Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this as an eGalley from NetGalley to review..

Thoughts: This was an intriguing book, and mostly I liked it. I definitely enjoyed it more than "The Witches of Bone Hill". Some portions of this book are pretty brutal to read. There is a lot about abusive relationships and abuse of women in general (all types of abuse; mental, sexual, and physical).

Piers is trying to escape her horribly abusive husband and is forced to fake her own death to do so. In desperation, she flees to the wilderness to find her Aunt. When Piers accidentally kills a man who tries to take advantage of her on the drive out there she is even more upset. When she finds her Aunt Myrtle, she learns that she has special powers to poison evil men. There is a serial killer loose in the wilderness near Myrtle's house, and Piers may have ended up here for a reason...it is her calling to hunt and kill this vicious predator.

The story is very suspenseful, although it was also more predictable than I would like. I enjoyed the beginning and watching Piers learn about her mysterious powers. Things got a bit slow in the middle while we were meeting all the Bane witches and waiting for Piers to learn to use her powers better. I was a bit confused about why all these Bane Witch characters were briefly introduced and then didn't enter the story again. Maybe this is being set up to be a series?

After wading through such slow pacing mid book, Piers's hunt ended up feeling very anti-climatic. There wasn't much of a hunt and things were over so quickly. Even Piers's confrontation with her husband felt strangely anti-climatic and rushed.

I did like the premise of the book, although most of the Bane Witches' powersare hand-waved as "magic". It would have been nice to get a bit more lore and depth around how these women gained their power (there is a bit of this, but it feels very shallow and contrived).

I also had some issues with the characters; they feel very distanced. I never engaged with any of them well. Even the love interest here felt rushed and shallow; it was a pretty insta-love scenario which is not my favorite.

This deals very heavily with men abusing women (that is pretty much the whole story here). There are a lot of graphic abuse scenes and a lot of graphic death scenes (death by fast-acting poison ain't pretty). If that bothers you, I would definitely skip this. I have read multiple books in the last few months with abusive women trying to flee relationships. This led me to look up stats on how common this is and it is way more commen than I expected. It is estimated that about 35% of women and 20% of men have faced abuse at the hands of family members/spouses. That is a huge stat that definitely makes all this literature I've been reading horribly relevant to our society. I fear that stat is only going to get worse with the current sociopolitical scenario happening in the US.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall there were some things I liked about this and some things I didn't enjoy. I thought the premise was creative and enjoyed the urgency in the beginning and ending of the story. I thought the action scenes were well done. I struggled with the slow pace of the middle of the book and also struggled to engage with the characters; they all feel very distanced from the reader. With this being the second book I have read from Morgan, I think I can say she isn't the best author for me. Her books have been pretty hit and miss for me; I don't plan to seek out future novels by her.

Piers Davenport is married to Henry, who on outward appearances is perfect. She has a messy past that she is battling with and Henry gave her a totally different life. U see the surface, though, he abuses her and is threatening to kill her. She decides to fake her suicide and run away to her aunt that she hasn’t seen since she was five years old. When she reaches her aunt after a tumultuous trip, she starts to understand her past and what that will mean for her as a Bane Witch.

I loved the horror, thriller, fantasy combo here. The magic was totally different and the horror/ thriller edge was great.

It did fall apart for me at the end and I was bummed because the build up was so great.

Thank you for this ARC NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press!

I thought I would enjoy this more. The concept really drew me in. However, the writing in the beginning was very drawn out. The story was slow and I found the details of Henry's trechary to be a bit much. I also could have done without the "candy apple" breast comment.

I did like Piers/Acacia's growth throughout the story. I do think it came together in the end, but I did not enjoy the story as a whole. If the roles were reversed and this was a man hunting evil women I think it would have been cancelled.

The premise of this book was very intriguing. I thought this take on witches and their magic was pretty unique as well, “women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men.” The first part of the book locked me in. I really enjoyed the Gone Girl feel it brought. However, it got really lost within the book. It almost went in a different direction and wasn't as strong. There was a lot going on at one point. Towards the end is where I lost interest, unfortunately. I still very much enjoyed this story, though.

🖤Magical Thriller
🖤Female Rage
🖤Forbidden Love
🖤Antihero

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn grabbed me by the throat (no pun intended) from the very first page. A fast paced novel about a family of witches who meticulously take out evil men. I read the entire book in one day and I loved Piers and all the family member that we got to meet no matter how briefly. There were many quotable passages and I enjoyed every second of it.
For a more indepth review check out my spoiler free youtube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9ReyCxFk80

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so... weird and quirky and darkly delightful?

The simmering, sometimes overflowing, current of female rage throughout this book reminded me a bit of When Women Were Dragons.

Not an easy book to read--trauma abounds--and you'll certainly feel anger, fear, grief, and more. But there's also power and hope and redemption.

At once haunting and enchanting, you'll fall in love (and hate) with these characters and eagerly await what happens after the turn of every page.

I feel like there aren’t a lot of witchy/magical books that can really keep me entertained but this book was absolutely fantastic! The story and witch type was like none I’ve read before. It was devastating and empowering and I need more female legacy magic from Ava!

Learning that one of your purposes in life is to poison evil men? Hell yeah I’m in 🫡

This story started out in a way I wasn’t expecting. Some of the chapters had me gasping while trying to figure out what the FMC was trying to do.

There were a few instances that the flow of the story/fmcs thoughts took me out, but I’m glad I finished. Loved the different magic that was involved

Ava Morgyn serves up feminist rage with a side of poison in The Bane Witch, and I ate it up. Piers Corbin doesn’t just survive, she thrives, trading an abusive husband for a legacy of deadly magic and a growing body count. Turns out, being a Bane Witch means cleaning up the world—one toxic man at a time.

With sharp prose, dark humor, and a heroine who flirts with the sheriff while secretly offing predators, this book is equal parts wicked and irresistible. And just when you think Piers has it all under control? A serial killer crashes the party. Messy, magical, and downright unputdownable—this one slaps.

(May have already slipped this to a few members of my book club but can't wait to rave about it when it drops!)

The Bane With was a creative and interesting read that I enjoyed. I haven’t read anything with a similar concept so I enjoyed getting to read something new. The writing was great, but at times, the main character’s narration felt repetitive, so I took one star for that. Overall, I’d recommend this book for people who love witchy reads and justice.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Mar. 18, 2025
Piers Corbin is desperate to escape her tumultuous and violent marriage. So desperate in fact that she fakes her own death and disappears, hiding out with her estranged great Aunt in a small, isolated community. Her Aunt Myrtle takes her in and Piers assumes a new name and a new life, desperate to keep the secrets of her past behind her. However, Piers soon discovers far more about herself than she ever thought to ask for. Piers, along with her Aunt Myrtle and every other female in her line, is a Bane Witch, drawn to kill violent and criminal men with the natural poisons only the Bane witches can ingest harmlessly. But as Piers realizes the truth about who she is, she also learns more about the Bane witches and how important her role is to the survival of the coven- and to the community as a whole.
I was introduced to Ava Morgyn with her first novel, “The Witches of Bone Hill” so when I got the chance to read her newest novel, “The Bane Witch”, labeled as part “Practical Magic” and part “Gone Girl”, there was no way I was going to pass up the chance.
First, it should be said that this novel has serious themes, such as domestic violence and sexual assault, so consider yourself warned. But it is not a novel about female victimization. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Piers and her contemporaries use their magic to seek revenge and to protect other women, against angry, hateful men, in a uniquely creative way. Don’t expect “Witch” to be a diatribe on hating men, either, as there are several wonderfully charming men in Morgyn’s novel that played significant roles.
There are two plot lines in this tension-filled story. First, of course, is Piers and her journey as she discovers her magic and the power within herself. A serial killer who strangles women and then rapes their corpses is evading capture and it is the hunt for this killer that encapsulates the second storyline, bringing Piers along as she discovers a strange connection between her and the Strangler. Two very separate storylines to be sure but both are equally exciting and they converge smoothly by the end. (A book about witches AND a serial killer? You had me at page one). Speaking of the end- the conclusion delivered everything I was hoping for and I was left utterly satiated.
“Witch” is a suspensefully witchy tale of scorned women who seek revenge on the worst of society, using their combined talents to protect others. With a strong protagonist and some deeply emotional themes, Morgyn creates her own magic with “The Bane Witch”.

HOLY CRAP!!!! This book was a ride and a half and I am so long I was given the opportunity to read it. I was a bit worried how it was going to end because I was 80% through the book and somethings still needed to be resolved, but I think that Morgyn wraps it all up in the last 20% pretty well. If Morgyn ever thinks about writing more books in this realm, I would LOVE more books about the venery (inside and outside of America). I am absolutely fascinated by all of the different characters within them and would love to explore them. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this early and thank you Ava Morgyn for writing a phenomenal book that had me hooked from the beginning!

This book had so much potential, especially with the unique magic system. Where you lost me was that I had to believe not one but TWO law enforcement officers were just cool with her killing men (even though they deserved it, compassionately or horridly).

Thank you very much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

Piers has finally had enough and "Gone Girl"s her way out of her marriage with an abusive husband. She goes to the only relative she knows, seeking refuge, only to learn that she comes from a line of Bane Witches. Now, she is part of a bigger family than she could have ever imagined, but she must earn her place within it!

This isn't the first book with this narrative, and it probably won't be the last. But I do love books with feminine rage and vigilance—especially when there are witchy vibes involved.

I would have enjoyed this book more if the FMC hadn't been so naive and kept trusting men after everything she's been through.

There were a few cringey lines, like when she thinks about how someone's outfit doesn’t match their skin tone. She realizes this because, as an interior designer, she thinks to herself—WHEN HER LIFE IS ON THE LINE?!

But all in all, I had a lot of fun and would recommend it!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn

When I say this book is stunning, I genuinely mean it! The ability to fight back against domestic violence. To be a survivor and protector of others in horrible situations is something that many can identify with. The way different layers of the plot tie together in the end is exquisitely done. While there were a couple moments I thought there was a little awkwardness in the plot movement, it all came clear when everything was tied together.

This was a most wonderful story! I wanted to read it slowly so it would last. A bane witch is able to eat the most poisonous plants, which do not affect her, but which she can use to poison some one else, typically abusive men. A story of strong powerful women who are not afraid to use their powers to save future generations of women.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is an intensely dark story of survival and triumph over a never-ending evil. Piers Corbin does not understand the power she and her family of women possess until she comes to a desperate point in her own life and finds escape and protection in a family she did not know she had. This book is outside of my usual reading and I struggled at times with the vivid descriptions of abuse and dark desires. The characters that Ava Morgyn creates are complex and real. They show a sincere humanity while also exposing a disturbing side of human desire and power. A good read for those who like suspense, true crime, dark fantasy / witchcraft. Content warnings for detailed descriptions of violent sexual abuse, murder, and suicide.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early access copy of the book.

The Bane Witch is a dark, thrilling fantasy with a unique world and complex characters. Morgyn’s atmospheric writing pulls you into a spellbinding story from the start.

Wow! Sometimes a book just leaves you gob smacked, trying to process how much you've been affected by the reading of it. The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn is such a book for me.
Morgyn is a superb story=teller, and this tale is full of everything that makes for a riveting read; compelling characters, vivid settings, trauma and healing, family drama. It is fast-paced and gripping, a sweeping tale of female empowerment in the face of the worse that men can throw, while also showing the opposite as the forbidden romance between the main character Piers and the Sherriff, and with the dedicated and loyal detective on a mission to protect her, provide a balance to the evil she faces. And of course there is the magic, bringing strength to the women of the family who must do what they must to rid the world of evil.
This book is part thriller, part fantasy, part mystery, and part romance. It is full of suspense, while it tugs at the heartstrings. I found it impossible to put down.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheBaneWitch.

I wanted to love this one, but I didn’t love the writing. The steam wasn’t to my taste and some things really had me scratching my head in confusion.

The pacing was off for me as well and kept me from truly enjoying the story. I do think this is a fun witchy read for folks that like that.