Netherford Hall offers a charming historical romance with intriguing characters, but the slow pacing and lack of tension made it just an okay read.

This is very much a gentle, cosy historical fantasy and I love the vibes. Regency era is always something I love to read about, and when you add in witches and vampires it's even better! I definitely preferred the first half of the book to the second - the pacing was a bit all over the place, and I found the second half to be quite boring. It's also much more inspired by Pride and Prejudice than it is a retelling of it, so it was not quite what I was expecting. This was fun to start, and I liked the characters, but I'm not sure I care enough to continue with the series.

Netherford Hall is a wonderful sapphic historical fantasy romance with a queer normative world twist, which I absolutely adored. After all, if there are witches, why not reimagine the world as queer normative too? I thought that was such a great decision!

There are multiple POVs in this book, more than just the main two characters. It added some interesting perspectives, although I did feel that Edith and Poppy were the most compelling narratives. The chemistry relationship between these two definitely brought the story to life! I am always partial to a grumpy sunshine couple. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and read it in almost a single day!

If you love pride and prejudice, and you love a bit of fantasy, and you love a bit of queerness, then this story is a must-read. The setting is exactly that perfect pride and prejudice era that honestly i long for. The same goes for the characters, but with the added aspect, which i wish was real life, is their inclusivity. In this book, no one looks up at queer people, which was on purpose, to show us what the world could be like. This is how it should be. The characters also come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, which is lovely for a change. It might not be historically accurate, but i blame the history for that, not this story.
I digress.
This story is so lovely, yes its pride and prejudice inspired, and you can see that, but the author made it so much her own story, and let me tell you, it's lovely. It has the perfect mix of cutesy romance and thrilling fantasy. I cannot wait to see what will happen to the other characters in the upcoming books!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Love, loss, witchcraft, supernatural creatures, mystery and a good old good vs evil battle to finish it all off.

I liked the characters; the contrast between the main characters - the standoffish Edith and the emotional Poppy was intriguing. The supporting cast members were individually engaging, whether vampire, witch or human and all worked well together to tell a fascinating story.

Loved the atmospheric setting and felt the author did a great job of building the world. I felt totally immersed in the era, and the addition of the supernatural elements kept me hooked.

It's not a pacy novel, but that just extended the enjoyment of reading it for me.

A mysterious and haunting book with great plot, prose, and characters. I honestly couldn’t put it down! It was great for spooky season.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young gentlewitch, in possession of great magical acumen and significant landholdings, is rarely in want of a wife.

Yet that was not so for Edith Rookwood, Gentlewitch of Netherford Hall.”

I’m not going to lie, I think this book had me with this one quote. Queer Pride and Prejudice with witches? Heck yeah sign me all the way up.

I really loved Poppy and her brazen way of just being herself whilst also having an air of mystery to her.

Edith is carrying so many ghosts around with her it’s amazing she can stand up, as well as the expectations thrust upon her by the tragedy that took her family.

This is not a grumpy meets sunshine romance, it’s more of a grumpy meets grumpy, or grumpy meets brooding. And it works. Despite the two main characters both having somewhat sad backstories, it doesn’t stop the book from being amusing.

There’s a crumbling family house to fix up, a curse to break, and a town to win over. So of course some vampires show up just to complicate things. All while meeting the societal expectations of having a ball to welcome the new Gentlewitch.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Natania Barron, and I look forward to reading more about these characters in the next instalment, The Viscount St. Albans, coming out in February 2025.

Gentlewitch Edith Rockwood returns to Netherford Hall in Kent after a mysterious fire in her London home. She faces potential problems in rebuilding, a challenge to her position from distant relatives, and her feelings for her chaotic ad lovely tenant, Poppy. Dark secrets arise, and both women will have to fight for love and living as their authentic selves.

When I read Jane Austen but queer and witches, I was sold. This was a fun read. I enjoyed the characters and supernatural elements mixed with some of my favorite elements of Regency England books.

This book wasn't for me. While the writing is good and the characters are interesting, it just didn't hold my attention.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

DNF. Confession time: I have never actually read Pride and Prejudice, and have no intention of ever doing so. Blame a childhood spend in the British school system; I’m amazed anyone comes through that with any appreciation for the classics. (Well done if you’re one of those who managed it!)

Obviously, I’ve picked up vague details here and there, one of which is that the love interest is not an especially pleasant man. Netherford Hall is a faithful homage in that respect, because our ‘gentlewitch’ is deeply unlikeable, and not in any way that I find interesting. She’s just cold and rude and unappreciative – although I’ll give her points for respecting the countryside’s traditions and loyalty.

So I don’t think this is bad, but it’s not for me: the worldbuilding is simpler than I prefer, and while I’m happy to overlook that if the romantic element is engaging, I’m not interested in romances that start off with one person being horrible to another. (Outright villains can be great; nasty people are pathetic.)

It’s very readable, though, so I do recommend it if unpleasant love interests are something you don’t mind. While the tone is mostly quite light, a bit of a warning for heavy themes at least in the beginning, where the gentlewitch has just lost all her family in a house fire.

I had an ARC from NetGalley, thank you so much!!


Here’s what I’m gonna say, this is readable but the “gentle witch” is a total bitch and I know she’s supposed to be Darcy but fuck, at least he was likeable! She’s just an insufferable prat and I cannot stand her versus Poppy (her love interest) who is a little lamb of a person and completely useless but I’m supposed to believe she has “fire” in her??

I requested this arc based on the cover and boy was it a disappointment.

Loved it: entertaining, compelling, well plotted. Loved the world building and the characters
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

While the setup was intriguing, the plot became weighed down by excessive details. Since this is a series, it might have been more effective to reserve some elements for a future installment, allowing the characters in this book to truly shine. I really enjoyed the world-building and loved the dynamic between Poppy and Edith.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Netherford Hall by Natania Barron

First I would like to thank NetGalley and the author Natania Barron for the E-Arc and would like to share a few honest thoughts about "Netherford Hall".

The wonderful, idyllic setting, the different characters and the complex witch folklore promise a complex and intruging, magical, sapphic story, but for me this concept, which already sounded so exciting, unfortunately couldn't be implemented. After making 30 % reading progress , I still felt like I hadn't gotten to know the characters. The focus was too much on sharing information about the family's past and the witchy lore, which isn't bad in itself, but it really affected the pacing, so I really had a hard time focusing on reading.

I was keen to continue reading to learn more about the reserved Gentlewitch Edith and her powers. Poppy and Edith couldn't be more different and I loved Poppy from the very beginning, which made me keep reading! She is a breath of fresh wind and I loved her temperament, and her desire of independence in a male-dominated world. Characters are the heart of a book and I love the dynamics that emerged as the story progressed.

In itself "Netherford Hall" is a solid book with a magic-stystem, that can not be really grasped from the start, because there are so many details and informations and as a reader, I felt a little bit overwhelmed by it! Nevertheless, the found family trope, the lovely historical Regency atmosphere and slow burning romance sweeten this book a bit!

I was a bit disappointed in this one. It felt very slow and the magic system was somewhat confusing to me. 2.5 rounded up

I found this book to be very slow going. While, I usually am able to dive right into a fantasy with minimal confusion along the way. I found this book to be confusing with the introduction of of so many new characters early on. Ultimately, I felt that this book being a spin on Pride and Prejudice and adding in magic was one thing too many.

This sapphic, magical Pride and Prejudice retelling stole my heart (and sleep)! I felt like there was enough flexibility for the story to be fresh and queer (!) while still sharing some similarities with the original. I loved how queerness was a part of this world without rampant homophobia or struggle. The voice of the author and the writing style also made this book stronger.

There's an "are they enemies" start to this that rivals Darcy and Elizabeth. Edith and Poppy do quickly sort it out but the tension was fun.

I liked the family member's of both MCs and their love for each other *and* the found family. There's also an empowering theme of being a little odd, but realizing the power in being different and in finding yourself.

I'm excited for the next in the series!

1.5 out of five 🌶

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

CN: familial death, death of a parent, ableism, fire/fire injury, sex, sexual assault,

This was a DNF for me. It was just too slow to get in to and at points felt clunky and I found we were being told things rather than shown and it was just boring.
I had such high hopes for it but it just didn't work for me.

3 stars as I do think this book will have its audience, it just wasn't with me.

I will devour any Pride and Prejudice retelling you throw at me. Add witches and supernatural tomfoolery and I’m done. Netherford Hall is an adorable homage to the classic love story in Pride and Prejudice. When gentlewitch Edith inherits her family’s estate she meets challenge after challenge. Along the way she meets one of her tenants, Poppy, and they find themselves time and time again entangled in chaos and magical mayhem. With the pressure of her inheritance at risk, Edith knows she must marry but she is not ready.

This book is the perfect mix of regency romance and cozy fantasy and I loved every minute of it. Thank you to Solaris Nova and Netgalley for gifting me a copy (out now!), all opinions are my own.

For fans of:
-Witches and portal magic
-LGBTQIA representation and romance
-Jane Austen and regency historical romance

Netherford Hall had a fun concept but was let down by a somewhat flat romance and an unclear magic system/ world-building.

I would also add this is only very tangibly linked to P&P despite the book title and the comp (like the character archetypes are kinda there, but that's it) and I think the comparison is probably doing more harm than good regarding expectations of this book.