I really tried, but just couldn't get into it. I went ahead and read the ending and still was meh. Not my cup of tea I guess.

I really, really wanted to love this book, and for the majority of it I was definitely invested.

The witchy gothic horror aesthetic was wonderfully interesting, and even with my gripes about it I could see it making a fantastic Netflix series. It reminded me a lot of Running Out of Time and The Village, and there were aspects of it that were very cinematic.

Immanuelle is a girl living in a puritanical polygamist cult society run by The Prophet. The Prophet is a horrible, horrible person. Like, stomach-turningly horrible. Plagues descend upon the land brought by undead witches of the forest, and Immanuelle finds that she is intricately connected to the plagues. She sets off to try to figure out how to counteract them, and goes on a journey of discovering witchcraft along the way, and discovering why the society was cursed with them to begin with.

Ultimately, though, the ending let me down so much that I felt retroactively deflated by the whole reading experience. The first gripe I have is about the main character, and the second is about the plot, so warning for generic spoilers about how the plot unfolds.

First, I never felt like I had a good handle on where Immanuelle was in her personal journey. There was a lot of wishy-washiness in the narrative at times and although I could technically tell you what her motives were, it was oddly foggy in the latter half of the book. It's hard to explain without going into great detail, and it could just be my personal experience with the book and not anything to do with the writing, but she seemed to lack direction at a couple of crucial points in the narrative.

Second, and this is the big one with spoilers: holy heck the lack of consequences at the end was ASTOUNDING. I have never read such an unsatisfying taking-of-the-high-road. The Prophet is so horrible, all I wanted was for Immanuelle to make him suffer. For ANYONE to make him suffer. I admit, I was desperate for vengeance. It didn't even need to be killing or maiming him, it could have been a backhanded high-roading like at the end of Ever After when Danielle sends her stepmother and stepsister to work as laundry maids and they have to wallow in the results of their behavior forever.... but no, he faces no consequences. And the society faces no consequences.

I wanted to see Immanuelle dismantle this horrible society she's grown up in, but it seemed totally unchanged at the end. She even says it herself in the epilogue: "Sometimes I feel like we're just rehashing the past all over again. I hate feeling that we've gotten this far only to become what others have already been before us."

I could accept this ending if the theme of the book was that we're bound to our fate and that we're powerless to change the world around us, but the book seems to be trying to convey the exact opposite--that it's our responsibility to change what's entrenched in our society. And I could maybe understand the lack of change if this was the beginning of a series, and there are a couple of questions left unanswered that make me think it could be, but ultimately I'm so let down by the end of this book that I don't feel compelled to keep an eye out for a book two.

In summary, I think this book has a lot going for it, and I do think it's worth reading, but the way the ending played out was a personal bummer and left a bad taste in my mouth.

The Year of the Witching is a crackling, chilling, phenomenal debut. The novel's heroine is worthy, courageous, and wise; you'll root for her as she faces down both her own harrowing birthright, and the twisted, bloodthirsty patriarchal theocracy that's oppressed her, and all the young women like her, since birth. Young Immanuelle wields the former against the latter in surprising, satisfying ways. Henderson writes with skill and grace, tackling weighty themes that resonate today. Yes, many of Bethel's sins are our own, and the message is clear: blood begets blood, and no one escapes atonement. There is always a price to pay. At every turn, the details sing, the action crackles, and the bloody tension rises. Yes, The Year of the Witching features enough bone-chilling horror, subversive twists and gory comeuppance to satisfy even the most ardent fans of the genre. This one has lots of crossover potential. Highly recommended for adult and young adult collections.

This is a wonderfully inventive book that draws the reader in and does not let go. I could not put it down. The world-building by Henderson is tremendous, grim, and exciting. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an unique YA fantasy.

I loved this book. It's normally not my genre but I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. I went back and forth between kindle and a print copy because I couldn't put it down and took it everywhere with me. The blood imagery was really prominent in the book and it gave the book another layer of interest for me. It was well-written. The heroine was easy to identify with and she captured me almost immediately. Overall, a good read, I highly recommend.

I can only describe this book as dark, disturbing, and amazingly insightful. I loved it! While I found the plot engaging and unique, first and foremost I fell in love with Henderson's writing. I started reading and couldn't put the book down. The characters proved interesting; however, they almost seemed secondary to the plot and subtext. The story touched on so many themes like race, religion, and culture. Overall I was very impressed with this book and would highly recommend it.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy and the opportunity to read and review this delightfully dark tale.

Dark and wonderful! I enjoyed every moment of it. I would say it's nice to read a more literary novel about the darker things. It was paced well and smart. I thought the execution was well mastered and interesting. I absolutely will be buying this book for my shelves.

I loved everything about this book. Henderson has created a deliciously dark tale. It is haunting but also deeply human, which is what I think makes this book so good. The story is primarily about a young woman’s fight to change a system that would victimize her. It’s bold and moving. I could not put it down!

Haunting, eerie, perfectly witchy debut that satisfied my mood in so many different ways. This is definitely creepier and darker than YA-level, which is why I'd be reluctant to describe it as such even if the romance is more of a slow burn/in the background element, and I love the sheer body horror descriptions of the Darkwood witches; some of those visuals are going to linger with me for a long time afterward. An engaging coming-of-age story, lots of fun worldbuilding, and a throughline of trying to topple the patriarchy in a way that feels immensely satisfying especially while reading with modern context in mind. I'm really looking forward to more from this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Immanuelle Moore isn't like the rest of the young women in Bethel. She's mixed-race and being raised by her grandmother. Not to mention the fact that her mother consorted with witches. When Immanuelle wanders too far into the menacing woods surrounding the town one day, she encounters one of these witches who hands over a journal written by Immanuelle's mother. As Immanuelle learns more about her heritage and past, a series of plagues descends on Bethel. With the help of unlikely ally Elijah, next in line to become religious leader of Bethel, Immanuelle does everything she can to save the village that has never quite accepted her and the family that has always treated her differently.

This novel takes the paradigm of the suppression of an evil theocracy and turns it on its head. There are abuses within the confines of power and oppressive systems in place, but it turns out the opposing force to that theocracy is no better. As a result, we end up with an impressive heroine and an unlikely hero joining together to change a system from the inside rather than burning that system down. I found this novel fast-paced, well plotted, and enjoyable. I would recommend this to any fantasy fan looking for a novel to keep them on the edge of their seats.

The Year of the Witching has been described as a mix of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Vvitch/Salem, but I could honestly see many religious cults being used as a comparison here. Despite the easy comparisons (I would say loose comparisons), this book felt very unique and original.

This was a fascinating book, it is slow and quiet in a way, but filled with creepy scenery and almost more disturbing because of how lowkey it was. I do wish that the world building had been explained more, I was often confused by the magical stuff. So there’s the community, the outskirts, the forest that is run by zombie witches which people can’t go into, and then some vague backstory with the zombie witches/the cult founder. Some people have marks that identify them as witches but aren’t zombie witches but zombie witches might want them to join and become zombie witches and might brainwash people, and there’s census type information that could show that. And people get burnt at the stake for a lot of reasons. It felt both vague and confusing, but the vagueness could have been intended to add to the creepy vibe. Regardless, there could have been more of a balance between vague and mysterious as the character figures things out, and some concrete answers.

The book was written in a very old fashioned sense that fit the time period fit with the book, which at times did make the characters feel more distant, but suited the book and gave it a more mature voice. Despite the tonal distance, the author did a good job of describing how Immanuele started to turn away from the cult, starting out with someone with some quiet rebellious thoughts but still a member of the cult and still afraid to do anything not allowed by the cult.

There are themes here of race (the main character is mixed race), misogyny, complex family dynamics, and of course, witchcraft and religion. Some of the themes could have been explored more in depth, but ultimately this was a satisfying and well thought out book that I will recommend to people.

From the publisher: A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

Immanuelle has grown up under the watchful eye of the Prophet, and has done her best to obey the rules of her society because she already garners suspicion based on the way she looks. She begins to see the flaws in the leaders, and a series of plagues suddenly descend upon the community. In discovering the reasons for the difficulties her community faces, Immanuelle must discover the power within herself.

I found this a unique fantasy story, but one I will probably not think about come the end of the summer. There are themes of race, witchcraft, and a splash of LGBT rep, but nothing is developed in any depth. The descriptions of the witches were visceral and creepy, but I had a hard time picturing any of the other characters. I would definitely pick up the next novel from Alexis Henderson, and there are certainly people who will connect to this.

I received this as a review copy from NetGalley and Ace Books. All opinions are my own.

Tense, terrifying, spooky and dark! Perfect witchy read!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this one. It was so atmospheric and the setting was perfect. It left enough open for my imagination to fill in the blanks. It feels very... Salem Witch Trials time period, but it's farther along than that I think. It was haunting and perfectly paced to slowly crank up the horror-adjacent elements as Immanuelle delves deeper into what's going on.

I don't want to spoil too much, so I won't tell you if my "The Village" vibes were right. I won't tell you if they overcome the plagues. I won't reveal whether there is a happy, almost happy, or sad ending. But I will encourage you to read this book.

4 out of 5 stars. Definitely recommend if you like witchy stories.

Touted as The Handmaid's Tale meets Salem, The Year of the Witching if definitely a deliciously dark tale you don't want to miss out on.

Filled with terrifying scenes of both the macabre and dark times for women, this is one read that will keep you flipping the pages and utterly enthralled at its uniqueness. With jaw dropping moments and heart pounding danger, not to mention the gruesome detail and imagery, this is definitely a story that just might keep you up at night in all ways possible. Definitely a read for those that aren't faint of heart.

I’m not entirely sure how I felt about this book, but I’m going to try to explain my feelings as best as possible. Right off the bat, I wanted this book. I knew absolutely nothing about it other than there were witches and it was supposed to be horror. I was also really excited because it wasn’t a YA book. I’ve been trying to move away from the genre because I like darker things. While we do have a teenage character, this definitely wasn’t YA. However, it wasn’t as dark or as scary as I thought it would be.

I like the characters fine. I didn’t really love any of them and maybe that was most of the problem. I like the idea of the world and this basic cult like place and the forest that surrounds them. I loved the stories about the witches in the woods, but that was really it. There was a lot, especially in the beginning where Immanuelle is alone and its very heavily detailed. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. This time, it didn’t work for me and I felt myself putting this book down and picking up after a couple days. It kept happening even when the story picked up.

Honestly, if I would have liked the characters better, I’m sure I would have loved this book, but it was okay.

Alexis Henderson's horror feminist fantasy stars teenager Immanuelle, who is born into the most misogynistic cult imaginable. Imagine "The Handmaid's Tale" world run by an aging Jeffrey Epstein with a messiah complex and a yen for torture as the Prophet/Pastor/Guru and you've got the general setting.

In Bethel, the people are led by a predatory pedophilic polygamist prophet, they worship a Father God of Light, and on the Outskirts, the Outskirters worship the Mother Goddess of Darkness. The Outskirts are the wrong side of the tracks. Bethel borders scary woods where the legions of the Dark Mother hang out with their hordes of foul beasts. However, the wood-dwellers in human form are dead. Kind of. They are zombie witches. A couple of them are lesbian zombie witches. Immanuelle (naturally) is the would-be savior of. . . somebody. Menstruation is a big deal and if it's Immanuelle's it can bring on plagues, and stop plagues, only sometimes Immanuelle says it was her mother Miriam (a witch) who cursed her so that she could cause plagues.

I was befuddled by the status of the zombie witches and how often they need to be destroyed or appeased or whatever, and also could not figure out who was cursing or plaguing (or uncursing and unplaguing) Bethel, and by what means precisely. Is it blood? Is it sigils-and-lots-of-blood? Is it the zombie witches just thinking they've caused enough chaos and going back to the woods for a century or so? I found the book reasonably entertaining apart from this confusion and the general ick factor. Despite all of the abuses perpetuated by the cult even against her own family, Immanuelle is a diehard true believer in the cult and breaks free of its mind control only gradually. Her transformation is well rendered.

The book needs more exposition at the beginning to tell the reader what is happening with all the weird twisted religion stuff so that sensitive readers (whether pro- or anti- religion) don't put it down on page 3.. A "once upon a time" sort of intro would be most welcome. The book is artful in its simplicity; the prose trips along quite well. I was all in with Immanuelle as a main character even though I still had a lot of questions at the end. Fans of horror fantasy who wear "f**** the patriarchy" t-shirts should find it rousing and diverting.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Penguin Random House and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this book we follow Immanuelle, who lives in a puritanical village surrounded by woods. One day Immanuelle goes into the Darkwood and has a chance encounter with some witches. The story takes off from there, but I don’t want to give too much away.

First of all, you should know that two of my buzzwords are witches and woods so the synopsis of this book immediately drew me in. I loved the atmosphere of the Darkwood and how creepy the four witches were in this book. Another thing I enjoyed about this book was Immanuelle’s friendship with Leah. Too often in books we don’t get to see healthy female friendships, but these two were great together. There is also a hint of romance that plays an important role in the plot. I thought it was really well done for the most part.

Overall, I felt that this was an excellent debut. It was beautifully written, dark, and atmospheric. I look forward to seeing what Alexis Henderson comes out with next.

THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING conjures up a dark, supernatural fantasy about a young woman living as an outcast in a harsh, puritanical society who discovers her mother’s hidden legacy and the forbidden forest which calls to a growing power rising within her.

A bewitching tale of horror with a feminist twist — Salem meets The Handmaid's Tale

Henderson's debut crafts a dark, witchy, coming-of-age read that is equal parts frightening and enthralling.

Immanuelle is a fearless and resilient young woman who is trying to balance her spiritual life with that of being a woman of a different race, born with the sins of her mother's past placed upon her shoulders, and who is shunned by the spiritual leaders of Bethel.

Henderson creates a complicated young, heroine torn between following the protocols of the Prophet and protecting those she cares about.

“She was born breech, in the deep of night. The midwife, Martha, had to seize her by the ankles and drag her form the womb. She slipped out easy, dropped limp into Martha’s arms, and lay still as stone.

Her name, she demanded, eyes sharp with moonlight. Give me her name.

Immanuelle, she finally bit it out like a curse. She will be called Immanuelle.”

I love the atmosphere created in this book. The story is suspenseful and it tones Gothic with a creeping sense of dread felt throughout.

I was on edge when reading about Immanuelle's first encounter with the witches of the Darkwood forest. The scenes of witchery and plagues are shocking and filled with visceral imagery.

“Immanuelle had always felt a strange affinity for the Darkwood, a kind of stirring whenever she neared it. It was almost as though the forbidden wood sang a song that only she could hear, as though it was daring her to come closer.”

The juxtaposition between the hedonistic supernaturalism of the forest and the stark spiritualism of Bethel really captures the essence of the story with Immanuelle caught between the two.

At its core, this is a story of forbidden love, curses, and forgiveness. It is also an exploration of the abuse of power in its many available forms. A bewitching debut with an exciting new voice that captures the horror of old world witchery with a feminist twist.

I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the world building, as well as the historical setting of this story. It was a fantastic, haunting, and sensational debut.