Immanuelle has always been an outsider. Despite the fact that she follows the rules of the Church and has a close relationship with her grandparents, she will always be treated differently to the other townsfolk in Bethel because of her mother’s association with witches.

One day after getting lost in the Darkwood, Immanuelle stumbles upon these same witches who give her the diary her mother left behind before she died. As she reads more and more of her mothers’ story, the startling truth about four plagues which will be cast on the town begins to unfold. Forming an unlikely bond with the Prophet’s son Ezra, Immanuelle attempts to save the lives of the people of Bethel while at the same time combatting the oppression of the patriarchal society responsible for her mothers’ exile.

Every year in the lead up to Halloween, I like to add a few books to my TBR that have a spooky gothic atmosphere. The Year of the Witching was the perfect choice to escape into a dark-fantasy world. A tale of forbidden love, laced with horror and witchcraft, following Immanuelle as she puts her own life at risk to save the people she loves while at the same time exposing the injustice faced by the women in Bethel.

When I started reading the book I was expecting a bleak, macabre, dystopian world and the standard story of the prosecution of witches. What I was not expecting were the real-world parallels addressing issues of race, gender, religion, feminism and poverty which all added great depth to the storyline.

Considering I am mainly a crime thriller fan, I actually surprised myself by finding the love story between Immanuelle and Ezra the most intriguing element, and felt that this part of the story was cut too short at the end of the book. Sequel anyone? I certainly hope so!

This has to be one of, if not, my favourite book of the year!

This is a really hard book to review without revealing spoilers and spoiling the unraveling of the story for readers so I will keep this brief. It is a book you need to enjoy all its surprises and twists for yourself. It is a fantastic, empowering read, so immersive that you can hear the whispers calling to you from the heart of the Darkwood!

Set within the fictional town of Bethel, the town and its residents live cut off from the rest of the world, isolated from outsiders, locked in by the Darkwood, a forbidden place haunted by the spirits of the coven of witches killed by the first Prophet and a locked gateway.

Bethel is a strict religious community ruled over by the Prophet and his apostle’s. They pray to ‘The Father’, live abiding by and reading the holly scriptures and attending the Sabbath slaughter, the ritual sacrifice of a lamb.

Some of the community have ‘Gifts”. Only the Prophet has the Gift of Sight, some of the apostle’s have the Gift of Discernment, a Gift that allows them to be able to tell truth from lie and some midwives have the Gift of Naming. But since the Holly War and The Dark Ages these Gifts are becoming scarcer. But rumour has it that Immanuelle has A Gift. But if that is true, is she capable of witchcraft? Does she consort with the coven of witches in the Darkwood as her mother had before her?

Bethel is the epitome of everything you think of when you think about what a cult is!

This is so much more than just a story about witches, set in the era of witch craft, the story takes you on the journey of Immanuelle and her journey to understand her self and the power women can possess.

Grab yourself a copy now, you won’t regret it and let yourself be pulled into the flock of Bethel!

A massive Thank you to the author Alexis Henderson, publishers Bantam Press, NetGalley and Random Things Tours for my copy of this incredible book and spot on the blog tour.

With this debut, Alexis Henderson stands on the shoulders of some pretty hefty literary giants. She has drawn inspiration from some of the world's most well-loved novels including Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. While The Year of the Witching isn’t quite equal to these masterpieces, Henderson has achieved quite a feat for a debut, building a coherent world with its own laws, topography and some well-defined characters. She has also given the genre an added dimension not often found in fantasy and horror, building in some sub-text focused on gender and race relations.

Without giving too much away, I did find the conflict between the patriarchal, religious fundamentalists and the equally menacing, matriarchal witches somewhat problematic. As the author will be aware, the use of the term ‘witch’ is problematic in itself when you consider the real history of so-called witches in Europe and America. (That they were not witches at all but simply those who did not conform to the rules of the patriarchal religious community!)

That said, I also wanted to know more about the world this novel inhabits given it clearly isn’t our own – how did the community start, where did the settlers come from, what is the back story of the witches? My guess is much of this is being held back for a sequel or even a series.

Given the recent success of shows such as The Witcher and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, witches are certainly back in fashion and I can see this being picked up by Netflix or Amazon sometime soon. For Alexis Henderson, it might just be the year of The Year of the Witching.

You know, this one just didn’t do it for me. I was really excited about it when I first heard about it – but it was lack luster from page one. This, to me, reads a lot like YA trying to be adult fiction. Glad it’s over with.

Waw. What a perfect autumn Read. This book reminds me a lot of ‘The Witch’. The story focuses on a young girl who’s parents met an untimely end, and who now finds herself drawn to the mysterious and forbidden Darwood that surrounds the town.
Filled with strange religious rituals and unforgiving townsfolk, I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for an ominous Halloween read.

Rating- 4.5 stars

Trigger Warnings for mentions of rape, sexual assault, child sexual assault, violence, blood, gore, mention of menstruation and depictions of the same, depiction of surgery, childbirth, mentions domestic violence, abuse, homophobia, misogyny.

The Year of the Witching is another stunning addition to my diverse, OwnVoices favourites collection and I am so, so excited to share my review with you guys! This is a fantasy/fabulist horror novel that takes place in the fictional town of Bethel, a town that is overly pious and extremely religious. Living in Bethel is Immanuelle, who is said to have been born cursed. Immanuelle is the bastard daughter of her mother, Miriam, a woman ostracized from the puritanical society for the sin of witchcraft, and a man from the shabby slums just past the village limits that they call the Outskirts. Things are peaceful enough for Immanuelle in Bethel, where she lives with her grandparents and tends to their sheep, until the Darkwood surrounding the town begins to call to her, begins to sing in tune with her blood and she is lured into its darkness towards sin, towards witchcraft- towards freedom.

“To be a woman is to be a sacrifice”

The Year of the Witching, at its core, is a feminist novel. It depicts the injustices faced by those powerless- women, mostly, and sometimes, men, too - and how men in power are almost always responsible. It talks about how silence is complacency, in its own right, and how sometimes what the Big, scary, white men tell you is the right thing is so far from that. And it does all this while drawing you in with lush, and eerie descriptions of the town of Bethel; and the rich and earthy sensations of the Darkwood. A lot of reviewers who have read this book have likened it to the 2015 film, The Witch, and while I have not watched *that*, I have watched the 2018 film called, The Apostle. The idyllic island that the protagonist travels to in the film is what comes to mind when I think about Bethel - a puritanical society that thinks itself a utopia, but one that is almost dystopian in its morals and violence and power structure.

Like I’ve already said, the writing in this book is absolutely fantastic. I was completely drawn in from the very first sentence, and I simply could not stop reading. The atmosphere that Henderson sets is chilling, and it will terrify you - not always, maybe, but in places. The lyrical writing lends the setting a certain texture that elevates the reading experience so much! It’s almost like you can hear the floorboards of the cathedral creaking, like you can hear the rustling of the leaves of the woods, like you can feel the sting of the cold air. I am a big sucker when it comes to atmospheric writing, and this book scratched my itch very well! So, definitely, the style and the immersion that came with it were some of the biggest selling points of The Year of the Witching for me!

“Let those who have raised a hand to me reap the harm they sow. Let the shadows snuff their light. Let their sins defy them.”

Imanuelle’s character is an interesting one to follow through this story. She’s different- clearly. She’s biracial and looks different to everyone around her, she is an illegitimate child and no one around her lets her forget it, she has this deep yearning to walk into the woods and never look back, etc., but at the same time, she is also one of the flock. She is pious, if sometimes sinning as any one does. She says her prayers and keeps her head bowed. She berates the humanity in her, the small selfishness in her, because she believes, truly, somehow, that it is sin. This is such a genius depiction of internalized misogyny that so many women fall victim to. Imanuelle is not one to think the system is fair, or just. She is not one to believe those in power fully innocent, but she is also one bound to the powers that be, she is bound to faith that she hopes will guide the men in power - and this faith is what she must sever to truly see what is in front of her. And this blind faith is what causes her so much pain and guilt, makes her feel like she is to blame for the plagues and the ills befalling Bethel, when she is as innocent a lamb as any. Isn’t that what women end up doing in a patriarchal society? Do they not think that, in some twisted, miserable way, that they might have been responsible for the violence that is inflicted on them, that they must have caused it somehow, even though they are victims and not perpetrators? Aren’t there women who will point an accusatory finger at a rape victim before they do so at the criminal?? It’s scary and disgusting and sad, but it is also a reality we all face, and this book does a great job at bringing that onto the page in another form.

The journey that Imanuelle takes to free herself from the blind faith of men that demands absolute submission to the true faith of questioning while believing is an empowering one. Her character arc goes through the progression of three ideas- thesis, antithesis and synthesis. She goes from one holding blind faith, to one holding no faith, and finally, to one learning to balance faith and doubt. She is an incredibly active protagonist, where every step of the way, her decisions are the ones that lead her places, and her actions, in turn, change her- bit by bit. Now, I cannot talk about Imanuelle’s change without talking about Ezra Chambers, the other protagonist of this story, and the son of the Prophet.

“Better to take sin upon one’s own shoulders than allow harm to befall others. Sometimes a person has an obligation to act in the interest of the greater good.”

Ezra is to be the heir to the Prophet, a position that makes him the prince of Bethel, essentially. He is rebellious in his thoughts and actions- he reads poetry, engages in the “sins of the flesh” (ugh, i haated typing that lmao), thinks science is a thing (wild, i know), but he is still subservient in a way. He knows that there is something wrong going on around him, but he doesn’t actively DO anything to stop it. He reminds me a lot of The Mistborn Trilogy’s Elend Venture in book one. He’s got grand ideas, sure, but he is essentially set to become the next rigid thing in a series of rigid things, and he doesn’t truly work towards bringing about any change - that is, until he meets Imanuelle. In an interview that the author did with Bookpage magazine, she talked about how she wasn’t sure if Ezra would have become an active rebel on his own, if he had never interacted with Imanuelle. She also talks about how Ezra’s and Imanuelle’s rebellions are two very different things. And it is evident from the book that while Ezra and Imanuelle do not fight the same way or with the same motivations, both of them fighting is what brings them victory. The two rebellions are symbiotic, almost, in their nature- aiding one another, fueling one another’s fire.

I can’t help but draw the parallels between this and the feminist movement, once more. The fight that men and women must fight is extremely different, but the resistance must come from both places for the movement to be successful in what it aims to achieve. I have reduced the people to the gender binary here simply to draw parallels between the book and the movement- I am aware that the queer struggle is an entirely different facet of this movement, and it is no less important or easy, but we do not see much about that fight here. There is the villanization of the queer identities in the conventional patriarchal way- through clothing and strict gender roles- and also through the demonizing of the sapphic witches Jael and Mercy. This is not as directly addressed in the book, but Imanuelle goes from being horrified at seeing the Lovers in the woods the first time, to being open and accepting of a similar relationship in the later parts of the novel, and that’s both a way to show her growth and to humanize queerness in this book, I think. It felt that way, anyway.

“True evil, Imanuelle realized now, wore the skin of good men. It uttered prayers, not curses. It feigned mercy where there was only malice. It studied Scriptures only to spit out lies.”

Let’s talk about The Prophet now. I don’t remember his given name, but his last name is Chambers so that’s how I will address him. The Prophet to Bethel is what an emperor is to his empire- he rules, with the word of God instead of his own. He is supposed to, anyway. Chambers is truly one of the most vile characters that I’ve ever encountered. He is hardly deserving of the faith and awe and respect he commands in this town, and yet, he does have that power. He is a violent, lustful, greedy man, but he is protected by his title and his position in the faith of the people. It is almost impossible to believe that people would let him rule over them like that - but remember, there are fascists ruling nations all over the world, and sometimes, we truly cannot stop them. We can hate them in our homes, but they will still hold the power in our streets, and that’s the ugly reality of this world and that of Bethel. I think it was really interesting how the author played around with Chambers’ character, and in the one moment that he is truly exposed, he still clings to the belief that he is somehow delivering the people from their sins with sins of his own. He is an absolute psychopath, and like all psychopaths, he justifies his actions to himself in twisted ways, and it’s as chilling as it is fascinating. The Prophet is definitely a very well crafted villain for this story, and I am very happy with how he managed to fill me with dread just by existing on the page. He *was* evil, just pure evil, and yet, it made sense and that was amazingly done!

Themes and characters aside, the plot of this story is also very well crafted. I didn’t find any issues with the pacing, and the story flows very easily from one setting to another, from one scene to another, that I didn’t think there were any holes anywhere. And even if there were, I was just so immersed that it didn’t matter to me at all! I read this entire book in one sitting because I was doing a 24 hour readathon at the time, but even if I wasn’t, this was definitely an unputdownable novel. Even though it is moderately paced, there is just so much intrigue on every page that you simply cannot stop turning one after the other!

I was also extremely fascinated by the magic system in this book. It was definitely a soft magic system, and it did play fast and loose with the reader’s suspension of disbelief here and there, but it was still absolutely captivating. I love Witches, and I LOVE cults (they’re insane and I love how they play with the minds of those involved), and this book was a combination of the two. All things I find gripping in stories put together and served to me on a platter. Is it any surprise that I loved this book so much?

And while this relationship is at the center of everything going on in Bethel, I didn’t talk about the actual romance much because that’s not what the book is about and I didn’t want to take focus away from the very important themes, but THE YEARNING between Ezra and Imanuelle? Fucking MURDEROUS!?!!? Their characters are so complementary, and Ezra is SO….perfect for her??? He tries to protect her, but he is also supportive of her to an almost unbelievable extent. He respects her for who she is, he loves her in that pure, unconditional way and it just BROKE my heart, watching them go through so much pain together. Also, someone give this author a medal because these two idiots do not even touch each other more than an innocent twining of hands until the very end, but the CHEMISTRY shone THROUGH! TAKE A BOW, MA’AM!!!

My only minor issue with this book was the ending. It was action-packed and it was definitely a good pay off, but it was also super chaotic and everyone was running and everything was falling apart and new things were sprouting from the ground and all that jazz. And I know this is not unconventional when it comes to horror novels - any novels, really. Climaxes are often chaotic (title of your sex tape. Sorry, couldn’t help myself), but it just confused me a bit and broke my immersion. It was very much a me-problem, however, so make of that what you will.

To conclude this very long, rambly review, this book is one of the BEST horror novels that I’ve ever read, and I loved how so much was explored and addressed, and I adored the beautiful, chilling, lyrical prose and the setting and the characters and I CANNOT wait for the sequel that is apparently on its way!!

Let me end this with one of the best quotes from this book:
“It isn’t a question of belief. It’s a question of who’s being creative with the truth.”

"Isn't it strange how reading a book is a sin, but locking a girl in the stocks and leaving her to the dogs is another day of the Good Father's work?"

The Year of the Witching is a stand out social commentary book of 2020, wrapped in beautiful fantasy horror casing. It touches on many themes within its beautifully written pages, including, but not limited to: sexism, racism, classism and religious ostracism.

TW: Parent Death, Death during Childbirth, Animal Sacrifice, Body Horror, Mutilation, Self Harm, Rape, Paedophilia, Plagues, Religion

We're set in a secluded town called Bethel, where the ruling class are the devout believers of the Father, in particular the Prophet who is the spokesman of the Father. This is a dystopian nightmare for anyone who is not devout, white or male. Women are taught that they serve one purpose: to serve their husbands and their family. If they were lucky they were chosen to serve the Prophet amongst his numerous wives. Women are property and are marked as such, with the Prophet cutting his mark into their forehead so everyone knows that they belong to him.

Immanuelle Moore is the young, brave MC of this novel who is judged by her parents sins. She has never had the chance to truly be herself out of the shadows of her mother, who left Bethel and entered the Darkwood, rebuked the Prophet and fell in love with an outsider, emerged from the Darkwood pregnant with Immanuelle, her love was burned at the pyre for their 'sins' and then she died giving birth to Immanuelle. Due to events out of her control, Immanuelle's life was forever altered and no matter what she did, she was always prejudged and was starting off at a disadvantage. She tries not to let this get to her and lives an empathetic, compassionate life thinking of how events impacts others, often letting herself get in the way of trouble to help others.

The witches in the Darkwood gift her her mothers diary, when Immanuelle ends up in the Darkwood unwillingly, which then leads her down a path that she can never turn back from. Fighting for her life and for the people of Bethel's lives, even if they would love to see her burned at the pyre. I loved the way that the witches were depicted, they were vengeful, they were strong, they were filled with ancient power and mysticism. There are no cookie cutter witches here.

There is a surprising romance in this novel, which I found to be quite heartwarming and added soul into the novel. I don't want to say too much about it, other than I absolutely loved Ezra as a character, a friend, and a LI.

"... complacency and complicity that were responsible for the deaths of generations of girls. It was the sickness that placed the pride of men before the innocents they were sworn to protect. It was a structure that exploited the weakest among them for the benefit of those born to power"

The feminist writings within this novel were incredibly powerful. There are very strong points made about the way that men in power kneel on the necks of girls and women in order to keep their power. The strength of these messages come from the journey you go through whilst reading this novel, and so I don't want to delve too deeply into it as I feel it's something best experienced personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Year of the Witching l Alexis Henderson

REASON TO READ

A definite book for witch lovers. A page turner of a book. Dark and thought provoking

REVIEW

Alongside Books about Vampires, books about Witches have to be my second favourite subject matter. The Year of Witching is borderline supernatural horror, it’s a deliciously dark dystopian story of witchcraft, religious fervour, fear and feminism . If you want a comparison then Handmaids Tale mixed with the movie The Village - with witches is a good place to start.

Our protagonist is Immanuelle, a mixed race orphan whose father was burnt for witchcraft and whose mother died in child birth. She has been raised in the village of Bethel ruled by the cult leader the Prophet. The village is surrounded by the Darkwood and she has always been warned not to go into the woods. But when the woods call to, her quest for truth begins.

No spoilers here. The book covers some heavy themes including oppression, misogyny and race but I never found it hard going. In fact it speaks very poignantly on some issues to our own contemporary society. The language in the book is beautiful, is rich and descriptive and beautifully evokes the darkness that permeates through the story. By the end of the book we have a brilliant new feminist heroine in Immanuelle. I had thought this a stand-alone book, however I heard recently that there will be a sequel.

Intelligent, dark and exciting summer read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of five

A mixed review from me. This could have been a much stronger book, but it needed to be darker. The plagues that hit the town didn't feel quite real enough, especially the first one. I wanted a lot more impact and effect. It felt like perhaps a YA book, rather than adults as the characters weren't very well developed. I love witchy books, but this was a so-so read.

This book... OH MY GOD it was so good! I don't have much to say about is as it's usually easier for me to list the negative things about a book rather than the positive, meaning that i loved it!!! I would describe it as a combo between "The Crucible", the movie "The Village" and the tv show "Salem". All very good things in my book, which also explains why i loved this so much. I rooted for the MC Immanuelle and also for Ezra and this book just gave me so many emotions!!! Fear, and anticipation and stress and anger and anxiety (another sign of how much i liked it). The book also tackled some modern day societal issues like racism and sexism and it was interesting to see how the author incorporated these in a world that doesn't exist, though it does mirror puritanical societies that used to exist a looong long time ago. I also found the religion interesting. If you like witchy stuff then i STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS! (Also i would not put this in the YA category)

After some technical glitches with the ebook seeming to cut out parts of the story, I managed to get through and wow! What a read! I really got wrapped up in the story and loved every second of it. A great book, an absolute must for fantasy and witch lovers alike.

I was kindly gifted an e-copy of Alexis Henderson's debut The Year of the Witching by Lilly Cox, Marketing Executive at Transworld Publishing. As a fan of anything with witch-y vibes I was excited to read this book having seen so much hype about it within the bookish community - I needed to see for myself if it was as good as everyone said.

Firstly can we talk about this cover art, there are two versions (both striking) but this was the cover on my copy. I appreciate that there are only a few elements on this cover, I like that the colour palette is simple and the design minimalist. I do think from the cover alone you can tell this is going to be an intense read. The smoking symbol with that tagline - really give you a feel for the tone of the book!

Without spoiling the story I will just mention some trigger warnings for readers - sexual abuse, religious abuse and violence.

To start let’s talk about how much I loved the Darkwood. I have a huge respect for authors who manage to make a place feel like it is it's own independent character. And Henderson did this, expertly, with the Darkwood. This is a place that no good, 'Father fearing' Bethel resident would willingly go, but the way Henderson describes it and it's pull on Immanuelle had me wishing I could walk into the thick trees and shadowed pathways. I felt like the descriptions of the Darkwood were lush and alive while Bethel was the opposite. I fully supported Immanuelle's need to enter into the Darkwood and follow her instincts. Even if that didn't exactly turn out all that well for her.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for a well written villain but what Henderson has written here is something that makes you question who is the real evil in the story. I kept flip flopping between different characters as to who was the biggest bad in town and I appreciate a story that keeps me guessing to the end.

All too often fantasy/horror stories are predictable with how they end or what goes down in those final concluding chapters but not here. Not with The Year of the Witching. This story kept me guessing, the twists kept coming and I really didn't see the book ending the way it did. And although I couldn't figure it out until it was all over I really appreciated and enjoyed the ending of this story. I don't want to give anything away (you know I'm spoiler free here) but the final scene of this book......LOVED IT. It was everything you could want after the events that unfold just pages before.

Immanuelle was a three dimensional, well written, fleshed out character with flaws, weaknesses and imperfections as well as a bold heart and a strong will. I loved reading the story through her eyes. Immanuelle's character, and how Henderson wrote about her and the other female characters, really made me feel that this is a feminist story. A proper reflection of the fact that no matter what society does to keep women down, no matter how much they punish us and villainise us - women are stronger and bolder and braver and more capable of survival than anyone can ever imagine. And this is Immanuelle in a sentence for me.

I'd also like to take a moment to say that I loved how the events that happened in the story to the female characters were not plot devices used to further a male characters story-line or development. This was a story about women overcoming men and I am here for that in 2020!

I really, really, really loved Henderson's writing style. The words flowed for me and it was easy to get caught up and lost in her brilliant descriptions of the world she created. There were some very dark, horror like, elements to this story which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would say this is a fantasy/horror cross when it comes to genre. It is bold and unflinching - which comes from commitment from the author to write us something that is true to the world they have brought us, the reader, into and it helps to create a sense of reality in even the most unnatural of events or settings.

The Year of the Witching is one of the best books I have read of 2020 so far with Immanuelle topping out as one of my top five heroines of 2020 - I'm a sucker for a powerful outsider with a heart of gold.

With this being Henderson's debut I am excited to see what she comes up with next and I can fully see why so many people within the bookish community were raving about this novel. I am happy to report I too am now raving.

Once again thank you to Lilly Cox, Transworld Publishers and Alexis Henderson for the chance to read and review this book.

Until next time, keep on reading,

Lottie

I had a hard time getting into this book, but it was very readable once I got about a quarter of the way in. The story follows our heroine, Immanuelle, as she deals with life under an extremist cult and its leader- along with all the abuse and extremist Christian ideology that comes hand in hand with that. I found the concept really interesting and thought that this book really had the capacity to bring together some fascinating ideas married from horror, mystery, crime, and feminist literature.

In some situations, it hits the mark. There are scenes, such as in the Darkwood and in the ruins of the house, where there is a certain atmosphere that comes down, heavy and haunting. This is where the book finds its true voice, and really draws in the influences that had the potential to make it incredibly powerful. Sadly, I didn't feel like the characters had the capacity to carry such a story on their backs, as they were woefully underdeveloped and somewhat generic. I didn't feel that any of them had authentic voices (except perhaps Sage, oddly), and it just got lost for me, which is such a shame given the ideas behind this book.

I think that this book can certainly be a favourite of some people if you can overlook the fact that the characters are so underdeveloped- and certainly, the plot allows for some pretty great stuff, but I just didn't find as much in this one as I had hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this eARC
Although I am not a fan of books that are heavy on religion and usually steer clear I found myself invested in this book. It was a different take on witches as well as prophets. It was dark, gory and evil. There should be trigger warnings for child abuse as this is very much part of the story and something that would make some readers not want to read it. I did struggle a bit with this part of the story but understood that it was relevant to some of the storyline. Immanuele and Ezra both struggle to heed the requirements of the religion that their town lives by even though he is the Prophets heir and will one day take his fathers place as the towns Prophet. Immanuele feels the call of the dark woods even though it is a place you never return from. When the plagues start Immanele with the help of Ezra has to find a way to reverse the curse that is creating these plagues before it wipes out the town and all those she loves no matter what the cost.

I loved this book! It was creepy and a page turner! I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes anything dark and scary. The descriptive writing was fab. Thanks netgalley for the opportunity to read this title.

I feel like fans of Winternight trilogy would really enjoy this. This has the same atmospheric quality that brings you to a small village. With the same clash between religious folks and witches. Except that this is much bolder, much darker and the feminist aspect is much stronger.

I enjoyed every single moment I spent reading this. There’s not a dull or boring scene there. The plot and pacing are perfect.
If that’s not enough then let me tell you all that this book incorporates intersectional feminism as a theme and it’s very well done.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of seeing these so called feminist books that show one kickass white girl and then treat OTHER girls horribly. Thankfully, there’s none of that here. There’s one bitchy girl here but when she’s been victimized, neither MC nor the narrative treats it like she deserved it. That’s when I knew I would read anything by this author.

Lastly, this book has a very sweet friends-to-lovers arc and I was totally here for it. The friendship at the centre of this book was so sweet and heartwarming. And when they were both bargaining for the other to live, yep that almost killed me.
My only complaint was that characterization is kinda generic. So instead of a 5, it’s a 4.5⭐️. Still, it’s a very good fantasy and highly recommended

This book took my by surprise. It was s slow start, but it just keep getting more suspenseful, edge of your seat kinda stuff!

Thank you to netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the arc of this book by Alexis Henderson.

This follows a woman named Immanuelle who had kept her silence for many years as she tries to stay and keep head above water, shes living on the outskirts with her disgraced family because her mother’s disobedience and sins ended up ruined their family name and reputation in which made them suffer from poverty... Prophet’s each word is the law because he’s holy man even though he is the definition whom in which sounds like a sexual predator who seduces under aged girls and having a heavenly polygamous marriage life....

4 stars- a very strange and new type of book for me but was a great read loved it and read very fast within a day well done Alexis!

recommend highly

This book was atmospheric and creepy and did exactly what I wanted it to do! It tells the story of Immanuelle, a mixed race girl in the town of Bethel. The people of Bethel are religious zealots in awe of the prophet, but their town is surrounded by the Dark Woods and the witches that roam it. The atmosphere in this book was top notch. It reminded me of The Blair Witch Project in many ways, with the woods being the source of torment for the townsfolk. The religious aspects of the narrative felt authentic and definitely had the feeling of the Salem Witch Trials, but pushed up to eleven. The story moves at a good pace throughout, with the action coming quickly and often, ensuring that the tension is always high and the threat always seems real. I thought that the characters were well drawn and found some of the peripheral characters, such as Abraham and Martha, really fascinating. With wild nature magic and curses aplenty, there is a lot of witchcraft in the book, which I really appreciated, as so often, stories of this type are much more ambiguous. My one criticism is that the ending felt a bit unearned and rushed for me - it just kind of came out of nowhere in many ways. Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a creepy, witch-filled tale with real menace.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"Sometimes the things that seem like they're hurting us are really a part of healing"

At the start of this book the way this girl was treated and the way they talked bout fathers being the light and the mothers being darkness; it just made me so mad.

Immanuelle- is given that name at birth because she is meant to be a curse. She was conflicted between what she was told growing up and what she felt when it came to her faith. I love how stubborn she is I think it's her best trait. Nothing stops her from doing what she feels is right.

Ezra- just pulled me in from the start. He was a hard character to hate in any way shape, or form. I loved him.

The prophet - I want to punch him out. He is a sicko and a righteous pig. A well-written villain that you can't like.

The story is a very interesting and easy to follow. I really had a hard time putting this book down. The imagery Alexis wrote was moving, and the darkwoods has some of my favourite scenes to read.

Side note: I would really love the whole tragic love story of her parents from the very start where they meet to the tragic end.

I was given this Arc through NetGalley for an honest review.