I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

What I enjoyed about this was that we had romance, mystery, and some historical fiction. What I didn’t;t enjoy was the pacing. It felt slow and I kept finding myself wanting to get to the point.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this at 44% after many, many attempts. I wanted this to work so bad but I just ended up being so confused between the romance between the two FMC and what was going on. I honestly was so lost. I was expecting an Appalachian eco-horror with queer MCs, and was more getting a queer romance with light eco-horror. Don’t get me wrong; I am a big sucker for a queer romance, but that’s just not what I was expecting out of this book. It’s lush and beautifully written so I may revisit.

I feel so sorry doing this, but I just can push myself to read it anymore. At the very beginning, I was fuelled with enthusiasm and interest, but then I started to feel how tiring and difficult it was to read for me. It is truly beautiful, but it's not my cup of tea and after a month of trying my best to stay engaged, I finally give up. I Hope there will be fewer people like me and more people who liked and enjoyed the story

Thanks to NetGalley, author and publishing for giving me an arc (and sorry again, everyone)

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC!

I love a good fantasy-horror-witchy vibe book. Reading this did satisfy those loves but it was also a very slow paced read.

The book is very interesting but it felt a little dull? I love angry pissed off witches but it sort of fell off. Overall the book was enjoyable and I do think it gives the southern gothic horror vibe but I don’t know if it would ever be a reread for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Erewhon Books for providing an eARC of Motheater by Linda H. Codega in exchange for this honest review!

🐦 Vibes
• Eco-Horror
• Anti-Industrialization
• Backwater Towns
• Big Witch Energy
• Nonlinear Narration

Big heads up! There are witch activities that may not be for everyone, such as animal sacrifices and self-harm.

Motheater takes place across parallel times in the Appalachian Kiron, a small town near the mountain of Kire. In the past, the Appalachian Neighbor Esther fights against the looming threat of industrialization and machinery coming to mine Kire while in the present Bennie and Motheater try to save Kiron from the vengeful titan that has been stealing away miners.

I really enjoyed the ecological horror aspects of this story, but the near-constant bible verbiage made it a struggle for me to stay immersed. I did find my mind reading Esther's chapters with the heaviest drawl ever, which I would definitely recommend doing 👌

The one thing Motheater does really well is create an atmospheric story. You can definitely feel the wilderness of the mountains, the desperation of the townspeople for their livelihood.

I don't have any particular strong feelings here; Motheater was a pretty middle of the road novel for me. The ending was inevitable, but not particularly satisfying. It also felt like there should have been much more urgency in the character's actions, but after almost every major revelation they go "well 🤷🏼‍♀️ time to eat and get a good night's sleep!". And the number of times Motheater says "I don't remember" regarding some part of herself or the past, I wanted to throttle her.

I just couldn't get completely into this book. There were times when it was fine, especially with the dark, witchy atmosphere of the book, but the overall pacing was a bit slower than I liked so I got bored quite a few times and it took me way too long to get through it. I was not a fan of Bennie, but Motheater was a bit more complex and I appreciated that, especially with the other POV that dives more into her character. The ending was also disappointing. The characters go through so much, only for there to be an ending that just falls flat, even after all of that buildup. The romance was also just weird. Bennie and Motheater's chemistry was basically non-existent and then somehow their non-existent interactions turned into them falling for each other? Its pretty unbelievable.

The atmosphere? 10/10. The magic system was earthy and interesting, and the setting felt so vivid that I could practically hear the rustling trees and smell the damp forest floor. Where it lost me a bit was the pacing. The beginning was strong, but the middle dragged, and I felt like some scenes got repetitive. I also wish the relationship between Bennie and Motheater had been explored more—it was compelling, but I needed more depth to really buy into their connection. And while I loved the themes (environmental destruction, religion vs. magic, systemic oppression), they sometimes overshadowed the characters’ development. That said, I did enjoy this! If you’re into atmospheric, folklore-heavy books with a slow-burn magical feel, it’s worth checking out. Just don’t expect everything to tie together perfectly.

I have always loved southern folk stories (such as the Raven Boys), and Motheater fit perfectly into this category. Although I did not connect very deeply with the romantic relationship, I appreciated the characters' depth and complexity. The theme of environmentalism felt very relevant, especially to our present day relationship (and lack of relationship) with the land we live on.

Currently catching up on reviewing my arcs so I will give a more detailed review in the future!

I really really wanted to like this book. The cover is gorgeous and the idea sounds right up my alley.
But it just felt too slow for me...the characters felt too flat and the mystery of the whole book was just...gone for me because of the flashbacks

I really enjoyed this slow story about Appalachian magic! The character work in this was really top tier.

This was a fantastic thriller. Twists, suspense, tension. The mystery was riveting. I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.

DNF at 65% (chapter 25)

I liked this book in theory but I just couldn't connect or really get into it. I do think this is just an issue with me, I just couldn't find the time to really get immersed in the story. It was also just really slow, which I don't personally love.

There are a lot of good things about this story, first and foremost the setting and atmosphere were incredible. The writing really suited this aspect of the story as well. The characters were interesting, but I never really felt connected to them. The plot was good on paper but was dragged out, I don't think this book should have been 400 pages long. Being shorter and condensed down would have suited the story a lot more.

Maybe one day I will come back and finish this book, but as it stands I just don't think its for me.

Thank you Kensington Publishing for providing this arc for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Motheater is a beautifully written book. As we follow Bennie and Esther/Motheater on their journey to fight against the wakening of the Appalachian mountain their town is built on, as well as the mining company that threats to awaken it. This is such an interesting exploration of capitalism, class, and nature versus industry and progress.

I love Appalachian fantasy and this book definitely did not disappoint. It was beautifully and insightfully written.

Bennie lives in a small Appalachian town and investigates a series of shady mining accidents. A strange coincidence ties her mission to a forest witch who speaks in an old dialect and cites scripture. It seems that Motheater may be the key to figuring out what’s really happening in the mines. But with her memory loss, their first task is to help her reclaim her knowledge and power. However, the more they find out, the more connections appear between Motheater and the mountain where people keep dying…

I loved the vibes of Appalachian mountain setting and the folky witchcraft. My favorite aspect was the concept of absorbing moths to receive messages from past souls. I do wish we had gained more insight into Esther’s past before becoming a Neighbour and deeper understanding of her magic and spells. Overall, I found the storyline set in the past more satisfying. A lot of things have popped up but then just withered, e.g. the anti-mining corporation thriller thread. It often felt inconsistent or confusing. At times the pacing felt a bit slow, yet characters motivations shifted so quickly that I found myself lost. I don’t know, perhaps Benny was meant to be a person who cannot make up her mind and is all over the place. To me, it could have been more powerful as a shorter story with more focused narrative. The ideas were compelling but the execution was a tad rough around the edges.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC for my honest review.

This was such a delightful read! I fell in love with the characters. It's diverse, and deals with important themes like what we're doing to the planet we live on. I'm so happy I got to this gem!

The strength of this book, I think, lies in its characters. I loved the titular Motheater as well as Bennie. Both were engaging, unique, and had great narrative voice. I also found the Appalachia setting and mix of sources of horror --religious, eco, corporate, rural, and witch--were done well. The overall vibe was both compelling and chilling.

However, I found the pacing very slow. I had no trouble differentiating or following the two timelines in the novel, but I think if either narrative was presented separately it would have been stronger. I often found myself caring more about the past than the present, particularly because of my interest in the witches and their specific domains which are really only present in the past.

I also didn’t feel the romantic connections between Motheater and Bennie really worked. Both were great and had strong motivations separately, but having them hook up just didn’t work for me. Others may disagree on that, and I admit as an aroace I may not be a great judge of it.

Motheater is a gripping, darkly atmospheric novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Linda Codega’s writing is both haunting and beautiful, weaving together mystery, tension, and deep emotional moments. The characters feel real and layered, making their journey one that stays with you long after the last page. With themes of identity, survival, and self-discovery, this book offers a powerful, immersive experience for anyone who enjoys a complex, thought-provoking narrative.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the premise and the writing of this book!!

It was really fun for a debut story about a witch who is trying to protect her home, the writing was good so were the characters, the main problem I had with this book was the length. Maybe about 40 (minimum) pages could be cut.