Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The writing felt lengthy and repetitive, but at the same time, the story and characters kinda rushed – there was a lot of “reaction to” moments, which is not my favourite way to build a narrative. I did not click with characters and writing, which are two pretty important parts of a folk horror / fantasy book with a small, queer romance in it. Now, the other part of folk horror writing is the world building that relates to the characters’ environment, which I acknowledge the writer’s goal to create a nuanced story about environmental themes. I’m curious what the author is going to publish next, since I see the potential and knowledge about those topics.
This book was not for me, but I definitely want to read more queer Appalachian fantasy / folk horror books! (2,5 stars)

3*

I had high hopes for Motheater, and though I enjoyed the writing and the world building, I think the pacing was a little slow and the ending lacked the oomph I was expecting with the aspects of feminine rage and nature vs capitalism.

A folk horror fantasy set in the angry mountains of Appalachia!

The vibes:
folk witch
the wrath of nature
an angry mountain
folk magic
nature as power
moths, birds, snakes

You guys I really wanted to like this more. It started off so strong, I was all bought in and ready to go. I quickly lost interest. I think the right people will love this book. For me, by about 20% in, I was wanting to read something else. I did finish it, barely.

Why I almost didn't finish it:
I found all the characters unlikeable. I felt like this was at times derogatory to the people of the region. Super slow pacing relying on vibes rather than plot, you could retell this plot in one long paragraph. Confusing random scripture lines. Actually all the magic was confusing and not in a compelling quirky weird lit way. Completely shoehorned in queer romance that didn't need to be there and had nothing to do with the plot.

It's not a poorly written book, it just wasn't for me.

I think this book will work well for others looking for something slower-paced, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I love the new trend of Queer Appalachian fantasy, and was thrilled for another edition to the genre. However, I found I was struggling to pick this one back up each time; the plot feels very repetitive and stilted (there is a lot of Bennie reacting to something Motheater does, over and over again) and I didn’t like that all of Motheater’s character development was relegated to her past POV. A DNF at 50%

Haunting prose, and as an Appalachian reader I appreciated the richly drawn atmosphere and environmental themes. The story unfolds in a slow burn, and is a perfect read for a chilly October.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

This book was wonderful, wild, whimsical, and queer, and I loved it. Though I didn’t always get the local dialect (since I’m not from the area), that language made the book feel even more authentic. Similarly, when I first started out reading the book, the ephemeral nature of the magic system kind of frustrated me— I’m much more used to a clearly defined magic system. But the more I read, that more I realized that the magic not having concrete rules was kind of the point. It was supposed to be to big and wild for the average person to comprehend— the world is older and more vast than we were ever meant to comprehend, and that’s how Motheater’s magic functions.

I love a book with a rich dark folkloric atmosphere and this did not disappoint! I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but it did not disappoint!

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of Motheater in exchange for review.

4 stars

This book is incredibly hard to describe… I loved the setting, the story, and the writing. It was magical and mysterious while still being relatable to every day life.
Our FMC Bennie is so likable and realistic. I would 100% be interested and curious about a girl I found facedown in a river that was still alive and also had some… special… abilities… but also no memory?

And personally I LOVE a feral little witch girl especially one in tune with the forest and earth as a whole.

As interested as I was to continue each day and see where the story would lead me, it also did tend to drag for some reason. I think partially because it starts so fast paced and exciting and then we get a POV change and have no idea what’s going on and it’s a much slower explanation of things.

I found myself sighing a little when we would get to an Esther chapter until much later in the book when both sides had me on my toes.

I also wish we had a little more background as to what happened between Bennie and Zach? They obviously still cared for eachother but I guess the stress of everything and trying to deal with loss and corruption were just too much?

I also must have missed that this was an LGBTQ story because I was quite surprised when that turn came into play but I loved it. So romantic and totally something I would do in the same situation.

I love a story about how industrialization is ruining things and this was a super fun and unique spin on that.
Overall, this was great and if you have a better attention span than I do you may love it even more. Thank you!

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was well paced and the characters were well written. I look forward to reading more from this author.

"Motheater" is an evocative queer magical horror novel that immerses readers in a world rife with gloom and enigma. . The plot is compelling, brimming with twists and layered mysteries that sustain a palpable tension throughout but, despite the rich setting and intriguing narrative, I found it difficult to forge a connection with the characters. Their development felt somewhat insufficient, detracting from my emotional investment in their journeys. As a result, I was more engaged with the haunting atmosphere and intricate plot than with the character arcs, slightly diminishing my overall experience. In summary, while "Motheater" excels in atmospheric depth and narrative complexity, it could benefit from more nuanced character exploration. Nonetheless, it remains a worthy read for those who appreciate lush descriptions and a sense of dark allure.

There was something particularly heart-wrenching about reading this in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, living in Western North Carolina. I picked it up after the storm seeking communal comfort, hoping to soften my grief with a story deeply rooted in the history of my home.

This story was absolutely a comfort and balm, while also ripping my heart open. I don't really have words for what I felt while reading this - all I can say is that it was beautiful and I cried at the end.

Protect what you love is a rallying cry for this community, one that I first heard while living in VA not far from the pipeline protests. To hear it echoed in this story, while watching the WNC community rally around each other in the wake of destruction...it was what I needed.

I found this book at exactly the right time. I hope you find it when you need it, as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading something that was witchy but different! It had a good story line to begin with & I liked that the chapters go back in the past to Mothereaters past to help figure out what’s happening in the present. I really enjoyed the writing style of this author it was written really well but it lost me for the last quarter of the book, maybe it was the wrong time for me to read it but I’d like to re-read it again in the near future!

I loved the idea of this story and was super into it. Witches and horror fantasy are generally go to's for me. But it felt like it took a long time for the story to get going. I think it might have been a case of wrong book wrong time for me. I'd be curious to come back to it at some other time and see if I can get into it a bit more. It just didn't get to the point where it really clicked for me, though I did find the writing really good, and almost magical.

Motheater is a queer magical horror with gloomy aesthetics and mystery at every turn. I enjoyed the descriptions, it really added to the witchy vibes and dark fantasy mood of the novel. I did not however feel particularly attached to the characters, which made me a little less interested in the development.
I was drawn in by the atmospheric writing and overall plot.

Linda Codega uses wonderful language in their work, and uses a great hook to start the story. However, I found the tale told from the perspective of a bipoc woman in a remote town in Appalachia at times unconvincing, and even moreso with her attraction to a woman from the time period after “The Brother’s War”. I understand that the author takes great pride in their roots and aimed to show a realistic take on perspectives but, with the too-slow moving heat and differences in background I just wasn’t convinced of the chemistry or attraction. Additionally, the story begins to drag in the second act. By the time the town is described in the circa 1880s about 100 pages in the story has slowed to a trickle. I think perhaps this is due to confusion on the author’s part about to tell a complicated tale of place and culture that at its heart this is a story with a strong environmental message. The mystery of the Kiron mines would have done just as well as a real world mystery/thriller but shifting it to an almost eldritch horror story makes the narrative at times clunky with over-information. That being said I think with practice Codega shows great promise.

Well, this was a book. It wasn’t bad, but I didn’t really enjoy it. I love the setting and the dual time lines, but that’s where my love ends.

First off, I don’t like Bennie. Her overall attitude kind of sucks. Kudos to those around her for putting up with her. I get that she’s upset her friend (and others) died, but that’s not a reason to be rude to everyone else. She pushed her boyfriend away, and he continually tries to offer her support despite her ignoring him and being rude. And she expects an awful lot of help from a woman who is essentially a complete stranger. And she’s flat out mean to said stranger on multiple occasions.

Motheater I can’t quite figure out. I don’t know if I like her or not, but I guess I understand her struggle. She was forced to the edge of society despite doing what she could to rectify a problem she inadvertently caused. However, other people’s bigotry didn’t allow her to complete that.

Overall, I guess I was expecting more mystery and suspense, so I was left a little unfulfilled.

Overall, I think this was an incredibly well-written and perfectly atmospheric book that is a very impressive debut novel. However, even though I largely enjoyed this novel, it was a bit confusing plot-wise at times. The story immediately starts full throttle on the first page. It was a bit jarring to get into at first and really wish there was a bit more of an introduction into the characters and setting before we got to the main plot line. I think the Appalachian setting was so perfect for this story and really loved learning about the social and economic culture that makes up this part of the world. While I did end up feeling pretty immersed in this setting, I wish we could have learned a little more about it in the beginning, specifically Bennie's everyday life. With how immediate everything starts, it kind of feels like Bennie just spawned for the events of the book to take place. Everything also ends pretty abruptly as well, but I think that it works a bit better than the rushed introduction and didn't mind it as much.
Furthermore, I was a little confused by everyone's motivations in the story, and when I did figure it out, it felt like it kind of got dropped with no warning. I think I figured it out by the end, but the plot was so meandering at times, that it got too confusing at times.
However, I did really love Motheater/Esther's moral dilemma on whether or not she should protect the well-being of the environment or of her people. I think it's a very relevant debate in what's happening right now with climate change and how we fix that. I saw some reviews saying that they didn't like the ending because it wasn't really a triumph of environmentalism over capitalism, but I don't think that's really the message of the book. Yes, we need to help protect nature and we are currently on a path of complete destruction because of our society's absolute worship of profit over everything else, but we cannot forget the well-being of people as well. A big point of this book is that if the mining industry leaves Kiron then the town will completely collapse. These people, who are already economically vulnerable, will no longer have any work opportunities and will completely loose their way of life. What would happen to those who can't move in order to find work and would it even be okay to completely abandon this town that is home to generations of history? It's a very interesting perspective that isn't really considered when we think of the climate change debate.
The characters themselves are also a great part of this book. They're all complex and they all have to fight their own inner turmoil while trying to defeat this godly being. I loved Bennie and Motheater and loved how the author wrote their magic. I love how connected the witches/magic is connected to the Earth and its animals. The connection between Bennie and Motheater was very sweet, but I think the romance was a little unnecessary. They had a literal world-ending monster to defeat and Motheater had to fight to figure out her identity after basically coming back from the dead, so it just felt like they had way too much on their plate and they didn't need to worry about any romance.
While I think this book could have been cleaned up a little bit plot-wise, it was overall an incredible read and would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys atmospheric witchy reads.

when i first started reading, i was super attracted to the character of motheater, i think her essence is key in the book and if not for her i would have probably skip some pages.

but the main problem for me is that even though i found this very interesting and there were descriptions that made me feel chills, it was HIGHLY confusing at times, even more with the time jumps. also, i would have loved if the magic was explained a little more.

i really reeeeally love the appalachian and witchy set but i feel this book still lacks in some (several) other topics. overall it was not a good reading experience because it felt empty at times and there was days i wanted to drop the book. motheater my beloved what i have to put up with to keep reading your beautiful character.

Nature vs. Capitalism, but make it mix with Appalachian folklore and a good bit of sapphic romance.

We follow Bennie, as she pulls out from a river Motheater, the once very powerful witch of Kire mountain. There's something going on in the mines deep down Kire, and we gradually discover what's happening. Oh, did I mention that the magic system used by Motheater works by using scriptures? For some reason, Christian imagery used in a pagan setting (or better, reimagined in ANY setting) is my guilty pleasure, so I guess you know how I feel about that.
The characters read like a found family to me, both from our time and the past, all tied together by Nature and Appalachia. For some reason I kept picturing Motheater as Aurora.

The language is extraordinarily curated, it feels lyrical while earthy at the same time. The descriptions are so vivid and alive in a way, they really feel magical and steeped in folklore.

However, this isn't a book for everyone. The pacing is quite slow and it's more about discovering what happened to Motheater and what really happens in the mines than anything. Do not expect a big fantasy novel with tons of action scenes. But maybe that's why I loved it.

beautiful, unique, heartwrenching. everything in this book is a triumph, from the lush setting to the gorgeous prose to motheater herself. i felt breathless reading this and tore through the final pages while simultaneously not wanting it to end. i’ll keep this one with me for a long time.