A delightful tribute to feminine justice unfolds as one woman stumbles upon a clandestine sisterhood dedicated to balancing the scales—and eliminating the worst of men.

When Piers devises her escape from her abusive husband, her plan must be flawless—there’s no room for error. She can’t risk Henry tracking her down, even as she carefully lays breadcrumbs to lead the police straight to him. With nowhere else to turn, she seeks refuge in a remote mountain inn, owned by an aunt she’s met only once. and the potential threat she poses to those around her.

This book doesn't shy away from the brutality of the sisterhood and the decisions they have had to make. By the end of the book, Piers is making brutal decisions of her own, carving her own path out of the gifts - or curse - laid before her. I also loved her sweet meet-cute with the local sheriff, and the tension between their blossoming crushes and the fact that she should be a suspect in almost all his cases.

This well-written page turner led to an ending that felt both unexpected and inevitable. Bravo to the author!
 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn
Rating: 5 stars
Steam: 1 chili
Pub date: 3/ 18

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for my advanced copy!

If you love dark, witchy books with a fierce feminist edge, this book is a must-read. I loved it so much! Don’t let the cozy cover fool you–Ava Morgyn delivers an atmospheric, rage-fueled story packed with magic, revenge, and a touch of found family. Think Practical Magic meets Gone Girl—but with way more poison.

Piers Corbin has always had a thing for dangerous things: deadly plants, toxic men, and now, murder. After escaping her abusive husband by faking her own death, she hides out in a small mountain town with her great-aunt, only to discover she’s part of a long line of Bane Witches—women who eat poison and use their power to take out evil men. Just as she’s beginning to understand her legacy, she catches the attention of a serial killer, setting up a showdown that’s as thrilling as it is satisfying.

Piers is an incredible main character. She’s messy, complicated, and constantly wrestling with what’s right and wrong. Is it murder if the world is better off without them? Morgyn does an amazing job exploring morality, justice, and power while keeping the story fast-paced and engaging. There are some disturbing aspects, like rape, abuse, and serial killers, so be careful going in.

The writing is stunning, the atmosphere is haunting, and the message is crystal clear—sometimes, the only way to fight monsters is to become one. If you love books about strong, morally gray women taking matters into their own hands, you won’t be able to put this one down.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. Piers is trying to escape an abusive husband who has ever intention of making good on his threat to kill her. Little does Pier know that when she attempts to escape her past that this is just the beginning of more entanglements to come. She seeks refuge in the mountains up north to her Aunt Myrtle's. Here is where she learns the history and expectations of being a Bane Witch. This novel is psychological thriller/ fantasy. Don't let the cozy cover fool you. It's so good. This book does not have predictable endings and tropes like some others. Definitely has "no good deed goes unpunished" vibes.

The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn is a suspenseful witchy tale full of dark forest vibes and unbridled female rage. Piers is unknowingly a killer of violent men, killing her first mark at only 5 years old. When she finds herself in a violent marriage, Piers fakes her death to escape and begins to find out who she really is. This fantasy suspense novel will keep you on the edge of your seat and have you wishing you too, were a bane witch, capable of ingesting poisons to plant on male perpetrators of all kinds. This book scream sings “HE HAD IT COMIN” in the most satisfying way.
I did wish that the book included a trigger warning or intro author’s note that alerted the reader to the sensitive subjects and graphic scenes that are a huge part of this novel. I understand that the subject matter of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse are not to be taken lightly or sugar-coated especially for the purposes of this novel but I think there is a line between bringing attention to the atrocities these men are guilty of and the harm they cause and overdoing graphic scenes for shock value. It started to feel like the word rape and the consistent graphic scenes of violence toward women were thrown in for shock value and stopped actually adding anything to the story. The ending fell a little flat as well, since there was not really any significant plot twist that made the journey feel worth it.

4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5). Thank you to the publisher for an early review copy via netgalley.

I really loved the idea of the Bane Witches, women that can eat poison and then use that poison to kill rapists, murderers, etc. But I think what I liked the most was that the main character was in her 30s when she discovered what she was and had to learn very quickly what she is and how to navigate her life as one.

She comes upon multiple monsters throughout the book, her husband being one of them. We also get the POV of the detective investigating her death, and discovering the breadcrumbs leading to her husband.

A few things wrapped up a little too easily, but I really could not stop reading it once I started and read the book in 3 chunks.

I do recommend this book

I've got another DNF to add to my list - *sob.* This one was entirely my fault, though - it's possible that I didn't actually read the synopsis. I heard it pitched by others and decided I wanted to read it. I expected it to lean more into fantasy, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this to a general fantasy reader. Instead, I’d focus on someone looking for a thrilling, feminist rage-fueled story who also happens to enjoy fantasy elements.

I don’t have many critiques other than it simply wasn’t for me. Early on, it gave off an “all men are bad” vibe, which I tend to struggle with. By the time I stopped, we had met a couple of other men who might be good, so that was something. It actually reminded me of They Never Learn, which was very much "all men - except gay men - are bad." While I love good MM rep, I don’t like anything that paints with such a broad brush. This book may not have leaned as hard into that as They Never Learn, but the vibe was still there.

I guess I could also say the pacing felt a bit slow. I got 25% in and wished I had a few more answers - or at least enough information to start forming solid guesses. But I might just be nitpicking.

Overall, if you liked Gone Girl, Weyward, or They Never Learn and are specifically looking for this type of story, I don’t see any reason you wouldn’t enjoy it. It just wasn’t for me.

Pros:
-Made my heart pound from the suspense
-Vivid descriptions of scenery and poison. Love the attention to detail with the plants in particular
-This story is twisted and creepy. It would make for a great October read.
-I liked the idea of an "invisible string" tying the witches to their destinies.
-Potent female rage

Cons:
-Sometimes the dialogue felt a little forced/ stilted. I can't quite put my finger on why.
- I think the magic system and the witch coven could've been explored in even more depth. I would've loved even more interactions between coven members.
-Myrtle's story deserved more. Her story focused too much on being a vehicle for Pier's development.

I definitely will check out more of this authors stories. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this! I will upload reviews to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Books a Million the week of the publish date. I've already made one tiktok on the book, linked below.

I loved the concept of this witchy thriller. Like many good witch stories, it focuses on female rage and how women can use their power to balance the scales. The magic system was interesting, and the setup was compelling. However, overall the book felt a bit messy, which ended up leaving me unsatisfied.

The first source of messy was the romance, which almost worked, but ended up feeling rushed. Some of the climactic moments did not feel earned based on what had already been established. Similarly, the thriller plot felt rushed, and many moments were far too convenient even for a genre which lives on its convenient moments. Despite the rushing of the third act, the first and second acts felt overly drawn out, and the side POV felt completely pointless by the end.

Leaving the book, I'm not sure how I feel about what it had to say about vigilante justice and the legal system. Somehow it managed to be pro-police and anti-police at the same time, romanticizing individuals while attempting to critique the system. The main character presents her concerns about vigilante justice, but these concerns are never truly dealt with, leaving this as a bit of a shallow morality tale about how individuals taking justice into their own hands is always good. However, this issue is common to the thriller genre, so it didn't play into my rating too much.

Overall, I had a fairly good time reading, but was left unsatisfied, and not in a way that made me hungry for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars!

The Bane Witch was an intriguing, yet unexpected read. Picture the movie Sleeping with the Enemy but with a unique, magical twist. This book definitely sucks you in and keeps you glued to the pages. The only reason I didn't rate this book higher was because the book did lose its steam around 50% or so. Pacing is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I was disappointed that it fizzled out.

Despite my issue with the pacing, I still found The Bane Witch to be an entertaining read and would be open to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of The Bane Witch! Beware: the cover may look like a cozy, whimsical, witchy story, but this is actually a dark thriller with magical realism and a murder mystery. And I loved it! The story starts with Piers staging her own murder in order to flee her abusive husband. She flees to her Aunt Myrtle where she discovers that she comes from a long line of Bane Witches. Piers discovers and grows into her power that she uses take down other abusive and evil men. There is also a romance subplot that highlights what love can be like after abuse. My only complaint would be that the ending was a little rushed, but overall I would recommend this!

Don’t let the cozy cover of this book trick you! This is a very suspenseful, unique, and curious book about witches! Nice touch setting it in modern times! If someone from Netflix is out there - this would make into an amazing miniseries! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!

This book was extremely well done. The magic and trauma were so eloquently intertwined. I could not stop reading this book . It was suspenseful, thrilling, and emotional all at once.

The synopsis really drew me in, but I did find it slow paced at times. However, I the character development and world building was executed well.

I devoured this book like a Bane Witch in her cycle. It was mysterious, tragic, exciting and sadly, informative. Echoing through this magical realism fantasy novel are sad but true references to domestic abuse and the women who do not always escape their abuser.

I found myself heavily invested in Piers and what happened to her, and was on the edge of my seat during a couple of scenes. And wow - what a backdrop! The Adirondacks in New York are absolutely stunning and Ava Morgan captured them beautifully in her prose.

There’s a sprinkle of romance, a dash of murder mystery, mixed up with found family, covens and botany. Something for everyone. Highest recommendation.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so unexpectedly dark, so unexpectedly delicious, and I gobbled up every single page of it. Truly so original in so many ways and I just couldn't get enough of it. This is a read that will stand out and demand attention among its genre. One everyone should read; I just can't recommend it enough; I loved every single thing about it, from the setting to the dark atmosphere; it was just fabulous.

A year or so ago there was a trend that took social media by storm posing the question of whether women would rather be alone in the woods with a man or a bear and women chose the bear. The concept for this book appears grounded in that premise, but never in a misandrist way that that debate often veered into. The men in this book weren't all evil, though the evil ones were somewhat stereotypical and flat villains.

The Bane Witch is a character-driven dark contemporary fantasy with a fun romantic side plot of forbidden love. Piers, escaping an abusive marriage, fakes her own death and runs away. But she's always had a bizarre craving for poison, in her case pokeberries, that her mother had tried to medicate away in pursuit of a normal life at all costs, and she's been drawn to controlling men. Piers runs to rural upstate New York to her Aunt Myrtle's bed and breakfast, where she unearths the family secret - she comes from a long line of bane witches.

These witches, like a cross with a vampire, feel a compulsion to feed on poison during cycles in which they use their allure to draw in bad men, men who are rapists, serial killers and child abusers. They then feed on the men, killing them with the poison ingested in their body. The science of this was a little far-fetched, some of the poisons acted a bit preternaturally fast and how can they hide that pattern from suspicion - but I appreciated that these weren't fluffy, sparkly witches and had dark, dangerous powers that had a cost and high stakes. I also liked how they were dark superpowers and never killed innocent men.

I also liked Piers's intoxicating forbidden romance with the Sheriff, the one man who could put them all at risk. Even good men are at risk in their world because of the danger of the poisons and stigma among the venery against all men. But Piers makes it work and I found their romance swoonworthy.

An alluring, sometimes melodramatic read with a writing style that could veer on florid, I very much nevertheless enjoyed this look into a breed of superhero death witches on their quest to rid the world of evil men.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A dark paranormal drama including elements of fantasy, romance, and thriller. Follow along as the main character leaves a dangerous situation and ultimately finds both her family and herself.

Being able to encompass female rage in a general sense is impressive but a coven of witches killing bad men with beautiful writing? This will absolutely be one of my favorite reads this year. Brb preordering!

I loved this book so much. There is something about woman rage that just sucks me in. A family of female witches that kill bad men, basically everything you could ever want in a book. While the premise of The Bane Witch is not unique, the method of killing and other details were. It was well-written, had very likeable characters and was entertaining.

If you like books about witches or killing bad men, this book is for you. I absolutely will read more from Ava Morgyn.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was really invested and loved the plot until I got to the part where Piers talks about being SA'd with no prior TW list on the book, or on Netgalleys site. Didn't really have an inclination to be interested after that. I absolutely abhor books that don't give warnings for sensitive content, and I was unable to enjoy the book afterwards. Disappointing.