4.5/5
While this book was a little difficult to get into at first, I ended up really enjoying it. The worldbuilding and magic system are interesting and well-written, allowing the reader to become immersed into the story completely. The two main characters have great chemistry and their relationship is well written; the only downside I’d say it has is that they get together in a rather quick timeline. One of the best parts of this book was definitely the plot twist, which while was surprising, made a lot of sense and didn’t feel like it came out of nowhere.

Thank you NetGalley and the authors for this ARC review.

This story was gripping from the start. I was completely at the edge of my seat and emotionally connected to the main character of Fritzi. The other main character Otto who's point of view we read throughout the story, I had less of a connection. In fact, I found myself questioning his choices often, and not in a pleasant way.

The is an enemies to lovers story, that just happens to also be witches vs. witch hunters, and a story of revenge. The revenge saga felt real. Knowing world history, and the awful things which transpired toward women and witches, I was really interested to see where this journey would lead. Into a series, apparently.

The love/lovers happened so fast, and seemingly without any real explanation as to how and why, that I had trouble believing it. I like the nature vs. nurture aspect of these people's lives, but felt the love itself felt forced.

It was a quick read, but for me, was missing something in the way the story unfolds.

In this book, our FMC is a witch on a mission to rescue her captured cousin. Along her journey, an unexpected alliance forms with none other than a witch hunter. As they join forces to combat the evil threatening the world and the magic within it, a unique bond emerges.

Now, a little something about me – if a book revolves around witches being hunted, consider it added to my reading list in a heartbeat. I hold a deep rage for that dark chapter in history, and any book that confronts the absurdity of those times, exposing the misogyny that fueled witch hunts and the persecution of women who dared to defy societal norms, well, that's my kind of book.

This book tackles these themes head-on, shedding light on the true nature of the witch hunters.

The only reason I didn't award it a full 5 stars is because I found it a bit challenging to grasp the villain's motives. By the end, there seemed to be a plot hole involving the villain. However, as this is the first book in the series, I'm hopeful that we'll receive clarifications as the story unfolds. Count me in for the second book as soon as it becomes available.

Thank you, @netgalley and @sourcebooksfire, for this wonderful read!

Night of the Witch is the first book in a new young adult series set during the German witch trials in the 1500s. It is a dark and horrific time period that the authors treat with respect, but it can be a haunting read at times.

I really enjoyed the two main characters, Fritzi and Otto. Fritzi is a young woman who has a lot of responsibility thrust upon her by the loss of her coven. She is on a mission to save the one other witch who survived, her cousin Liesel, and then to flee to the Black Forest. She meets Otto, a witch hunter, and things just spiral from there. Fritzi does a lot of growing in this book, from a scared teenager to a young woman who will help those who need it most despite the odds of failure. Otto is a young man who became a witch hunter only to burn their tyranny to the ground, and to try to save some innocent lives. He is brave and kind, and pretty smart. I loved his reaction to learning that magic is real, but maybe he accepted it a bit too quickly. I liked the relationship that evolved throughout the book between him and Fritzi, but I would have liked it to maybe move a bit more slowly.

There is one secondary character that I want to mention: Liesel. She is a charming little witch with a lot of power. She plays an important role in the story, and because of this, she seems a bit more mature than a 10-year-old at times. But then there are instances of her just being a little girl, and those moments are simply priceless. I hope she continues to bring these little rays of sunshine in the next book.

The plot of the story is well done, with good pacing and excellent banter between Otto and Fritzi, along with some nice little twists. The magical system is interesting, with two different kinds and the involvement of goddesses. Each witch also has her own affinity for certain types of magic, which makes for some intriguing scenes. The historical content is well executed, with vivid descriptions of the cities and people. There are some difficult scenes of torture, burning people alive, and animal cruelty, which, while hard to read, are important to the time period and the witch hunts in particular.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in this series with its believable characters and historical setting. I am eagerly looking forward to reading the next book and seeing how that surprising ending unfolds.

Enemies to lovers and witches. Perfect for the fall season. This was a fun book and Fritzy was a fun character. The romance was great and this was fast paced and enjoyable.

This was a great introduction to a series! There was a lot of action, Magic, a compelling plot, and interesting characters. I really loved the mix of historical fiction and fantasy and it felt different from more recent YA fantasies I’ve read out there. I really hope that this series takes off because it was well written and well researched. There is one “steamy scene” that I think makes this more upper YA, not NA just yet.

Otto and Fritizi are supposed to be on the opposite side of the fight, a witch and a witch hunter but they each have a desire to bring down the head of the witch hunters and stop the burning of hundreds of innocent men and women who were accused of witches. This leads to the reveal of learning more about each characters past and their motivations. The plot moves quickly in this story, which I liked because we got to see and do so much in this 300+ book. I would have loved to have more tension filled/romantic moments between these characters before they easily start falling for each other.

I look forward to seeing this book/series blow up once it’s published and look forward to this series and future books! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC!

A captivating story following witches in the time of witch burnings! I loved the fast pace of the story and enemies to lovers trope. There were a few twists in the story that took me by surprise that keep the story feeling fresh and engaging. The only issue was that some of the language and mannerisms felt too modern and out of place for the historical setting, but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment for the book!

This book was really interesting liked the way it blended history of the witch trials in Europe and fantasy together as the dark undertone to it which goes really well the characters are written really well it is a witchy read

Fritzi is a witch and Otto is a hexenjager (witch hunter). Fritzi is after the Kommandant Dieter Kirch who had the people of her village killed and stole away her cousin, whom Fritzi wants to save. But Fritzi is captured by Otto after Fritzi saves his sister unknowing it was part of a bigger plan, and one she must now take on.
I won’t tell anymore as this is a book you will want to read yourself. The characters are good and the twists will make your head spin. There is so much action and suspense you will stay up past your bedtime reading. This is really a good book even with the German interspersed through it, and well worth the time.

I really liked the premise of this- witch hunts set in the Holy Roman Empire. I don't know if the book quite lives up to the setting but it was an interesting enough romantic fantasy, appropriate for teens, A lot of the world-building to me felt like an onslaught of German words without a ton of description. I would be interested to read the sequel, since this was left not entirely resolved.

This book was all over the place. About 5 chapters from the end there's a complete turn in plot which involved the witch "gods" or whatever you want to call them that is so confusing. I struggled to finish this but forced myself to so that I could at least confirm whether to continue on in the series. It's a no for me. I don't think the writing itself is bad, just the movement of the plot. It didn't seem to make a lot of sense why Dieter was so evil and wanted power. For what?? What in the world did he want? It was like a world dominance thing. He was so unhinged it was comical. Evil for evil's sake I suppose. I didn't care for the characters. None were very fleshed out. I couldn't tell you what personality each of these people had. So many characters are introduced after they get to the forest and it's hard to keep track. The motives don't make sense on either side. The instalove was the most insta I've seen in a while. Completely unbelievable and I've never felt literally nothing during a steamy scene before. I feel like this could have been edited down quite a bit. It was way too long for too little happening. I can't imagine how this could be stretched out into more books.

Thanks to netgalley for an e-arc to read and review in exchange for an honest review.

Fritzi has just survived a witch hunter attack on her coven and plans to save the one family member she knows has also survived. Otto is a captain in the hexenjägers and has a secret … he doesn’t want to burn witches; he wants to save them. As their plans converge, these two are unsure if they can trust each other, but they know they share an enemy. What truths will be uncovered? Will these two have what it takes to save 100 witches?

Night of the Witch is the first book in the Witch and Hunter series. This first book completes its world-building without a lot of effort. I don’t know if it is because this time in our history already has a lot of books or it was the authors, but I’m not complaining. The story rolls along and the twist in the story is unexpected and appreciated. This is a great series opener and readers will want to add the next volume to their TBR list.

thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks fire for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. it wasn’t a standout, any issues are resolved swiftly or simply, and the general plot felt quite formulaic.

This was a tough read from day one. It moved so slowly for me and it just didn’t draw me in. Honestly, it was really boring for the most part. I could not see a connection between the two main characters at all. The violence and torture was a bit rough to read about and marred any potential enjoyment of the overall story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is about a witch named Fritzi who is on a mission to save her cousin who was taken prisoner by witch hunters. She is taken captive by witch hunters on her way to the city and ends up working with A fake hunter named Otto to free a bunch of witches before a mass burning.

What I liked:
The magic:
I liked the magic and lore aspect of this book. It was interesting and had lots of layers.

The Characters:
Otto and Fritzi were easy to root for, and all the side characters were well rounded and felt real.

The plot twist:
There were many twists in this book and things I didn’t see coming.

What I disliked:

The pacing:
I struggled a bit with the pacing of this book, it jumped from slow to quick a lot and sometimes it just felt of.

The ending:
I won’t spoil anything but Strong dislike for the ending. I mean I get it but stil.

Sadly had a hard time with this one!

I’ve enjoyed both Beth Revis and Sara Raasch’s separate books, but as much as I hate to say it, this one felt quite different from either. The beginning was so strongly reminiscent of Serpent and Dove, but without the slow-burn, and the villain only became more caricatured as the book went on. I did really enjoy Fritzi and Otto’s relationship toward the middle of the book, which was my favorite part, but I had a hard time putting my finger on why the three witches/the Well/and the whole champion/witch thing fell short for me, so that might be more of a me-thing.

Still I’m very grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc—I did think I would love it!

I love good witch trial story, so I've read many. However, I don't think I've read anything else based on the Trier Witch Trials, so this one was a pleasantly unique blend of historical fiction and fantasy for me. The world-building and character development were well done, making me feel like I was right in the thick of it. The pace was quick, and I didn't want to put it down. The ending did not surprise me, but I really enjoyed this book and will look forward to reading the next one.

Fritzi is the lone survivor of an attack on her coven by a group of witch hunters. As a means to the same end, so she hopes, Fritzi joins forces with a member of the very gang responsible for the attack. Can she trust him?

I was a little bored with this one, but was happy the change in genre after so many summer reads.

It was okay. I think I would've enjoyed more action and less torture. There wasn't really anything in this that was exciting or new enough to share with my students.

Night of the Witch is a brand new reimagining of the European Witch Trials. Following along with Fritzi and Otto, Witch and witch hunter, both are quickly introduced as enemies. As the story progresses, both realise there is much more to each other than meets the eye and they slowly morph into allies - then something more starts blossoming. Both has the same goal, uniting against one evil and saving magic, the book quickly takes you on that journey then leaves you with a cliffhanger ready for book two. This would be perfect for lovers of fantasy, love and romance and the creation of a new magical world.

Night of the Witch would be for you if you love;
- Enemies to lovers
- Witches and Witch Hunters
- Dual POV

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Fire and Raasch & Revis for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This one releases October 3rd, 2023.