Starting in Edinburgh in 1824 the fear or witches is running strong. Every woman’s worst fear is being accused of witchcraft and hung. Nellie Duncan has kept to herself, afraid like everyone else, until she comes across the Rae Woman’s Apothecary. There she learns about becoming a witch. When the enemies strikes Nellie flees. Jump ahead two centuries to present day and Nellie finally returns to Edinburgh finding something she never expected. This time around she isn’t going to run, ready to find her true inner power.

Going in I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, the description was intriguing and I was excited to see how it all played out. I enjoyed the storyline of this book and thought the world setting and descriptions were great. The characters were complex and helped drive the story. I thought the pacing of this story was good, it was quick and interesting which made this longer book go quickly. The jump from 1824 to present day was a fun twist in this book and I enjoyed how it broke the story up. I did find myself getting a little lost at a few points, but it was easy enough to get back into the story when that happened. I don’t think that had as much to do with the book itself as it did with whatever I was doing while listening to the audiobook. Overall this was an intriguing historical read that I enjoyed and recommend to anyone interested in witchcraft and historical books.

As soon as I heard the audiot this novel really did transport me to Edinburgh. Witches, Magic and forbidden love in times when women were persecuted by their gender and who they loved.

Has society changed that much? These are the types of questions I was mulling over towards the end. Witch trials are (thankfully!) a thing of the past. How man feel entitled to treat women…. Not so.

Definitely worth a read/listen to and I will be checking out more by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. The narrators accent truly helped bring this story to life for me.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This was such a good book. I really enjoyed it. More than I thought I would. I loved the writing style. This book had me hooked from page one. This is a first for me by this author but will not be my last!!

The narrator was fantastic, instantly drawing me into the story.
The first part of this book was ok. It's what I expected in a book set in 1824 about witches.
The main character, Nellie, finds herself in the position of mother figure to her little brother and bread winner due to the loss of her mother and her father being a drunk and loosing his job. She ends up working at an apothecary where she befriends Jean and her mother, both Witches.

For me this book goes downhill shortly after some bad things happen. It felt like the author forgot Nellie had a little brother to care for once she had her own life. Then skip ahead 200 years. What?! What just happened? I thought maybe something happened to my audiobook, but no, it was written this way. I was hoping the author would travel back in a later chapter but that also didn't happen. I was frustrated with this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Audiobook.

A story of rising up against the tradition and inequality, takes place in a time “witches” and powerful women who think for themselves or use the left hand are synonymous. There’s no way to win for women. Be too pretty and you’re a witch for enticing men, too ugly and you’re a witch because, well you’re ugly.

Witches are being hung for their “witchcraft” and Nellie tries finds her purpose in the world she finds herself in. She wants to keep to herself but stumbles across an apothecary where meets Jean and learns the ways of the “witch.” They soon find out that Edinburgh is following old practices and outside of the city there is no more hanging of witches, but someone has taken over the town and punishing both “witches” and women by hanging for petty crimes. When the war between the patriarchy and the witches gets to be too much, Nellie runs away, for centuries.

She comes back later when her niece joins college back in Edinburgh and finds that hanging isn’t the only form of violence and oppression against witches, but this time she’s going to fight. She runs into the same villain she faced in the 1800s despite her will to stay away and hidden.

I loved Nellie’s journey to become a witch and the return to present day, seeing the advancement that’s been made but how traditions and oppression remain in different form. This book has adventure, some light romance, and good vs evil vibes. This was a unique perspective with the jumping time periods and I loved the POV of Nellie through each one.

Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book is out now, released August 20!

It was a very sweet interesting and powerful story. I loved to learn about the Cailleach which before this I’d never heard about, though I’ve always been interested in learning about the witch trials. This story was pretty enjoyable I just felt like I would’ve enjoyed more of what Nelly was thinking as the 200 years passed. What did she think when the woman suffrage was happening? Did she take part? What about the wars and the coming of technology etc, it sped through the centuries and it felt like so many potentially interesting things were skipped.

I was very moved by this book. It's such a great portrayal of the Witch trials and the kinds of things that happened during them. This author did plenty of research for this book, and it shows. I loved the section at the end of the book, where she explains the history and sources she used. The story itself is very well thought out and provides an accurate depiction of how the patriarchy continues to come after women's rights. I also enjoyed the inclusion of gay and transgender characters as a lot of witches are from these marginalized groups of people. A must-read for anyone who enjoys queer romance, the history of witches, Scottish folklore, and fighting the patriarchy.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of The Last Witch in Edinburgh by Marielle Thompson in exchange for an honest review. I really needed to read this book at this moment in time. It really spoke to me and about the history of women and all those oppressed in life. I started out reading it thinking it was a historic paranormal fiction book and about halfway through it changed and really got my attention. Thank you Marielle Thompson for writing this beautiful story. I highly recommend reading this book.

If there is a book about witches taking place in the 1800’s Scotland I’m right there ready to read!

I really enjoyed the first part of this book that took place in Scotland in the 1800’s. We follow Nellie who is a poor young girl with an alcoholic and unreliable father, and a young brother who she cares for. Nellie begins working at an apothecary store and begins learning about the local witches. I liked following her story and seeing her grow and learning about the Cailleach history. At about the 50% mark the story abruptly skips to present day and Nellie has a completely new life. After that the book lost its charm for me and I didn’t enjoy the last half of the book. I wish the author kept the book in the 1800’s and showed Nellie becoming a strong female witch.

Thank you Tantor Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for provding me with a copy of the audiobook! This started off good, then just went downhill fast. It starts off very witchy in the 1800s with a found sisterhood for the main character, then flashes ahead 200 years to modern times, and of course, today's modern problems. I hate social commentary in books. I read books to escape problems of today, not to completely encapsulate myself in it. Feminism has such a different meaning today than what it used to. All it is today is man hating and showboating how the majority of men are evil and look down upon us unless they define themselves within the group of being a feminist as well. This is where the book took a huge turn for me. I do appreciate the noting of sexual assault and how it affects everyone involved, but again, I do not want to read a witchy book for social issues. I should have DNF'd but tried to stick it out to see if it would redeem itself, but sadly, it didn't. I don't think I will read the author's other work

Thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this ALC.

This is a beautiful, hopeful story of empowerment, fight for one own’s place in the world and finding one’s own voice. This is a story of character development, of finding the courage to fight for what and who matters most. I liked the FMC and her story, even though it is sometimes hard to feel for her and route for her actions, but the second part of this book gives her a nice redemption arc. She’s used to running away at the sign of danger, but once she has what to protect, she realizes that it does not matter how far you run, nothing will change.
The book is masterfully crafted, the descriptions of Edinburgh through time are beautiful. The LGBTQ+ representation is very organic here and adds to the story. I loved how spirituality was described as well.
The narrator Siobhan Waring is amazing in bringing the characters to life.
Overall it’s a beautiful read, and I certainly recommend this book.

This book has a really strong start but I wasn't a fan of the significant time jump halfway through the novel. I feel like it became a very different book and, in glossing over literal centuries of the FMC's life, we lost a lot of context. I admire a lot of what the book tries to accomplish, I'm just not sure that it pulled it off entirely. While I certainly agree with fighting patriarchy, I think this book gets a bit heavy-handed in its messaging. I also felt like reducing the source of misogyny to a boogie-man diluted the significance of a lot of very real struggles depicted in this book, particularly in contemporary college campuses.

That being said, the 1820's Scotland depicted in the first part of the book where Nellie and her friends are trying to escape the hangman's noose for being witches is a very strong setting, complimented by Siobhan Waring's excellent narration and (of course) Scottish brogue. I think it could've been stronger without the fantasy elements, and yet, they are what make this book stand out compared to more strictly historical accounts of witch-hunts.

I absolutely loved this story. I love how the hysteria around witch hangings and the women of Edinburgh turned into the helplessness of spiked drinks and well we can't let your accusations ruin that nice young man's life of the present day. I love the contrast between Nellie and Jean and how they dealt with the conflict throughout their lives. The writing is beautiful and the themes are amazing and well done.

The narrator did a nice job (though her attempt at Chanis American accent wasn't always successfully lol it was cute how her Scottish sometimes bled through).

I had somewhat of an ambivalent reaction to this one. I enjoyed the narrator's lilting voice, and she did a good job of holding my attention for the most part. However, I got a little lost somewhere around the middle of the book when it switched to the more recent timeline. This was partly my fault because I got distracted by the name of Nellie's niece. I could not figure out at first if her name was Johnnie or Charlie or something altogether different and it just bugged me for the rest of the book. In addition, the fight against the patriarchy became a little too political and preachy for me. That being said, it was reasonably well-written with an interesting take on witchcraft.

3.5 out of 5 stars!

This was my first time reading a book by Marielle Thompson and it certainly won't be the last time.
I enjoyed listening to the audiobook very much, the narrator did such an amazing job by keeping the listeners engaged to the story and the plot was of course very griping as well.

If you love historical fiction, strong female characters, feminism and magic, this book is definitely a must read!

3.5 stars
I enjoyed the blend of historical fiction and fantasy in this tale! It’s a difficult time to be a woman- witches are being hunted in Edinburgh and no one is safe from the patriarchal eye. Nellie is trying to navigate a situation stacked against her— her father is an alcoholic, her mother died in childbirth, she’s taking care of her younger brother & trying to find a way to support everyone in the space where being a woman, and an attractive one at that, is a dangerous game. In a time of need, she makes the acquaintance of a local group of witches and things quickly grow more dangerous for all involved!

I want to start by saying I loved the narration in this book. The accent really set the story for me.
This book had so much going on. Starting with it being set in 1824 and set the scene of how difficult it was for women in this day and age. It was so interesting and I enjoyed the bisexual representation. The time jump to 2022 was not something that I was expecting or that the book needed. I feel as thought the book would have been better if it stayed as a historical fiction instead of feeling the need to force the time jump.

Historical Fantasy with Queer Romance

Okay, let's talk about The Last Witch in Edinburgh by Marielle Thompson. I'll be honest, I was expecting a bit more magic and a little less misery. 🧙‍♀️✨

Nellie, our protagonist, is...well, let's just say she's not exactly my cup of tea. She's pretty, sure, but her character felt a bit flat. I couldn't quite understand why Jean was so smitten with her. Maybe it was the "chosen family" vibe, but I just didn't buy it.

The time jump was an interesting choice, but I wish we'd lingered a bit longer in 1824. I wanted to see more of the character development and the connections between everyone.

The focus on female rage against misogyny is a powerful message. But sometimes, I just want a book that makes me laugh and feel good. 🤷‍♀️

That being said, I can see why some readers might love this book. It's got a great historical setting and some interesting folklore. If you're looking for a book that will make you think and feel, this might be for you.

“The last witch in Edinburgh” is a dual timeline fantasy book following our FMC Nellie who is living in the time of witch trials. She begins working in an apothecary owned by a group of women who are in fact witches.

Fast forward to present day, Nellie is still alive and decides to return to the visually stunning Edinburgh.

I enjoyed following Nellies story across multiple timelines and seeing the shift in differences and similarities between both time periods.

I enjoyed the location setting and the apothecary aspects, I’m always a fan of learning about home remedies and medicines and the fantasy elements added a nice touch.

The witch trials have also been a topic of interest to me so I enjoyed the parts of the plot surrounding that.

This was a lovely read! The narrator did a fantastic job and with the local accent I felt like I had indeed been transported to the beautiful Scotland.

Thank you to Tantor Audio, Kensington publishing, Marielle Thompson and NetGalley for the ALC!

Publish date: august 20th 2024