This was really interesting! I really enjoyed Samuel and Layla`s story, but i felt the story was very short though. It was over very quickly.

Curse of the Blacknoc Witch was a quick and fun read for me. I liked the over all theme of people deserving second chances and the literal boogeyman getting you at night for doing horrible deeds. It could be quite distressing with the monsters constantly chases the kids to actually eat them. Like I'm okay with the kids turning into monsters as punishment but was the eating necessary?

this was a enjoyable read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the scifi novel. I look forward to more from the author.

This was a very emotional and dark read surrounding scary stories children are told in order to behave. The idea behind this was wonderful, and the story itself was fast-paced, however the writing style just didn’t live up for me. The setting seemed to switch in terms of time period, which was jarring. It also seems like it’s trying to attempt at too many genres at once, so I struggled to really focus on what exactly I was reading.

The Poems throughout were a lovely added touch and overall, it was harrowing, dark and passionate. But lacking in some areas.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book over all was okay. It was fast paced and interesting, yet I had some issues with it.
First of all, it seemed to be set in a modern world at first, but further into the story it felt more like a medieval-ish setting.
Then the timeskips towards the end... I got one question: why? It became a hot mess all of a sudden.
The idea behind the book was great! The stories you tell children suddenly getting real, like the old warnings one gets as a kid (be kind, be home early, etc.). The morality of what happens when they misbehave. Suddenly, nightmares are real and inescapable.
It was brutal to read sometimes, but amazing that the kids managed to break the circle! but also shocking how some kids got into this moral mess... wow.

The premise of this book is amazing, but the book fell short of delivering what I really wanted. It's a good book, and I think it will be enjoyable for kids/young adults, but I had hoped for more.

Curse of the Blacknoc Witch earns 5/5 Mmmmonsters...Compelling!
“No matter how awful we are we all deserve another chance.”
—Samuel Fawcett, “The Curse of the Blacknoc Witch”
I’m not sure that this statement is true in every situation, but I do believe in second chances. I started this book once, wasn’t sure it was for me, so I put it down. However, I decided to give it a “second chance,” and I have succumbed to the tale: engaging, compelling, and thought-provoking. For the past three years, the monster, once named Samuel Fawcett, has been living within the forest, a realm unseen by humans, cursed to hunt punished children, devour them, and spit them out renewed as monsters to hunt and devour. But, a month ago, he changed, not in his monstrous demeanor but in his attitude. He hopes in his small way to save some of the children, however brief, since the next night the curse will return them to be hunted. How can he stop the vicious cycle...the curse? In the distance, he hears a more girlish scream, one he’d never heard before in this hell. What had she done wrong to deserve this punishment? Samuel can’t save them all, but still he sets to save her, to save Layla Marlowe. The night abates, he dissolves into the earth, to sleep, to wait, to rise again at night, and hunt not to destroy, but to protect. Layla returns to her grandfather’s house, but only until the next night when she again will find herself in the forest, hunted, and Samuel, hunted himself because he chooses to protect whom he can, will find her. However, Layla will not succumb to hopelessness, she will seek an answer, a way to break the curse and save Samuel, save the others, before it’s too late. The librarian. The book. The curse. Ghosts. Monsters. All this leads to a treacherous journey for redemption, for forgiveness, for love!

The drama is reminiscent of a Beauty and the Beast or a dark Grimm’s fairy tale adventure with monsters, curses, good versus evil, and a fool’s journey to break the curse and restore those infected. Tori V. Rainn has penned a well-developed tale with descriptions that bring to life the evil forest, the monsters, the villages, and the characters. The dialogue and inner thoughts do best to illustrate emotions and personalities and gives the reader insights. The narrative is shared between Samuel’s first person perspective and Layla’s. It is different...enjoyable, and not difficult to follow. I did find the names of the monsters—Ugly, Nitwit, Slobber—too comic and in contrast to the seriousness of the “curse” that has engulfed them. It is unclear if Samuel himself named the monsters he battles as a description of their behavior, and since he can’t communicate with them, he doesn’t know their human name. It isn’t long; I was compelled to finish it, reading well into the late hour. I felt at the end, the final task needing to be completed, went too quickly. It seemed the journey Samuel needed to take required more peril, more obstacles. I would have liked the Blacknoc witch to find her own peace, a way to forgiveness, a “second chance.” However, I greatly enjoyed the book, a surprising delight, a modern fairy tale of good, evil, redemption, and love!

I did not feel as if this novella (?) was proofread like at all. There where several mixups with the locations and the relationships between the characters. And the plot of the blacknoc witch was at first a revenge story because two boys killed the witch’s son and then all of a sudden she killed her son herself? What was the point of cursing children then....

First of all, I’d like to thank Netgalley and Backlit PR for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review. Overall, It was okay read.
Idea for the book is excellent. The children’s story coming to life, cursed kids tormented every night and doomed to run for their lives until monsters catch them and transform them in one of their own. Brilliant! The stage was set and the action begun! Unfortunately, magic just wasn’t there for me. As much as I’ve tried, I just couldn’t connect to neither one of the characters. Writing style wasn’t helpful either. It seems to me that Tory V. Rainn just was not up to the task. But considering this is her debut novella, I expect her upcoming books to be better and better.
I’m sure that the YA lovers will enjoy this book.

2.5/5

Overall I though Curse of the Blacknoc Witch is okay. The premise is there but I wanted more out of the characters and plot. Blacknoc seems like it's attempting to be a few things but felt less focused as a result. If it wants to be a fairytale, give me concise prose, simple characters and a moral parable. It it wants to be modern young adult, flesh out the romance and characters and add more deeper logic behind some of the plot points. The book sits somewhere in between those two but doesn’t quite hit either for me.

The curse itself was the main draw and it is pretty neat. I liked the monsters and the way they were described as being covered in a myriad of tiny dangerous spines was nice and creepy. The mystery and solution to the curse worked was one of the more interesting components. The book handled its themes of regret and redemption well, and the plot was tied nicely to the themes. I almost wish the book went a bit deeper into the morals, but it doesn’t do a bad job.

The plot itself is very similar to a fairytale, but the writing style is more akin to contemporary young adult. The choice of writing style diminishes the fairytale feel, so some of the plot mechanisms that would be excusable in a fairy tale don’t make much sense in a more grounded novella. The ending in particular was based around fairytale logic that didn’t quite fit. The curse, on the other hand, worked really well in this story as a fairytale style element. I also liked that the story went further than anticipated, and truly saw the curse to its conclusion.
Plot construction-wise, there’s this off-screen character named Josh that is set up for a subplot or background that just never materializes. Would have liked to see that either go somewhere or get cut.

One thing to note that isn’t obvious coming in is that this book is somewhat Christian. If the thematic approach to sin and redemption wasn’t enough to tip you off, there are a few direct references to faith and the characters believe in a presumably Christian deity. Obviously this could be a pro or con depending on who you are; know that it’s not too heavy handed but is present none the less.

Overall not a bad book but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. If you're looking for a more Christian young adult horror, it may be a reasonable option though.

I received a copy of this novel for review curtesy of Wild Rose Press. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

My heart was frantically beating for most of this book. It would fall to my feet in despair during some parts and than rush back into my chest during another. What a heartbreakingly beautiful tale.