characters and female friendships / family connections. While there IS romance, it's included I feel more as the realities of living, vs feeling like a 'romance' novel.
- Closed door / not spicy. Read this if you love witchy small town books, not for spicy romance. Which is also great, just know what to expect.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, thank you! All opinions are my own.

This eerie story with a touch of magic is about love in many forms, finding a place where you belong, and what happens when a love becomes toxic. Absolutely perfect and stunning! The writing was so beautiful that I could see the mountains and their grand majesty, both breathtaking and terrifying in its ancient presence that's almost and living being in and of itself.
So, we start with our main protagonist Carrie Morgan, who comes back to Woodsmoke, her hometown, after her Grandmother Ivy passes in order to fulfill the terms of her will. One of which is to restore her old cottage and the other to take care of her old candle shop. Woodsmoke is a tiny town, and is full of superstition and secrets, of which her family, the Morgan women, are very much enmeshed with. When a mysterious stranger who knew her grandmother Ivy comes along, charming Carrie as he helps her restore the cottage, tales from the mountains begin seeping into the forefront, placing a seed of doubt of his existence, and if this is the mountains' way of punishing her for ever leaving Woodsmoke to begin with. Now, Carrie has a complicated history and relationship with her hometown and its inhabitants, and as the past starts to unravel, secrets are revealed. Will it free Carrie or destroy her??
What I really enjoyed about the book is the complex relationships between Carrie and various people in her life: Cora, her great-aunt, Tom, a former boyfriend, and Jess, a former best friend with secrets of her own. Although Carrie is the main protagonist, we see the point of views of Cora and Jess, two important people from Carrie's life who would change the trajectory of her life because of their love for her. Unfortunately, their love affects Carrie's will, which leads to unintended consequences.
There is some element of magic here, but for the most part, it keeps you wondering what's real, what's not. What's myth, and what's fact. It keeps me guessing until the moving, thrilling end that I won't spoil.

“The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells” by Rachel Greenlaw is a mysterious family drama with a tiny bit of romance. Carrie has left town for 10 year but is brought back by the death of her grandmother. Her family is known for being a little weird and witchy. She struggles with the people she left behind and her family issues. I really liked the idea of the book, sort of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls, but I found myself uninterested in Carrie and her ex drama, and more interested in her great-aunt Cora & grandmother Ivy, but didn’t get as much of a story there. The pace felt so slow but when the ending came around it felt very rushed. I was expecting more magic and witchy-ness that just didn’t come.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read and review this book.

Rachel Greenlaw's latest novel, "Woodsmoke Whispers," is a captivating journey into a world where the past and present intertwine with enchanting elegance. Known for her heartwarming holiday stories, Greenlaw ventures into a magical new direction that is both evocative and mysterious, weaving a tale that will captivate readers of Adrienne Young and Breanne Randall.

Set against the hauntingly beautiful backdrop of the mountain town of Woodsmoke, the story revolves around Carrie Morgan, a woman who has spent a decade running from her past. The narrative begins with a sense of nostalgia and unresolved longing as Carrie returns to Woodsmoke to renovate her late grandmother's cottage. The town itself is almost a character, with its rich folklore about a stranger who appears with the first snowfall and vanishes with the thaw, leaving broken hearts in his wake.

Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells
Rachel Greenlaw
The story is of Carrie, who has returned home to deal with family issues, and must navigate the family history of magic and jealousy which have torn the family apart. While Carrie is coming to terms with family drama, she finds herself and love in a way that she would never have imagined in her past.

The characters in the book are believable and flawed. The family in the story is not just Carrie’s direct family, but her extended friends, and the author allows us to see the emotions that Carrie’s return stirs up and how those feelings and emotions are resolved through the events of the book. Even the woods where Carrie lives becomes a character in the story with emotions to overcome. In addition, the plot of the book is told through a dual POV and dual timeline device. Carrie and her current family are the modern POV, but her aunt and grandmother form the backbone of historic POV and timeline, as their relationships have a direct impact on Carrie and her life in the modern story. For the most part, the book goes along at a good pace. It does not feel rushed in any places, and almost has a thriller type/scary vibe at some points in the story. The story does pull you in and you want to know more about Carrie and her family. Personally, I liked the scary vibe of the book, it made it feel like the story was not just another girl coming home, falling in love kind of story. I liked the intrigue of it. My major problem with the book, and it might just be me, is I could not tell where the book was set. I was confused the entire book on where in the world we were supposed to be. It shouldn’t have mattered, but it detracted from my reading enjoyment. The target audience of this book is adult fiction, and fantasy. I believe that this book meets its target audience and that everyone would enjoy this book. I recommend the book and give it 4.5 stars.

In conclusion, Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells is an enjoyable read. The story is engaging and contains elements of a haunting vibe that makes it different than other books in this genre. It is well worth a read!

The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw is the first book I have read from Greenlaw. I really enjoyed reading this book it was the perfect book to read this spooky season.
A small town, family of women, and a curse say no more. It gave me Practical Magic vibes which I loved; this would make for a good Hallmark movie.
This book was a happy surprise and I’m intrigued to read more of Rachel Greenlaw’s work.

Magical realism is one of my favorite genres. This novel fell short of meeting my expectations for an entertaining escapist read. The pace was slow at times, and I never connected with Carrie as a sympathetic protagonist. The descriptions of her emotional struggles were repetitive and not very convincing. Lastly, the magic was portrayed as both punitive and rewarding.

The Morgan women have had an unusual reputation among the residents of Woodsmoke, a small town at the foot of three mountain peaks that hold magical properties. Carrie Morgan always felt like an outsider except for her two childhood friends, Tom and Jess. Just as she is about to marry Tom and leave the town to pursue a more adventurous life, she discovers he has kept secrets that precipitate her abrupt departure.

Carrie returns after 10 years to rehabilitate the cottage her late grandmother bequeathed her. Many things have changed – Tom and Jess are married with a daughter; her great aunt is in possession of the Morgan legacy book of legends and magical spells; and her relationship with the mountains and their magic is fraught with questions. Over time, Carrie begins to reestablish her relationships with friends and family, comes to peace with her decision about the cottage and explores the possibility of love with a mysterious stranger.

Overall, this novel was satisfactory but not particularly engaging. I do not feel I can give it a strong recommendation.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.