Thank you to Scribner Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 💕

What a haunting look at the witch trials that took place in the 17th century. This was definitely not a happy or lighthearted read. Hundreds of innocent women lost their lives in the UK and US as a result of the witch hunts. I’ve always been interested in learning about this time period since I read The Crucible in high school.

This author wove an atmospheric, eerie, and haunting tale with her prose that shed light on how easily fear and suspicion can take hold in a community and quickly turn neighbor against neighbor.

This book releases on Tuesday. Definitely consider reading it this fall and adding it to your spooky season TBR!

Set in East Anglia, 1645, the witchfinder, Silas Makepeace has been blazing a trail of destruction along the coast, and now has Cleftwater in his sights. Within a day, local women are being captured and detained, accused of practicing witchcraft. Martha Hallybread, a midwife, healer, and servant, lost her voice as a child and only communicates through hand gestures. Powerless to protest, Martha is enlisted to search the accused women for “devil’s marks.” She is caught between suspicion and betrayal; between shielding herself or condemning the women of the village. In desperation, she revives a wax witching doll that belonged to her mother, in the hope that it will bring protection. But the doll’s true powers are unknowable, Martha harbors a terrible secret, and the gallows are looming…

This started out as a bit of a slow burn for me. I was interested in the premise, and the fact that it was inspired by historical events. The timeline of the book only spans a couple of weeks, but it seems to drag at times, and for the first little bit, I was unsure if I was even going to like it. Once the story picked up the pace a little, I began to enjoy it a little more, but there were still times when the story seemed to drag. The author did a good job detailing the terror those women felt, as they were rounded up, and tested, jailed, and in some cases hung.
This was a sordid time in history that deserves to be remembered, although it was hard to read about it.
Overall, I give this a solid 3.

I found this book difficult to read. The main character appears to be mute but her dialog is written as if everyone understands her sign language or mouthing or something.

Not my usual genre, but this book was so good. It’s set in the 1600s during the famous Salem witch trials. Very much worth the read.

A dark, brooding, and thoughtful look at the impact of the hysteria of witch finders. Martha, in 1654, finds herself caught in the middle when her village turns into fury against its women. She's mute, has been mute since forever, but she is able to communicate with others, notably Kit, her employer for whom she was once a nanny. She's also a midwife and the novel starts with the harrowing birth of a child with problems, a child who dies. Prissy, the cook who assisted, is dragged away by the mob, as are others. Martha is chosen to be one of those who examine the alleged witches. Know that this is just so sad in so many ways. It's also impossible to read it without thinking about it as a cautionary tale for the present day. Martha is a terrific character as are many of the others, even those you will come to despise. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A very good, if disturbing, read.

I am always shocked when I read any book about witch hunts. I feel like it was men who stated they were on a mission from God to come in and get rid of any woman that is a bit different, said no to a man, mouthed off, works with herbs, and the list goes on. The evidence is like a muddy mess, gray, stinks, and makes no sense. The description and details that went into this book makes the hair on your body rise, your mind race, and your eyes water. There is no excuse for friends, neighbors, or loved ones to go against these women. They are in fact petrified for themselves, paid off, or just evil people to begin with.

Martha comes from a troubling past. She is mute and speaks through signs. She is a midwife and a healer. Her master is a man who is about to have a babe born, with a wife who tends to be short, mean, and wicked with her words. When Master Makepeace comes blowing into town one day, on a search for witches. The entire town of Cleftwater is left in turmoil. As more and more women are arrested under the suspicion of witchcraft. Martha is made to check for devil marks on these women. Will she become marked as well?

I had such high hopes for this book. I love reading anything about the witch trials. I felt no connection to the characters. I needed more background and clarity. The descriptions of the jail and the gallows were spot on. You could smell the despair, the unwashed bodies, and feel the tension in the air. I also needed more closure on certain disappearances and outcomes. Thank you to Margaret Meyer and Scribner for my gifted copy.

The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer

My thanks to NetGalley and to Scribner for the eARC of, The Witching Tide, to read.
I enjoy reading debut authors and I’m looking forward to more books from Margaret Meyer.


A haunting debut read inspired by the events of the East Anglian witch hunt of 1645-7. Margaret Meyer, dedicates her book to the more than 100 innocent women who lost their lives.

Martha, a mute midwife, finds herself caught up in the rounding up of women from her town that are supposedly witches. If a woman didn’t want the advances made to her by a man, he could spread around lies and say she is a witch. If a baby died of complications from birth, they could say the midwife is a witch.

The witch hunter would come to purge cities of sickness and contagions that the devil’s brides bring forth. Women were assigned by the witch man to examine other women accused of being a witch. Any blemishes found were judged to be evil and any type mole was believed to be what the devils imps would feed from.

The story touches upon loyalty and also the betrayal of people that you thought you could trust and rely upon. It was a dangerous time for women during these insanely inhumane witch hunts.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was okay, but it didn't really hit for me, I had too push myself to get through the story.

Here’s the thing; This story has been told plenty of times already.

Granted, the author did a fine job painting a 17th century atmosphere while building tension through a ludicrous (but authentically felt) witch hunt and the growing rage and fear within mob mentality. It’s just that she is not the first to accomplish this.

Margaret Meyer tried to put an original spin on The Witching Tide with her mute main character, but that did so little to alter or improve the tale. The execution of this device, which seemed more like a gimmick, was not well done. While we are told that Martha, who uses hand gestures to communicate, is often misunderstood, we are also told every single thing Martha aims to convey, as if she is actually saying it. There is no room for the imagination here. Martha may as well have had a voice since the telling was significantly stronger than the showing in this novel.

Overall, I was not fond of the writing style. There are several choppy sentences, as well as a lot of repetitiveness. While I do find these things to be effective in poetry, I rarely find they hold the same weight in fictional prose. I do feel the writing quality had some commendable points, but it failed to reach the heights of its literary ambition.

Of course, we do know this history bears repeating, lest we forget what was shamefully done to innocent women. There are benefits to exploring the unfair accusations and the horrific results of an unjust witch hunt. But if it’s going to be redone, it needs to actually be interesting and take on something new beyond a mute character who never truly feels mute.

Despite what the synopsis claims, there are no hints of Margaret Atwood here. Yes, the story is devastating, but how could it not be? This does not mean it does anything beyond the superficial. For a historical lesson, this could be a win, but as a novel, it will not be memorable for me.

I am immensely grateful to Scribner Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

Interesting, engaging read inspired by the events of the 1645-7 East Anglian witch hunt . Gives some insight into how quickly neighbor can turn against neighbor when fueled by fear and conspiracy theories.

An enthralling pageturner. I loved seeing this story from Martha’s perspective, and was in awe of the events.
Many thanks to Scribner and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a heartbreaking time in history - The Witching Tide follows a sometimes mute Martha as she navigates the "sickness" that plagues humanity during the witch trials. She seems to be constantly fighting for the right thing to do while simultaneously trying not to get swept up in the madness herself. I don't particularly think that this was a book for me as I didn't particularly connect with any of the characters, nor was the storyline easy for me to follow; I'm not sure what the actual plot was other than relaying history. It's clear that Margaret Meyer has done her research as there were quite a few words throughout this book that, when I looked them up, were common verbiage in the 19th century. If you like books where you're uncertain if they'll have an "acceptable" resolution and follow a time in history in which it's clear there was heightened fear and a lack of humanity/common sense, then this is truly the book for you. I sincerely appreciate NetGalley, Scribner, and Margaret Meyer for allowing me the opportunity to read the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

When I tell you that I read this book so fast, it was unbelievable, I am not lying. This book was SO GOOD. It was clearly extremely well-researched, so engrossing, and one of the most upsetting but also touching and moving books about this subject matter I have read in a long time. The story follows a woman in seventeenth century England who is present during a witch hunt. The woman, Martha, is a healer and a midwife in her town, and is present at the beginning of the witch hunt, hoping to not get caught up in it. The story was so interesting, the characters were so believable and it was so easy to see how so many can quickly get caught up in something based in lies and fear. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates good historical fiction.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The Witching Tide" is beautifully written and involves all the senses in its detailed depiction of life in a 17th-century English village. But the story itself was meh, and the protagonist left me cold. I didn't really care if she was convicted of witchcraft, and in a novel where that's the central conflict, it's a pretty major shortcoming. You might feel differently, of course. I think this is one of those exceptionally polarizing, Marmite-like books: Some will love it, some will loathe it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Scribner, for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Witching Tide is set in England in 1645 in the village of Cleftwater during the witch hunts and trials of that period in history. The story follows Martha Hallybread, the midwife and healer of the village when Master Makepeace, the witchfinder, arrives. I was looking forward to reading The Witching Tide, but unfortunately, the book failed to hold my attention. Thanks to the author Margaret Meyer, Scribner, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Honestly I really didn't like this very much. I felt angry and hopeless reading it. The men and some of the towns women were so cruel and stupid. A woman's life totally depended on men. I will give points because it did evoke an emotion, albeit a negative one. I didn't care for Martha but I didn't really feel I knew enough about her. I was kind of tired of hearing about this worm in her throat or suckling imps.

Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for providing me with a digital copy.

Despite being one of my favorite topics to read about (witch hysteria), this novel fell flat for me. It started out strong but it lost me in the middle and never picked back up.

It didn't pull me in, I didn't care for the characters (least of all the main character), and it just seemed to drag on and on, it bored me.

I've read plenty of books about witch hysteria and unfortunately, this one does not stand out.

Also, did people in the 1600s use the phrase, "If you catch my drift"? Hmm...

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

DNF at 20%.
The writing and prose are beautiful. It’s very descriptive and brings you into the world. The premise is what drew me in. Historical fiction and witchy. I just could not connect with the main character. Her choices and her like ability are questionable. This book just wasn’t for me but I think some would really enjoy it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I love anything about witches. The story is set in the 1600s in a fictional seaside town. I must say this is one of the better witch books that I have read. The main character is a midwife suspected of witchcraft. In this story, there is a male witch, which is nice to see. Yet very unusual in the books that I have read. Thank you Netgalley, and Scribner for providing the advanced copy of this book to me.

An Eloquent and haunting look into the truth of witch trials and how easily the fear and mistrust can spread and destroy a community based on absolutely no evidence. It’s also a showcase into how much power men have always had over women and how they’ve used that against them. At times it was hard to read because it’s unfortunately a story we all know the ending to.
I didn’t love the main character or at least I didn’t end up feeling any connection to her. And this book didn’t bring anything new to the idea of witch trials for me.