I enjoyed Hester Fox's first book and her second did not disappoint. A small New England town, a house on a bluff overlooking the house, a mysterious widow, a secretive minister, charms, ravens and Poe. A wonderfully written Gothic novel that intricately weaves characters and settings together in such a way that I happily read it in one sitting eagerly following each twist and turn to the surprising end. I highly recommend and will be purchasing for our collection.

While I enjoyed the mystery aspect of The Widow of Pale Harbor, I often found myself distracted by the lack of character development while reading. Sophy is interesting enough, and the gradual revelation of the source of her guilt was well-crafted. I struggled with Gabriel, however, as his devotion to Anna seemed extreme, given the lack of detail about her personality and life. All we knew of her was that she was unfaithful, returned to her marriage, and later died in childbirth. While I do appreciate that the focus of the story was on the mystery in Pale Harbor as well as the blossoming romance between Sophy and Gabe, I was left wondering exactly who these people were and what drew them together.

Sophronia Carver moves to Pale Harbor with her husband. After he dies, the town doesn't like Sophronia. When strange things start happening, the townspeople decide Sophronia is a witch. When the new minister moves to town, they tell Gabriel Stone their theories. Gabriel must get to the bottom of things before things really get out of hand! This was a great historical book. It is a dark creepy book and keeps you guessing until the very last page. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I loved this one! Just like in the Witch of Willow Hall, this book has just the right amount of creepy mystery to keep me guessing and turning pages. Set in 1840’s Maine, I loved the dark feel of the story, and yet for a historical fiction the book reads so quickly and effortlessly, I could hardly put it down.
I can not wait to read Fox’s next book!
Thank you to NetGalley and Grayden House for this advanced copy.

After reading Hester Fox's THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL, I knew that I would be the first in line to purchase any book she ever wrote in the future. And here I am, dying to share THE WIDOW OF PALE HARBOR with everything that lives. And as expected, it was absolutely brilliant. This author has such a wonderful way of of stringing words into sentences, and putting sentences together to create unforgettable stories. Her characters are always complex and beautifully human, and this novel stays true to the authenticity I have come to expect from this author. Absolutely impossible to put down. Literally impossible. A definite recommend!

I've been stalking Netgalley awaiting this book, and I squealed when I was approved for it. While it did not grab me like her previous book did, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hester Fox has the unique and amazing ability to transport readers to another time and place. I could hear the rain, I could smell the ocean air. I was in Maine and it was 1846. I connected with the characters, I enjoyed the plot. I just missed that paranormal twist that was in The Witch of Willow Hall.

Solid 4 stars. She's an author to watch!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2802953975

A fun gothic novel set in Maine in the 1800's, featuring ravens, mysterious widows, strangers in town and Edgar Allan Poe. This is the perfect autumn read for fans of historical romance. If that is your jam, pick this up when it is released in September!

Oh, do I love Hester Fox! I swear that her books are written just for me. The Widow of Pale Harbor is a wonderful, dark and incredibly rich mystery/thriller and supernatural novel, so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters.

This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind.

An escapist read that would be perfect for a summer camping trip, or in September when fall is just creeping into the edges of the season.

Sophie lives in her husbands mansion in small town Maine with her companion Helen. For the last five years since her husband died she’s been a prisoner of her own making staying only on her grounds. The townspeople think she’s a witch and killed her husband and her life is isolated and lonely. When Gabriel, the new minister, moves to town there’s an instant spark between the two of them, but they both have too many secrets to take it my further. A gothic novel with spooky overtones that has a good plot and characters but it becomes too predictable, and it’s easy to figure out exactly where the story will go. Still worth a read because the author is promising, and if you haven’t read her first book, I recommend that as well.

The Widow of Pale Harbor is gothic historical fiction at its best. Set in 19th century Maine, the book winds through an intricate mystery involving a shadowy widow, murder allegations, and the quest for truth. Sophronia Carver is rumored to have murdered her husband so she shuts herself away from intrusive village life until frightening events, clues involving the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, and a duplicitous minister draw her out to expose a maniacal predator. I loved everything about this book and really couldn’t put it down. Fox’s easy writing style immediately drew me in. She develops complicated yet accessible characters and plays out the mystery from several points of view which allows the reader to keep guessing till the very end. The historical backdrop is well-researched and convincing. I would absolutely recommend this book as historical fiction, mystery, thriller or Poe-related literature.

Sophonia's husband died 4 years ago, but the townspeople still blame her for the death. She lives in the estate he left to her along with her housekeeper/friend. Sophonia is afraid to leave the grounds, let alone the house, but with the arrival of a new minister in town. all kinds of things start happening. Prior to his arrival there would be rdead ravens found on her pathwat, or a feather neailed to the door, all of w hich were quite disconcerting t o her as she felt the townspeople were doing it to scare her away. Eventually she noticed, along with Gabriel, the minister, that some of 'stunts' being done were similar to Edgar Alan Poe's stories which she published in the magazine that she owned since her spouse's death. She and Gabriel became n item as she started to venture out of her home. The book was not nearly as atmospheric as I had hoped,.

With Hester Fox’s first novel The Witch of Willow Hall, she became one of my favorite authors. From her writing, to the books atmosphere, I knew that she was someone I had to pay attention to. The Widow of Pale Harbor blew my away and captured my attention just as quickly. Fox just has a way of making her writing flow so easily, that it doesn’t feel like I’m reading a book anymore. The best books are the ones that don’t feel like books in my opinion, but feel as if I’m in the story myself and so far Fox has managed to do this yet again.

The Widow of Pale Harbor is mysterious and romantic and dark all at once. We have a small town where everyone knows everyone's business and no one likes our main character Sophronia. They all think there's something wrong with her and that she killed her husband. Some call her a witch, but sure enough she's one of the favorite stories in this town and the townsfolk make sure to tell their newest member, Gabriel all about her. Strange things keep happening all around the town and of course Sophronia is the one blamed, but it's so much darker than that. Through in a Poe copy cat and you can bet, I dived head first into this novel.

I fell in love with Sophronia and Gabriel. This book is told through both their points of view and it was definitely interesting seeing how Sophronia saw herself and the way Gabriel saw her. This book was amazing and I honestly enjoyed every single second of it.