I think Slewfoot is a fabulous tale of witches and old gods intersecting with the new god and puritans. I love the setting and description. The multiple points of view really lets the reader into the mind of the characters.

Abitha is a strong-willed woman in a time where women are to be seen and not heard. She grows as a witch and as a person during the tale. She is not a shallow being, and I like all of her dimensions.

The only issue I had was some current phrases being used in what was to be 1666 Connecticut. Abitha willed her husband “to call the man out” when interacting with his overbearing brother. Later in the same scene, she thinks, “can you not see that this man is playing you,” which I do not believe was current vernacular in colonial America. There are only a few instances of this, so it’s not horrible, but I do wish the author could have found the older vocabulary to convey these thoughts. A lot of the historical things felt accurate to me without researching. I did look up meetinghouses because I didn’t know if they had windows at the time the story was set. Brom was accurate in the description.

Personal Note:

Historical fiction is hard for me to write because I want everything to be accurate, but sometimes I can’t find the best reference material to use. I really like when other authors are able to work the genre well.

4 stars

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

I will be posting this review on my website EveHallows.com.

#Slewfoot #Brom #NetGalley #WitchFiction #HistoricalFiction

Slewfoot started out well, but there were some lulls in the plot and the POV switching back and forth didn't help to smooth the plot. I did enjoy the ending.

This is everything I wanted. I’ve only read one other Brom book and it was several years ago now, but it was such a strong introduction to him that when I saw this offered I jumped at it.

Our main character, Abitha, was a young woman who was struggling to fit into Puritan (tyrannical) norms when she was raised on pagan ideas. I actually really loved her husband and was sad when he died so quickly in the beginning (no surprise there since it is in the book synopsis).

Once Samson and Abitha are together it quickly turns into the sort of novel you’d expect—natural beings trying to carve out a home for themselves while the rest circle closer to rid the world of “ungodly” beings.

A dark story about witch hunts and accepting all parts of yourself—both dark and light—unfolds. I absolutely LOVED Abitha’s story as she tried to adapt to Puritan values the shirked it and strove for revenge for the wrongs she experienced. It’s a fantastic story that I absolutely loved, and it reminded me why I enjoyed the first book I read from Brom all over again.

Witches, puritans, devils, gore... it's all here in this dark, gothic, and beautiful book. It starts out a bit slow but It's worth sticking with it because it ends strong. The characters are riveting, especially Abitha whose transformation throughout the story was incredibly epic. Highly recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read an ARC of this amazing book.

Love this authors horror titles...creepy deep stories...this authors books are on my must read...have enjoyed all....check out his earlier works

“Slewfoot” by Brom is a mixture of horror, historical fiction, and fantasy. It’s a unique perspective of the Puritan culture, witchcraft, and devilry that may inspire an interest in the dark arts to meet a creature such as Samson. **May not be suitable for squeamish audiences**

The story of Slewfoot is original and fascinating in both idea and delivery. Brom has a natural talent for turning the most horrific and beastly of creatures into something humane enough to feel sympathy for. While Samson is no doubt a monster of nightmares—of which no fool would dare draw its eye to them—something akin to kindness lurks within the darkness of his being and sparks a war against his violent nature.

His story is also intertwined with Abitha’s, a young Englishwoman only barely managing to keep her sanity in the Puritan community. She is a fierce, resilient woman who bows to no man—the complete opposite of what a Puritan woman ought to be. Caught in the snares of a community that enforces its teachings and way of life on others, Samson and Abitha must embrace the nature of who they are or perish under the rule of a controlling society.

Everything about this novel was addictive. Those spine-tingling moments of horror when a particularly intense or suspenseful scene creeps up out of nowhere and makes the heart pound with adrenaline. The scenes of witchcraft and magic brought back feelings of power, resilience, and ancient healing that prove a woman scorned is a force to be reckoned with. Even the monsters and creatures that roamed within these pages were fascinating beings despite their violence and cruelty because of their unique unnaturalness that spoke volumes of their ancient intelligence.

More than anything, the story of Samson and Abitha is beautiful, heartbreaking, bizarre, and mesmerizing. Though the story moves at a quick pace, time is given to watch these characters develop and evolve as the tale progresses. Their transformation is incredible, their personalities an exquisite match, creating an unforgettable tale.

It is no surprise as a fan of Brom’s work to be gripped by an insatiable hunger within the first few pages to devour Abitha’s and Slewfoot’s story in one sitting. Prepare folks, this is a story that will hold you in a death grip and any attempt at breaking free will result in failure. A chilling tale of witchcraft, religion, and devilry that will captivate and thrill its audiences over to the dark side. Add it to your reading lists, share it with friends, and look for it on its expected publication date: September 21st, 2021.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge (Tor Nightfire) for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one! It’s a grim mixture of historical fiction and fantasy, that feels dark and riveting.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I began reading Slewfoot. I wavered between thinking "This is kind of boring." and "What a stuffed pig! Slap him silly!" to "Okay, this is kind of an original take on things." and "If that man doesn't get his just rewards, this will not end well."

Slewfoot follows the heartwrenching tale of Abitha, the man she loves, the devil who killed him, and the evil man who ruins her life. This journey from young immigrant and new-to-Puritianism wife to witch starts out slowly but ends with a bang. It's definitely worth trudging through listening to men command all those around them, scheming and conniving along the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

Fans of Brom's artwork and general aesthetics will find what they're looking for here. Some of the highlights of the book (besides the illustrations) are the prose descriptions of the beast and its associated creatures, which are wonderfully grotesque and macabre. The story is a bit more average. It introduces moral ambiguity to the concept of a Faustian bargain by looking at how restrictive and awful the world of people can be (well, specifically white people, but the few depictions of Indigenous people feel a bit undercooked). Why wouldn't you work out some deal with the devil for your freedom when a white patriarchy is attempting to deny it to you? That being said, the atmosphere and mood are generally familiar. This is best recommended to fans of this particular aesthetic and genre, with a bit of a feminist edge (only slightly though). I don't think it will win many converts outside the fanbase.

This was an enjoyable read and seeing both Abitha and "Slewfoot" come into their own was very satisfying. It's absolutely worth reading and experiencing. Rating this a solid three 1/2 stars (just to further clarify that my three stars is by no means a negative rating, a Goodreads three stars= "I liked it"). My sole, nitpick is that I did find myself skimming or skipping bits that seemed to go on a bit long for my taste, but again, that's my personal nitpicky preference, I'm sure other readers will greatly enjoy this attention to detail and world building.

This title will be featured in Fangoria Magazine's July 2021 issue. Please contact the reviewer directly for a PDF copy of the write up (when it becomes available).

Puritans fear the devil. Wait until they meet the woman who's cat they killed.

Dark, gory and every thing I want in a witch story.

I absolutely LOVE the idea of a woman who's been whipped again and again by Puritan society genuinely making friends with the "devil" and coming into her power. Every part of the woman inside me who's been beaten simply for being a woman was screaming for blood through this whole book.

I absolutely loved this book! I had been wary about starting it for some reason, but as soon as I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. It was historical fiction/fantasy at its finest, and I loved it.

First off, Abitha was such a strong character. Her transformation over the course of the story was absolutely amazing, she held so much power. I'm not even going to pretend that I don't have entire paragraphs highlighted, they were that epic.

I also loved how delightfully witchy this was. Abitha was the type of witch I long for, she cast her spells, and she made her charms. The book was slow enough that she had time to develop and grow, without being too slow.

I also really loved Samson. Sure, he was the devil, but I loved how he wasn't all bad. His portrayal was super unique, and it was a spin of religion and paganism I hadn't read before.

Very rarely do I run across a book I want to rave about, but this is one of them. It was amazing, and I'll definitely be rereading it.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

I found much of this book original and colorful. I have a family of possums living under my house and if they're anything like the baby-faced possum in Slewfoot, I'd better watch my step.

The nature god and/or devil who wasn't sure who-what-or where he was was intriguing. For awhile I thought he was just too confused, that he'd never amount to anything, but he pulled through with the help of the strange hybrid baby/wildlife creatures. Some of the abuse of the women accused of witchcraft or harboring witches went on so long that it started to seem like torture porn. But, that is the nature of much horror writing and I shouldn't be surprised by it.

By and large I liked the book with Slewfoot's realization being particularly satisfying. There was one spot where the women, Abita, who was accused of witchcraft, was offered the chance to die quickly or die slowly. The magistrate said hanging would be quick because it would snap her neck. I'd like to point out that a quick drop hadn't been discovered yet. Read about the poor women and men hanged at Salem. They stepped off a ladder, and seized and kicked until they suffocated. Sometimes a man would hang on to their body in an attempt to make them die quicker. And yes, the correct word is hanged. Laundry is hung. People are hanged. See the exceptional book: Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style.

Although I like the story and the idea of the story, I'm begging on my poor aching knees that characters quit smirking, biting their lips and rolling their eyes. I want to crawl on my poor aching knees and beg editors to mark out smirking, lip biting, and eyeball rolling. My smirk-o-meter went off the charts in Slewfoot. It's like there is a guidebook that says 2/3 of the characters have to smirk, everybody bites their lips at some point, and halfway through someone will bite their lip until they taste blood. I swear, these things are in almost all of the books I've read recently. Why come up with an original idea and then make it sound like all other books? Slewfoot had a lot of smirking, lip biting, and an overabundance of hissing. But, I thought, "Thank God, nobody has rolled their eyes. Then 91% of the way in, BANG, a character rolled her eyeballs. Geez.

At least reward us after reading all the smirking and lip-biting by bringing the cat back to life. Is that too much to ask? I liked the book but damn, stop all the lip abuse. All the smirking and biting has to be tiring.

The Puritans. Or as we in the historical profession refer to as ‘the worst thing to come out of Early Modern Europe’. These people were so toxic, even the relatively tolerant Netherlands didn’t want them. If you are interested in hate-reading about some Puritans, I have found you a book.

In case you weren’t aware, Puritans were hardcore Christian zealots who were driven out of not one, but two polities before ending up in the “New World.” They were, as you may have guessed, totally ill-prepared for life in the colonies. Number one, these people were paranoid, and I mean paranoid in that special way that all uber zealots are paranoid. They saw threats everywhere. Number two, Puritans were super freaked out by the woods. They absolutely believed that the woods were where evil dwelled. So where did they choose to settle? You guessed it—they settled in areas surrounded by forest. The aphorism “know thyself” comes to mind...

Well with the mini history lesson out of the way, let’s dive into the plot. Slewfoot follows a young woman, Abitha, who is the hero we need. She does not mess with the Puritan lifestyle. She and her husband are finally seeming to get ahead, when he dies, under mysterious circumstances. In the woods. **a Puritan shivers in his grave**. On a completely unrelated note, an entity called Father or Slewfoot just woke up from a long winter’s nap. Just kidding, these events are totally related. I won’t tell you much more but if you’ve ever wondered what the Puritans would do if they actually met the devil, read this!

This book certainly filled up my Puritan novel bingo card. Religious zealots, the Devil, violence against women, hysterical girls, witchcraft.... BINGO! Slewfoot certainly had all the things that make for a solid piece of early American horror. Much of this novel didn’t surprise me. But then again, Slewfoot was totally unique in some aspects.

Ultimately I would characterize this plot as one long misunderstanding. Let me explain. The entity Slewfoot, to my reading actually represents a pretty fascinating historical moment—when paganism and organized religion met. The misunderstandings and mischaracterizations sparked by this meeting were ultimately awful and violent, but make for compelling historical and sociological study. This novel explores these themes through the lens of fiction. In short, it’s absolutely worth a read, especially for my nerdy and witchy friends—my nerdy witches (witchy nerds?)

Thank you to Netgalley, Brom, and Nightfire for giving me an opportunity to read this novel!