A gothic beautiful story; a Jane Eyre meets Rebecca dark vibe, with twists, suspense and wonderful atmosphere. Has everything: tormented hero, lovely but oh, not so innocent heroine, an unusual familiar, a looming presence, and some disturbing helps.
I guessed, and then changed my mind, and then changed again, and so on until almost last page.

Loved it.

Great story. The twist was so unexpected, I never saw it coming. The book is told is two different POVs.

In 1885 England, a woman has been running from the law, who will hang her for murder. When she's just steps away from the ferry, she collides into a man a breaks her ankle; missing her chance at freedom. But to her surprise, the man tells the constable that she's his reclusive wife, Luna.

Marcus Greybourne carries the woman back to his family estate, Ravenswood Hall, in return for her help in the charade, he'll make sure she heals from her broken ankle and leaves when she's well. She just needs to talk to the estate agent and tell them that she's Luna Greybourne.

But the house has secrets. And the housekeeper and her husband only tell her so much. The village is convinced that Luna is a witch. They blame her for all of their troubles. Who can she trust?

Has she left one bad fate for another?

A great read!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Ravenswood Witch by Jenni Keer is a well crafted spooky tale that is perfect reading as the nights drawn in and Winter approaches. This is a historical mystery with gothic vibes and a hint of the supernatural.
A young woman on the run from a mysterious and presumably dark past literally collides with a stranger, breaking her ankle in the process. Instead of handing her over to the police constable on her trail, he insists that she is his wife, a young woman who had not been seen in public for years due to illness. In pain and desperate, the young woman has no choice but to let the stranger, who has now introduced himself as Marcus Greyborne, take her back to his home. Once there she learns that he has reasons of his own for needing his "wife", especially since the real Luna Greyborne has vanished without trace. She agrees to maintain the charade until her injury heals but soon begins to worry about her safety and even her sanity as mysterious events and rumours Luna's other identity as the Ravenswood Witch start to reach her. Then there is also the mystery of what happened to the real Luna? Has she stepped out of the noose and into an even worse fate?
This is a well told tale that kept my intrigued and held my interest. The central character who we come to know as "Luna" is well crafted and the setting of Ravenswood Hall is deliciously creepy and atmospheric. There is a second POV character whose story is connected but that connection is not revealed until well past the midway point of the book. I had my suspicions about how that connection would play out and I was not wrong, but that did not spoil my enjoyment of how the story unfolded. The pacing never felt slow but I really appreciated the way the author built the tension through the book, I read with an increasing sense of dread which is perfect for this kind of story.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I do love a book that wastes no time at the start. By the end of the first chapter, basically everything you learned in the book blurb has come true which leaves the rest of the book as a surprise.

Parts of the book were a little predictable but the major twist I did not see coming. “Luna” is on the run when she literally runs into Marcus. In a blink of an eye (and with little explanation), Marcus claims her as his ill wife. As she recuperates, she is determined to find out what happened to the real Luna as rumors of witchcraft and murder abound. Overall a really good spooky book for the autumn!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC! This was my first Jenni Kerr book and I forward to reading more from her.

A perfect story for the beginning of the spooky season. Set in 1885, the story takes place in a small town and a gothic house full of secrets. The two main characters are two lost souls who find each other by pure chance. The girl runs away from a murder charge and collides with a stranger who breaks her ankle. The man, Marcus Greybourne, takes her to his home for treatment and healing but then offers her a deal to pose as his wife Luna. And so begins their story...
A gothic romance mystery full of intrigue and superstition. In which magic is mixed with reality. Marcus's wife is known as The Ravenswood's witch in the village, and "the new" Luna will have to face various prejudices in order to gain people's trust. I loved the characters of the two main characters, their relationship, their story. They both deserved or some happiness and found it in each other's arms.

The setting is fantastic, the big house full of mysteries and surrounded by woods, with crows protecting it and sinister noises being heard at night. The writing is harmonious and compelling. Allowing you to enter the story and remain intrigued from the beginning.
I highly recommend this book, especially in this season.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

"I have learned the bitter lesson that life is not black and white. We are none of us truly one thing or the other, but shades of everything in between."

4.25 ⭐

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had the perfect mix of a gothic setting, paranormal mysteries, suspense and romance. The protagonist is a young woman who is on the run from the police when she accidently collides with a young man, Marcus Greybourne, down at the river, breaking her ankle in the fall. And so starts their deception. He tells the pursuing constable that she is his wife, Luna, not the criminal they are searching for, and the two make a pact that if she pretends to be Luna until her ankle is healed then he will protect her and dissuade the police. But everything is not as it seems at Ravenswood Hall, spooky markings engraved in the wood and a haunted wood backing the house with a dried up, mystical well all add to atmosphere. Who can she really trust when even the kindest people seem to have dark secrets? How long will she be able to remain hidden here? Where is the real Luna Greybourne? And was she really a witch as so many people seem to think she was? We follow a number of POVs and timelines as the entire story unravels.

I loved the intricacies of this book so much, the way the mysteries are interwoven into every single part of the story is really amazing. I liked that the FMC never really knows who to trust and as the reader we are also kept in the dark for the majority of the time. These intersecting and overlapping secrets are handled really well, the writing is really well done, and even though there is a lot of subterfuge it never gets confusing - even when we don't actually know who the FMC is for quite a long time. I also really liked the romance, it was a nice, cosy love story that juxtaposed the eerie, thrilling paranormal mystery happening around them. One quote: "They were lost in their own troubles, but lost together." really stood out to me, as well as a few others later in the story. The way these two broken, flawed people with dark pasts and secrets came together to protect each other was so heart-warming. The side characters were also varied and interesting, my personal favourite being Bran the raven.

I did feel like the pace was a bit slow at times, there was just enough intrigue to keep me going and I love this type of historical fiction so it worked for me, as well as building up a good amount of suspense, but there was a lot in the middle of this story that felt a bit like fluff and dragged out the story a bit too much. The revelation at the end was also quite rushed. The story leads up to the climax happening on All Hallows Eve for a long time and then it wasn't until the 80% mark that the action really began, then everything seemed to be over just as quickly as it started. I was hoping that there would some real spookiness that had me on the edge of my seat but by the end I just felt a little bit disappointed. Regardless of that, the storyline was still really well done, I just think the timing of certain parts wasn't as punchy as it could've been and that would've made this a five star read for me.

Overall, this was a fantastic read, it is definitely one for people who love Jane Eyre and A Study in Drowning. It had an amazing gothic, creepy feel to it the entire way through and the mystery was well done. I will definitely be looking into Jenni Keer's other works as I really like the writing style and, for the most part, how the storyline was handled. A big thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book!

I do love a witchy book : )
The story is set in 1885 and a young woman is running away and trying to get to London.
She collides with a man as she is trying to outrun a constable and badly damages her ankle. She is distraught as she knows she will now be caught and won’t make it to London.
Marcus sees her predicament and tells the constable that she is his wife and he needs to get her home as she’s injured.
When she gets to the house she is struck by the size of it, but notices it’s rundown.
The house holds lots of secrets and Marcus’ wife Luna is known locally as a witch, but she has disappeared. He asks the young woman he has just met to take on her name as she is hiding from the law, and she agrees.
Strange things happen in the house and Luna wonders if she’s done the right thing by agreeing to stay here.
This is a great story that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this book.

The Ravenswood Witch is the perfect spooky read for fall! Set in 1885, it follows a young woman on the run who ends up impersonating the mysterious Luna Greybourne, known as the “Ravenswood Witch.” The atmosphere is dark and gothic, with Ravenswood Hall full of eerie secrets that keep you guessing.

The slow-burn romance between the woman and Marcus, who takes her in, adds just the right amount of tension without overshadowing the mystery. I loved the suspense and the supernatural touches, and the twists completely surprised me.

If you're into historical fiction with a witchy, gothic vibe, this one is a must-read!

The Ravenswood Witch is a brilliant read. I honestly couldn't tell if there was an actual witch or if it was just due to drug abuse and the brain being muddled up due to this.

Luna and Marcus' relationship, while strenuous at times, was beautiful and I loved watching them slowly fall in love together while keeping up the pretence that they were married and that Luna was his wife of ten years.

I thought I knew who Luna really was but it was cemented for me at a certain part and again when you discover who the true evil person is in the book. I had no idea until right when it happened and it just hit me.

Honestly a brilliant read and perfect for an October read with Halloween coming up.

The Ravenswood Witch is a well-crafted gothic novel that captures the essence of the genre while delivering a suspenseful and engaging narrative. Set in 1885, the story follows a woman on the run from the law who finds refuge in the dilapidated Ravenswood estate. Its owner, Marcus Greybourne, aids her escape by claiming she is his wife, Luna, a woman shrouded in mystery and accused of witchcraft.
The novel excels in atmosphere, vividly portraying Ravenswood as a decaying and eerie setting perfect for secrets and hidden dangers. The romantic tension between Marcus and the new “Luna” is skillfully built, providing emotional depth amid the ever-present threat of their respective pasts. Their love story, tinged with both passion and foreboding, aligns well with the traditional gothic motif of romance shadowed by dark secrets.
Though the plot twists are somewhat predictable, the narrative remains compelling. The pacing is steady, with enough intrigue to keep readers engaged until the end. The writing is fluid and effective, creating a vivid sense of time and place without bogging down the action.
Overall, The Ravenswood Witch is an enjoyable read that delivers on its gothic promise. While the surprises may not shock seasoned readers, it’s a satisfying novel for anyone looking for atmospheric, character-driven storytelling with just the right balance of romance and suspense.

3 Stars
One Liner: Could have been better!

A young woman is on the run from authorities for the murder of a young man. She plans to escape to London but collides with a stranger and ends up breaking her ankle. The stranger claims she is his wife and saves her life. The young woman is thankful and agrees to act as his wife. However, she soon realizes that the stranger's wife was branded a witch.
Being the mistress of Ravenswood Manor is not easy, with strange events happening around her. Whom should she trust? Did she end up in a worse place than before?
The story comes in the third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the author’s previous two books (No. 23 Burlington Square and At the Stroke of Midnight) and had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, the terrific premise was given an average execution.
Firstly, what I liked about the book –
The setting delivers the Gothic vibes it promised. It is dark, dirty, and suffocating. There’s a bit of animal cruelty as well, though the mentions are limited to what is necessary for the plot. The atmosphere is spot on.
Bran is such a terrific pet. The crow ends up with more personality than some of the characters (take what you will from this statement).
The beginning is great and hooks the reader right away. It establishes the conflict and sets the stage for drama and intrigue.
The romance is not explicit or excessive. While I still wish for a few more interactions between them, it doesn’t overpower the plot most of the time.
However, things started to go downhill pretty soon. Here’s why –
We get extensive snippets about the past from another character’s third-person POV. This could be the young woman or not. While I was initially curious, by the halfway mark, I had enough of it. All this is filler content and unwanted.
A better approach would have been to provide the backstory in three chapters – one to establish the details, the second to deal with the conflict, and the third for the reveal. That way, we would have saved around 50 pages (or more).
Marcus and Real Luna could have gotten a chapter or two each to add depth to their arcs. Except for being the brooding, handsome, heartbroken man, Marcus doesn’t do much. The real Luna is worse since we don’t even get to see her.
A lot of space has been wasted on a character that pretty much went nowhere. Not to mention the repetition that weighed down the pacing and made this move slower than a snail.
The side characters like Mr. and Mrs. Webber also could have gotten some detailing. A couple of more scenes in the village would have made it easier to support the sudden developments at the end. Right now, it sounds strange and out of character.
For books with paranormal and witchy themes, it is better to go full into the vibe. Going this way and that doesn’t help much. Sustaining the effect is important, irrespective of the characters’ opinions.
To summarize, The Ravenswood Witch has immense potential but ends up underwhelming and slow, with more fluff than substance. However, it will suit your needs if you want an atmospheric read for the season.
Of course, I will read the author's next book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

An atmospheric historical fiction perfect for the autumn and spooky season. There is an old manor, secrets, witchcraft and occult elements, a pet raven🐦‍⬛, suspense, and a dash of romance. If you are drawn to any of these themes then you are in for a good time.

The story starts with our main character running away from the police and colliding with a stranger which results in her falling and breaking her ankle.
We don’t know what the young woman has done, but she is saved by the stranger who feels guilty for her injury and he declares her as his wife to the apprehensive officers.

She is taken to his home, Ravenswood Manor, where she finds out the kind stranger has an ulterior motive after all, he wants her to play the role of his missing wife so he can claim her inheritance. Feeling like she has no choice since she is injured and a fugitive she agrees.

We find out the stranger’s name is Marcus and his wife was known as ‘The Ravenswood Witch’. At the manor strange things are happening, there are pentagrams and symbols on the walls, shadows, and the mystery surrounding the manor and the previous mistress of the house deepens.

I loved this book, I would say it was perfectly paced, not too fast, nor overly descriptive. The characters were intriguing and all throughout the story I was very eager to find out what happened to the missing wife, Luna the mysterious, and unstable witch.

I anticipated some of the twists, but not all of them and I was pleased with the ending.
The pet raven Bran was my absolute favourite and now I want a raven too. A beautiful heartwarming story that I definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #arcreview #theravenswoodwitch

The story was interesting, but a tad repetitive. Felt like this book could have been a lot shorter. Called who the big bad was in the end as well. Wasn’t bad, just wasn’t finding reasons to want to sit and read this. I kept going for you little, precious Bran! 🐦‍⬛ I’m so glad you got your HEA 🥹

Book Deets 📖
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Emotional Damage:💧
Genre: Historical Fiction, Gothic Fantasy

In 1885, a murder suspect seeks refuge, only to be found by Marcus Greybourne, who convinces the authorities she’s his missing wife, Luna, the infamous Ravenswood Witch. He takes her to his crumbling manor, where strange occurrences and dark secrets abound. As the woman impersonates Luna, she fears she’s traded one deadly situation for another, facing a terrifying fate far worse than the gallows.

Entertaining and fast-paced, this atmospheric mystery is highly suspenseful with fascinating characters and a romance subplot. I enjoyed it from the first sentence. It’s spooky and fun to read—a great choice for the Halloween season!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Rating: 3 Stars
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC ebook. (Trying to avoid spoilers!)

I thought this was interesting read-- Our Unnamed FMC stumbles into Marcus Greybourne while on the run from her town (accused of murder), she breaks her ankle and he calls her his wife when they're stopped by the constable. She takes on the role of his wife, Luna Greybourne, and as the plot continues it's very well done w/ the setting: spooky, gothic, lush fall/descriptions. A very good plot twist in the mystery for who she is and her story.

The pacing at times did feel like it was a bit too drawn out--I for one felt like the scenes w/ the town, his aunt, etc. didn't do the best job because there hadn't been a ton of character development prior to the more unsettling scenes. I thought the romance was kind of sweet...if not clearly delusional at times leading up to their feelings because discussed. The mystery was good, atmosphere was abundant, I really do feel like it's more a pacing/character issue that it felt flat at times.

From Good Reads
3.5-3.75 stars (rounding up)

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We begin this book with a woman on the run where she runs into (literally) a man who breaks her ankle AND assists her in getting away.

She is given safe haven in exchange for pretending to be his wife Luna. His wife Luna is a mystery. She was seen as a dark witch and there are many rumors surrounding Ravenswood house.

This was a lovely blend of historical fiction, mystery and part thriller with a sprinkle of romance.

I loved theconcept of thisbook but it felt likeitwenta little slow in the beginning to conclude very suddenly. I wish we would have gotten a bit more with the ending!

The cover of this book is amazing and is what drew me in. It is the perfect read for spooky season with a gothic background. To be transparent this is not my usual type of book, but the sinister feel of it is what kept me going. Although this was not my cup of tea, I do think it will be a great read for others who are more into witchcraft, devil worship and a gothic setting. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the arc.

I’m so annoyed but I’ll try to give a good quality review for the arc. I’ll try not to rant.

But literally ending this book when lol it was devil worshipers who were the evil people. You know those people who didn’t fit in and didn’t go to church? Yeah, those guys are evil. That guy that slaps his wife around? Not everything is black and white. Your husband that literally controls who you talk to and won’t tell you why? He was just trying to protect his wife ~~~. Not to mention the slurs just sprinkled in there. Writing a historical novel does not give anyone the excuse to use a slur. This was especially stupid to use it with a main character we are supposed to support. This paired with the amount of times the main character mentioned the Bible or being a good Christian, the author’s beliefs are obvious.

The only good part is the twist in the flashback. That one was pretty good, but not good enough to redeem the book. I will never recommend this book or author to anyone.

Got an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This was a solid 3 star read to me. It will be great for readers looking for a little gothic reading during spooky season. I loved the atmosphere. It definitely felt like I was in a haunted old gothic house on the edge of a creepy forest. The plot definitely kept me intrigued. I was very curious what the logical explanation was going to be for all of the weirdness at Ravenswood. All of that being said, there were parts of the book that felt very repetitive. "Luna"s constant back and forth inner monologue around who could and could not be trusted felt increasingly like a broken record, which became a bit of an annoyance. Overall, this is a solid witchy, gothic for anyone looking to kick their spooky season off with a low stakes (in that it's not SUPER scary) read if they are willing to deal with some repetition in the narration.

1885 - Ravenswood

A young woman is on the run for her life when she literally runs into Marcus Greybourne, the owner of the Ravenswood Hall, a crumbling old home. Marcus sees an opportunity and is more than happy to lie to the constable that the woman is not a fugitive but his wife, Luna. He agrees to keep the young woman safe while she heals from her injuries if she agrees to pretend to be his reclusive wife.

It's a win-win situation, but Ravenswod Hall might have other ideas. It's a neglected home that is full of destroyed wallpaper, drawings on the wall, and broken furniture. Luna has gone missing, and Marcus needs to prove that she is still alive.


This book has a gothic feel with the crumbling home full of things that go bump in the night. Rumors of witchcraft and strange happenings help set the eerie feel of the book. As does the mistrust of the villagers, the rumors, the raven which comes calling.

This was an enjoyable book which kept me on my toes. I loved not knowing who was telling the truth, who to believe, and to who to fear. I loved the not knowing and found it paired nicely with the chilling and gothic feel of the book. Plus, the hints of witchcraft made for a gripping read for me.

This was the first book that I have read which was written by Jenni Kerr. I look forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.

Gothic, wonderfully written, dark, and atmospheric.