Thank you Netgalley & Source Books Fire for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wish I was a YA girlie - I’m just not. And that’s okay! The plot was good & I was intrigued, but overall I wanted more. The storyline was a little clunky, & I spent a lot of time confused about what was happening. I didn’t feel much chemistry between the main characters & the pacing was off.

Overall, it was okay. I think I would have enjoyed an adult version of this!

Thank you for an advanced copy of this book!

I was so excited for this book, and the premise of the story is really good. But, the story itself was so boring I couldn't stand it! The plot was boring, the story dragged, and the characters felt so forced.

I was very disappointed in this book, and I was so excited for it. I don't know if this book was a let-down because I was so excited, or what, but it was just a snooze fest.

Rating: 2⭐️

I loved Sara Raasch’s “Snow Like Ashes” series as well as “These Rebel Waves.” Beth Revis’s writing was new to me. “Night of the Witch” was a fascinating tale of revenge and unexpected love. I absolutely loved that it was set during an actual historical event with a fantasy twist. This a first read of this kind for me. I can’t wait for my students to have it in our library.

Oh, that ending! I was a little skeptical about the synopsis, but I ended up really enjoying this one. I think the recommendation of this being for fans of Serpent & Dove is perfect.

I’ve been attempting to get through this book for the last two months, and I could only get to 50%. I figured I’d come back to it at some point, but I find myself not wanting to. The storyline was interesting, but I just couldn’t get into it. I found myself not connecting with or caring about any of these characters one bit. I just didn’t get enough about any of them to truly care, are therefore it was a struggle to read every page. I had high hopes, but it just wasn’t a hit for me.

A very intriguing plot idea but the execution could’ve been better in my opinion. I didn’t fully believe the romance and it felt like it wasn’t organic.

Great world building and romance against the odds.

- enemies to lovers
- YA fantasy
- banter
- forbidden romance

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, quick read for me. I really enjoyed the magic in this book and thought that the world building was done well. I also liked our main characters, and enjoyed having chapters from both of their perspectives. However, the romance felt rushed to me. I enjoyed my time overall, but I don't know if I'll pick up the next book.

I thought this would be d bit different going in. I really enjoyed the magic and the world building, but I could not get behind the other religion in the book. Additionally, I really didn't buy into the romance. It felt rushed if I am being honest. I did like the villain arc, that did catch me by surprise and I really did enjoy the magic system. I just feel like there was a bit too much God in it for my liking of teen fantasy books.

Night of the Witches is set in Germany, with witch trails more like a historical retelling with YA. I would enjoy the Adult version. This is very different then Sara or Beth's usually work and it may be because the combine writing style. I like the cliffhanger, I just want more and more from every aspect! Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and the authors for providing me with this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4/5 STARS

Genre: YA historical fantasy

Similar Books:
Serpent & Dove

Synopsis:
Fritzi’s coven gets killed & captured by witch hunters. She vows to find survivors and get revenge all while trying to control her magic.

This was a slow burn witch hunter book with dual POVs. I loved the historical aspect surrounding the witch trials in Europe. This book adds fantasy to the trials with powerful witches, potions, and wild magic. The enemies to lovers romance was more of a subplot with room to grow in the next book. It ends with a cliffhanger and is set up nicely for a sequel. If you enjoyed the pace and witch hunter vibes of Serpent & Dove, you will like this book!

Thank you SourceBooks Fire for the ARC! 🧙‍♀️

Interesting overall historical take on the witch trials set in Germany. Very light enemies to lovers vibes. Witch and witch hunter quickly learn there is more to the other than they originally thought. As enemies turn into allies, something more blossoms between the two. As they focus on stopping Kommandant Dieter Kirch and saving magic, you will be left standing at a cliffs edge as you wait for the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Raasch & Revis for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was based around the Trier witch trials in Germany between 1581 and 1593. While I did not know anything of these events before reading the book, I feel that the authors did a fantastic job with the storyline and created what was a harrowing read at times. It was the perfect combination of historical fiction and fantasy, with lots of magic and a compelling storyline.

I enjoyed the dual POV between Fritz, our witch FMC and Otto, the witch hunter! The premise of “a witch should never fall for her hunter” sucked me right in to this one, I am a sucker for that forbidden romance / enemies to lovers vibe. However, I wish there was more chemistry between the two MC’s. I could see what the author was doing, and there was also that element of slow burn - and let me tell you, it was slow burning up until 80% and if you’ve read the book you know the scene! But OMG I wanted so much more by that point and then it fell a bit flat for me, the slow burn sizzled out and I just didn’t believe in the “romance”.

I won’t go too much in to the plot in this review as I don’t think you can ever really say much without spoiling it for the next reader, but I will say there were a few nice surprises along the way. Things weren’t always as they seemed and I really fell in love with Otto as a character.

Although the chapters were quite short in this book, which I usually love, I struggled a bit with the pacing. Sometimes I felt like I was flying through the book, there was a lot happening and I was easily bouncing from one chapter the next. Then at other times I felt like you had read 4 or 5 chapters and not really moved any further in the story or there wasn’t much going on, if that makes sense!

This is the first book of what will be a series, and the ending of the book opens up nicely to introduce a second book. It will be a series I continue to read, I just hope we get a bit more character development in the next one as I feel like the book had a whole cast of characters that I struggled to keep up with or connect too.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story and the characters. Although, I wish there had been slightly more build up to the main events and the romance felt a bit too sudden, I overall enjoyed it.

I will definitely read the sequel when it comes out.

2.5 stars

Witch and hunter seek vengeance against zealot witch hunters. Fritzi and Otto, from opposite sides of the Trier Witch Trials (1581 – 1593), unite to bring justice to their common enemy, Kommandant Dieter Kirch, who's responsible for their families' suffering. Together they work to uncover a deeper conspiracy within the hexenjäger ranks.

Raasch and Revis have clearly done their research. And as such, as is quite often the case, books with such extensive research tend to fall a little flat. The level to which they obviously needed to teach the reader about the history and worked to weave their own fantasy witchcraft elements into the plot resulted in a burdensome narrative. Night of the Witch had some interesting components at play, but neither main character, either Fritzi or Otto, could hold up the weight of this tale. With the focus on the world-building, both true and fantastical, the protagonists suffered almost as much as the antagonist, who felt handwringingly one-dimensional.

Possibly the most destructive element to this book was the pervasive use of present tense. Often the most stifling and constrictive tense, especially when paired with a first-person point of view that flips back and forth between the characters who get to helm this ship, the present tense in Night of the Witch proves to be presumably counterproductive and slows down the pace to a snail's speed. For the most part, present tense can only deal in absolutes (i.e., I am either witnessing this event or I am not). And to rely on this gimmick for almost the entirety of the novel is to bog down the narrative with a lot of telling rather than the preferred showing that would lend itself to creating organically nuanced characters. Instead, the moments must consist of a relay of either movements (like a golf announcer — "He steps up to the tee.") or direct emotions (like a board book — "Jane is sad."). It makes for an exhausting story.

That being said, some elements were interesting and a few moments stood out, such as when Otto relays to Fritzi his plan and they begin to work together to ensure success. If this had been a little less heavy with set-up and instructional content, and more focused with a past tense narration, I think this could've worked nicely as a short story or novella.

"New York Times bestselling authors Sara Raasch and Beth Revis weave a tale of romance, vengeance, and magic in this start to the Witch and Hunter duology, an epic enemies to lovers fantasy romance.

Fritzi is a witch. The lone survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she's determined to find her only remaining family member and bring the hexenjägers - zealot witch hunters - to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader, the merciless and enigmatic Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger - but that's just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjägers burned his innocent mother alive, and he has been plotting his revenge against the people who tore apart his family ever since. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they've done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other. The reluctant truce fueled by their common enemy takes them from the city at the heart of the hexenjägers' power to the wild and mysterious Black Forest. As old truths come to light and new dangers are revealed, Fritzi and Otto uncover a horrifying magical plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks that leads back to Kommandant Kirch...but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all."

It's October, time to read about some zealot witch hunters.

4/5

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is perfect for those who love everything witchy, enemies to lovers, and an interesting foreshadowing.

I really enjoyed the main characters Fritzi and Otto and watch their relationship go from enemies to lovers! This book was cute and quick read for me.

I would recommend!

Having read and loved Sara Raasch's "Snow Like Ashes" series, I was really excited to see this available on NetGalley. It didn't disappoint at all. Although it took me a little while to actually feel like I was making progress in reading it, I'm fairly certain that was more a me-problem than it is a problem with the book; I was really enjoying it even when I felt like it was taking me forever to get through even a couple of pages. But once I hit my stride with it, it flew by - the characters are fabulous, the atmosphere and setting are pristinely-crafted, and the writing is gorgeous. Raasch and Revis are a dream team, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel - because there HAS to be a sequel, the way that ended! The world of witches, the Forest Folk, and the hexenjagers who hunt them all, is one to which I will definitely return.

Thanks to #partner @netgalley and @sourcebooksfire for the digital ARC of Sara Raasch and Beth Revis's Night of the Witch. The book will be published on October 3!

I absolutely loved Sara Raasch and Beth Revis's Night of the Witch, which uses a historical foundation to delve into the world of witches, witch hunts, and hexenjägers (hunters).

The book opens in fourteenth century Germany with the decimation of Fritzi’s village as her mother, friends, and family are killed or imprisoned. Fritzi herself escapes after her mother hides her—against her will—in the basement, as Fritzi listens to the sounds of destruction and terror. When she realizes that her young cousin has been taken by Dieter Kirch, the head hunter, she vows to get her back, following the pack of hunters to the city that is their headquarters.

Alternating chapters tell the story of Otto, a hunter who is Dieter’s second in command. Otto’s father was one of the earliest hunters, and his heritage has led him to the heights of the fervor. The hunters are plotting a spectacle, the burning of 100 witches, and Otto takes a small group out to arrest his sister, Hilde, to make her a part of the group. That’s where he meets Fritzi, who hears the ruckus and steps in to save Hilde.

The writing and characterization here are gorgeous, and both Fritzi and Otto are nuanced figures who wrestle with their own responsibility in the face of their society’s manic attacks on anyone who lies outside the narrow path available to its citizens. Raasch and Revis raise questions about women’s power, about obligations to one’s community and the greater good, about the role of religion in morality. This is the first book in a series that I’ll definitely be continuing.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC!

I was over the moon about this book based on the description and it did not disappoint!
If enemies to lovers with an excellent magic system is your thing, you'll want to read this book. I was hooked by the first chapter.