The Lost Witch follows Brigid Heron who time travels from 1922 to 2022. Back in 1922, she lived in the small town of Evermore on an isle in Ireland. As the synopsis states, Brigid is seduced by Luc Knightly of a rival coven and ends up traveling 100 years in the future with no memory of the past. In 2022, she must work with her descendants, Ophelia and Finola, to try and reverse the past. Luc is also in present day with his memories still intact.

The author paints the picture of both timelines well, but the pacing is a little off in places. As the reader is piecing the story together while Brigid is slowly regaining her memories, it can be difficult to navigate the plot. There are the demons and other creatures that were released by accident through the time travel, so everyone must work to try and save everything. There is a nice “classic-ness” with the good versus evil idea that was comforting as a reader, but I do wish there were more directions for each plotline. There are a lot of holes to fill as the story moves forward, so I like that there were POVs added from a few of the characters, including Luc.

As Luc and Brigid were together years ago, it was nice to see the flashbacks about how this romance developed. I did expect more from this part of the story as I did not feel it enough to place it among the romance genres. Instead, I found this to be more women’s fiction where it is mostly about Brigid’s journey and growth. The writing itself was good, but the mixture of prose with the modern was a little difficult to follow at times. I love the mystery aspect and putting the puzzle together, but there is a little too much ambiguity at times where it distracted me. During those moments, I found myself skimming the paragraphs, so I wish that the transitions and details were given a little more care.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read this novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

Happy Release Day!!

3.5 Stars

The Lost Witch is a magical forbidden romance between Good vs Evil.

In 1922, our FMC Brigid is living her life in Evermore, for the most part, "happy", but the one thing she wants the most is a child, even if that means betrayng her coven. Our MMC Luck Knightly, head of the dark and mysterious Kightly coven offers Brigid what she wants most...and she jumps for it. Jump to Evermore of 2022 where the world is full of mosters and all things Dead. Brigid appears there with no memories, Lost to what happened and what's going on she joins the local coven in order to find what she has lost and to help saving Evermore

Brigid learns there are consequences for her actions, causing The Damned (monsters) to come through The Lough (the portal). She finds a distant relative Ophelia. Ophelia and Ophelia's roommate and friend Finola have been fighting The Damned to protect the town. She also finds Luc Knightly - who has his memories of Brigid - who seems to want to help her, but his dark magic is what caused all this to happen.

I enjoy magic, fantasy and I liked the added mystery of finding out what happened to Brigid. Overall, I liked The Lost Witch, it took me a while to get into the story. Feeling lost myself with the plot. Most of the story is through Brigid's POV, which means we as the readers are lost with what happened for a while. We go gain different perspectives later on in the book - Luc's being one. This is when we get more of the "romance" aspects, but I felt it was pretty weak for what I was expecting. There are some HEA but also HFN endings since this is going to be a series.

I liked the unique world building in this story and the magical quality of the writing. There were plenty of fascinating characters throughout the book to keep me entertained but the middle of the book where she's trying to recover her memory gaps was a bit slow. To be honest, I was suffering with the flu while reading this and having trouble staying awake anyway, so the lag may have been my own fault. Overall I thought it was an original and unique story with a good plotline and the conclusion was really good.
Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for an advance review copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I ended up starting and stopping this read a few times at the beginning; it was just hard for me to get hooked for a reason I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

However, the premise was unique, the female characters were strong/fearless/funny and I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first. The author’s writing style is almost lyrical and she did an excellent job at creating a magical world that was deeply atmospheric. I believe readers who enjoy female bonds (and similar reads such as Practical Magic) will enjoy this read. For me, it fell a short of being a fantasy romance (as marketed) and left me wanting more.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I recently finished reading "The Lost Witch" by Paige Crutcher and was thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the rich, immersive world-building. Crutcher does an excellent job of creating a fully realized magical universe, complete with its own history, rules, and factions. The characters are also well-developed and diverse, each with their own motivations and flaws.

The plot is fast-paced and filled with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The tension builds throughout the book, culminating in a satisfying and action-packed finale.

Overall, "The Lost Witch" is a thrilling and well-written novel that will appeal to fans of fantasy and paranormal fiction. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating and immersive reading experience.

3.5 stars = I liked it with nits. Witch and healer Brigid, dedicated to the goddess Brigid, is successful at helping the folk in her town but desparately lonely. She makes a deal with a chaos demigod to get a daughter, only to lose her child while at the same time putting the world in peril from a portal that releases damned creatures.

The Lost Witch was a mixed read for me. First what I liked. I liked the two witches, who become Brigid's coven and allies in trying deal with the fallout from the portal. I loved Knightly, the chaos demigod, he is so sad and mysterious. The scenes with him were my favorite parts of the story.

My biggest nits with the Lost Witch have to do with pacing. It is very slow to get rolling. This is partly due to the fact that after a brief introduction and set up, the story jumps to the future where our lost witch Brigid has lost her memories. It takes her quite awhile to figure out what has gone on when she wakes up to find that a hundred years have passsed. My other major problem is with the structure of the book. Many of the early chapters end with blog posts by Brigid's grand niece and all the chapters begin with spells. Both of these 'extras' combine to periodically drop the momentum gained in the chapter. Fortunately, the blog posts stop at the last quarter of the book when the action comes to a peak and things finally get good. For me, The Lost Witch would have worked so much better without them - especially the final blig post which directs us away from a nice moment for Brigid.

I did really like the final part of the book, so ended up liking The Lost Witch overall.

ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - release date December 27, 2022 - this is an unpaid review.

This book was an interesting read with the two timelines and was something that I wasn’t expecting. It took me a bit to get into the groove of the book. The characters were likeable and entertaining. I love the incorporating of the text from the spell book. I was unlike any other witch book that I’ve read. The timelines gave me almost an Outlander time travel vibe while still being unique on its own. Overall an okay book for what I believe is a standalone book.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Orphan Witch but this one was still enjoyable. I wish there was a little more of Brigid's story in the beginning, I enjoyed finding out more about her during snippets in the book. It just felt a little rushed for me.

Oh, I keep wishing that author Paige Crutcher would get better at writing novels because her ideas for them are so enticing. THE LOST WITCH suffers from many of the same problems that her previous book, THE ORPHAN WITCH, suffered from, namely a plot that becomes convoluted and characters that run amok rather than in directions that further the story. A witch meant for leadership chooses motherhood over everything else except she ends up betrayed and lost in time. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Enthralling fantasy that combines witches, gods , good and evil. It was ambitious and sloppy in son’s parts but entertaining enough to finish. The two timelines were a but confused at first.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Paige Crutcher for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Lost Witch coming out December 27, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In 1922 Evermore, an island off the coast of Ireland, is under the protection of a powerful Goddess. She has given the village healer Brigid Heron power to ensure magic within the Lough of Brionglóid―the lake of dreams―remains untouched.

However, Witches of Knight want to absorb its powerful magic and release the Damned from the Otherworld. Brigid spends her whole life devoted to Evermore’s guardian, immersing herself in witchcraft. Then Luc Knightly, a trickster god, offers Brigid her heart’s desire in exchange for betraying her Goddess’s trust.

A century later, Evermore is under attack. The witches of Knight wield chaos magic, and the Otherworld comes onto the island more every day. They prey on the villagers, turning them. Ophelia Gallagher, Brigid’s descendent, and her fellow witch Finola McEntire work to keep the monsters and chaos away.

Brigid travels to 2022 with no memory of how and not knowing why Evermore has been cursed. To seal the lough and stop the chaos, she must work with Ophelia and Finola. The knowledge she seeks lies with Luc Knightly, the one who granted Brigid a daughter so long ago. To do what’s right, Brigid may have to lose her daughter again.

I love stories about witches! I think they’re so fun and I especially enjoy historical witches. Overall, I liked the story. I thought the overall plot was interesting. It’s a bit of a time travel and fantasy. The idea of a witch being the link to stop evil from entering the modern world isn’t a new concept, but it can be an interesting one. I think I had a bit of an issue with the execution of the plot. At times it got slightly convoluted for me. The fact that Brigid had no memory and had to remember things slowly didn’t really help move things along. I enjoyed the dialogue and characters. Luc was a fun character. But I don’t think I felt the chemistry between Brigid and Luc as much as I would’ve liked to. I thought there’d be a little more romance. It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would be. I will definitely check out other books by this author though.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys stories about witches!

I wanted to love this. I wanted to adore it. But it was really tough to get through. The first thirty to forty percent was so hard to push through. I struggled with Brigid, I really had no connection with her and couldn't understand her actions. And being a witch out of time, I really expected her language to at least be a little older fashioned but she spoke like any other characters in the book.

What I loved was Finola and Ophelia, the friendship between the women, the good magic throughout, and the setting of the story. Truly beautiful. Also, I wanted to see more of the caravan!!

Thank you st martins press and netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I just could not connect with the characters in this book. I was interested in the first 20% but then it just dragged more me.

In 1922, Brigid Heron is Evermore's healer and a powerful witch. She wishes for a child and goes to Luc Knightly. When their daughter falls ill, Brigid risks the forbidden magic of the Lough of Brionglóid. The wild magic takes her daughter from her, and Brigid is swept a hundred years into the future. At that time, the Knight witches used chaos magic to separate the island Evermore is on and the Otherworld. The village is also being preyed upon by creatures from folklore. To reverse the curse she unleashed, Brigid must work with her magical descendants, Ophelia and Finola. The true answers lie with Luc Knightly himself, and Brigid may lose everything all over again.

Chapter one tells us what happened to Brigid, and shows us both the connection to her goddess as well as with her daughter. When she's thrust a hundred years into her future, her sister's granddaughters are living in her home. The same four Knightly witches are there, trying to siphon power out of the Lough, and Brigid lost all of her memories of the past, even of her daughter. Luc Knightly is a shadowy trickster figure, who had worked with the witches before and now doesn't want chaos to take over the world. Brigid, Ophelia, and Finola don't trust him, and he certainly doesn't do much to cultivate their trust.

The story is compelling, though I think it might have worked just as well without chapter one. It's a different time and tone than the rest of the book, and with the reader knowing more than Brigid at first, it takes some of the sharpness out of those scenes where Brigid wonders who she used to be, why she's forgotten it, and how it could have been her fault that the Lough's seal was undone. I think having it a mystery to the reader as well as Brigid could have brought us further into her perspective. It's already a compelling story with a sense of urgency, that would have worked better. Many of the memories she ultimately gets back don't seem to match the first chapter, which was jarring for me as well.

Aside from that, the coven working against Brigid, Ophelia, and Finola exudes a subtle menace. The magic they use brings on more chaos in the town, as well as the Damned, who are people infected with chaos and fairies from another realm.

We first meet Brigid Heron, a witch and healer, in 1922. She has a good life, but longs for a child. She does give birth to a daughter after an unusual agreement but is forced to separate from her. Suddenly Brigid finds herself in the year 2022 with few memories of her previous life or where she has been for the past 100 years.
What follows is an intriguing story of love, heartbreak, fantasy, magic and much more. There is tension throughout interspersed with a bit of levity coming from Brigid's relatives. Well plotted and populated by a fascinating cast of characters, this story moves quickly. Imaginative and packed with emotion, I found this to be an engrossing story. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Although the story is compelling , I was often as lost as the lost witch. The story is told in a roundabout way, jumping back and forth between timelines and memories, so I was often disoriented and frustrated. As Brigid tries to recall her purpose for being in the future, no valid reason appeared to convince me how being in the future would increase her chances of saving her daughter. Adding to my frustration was the interruptions of events by interviews and chapters switching to different characters midway. While I ended up liking the story, I wish it had been structured differently so I would have been able to enjoy it rather than fight to piece things together.

Unfortunately this book suffers from not deciding what it’s going to be. Historical fantasy? Contemporary romance? Magical realism? It doesn’t do any of them very well. The chapters are extremely episodic, even “telling” about several days to weeks within a few paragraphs. Plot was shallow and interspersed with uninspiring character interaction and dialogue. The relationships were shallow and the magical system oversimplified.

Thank you to Netgalley for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

The Lost Witch, by Paige Crutcher, was intriguing because it combined witchery with time travel. Unfortunately, I found the plot moved slowly without truly developing the characters. Crutcher's writing is richly descriptive, and her atmospherics are superb. You can almost feel the mist and smell the lough. Nonetheless, the characters lacked dimension, and I was never able to connect with any of them. Although I am only giving this book two stars, I will keep my eye on future work from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

I love a magical universe filled with fantasy and family. Lex Crutcher wrote a beautiful story that was well lace and engaging! Everyone who reads this will fall for Brigid and Evermore. I definitely recommend this book to anybody out for a delightful, witchy book!

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whimsical, magical, everything you could want in a cozy witchy read! It gave me Stephanie Gerber vibes when it came to Brigid going to Luc for help.