The Familiars is set in Lancashire in 1612. It revolves around the life of Fleetwood Shuttleworth and her young midwife Alice Grey. Fleetwood is feeling the pressure to provide an heir, at only 17yrs old and with three stillbirths. It is a stifling pressure that consumes her every waking moment.

Fleetwood lives at Gawthrope Hall, with many staff to attend to her every need and a loving husband Richard. But these bring little comfort to her when she discovers a letter predicting her death, in a future child birth…
It is during one of her long walks around her estate, that she stumbles across Alice Grey. A chance meeting that’ll change both of their lives. Whilst Alice promises to help Fleetwood deliver a healthy baby and survive. Fleetwood is also aware of recent assumptions of witchcraft across Lancashire…

‘The Devil only appears to those he recognises to be his servants’

Whilst news of the witchcraft spreads across the county. People come forward to point the finger at others in their community and sometimes women they personally know. It isn’t long until several women find themselves under arrest.
But are they really practicing witchcraft?

‘The King is not a supporter of women trying to make their way in the world’

Fleetwood feels the authorities breathing down her neck and questioning Alice’s role in her life. Can Fleetwood help Alice survive the accusations and in turn give birth to a healthy baby and heir?

‘Women and cattle are very similar’

This novel is plotted around the real Pendle witch trials of 1612. Lancashire history comes alive on the page and makes for a cracking read. I look forward to future releases by this author, most definitely, one to watch out for! 5*

A beautiful tale based in truth. This is the story of the Pendle witches, which actually occurred in 1612 in Lancashire. However, this is told from the viewpoint of a young noblewoman named Fleetwood Shuttleworth who contracts a midwife from town and finds out that the midwife is caught up in the witchcraft proceedings. A wonderfully rich tapestry of characters, emotions and action. This author masterfully wove a story that pulled me in and didn’t let me go until the very end. I have read fictional accounts of this same event from other points of view but I think this accurately embodies the seriousness and ridiculousness of the entire situation. Ms. Halls has done a great job of setting a scene and actually making you feel as though you are in the past.

Great work!

This book was an interesting read. The writing style and characters were not my particular cup of tea, so I found it to only be satisfactory rather than a really thrilling or excellent read. However, I do know a number of people who would for sure be interested in it, so I'll definitely be passing the title along. I did enjoy it more than The Daylight's Gate, the only other story I had read about the Pendle Hill witch trials, so it did have that aspect of it. However, I ultimately didn't find the story to hold up through the length of the novel, though it started off relatively well.

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. Very interesting read full of historical tales of witchcraft and mystery.

An dark retelling of one of the most shameful events in our history, The Pendle Witch Trials. James 1 was on the throne' the wisest fool in Christendom', and he was enthusiastic in attempts to get rid of witches. These in the main were the wise women of the villages and their only crime was to be herbalists, fortune tellers or seers, and like Alice, skilled in the matters of women's health and childbirth.
The narrator is Fleetwood Shuttleworth , 17 years old and pregnant. She has suffered three previous still births and is scared of this happening again. She meets a strange girl in the woods surrounding her husbands estate,and after talking, offers her the job of midwife during her pregnancy, as she has faith in her abilities.
Alice is skilled with herbs and what is best to help morning sickness and other ailments peculiar to pregnancy, but there is always the undercurrent running through this story ,that Alice may have acquired these skills by witchcraft. Richard, her husband ,is preoccupied with other matters and is suspicious of Alice, but Fleetwood starts to look healthier and they begin to hope that this baby will survive.
This story is full of well researched facts, and is a very pleasant history lesson. It is full of emotion and how life was for upper class women in the 17th century. Set against the suspicions of witchcraft, this describes the way that you looked for evidence of witches and their familiars, and how wise women and midwives would use various herbs at this time.
A thought provoking book, and at times quite scary!! Subservience was a quality that husbands treasured, and Fleetwood and Alice broke with expectations. The mass hysteria surrounding witches was real, and it is not a proud moment in our history,that so many innocent females were killed during this time.. A real piece of social history, that deserves a wider audience, and this book will help to redress the balance. It would make a brilliant addition to the bookshelf in a school or college library .

There was just something about The Familiars that caught my eye immediately and I have been looking forward to finally reading it. While this story started out promising enough with a 1612 setting close to the famous witch trials, somehow my initial excitement for this story soon petered out and sadly I have to admit it failed to blow me away. The Familiars is a slow paced and character driven story where the main focus is on Fleetwood Shuttleworth and her household. Neither the witch trails, witches nor the familiars the story is named after play a big role in this story and are mostly pushed into the background as we have to read all about shallow and quite annoying Fleetwood and the things that happen to her. I was quite disappointed by this lack of focus on the supernatural; not what I was expecting with this title. As for Fleetwood: I know women in the 17th century are treated in a different way and have to be meek, humble and obey their husbands or men in general, but having such a bland main character in a very much character driven story makes it hard to stay invested. I'm not sure all actions were all that credible and the whole love triangle situation deeply annoyed me. The Familiars focuses mostly on both the relationship between Fleetwood and her husband, her widwife Alice and the fact that her unborn child might just be the death of her. The paranormal aspect could have been used to spice up this story, but instead was not developed to its potential and fell flat for me. It's not a bad read though and fans of romantic historical fiction will probably have a better time than me.

What seems to be a historical paranormal fiction story about witches, turns out to be a mostly historical and romantic family drama with only a hint of the supernatural. This lack of a role of the witches, familiars and the witch trials was rather a disappointment for me and not something I expected when I picked up my copy of The Familiars. The fact that Fleetwood was rather dull and lacked a proper personality didn't really help either, as the story evolved around her and it was hard to keep myself invested in a story when I couldn't care about the main characters. Having cheating and a love triangle involved didn't really help either... But if you enjoy character driven and more romantic and family focused historical fiction stories, you will probably end up enjoying it better than I did.

A fascinating look at the pebble witch trials from the point of view of a young woman who's midwife is one of the accused perfect for any fan of English history of historical fiction i highly recommend

What I Liked

I would like to start off by saying, this is going to be one of these reviews where I just want to gush about a book and ramble. I am going to do my absolute best and actually write a review that makes sense.

The main thing I like about this historical fiction novel is the fact it doesn't just take place in the past. I have read so many historical novels that just take place during a time period, but this novel really encapsulates the events, social order, societal expectations. The author embedded characters and people who were alive during the time period and even though this is a work of fiction you can tell that she did a lot of research and in knowledgeable about this period.

One part that I really like is how accurate she was when showing how women were treated during this period in time. I have read a few reviews that said that the main character is meek, but I have to respectfully disagree with this. During this period in time, if you were not meek and subservient as a women, SADLY, your life could be in serious danger depending on who your husband was. I found that even though that this character was controlled to an extent, she was also free and really pushed the barriers. A lot of women would have been deathly afraid or just did not think of doing a lot of the stuff Fleetwood has done. This historical fiction novel, like I said earlier, is pretty darn accurate historical fiction. Do I think this was good? No, but regrettably it is a great representation.

I also liked how class prejudices were lightly touched on, especially with the witch themes throughout this book. I felt that this book not only was accurate, but it also tried to show how wrong these social norms were.

Apart from the historical aspects of this novel, I really enjoyed the writing. I sat down in 3 sittings and I flew through this. It was fast paced, but did not jump in a way that made you think you missed something. I also enjoyed that it did not feel like the writing was modern, it was a nice touch and really added to the atmosphere of the book. I also felt genuine anger at some parts of the book and I felt myself tearing up at others. I really was rooting for Fleetwood and Alice.

What I Didn’t Like

The only fault I could even think about is not knowing more of what happened to a particular a character.

Overall Thoughts

If you could not tell, I really enjoyed this novel. I loved how period accurate it was and how the author used real names from the year that this is taking place. I also enjoy how she embodied the time period, but also exposed the issues that and pointed out how unfair the system was towards particular people. It is safe to say that I am preordering this novel.

Thank-you for listening to my gushing rambles!

Fleetwood Shuttleworth is a very naïve 17 year old wife who has already lost 4 babies and is pregnant with her husband’s 4th. When she finds a letter from a physician warning her husband that she will die if she becomes pregnant again she panics and finds her own midwife – a woman caught up in the accusations of witchcraft rolling through Lancashire.

I loved watching Fleetwood grow through the course of the book. She starts off as a sheepish young woman who feels handled even by her staff. By meeting Alice and expanding her worldview she really comes into her own, even risking her own life by defending some of the women accusing of witchcraft. I was not familiar with the Pendle Witches, so I really liked that some of this characters were based on actual people.

I could tell someone wanted to write about this time period but didn't want to write in the voice of the period. Or a historical voice, at all. It's too modern of a tone and wording, given the context. I wasn't impressed and wouldn't look for this author again.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Set against the frenzy of the real Pendle Hill Witch Trials, this novel explores the rights of 17th-century women and raises the question: Was witch-hunting really women-hunting?

Based on real history. In an era where women were to be seen and not heard, Fleetwood Shuttleworth knows the women are falsely accused of witchery and goes to great lengths, even to endanger herself and unborn baby, to prevent the deaths of innocent women.

3.5 rounded up to 4☆

In 1612, witches are being hunted in England. Being a woman puts you in the most danger of being accused as one. Fleetwood Shuttleworth is again pregnant, and is anxious to give her husband an heir after several miscarriages. She encounters a young woman, Alice Gray, whom she takes in to be her midwife; Alice promises she can help Fleetwood successfully deliver a baby. But then Alice herself is accused of being a witch, and Fleetwood fears for both Alice's and her own unborn baby's lives.

I really enjoyed this novel. I found it well-written and very compelling. Historical novels I have read lately have had some time travel/present-day twist, and I'm actually quite happy this book didn't include that. It just takes place in the 1600s, showing readers how it was to live as a woman in this time; it didn't need that twist to make it interesting. I loved the exploration of a woman's place in society and in her own home. I particularly liked seeing Fleetwood's relationship with her husband, Richard, and with her severe mother as she tries navigating what a wife should do.

Looking back at the story, I really don't have many complaints about the characters, narration, or plot. I think Fleetwood really comes into her own through the story, changing from a somewhat meek woman to one who is more brave and outgoing - she tries to save Alice's life, and also speaks out against men.

My only complaint would probably be that the story is a bit insubstantial. I suppose I wish there was something *more* to it, another aspect or twist to give it more depth. I also wish there had been something more done with the witches and discussion of the familiars.

Overall, I really did enjoy the book! I think it's a great look into the historical period of the early 1600s, especially from the perspective of a woman.

I wanted to love this book, as I was drawn to the description, and was very keen to increase my knowledge of the witch trials which took place in England.
Unfortunately, I found the narrative very difficult to read, where language use wasn’t consistent throughout the story.
Terms like “would not harm a fly” (this term would not be used for another 200 years), sat in in stark contrast with the protagonist’s husband “sending for aqua vitae”....
I was left bewildered, as to whether this was a modern imagining of the trials, or an attempt to match the language of the time. This in addition to the absence of section breaks within the chapters, left me feeling breathless and hurried, and meant that I found the first half of the book difficult to engage with.
The second half of the book was in my opinion better than the first. It may be that I was accustomed to the writing style at that point, or that the characters had developed and drawn me into the tale, and I was left with a rather satisfactory ending.

My review for the book is a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A light read, about a very dark period in time.

I enjoyed reading The Familiars, by Stacy Hall.

The author does an excellent job of transporting you back to this time period, weaving in historically accurate verbiage, beautiful descriptions, and intricate details. The characters were quite likeable & easy to sympathize with. I found myself rooting for even the most unlovable of characters, Fleetwood's mother.

I was not familiar with the Pendle Witches, so I do wish the author would have given bigger story lines to a few of the other accused "Witches". I feel this would have added much more depth to the story as it unfolded.

Upon finishing this book look forward to reading more on the Pendle Witches, and I have this book to thank for my piqued interest on the subject.

Overall an excellent read on a book I would recommend to anyone .

I really liked this historical fiction novel taking place during the Pendle Hill witch trials of 1612 in Lancashire. Fleetwood Shuttleworth, our protagonist, just wants to give birth to a healthy baby and provide an heir for her husband. After several miscarriages and a stillbirth, she pins her hopes on a midwife, who is able to relieve her of her terrible morning sickness. However, the midwife is said to be associated with several women accused of witchcraft. Fleetwood is pressured to dismiss the midwife, which leads to marital discord, to say the least.

I found Fleetwood to be a protagonist I could cheer for. I've seen other reviews say they thought she was not strong enough, but for the time period, I felt she took a brave stance in standing up for herself and her friend, the midwife. The resolution may have been a little too neat, but I like that the book followed some of the actual history.

I appreciate NetGalley providing me access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Enjoyable read focusing on England's dark period of hunting and accusing citizens of witchcraft. The author's attention to detail and strongly developed characters create a story that will keep readers engaged.

The Familiars is hard to review. I mainly picked it up because it contained witches in the description, but I did have a few issues with it.
It is not a bad read or badly written by any means, I think it was just the wrong story for me.

We follow Fleetwood, who desperately and obsessively tries to carry a child to term, she's had three miscarriages before and gets pressured from all sides to finally produce an healthy heir for her husband.

That is also the main focus of the story line. The constant bad feelings Fleetwood experiences and she's not even fighting it one bit. I wanted her to say so badly that she is more than just a vessel to produce children.
It was hard to read and I got really angry and frustrated throughout the book, although all of those issues were or are still common in society back in the days or in more conservative countries around the world.

I certainly had a lot of feelings about this book. I can recommend it to readers who enjoy a slower-paced, character-driven read with topics like childbearing, miscarriages and witch hunts. Sadly it wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A well written book of fiction about a witch hunt period of time. All the characters were clearly described. The story flowed with just the right amount iof twists and turns to keep me from wanting to stop reading it.

I couldn't stand Fleetwood. I was hoping for more witchy things instead of mostly Fleetwood and her bothers. (I actually dnf'd it at 47% in..... Where she was married to a thirty year old man at 4!! Like really?")
Was very disappointed in what I read of this book

I absolutely LOVED this book. The main character was likeable and easy to sympathise with. I was totally immersed in the story and found the witchcraft subject really engaging. I actually grew up in Lancaster too, so loved the fact I could identify with places mentioned. The book spurred me on to find out more about the Pendle Witches and I liked the fact that the characters were all real characters from history. The book was well written, the pictures it painted were evocative and the characters well formed. I would love to read more by this author.