I had high expectations for this book and Marielle Thompson went above and beyond. I loved the atmosphere in the first half of the book. I loved the relationships between all the women and support they gave to each other. I appreciated the commentary about the patriarchy and misogyny over the centuries. Thompson did a great job of showing how a lot hasn't changed on this front while also providing a hopeful view of the future.

I can’t wait to read more from Thompson as her writing is beautiful. The narrator for the audiobook was amazing as well.

Coming from Edinburgh I loved listening to this book not only for the plot but the setting. I could picture every area the narrator was talking about. I love how this story propelled the witchy history of Edinburgh and spun it into a fantastic feminist survival story. The running theme of fighting the patriarchy got me emotional near the end. Not a usual book I would gravitate to but I’m glad I gave it the chance it deserved!

4.5 stars

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and Siobhan Waring did a wonderful job as narrator bringing the characters and the story to life.

Spanning 200 years we start the story in 1824 in Edinburgh where women are being persecuted as witches. In what is definitely a 'witch hunt' no woman is safe if the patriarchy says they are a witch their word is final, no trial, just death. Women live in fear and I felt that fear as Nellie does everything she can to survive and keep her brother fed. I could also feel the hate that seemed to emanate around the town from men and women whether family or friends it is fear that feeds the hate, and jealousy.

This is speculative fiction, the women who become a vital part of Nellie's life follow the winter deity, the Cailleach who has an ancient enemy intent on stripping the power of the deity and all her witches, leaving a wake of patriarchal violence and destruction. These powerful forces played a major part in 1824 and the present day and it was scary how easily the fear and hatred could seep into the people and spread. But it was also very believable because our politicians and media play the part of the ancient enemy daily in our present and have done throughout history, keeping us in line by keeping us afraid of each other while they play their games in the name of power.

After the events that send Nellie running and hiding for close to 200 years, we only get snippets of her life and her struggles until the present day when events see her returning reluctantly to Edinburgh where she is once again pulled into the ancient enemy's plans. It is only on this return that Nellie truly comes into her own and takes back her power and grows stronger in order to fight for a future where women no longer have to fear.

The true magic and power is when people come together as one to fight for a better future for all and maybe one day we will see that happen in the real world.

There were some parts I found a bit repetitive, especially Nellie's thoughts at times and I wanted to yell at her, but overall this was a really enjoyable novel and I'll be looking out for what the author puts out next.

Thanks to NetGalley & Tantor Audio for a digital copy of this audiobook.

Narration was great and kept me engaged throughout the book. Witch elements mixed with feminism in an incredible story is a perfect combination. Good character development and poetic writing. Would recommend to readers interested in the history of witches and fantasy lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this advanced copy.

3.5 ⭐️

I don’t know why this book didn’t capture my interest, it had all the makings of something truly wonderful: witches fighting the patriarchy, magic, historical Edinburgh, LGBTQ+ representation… but something just didn’t quite click.
I think it maybe it was the main character. Nellie can be a little annoying at times, and there is a tendency to repeat thoughts over and again. I also found the ending a bit cliché and maybe too easy. I also found the time jump jarring.
On the plus side, some passages of writing were truly beautiful, and at certain moment I really enjoyed where it was going. It’s overall not a bad book at all, but maybe not for me.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting but I loved it! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did an amazing job of keeping you engaged and the plot was great! The book is really well written! Absolutely love Nellie’s character!! If you love a good witchy book, definitely give this one a time!!

I love reading witch themed books and I have never read a Scottish one. This was an interesting take on witchcraft and the lore behind their beliefs. At the very end of the book, the author tells you about the different ideologies and lore she referenced.
The story takes place way back In the day and evolves with time. The main character, Nelly, learns about the craft due to a strange incident she observes In the graveyard one night. After that, her world isn’t the same.
Nelly ends up learning about how the women learn the craft and where their magic comes from. She learns that there is a man that incites violence and discourse in the town that leads to the death of women. These women were said to be witches, even if they weren’t.
The whole book they are running from this man. Nelly is torn between her own self preservation and the solidarity with the witches.
Overall I think this was a good book. I think some of it could have been sliiiightly shorter but the point was really driven home.
The reality of the women is paralleled to the women of today and the lives women have to live in a world where men just do what they want, in fear of a woman’s power.
I do recommend this book, especially for the cultural difference. Most witch stories are in the Americas or UK.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

3.5 stars.

While at the surface this is a story about what society did to women (and witches) during that tragic time worldwide, it felt a lot like a tribute to the trauma, death, and torture men commit against women. As if, they could've been anyone, witches, housemaid, vampires, grandmothers, or schoolteachers, the story of men domineering, fear-mongering, and killing women throughout history was the point. However, this incorporates folklore to raise the opposing sides above mortals. Nellie and Jean have personalities that follow flight or fight, respectively, as the survival instinct kicks in. PTSD and the way the brain devises defense mechanisms to protect us are fascinating to me, and I didn't appreciate the judgment and ridicule Nellie received when she fled for her life. Few of us today live through the type of oppression, abuse, and constant fear of torture and death. But it is just another way women are pitted against one another to their great detriment.

It's an empowering story about how much better we are today at defending ourselves, but the fight is not nearly over. I wondered if some undertones of climate change were hidden in the plot, but only the author knows.

My problems with the book were the pacing and the anticlimactic victory. After hours and hours of reading, over and over being told about the patriarchy and a woman's body not being her own, the end felt woefully inadequate. Alas, this is also realistic.

The Last Witch in Edinburgh follows Nellie, who is fired from her job because the man whose home she serves pulls a move on her, and his wife is unhappy about it. Nellie, who is essentially the only one providing for her family, eventually finds her way to an apothecary who offers her a job, and teaches her about the wonders of feminism and witchcraft.

This book is very progressive for being historical fiction, with the main character being queer and a side character being trans. The author is extremely forthwright on her opinions on these things, making the book feel preachy. I would rather the author show that being queer or trans is fine through storytelling and character development than preaching that trans women are women at us. (I would note I fully agree with the author's sentiments, I just think it is extremely othering to make a big show about how these characters are different than the others). Because of this, I felt significantly less invested in this book than I anticipated. I think this book would be a lot more enjoyable to a younger audience.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed every bit of this book. It has a wonderful and heartbreaking sapphic love story, themes of balance and unity, and just the right amount of witchy touches. You get to dip your toes into old Scotland and see more than just the rolling hills of Heather. Angus, the big bad, leaves a sour taste in your mouth, but Jane and Nel both acknowledge that there has to be balance, and he is half of the balance needed.

It also handles hard topics like women's inequality, rape, abuse, starvation, class systems, and persecution in a way that leaves you with an impression without being a crutch for the whole story.

This book wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be, it was so much more. The narration on the audiobook by Siobhan Waring with her Scottish brogue brings our main character Nellie to even more vivid life than the writing already does. I could listen to that voice all day! Nellie is the eldest daughter of a widower who is an alcoholic in the early 1800s. She struggles to provide for herself & her younger brother during a Scottish Witch hunt in Edinburgh. Two ancient forces are battling and the tool of one is the patriarchy and misogyny.

If you don’t already scream out “F*ck the Patriarchy” when listening to ‘All Too Well’ this book will get you there. If you do, well this book will help strengthen you in battle.

There’s history, there’s modernity, there’s sapphic romance and there’s every woman in history’s story of struggle for independence. This book has all the features of one that will stand the test of time & bring awareness to the state of the world & the difficulties faced by women in this period to future readers, much like Jane Austen did in her novels.

This is an excellent read for both women & men who want to broaden their perspective & be allies.

I realllly wanted to love this book and sadly, I did not. I felt that it had so much potential had it just stayed in the past. I loved the Edinburgh setting, witches, etc. But it just took. weird turn to the modern, while still dealing with a past conflict. I understand the underlying message here - f the patriarchy, etc etc

DNF 67%. I liked the first 40% of the book then, for some reason, we jumped forward to 2021, and that’s when the book lost me. I thought I was getting into a historical fiction in 1820s Edinburgh and instead I got talks on Roe v. Wade and rants on how women are treated by the medical field. Which are important topics, but not what I signed up for. My biggest issue with the book was how it handled its feminist themes: it felt like it was written to be feminist rather than be its own story with feminist undertones. First of all, the main character and her discourse on women in the 19th century felt way too 21st century to be believable for a woman of rather low standing at that time. Of course, she would think it unfair that women would be hanged for being smart of simply women, but the way she put it truly felt on the nose and convoluted, Nelly’s entire character was a big anachronism personified. Then entered the deities and that also took away some of the nuances that should be in a book discussing women’s oppression for the sake of having a big bad guy. I feel like we could’ve had the same ideas but with actual humans, because this is a very human problem and having deities fighting each other instead seems like a disservice to the message the author wants to share with the reader. And for a book set in Edinburgh, it lacked the very characteristic atmosphere of the city which didn’t help in terms of immersion.

3.75⭐️ 🎧I went into this book blind and enjoyed listening to it. The narrator Siobhan Waring was a great choice and really helped me feel immersed in Edinburgh with her authentic accent. She embodied the FMC Nellie and I could envision her with thick, curly red hair. This book felt like a different view/telling of the long-lived suffering of women and their fear of becoming labeled as a ‘witch’ for little-to-no reason. The ‘ancient enemy’ embodies a male body each time and focuses on the hatred of women and constantly suffocates any attempt at their independence by instilling fear into the public and so comes about the hangings of women in the early 1800s. The story builds (without giving away too much) and you fast forward to modern times and how misogynistic tendencies are still here, though sometimes masked because women have been able to push forward in their place in society. The book ends nicely with a HEA of sorts and overall I thought it was a good read. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The history of witches is the history of women's suppression and subjugation. With that in mind, this novel still surprised me with openly naming patriarchy as the system used to abuse and murder women over centuries. How women are turned against each other. It felt a little too on the nose at times, but otherwise Nellie's narration of her story, her grief, her fear through her life resonated. The slow budding of hope within her as she returns to Edinburgh and reconnects with her past is rewarded in the end and the reader too can feel the warmth spreading.

My only gripe is tied to the story of the Cailleach, I would have liked more dedication to the Hag's mythology. More time spent on a witch's second life, how and when it's bestowed.

The narrator did a fantastic job differentiating character voices.

This is a book of survival, about how overcoming fear letting love guide us.
The catch for me was how this connect women to a divine level. Women are indeed capable of understanding each other’s experiences because we are women. We know the fear, the obstacles and the strength needed to be a woman and this book, so well written, tells us how this was real in 1824 and how this is still real 200years later.
Bravo 👏🏼 a piece of art that needs to reach as many as possible!

4,5⭐️

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading the premise I went in kind of cautious, and it did take me a time or two to get through the first part but I am so glad I did!

This story is so rich in so many things, there is magic, love, tragedy, love found again, and so much history depicting what it was like back in the days when women were commonly accused of being Witches, something as little as tripping and landing on your left hand is a death sentence if the wrong person sees.

The love story was so refreshing, I don’t think I really knew that this was going to be a Queer love story but it was such a pleasant surprise, the FMC discovering who she was and who she loves, and what is important to her.

I think this story has a lot to say in terms of women’s rights, showing that even in the modern day, women are never really safe, there is always a male figure around thinking they have a right to do whatever they want. And it is up to us women to help protect each other, the female friendships depicted in this book were lovely and made me kind of wish I was a Witch in Edinburgh too lol

This book was wonderful and will hold a special place in my heart 💕

Thank you to the Author Marielle Thompson for writing this book, and to Siobhan Waring for narrating this incredible story! 5 ⭐️’s

Big thank as well to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for my no cost audiobook copy of “The Last Witch in Edinburgh”.

I received this advance review copy at no personal cost and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed the first part of the story and the epilogue. Spelling binding story about witches and the patriarchy. Feels appropriate to read in this day and age. Fabulous narrator.

I received a copy from netgalley and the publisher.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this advanced reader's copy of The Last Witch in Edinburgh by Marielle Thompson!
The narration what can I say, it was AMAZING. To me narration can make or break it and this one 100% made the book.
I really liked the premises of the book, I’m pretty intrigued with books and things on witches and witchcraft The characters were strong however spanning over 200 years was a lot for one story.
I loved that it showed how a women can survive even in the hardest of times, the strength that made Nellie move forward everyday shows just how strong and proud she was.

The last Witch in Edinburgh

is a captivating novel that masterfully transports readers to the hauntingly beautiful city of Edinburgh. The audiobook version, with its evocative narration, brings the story to life, immersing listeners in a world of witches, magic, and forbidden love. The historical setting, where women faced persecution for their gender and their strengths, is depicted with both sensitivity and depth.

Nellie's journey to becoming a witch is both enchanting and profound, and her return to the present day provides a powerful commentary on the progress made since those dark times. Yet, the novel also starkly highlights how traditions and oppression have evolved but remain ever-present, offering a poignant reflection on the persistence of patriarchal constraints.

The beautiful narration adds an additional layer of charm to the story, skillfully capturing the essence of Nellie. Overall, I thought it was a compelling and thought-provoking read that beautifully blends historical intrigue with contemporary relevance.