The Bane Witch completely blew me away—dark, thrilling, and utterly immersive. I was hooked from the first page, completely captivated by the world-building and the way the magic felt both dangerous and mesmerizing. The characters were complex and compelling, and I loved how their struggles and choices kept me on the edge of my seat. The story balanced suspense, emotion, and a hint of romance perfectly, making it a book I didn’t want to end. It’s one of those reads that stays with you long after the final page—definitely five stars from me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars)

The Bane Witch was an interesting and atmospheric read. I enjoyed the witchy, darkly magical vibe and the lyrical prose Ava Morgyn is known for. The story touches on themes of female empowerment, which I really appreciated, and the characters were layered and complex.

That said, the pacing felt uneven at times, and while the twists and intrigue kept me curious, it didn’t fully grip me all the way through. Still, it’s a solid read with a strong message and a haunting atmosphere that fans of gothic fantasy may enjoy.

Piers is fleeing an abusive husband, and she knows there’s only one way he’ll truly let her go: if she’s dead. So she fakes her death and makes her way across the country to the only family she has left: a great-aunt she hasn’t spoken to since she was a child. Piers meets the rest of the family and learns she is a Bane Witch–and that her husband is not the only one after her.

Piers is such a realistic, relatable character. It was easy to be on her side as she made mistakes, developed into her new identity, and learned to forgive herself, even if she wasn’t always likable.

As far as the other characters, there’s not enough diversity for 2025, and no, a small-town setting is not a good excuse. There could’ve easily been a lesbian couple and some women of colour in the coven. Loses a full star for lack of representation.

Overall an immersive story about sisterhood, empowerment, and strength, THE BANE WITCH is one of my favourite reads of 2025.

I loved the premise of this book: a witch capable of poisoning men by consuming poison herself. There was a lot to enjoy in this story, but the pacing lagged and it didn't stick with me very long.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St.
Martin's Griffin for the ARC.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable reading experience.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this but it was so good!! I was immediately drawn into Piers' story and getting away from her abusive husband. The author does am incredible job of the revealing what a bane witch and bringing all the compenents together. I found myself turning the pages, unable to put it down. I wanted to know what happened next - who was the next target and would they be caught. The little touch of romance was perfect and I love a good dog in a story.

I just want to stay in this world a little longer - stay with these characters, continue to follow their stories and that to me is the mark of a brilliant book!!

This was such a great story! I love Piers, her family, and their awesome ability to eat poison and use that poison to kill evil men. This family is similar to poison frogs ingesting toxic insects to build up poison on their skin, so cool.

I loved the ending of this book; it was not what I was expecting, but it was the perfect ending to this story.

Looking forward to reading more of Ava Morgyn's wok in the future.

The book blub for this one is "Practical Magic meets Gone Girl". This fun but dark fantasy witchy read is entirely spellbinding. "A very little poison can do a world of good".
It works and it's compelling with family drama with a feminist perspective.

DNF a third of the way through.

I was very excited to receive an eARC of this novel. Its mystery and intrigue, along with a Gone Girl aesthetic, felt fresh and exciting with the addition of poison and witchy vibes.

However, I quickly fell bored. The plot moved very fast, and I felt dragged along. It also felt formulaic; I could almost predict Piers' steps. Piers continued making poor decisions despite being a grown woman--while that can be a part of a character's arc, it came across as too obvious.

Despite picking up and putting down even after publication, I couldn't be compelled to continue on. Perhaps I will revisit during the spookier months for a light read, but for now, it's not for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC copy of this book. It's always an honor.

Posted on July 30, 2025 on Goodreads.

I picked this up before release but wasn’t quite ready for it so I recently circled back and WOW. This was so freaking good! 🔥

I’m not a huge fantasy reader, but give me witches and thrillers and I’m in! 🧙‍♀️🔪

This had everything: murder, revenge, witchcraft, and sisterhood. Once I got into it, I could not stop turning the pages. I was up at 3AM, in pitch black, in a hotel room during a basketball tournament with my husband and daughter devouring this in the dark. 😱📖

The characters were fully developed and the ending? 👏 So well done. Easy, easy 5⭐️ read for me. If you haven’t picked this one up yet, stop what you’re doing and grab it! 🙌

Side note: Ever since I finished this, mushrooms are popping up everywhere around me… I’m starting to question my witchyness. 🍄😅

DNFed at around 20%. I couldn’t get into the story and wish I did. The storyline sounds amazing but sadly this book is just not for me. It’s a dark book (not out of comfort level for me) but honestly nothing big was happening that was keeping me intrigued to keep on going. This was sadly a miss for me but I hope I to see other books by Morgyn soon.

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return *

Whew that was a wild ride! Lots going on here. Feminist vigilante fantasy thriller novel. Piers reclaims her identity after years of abuse and finds out she has inherited some lethal magic that subdues bad guys better than any man-made weapon. It's twisty, and the world building takes a bit to get going. The writing is well done, but there are a few things that don't quite add up even at the end. There's potential for a sequel though, so I wonder if anything is meant to come back up in another book. Anyway, I enjoyed this overall. It was fairly fast-paced and had me interested the whole way through. I felt the murder mystery fell a little flat at the end, wrapped up way too quickly, but that also felt necessary for the sheer number of conflicts that needed to be wrapped up at the end. There was a bit too much going on for everything to fit together nicely, but it was forgivable. The suspense was there, and I had to fight my impulse to read the last page the whole way through.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC!

I was surprised at how quick of a read this turned out to be! The character development was super strong and the plot moved along really quick. I would definitely recommend this book.

Ava Morgyn’s The Bane Witch casts a spell with its lush prose, eerie atmosphere, and emotionally layered storytelling. The novel blends dark magic with themes of grief, identity, and power in a way that feels both intimate and mythic. While some plot points could have used a bit more clarity or development, the compelling characters and haunting tone more than make up for it. A beautifully eerie read for fans of gothic fantasy with heart.

This book was not for me honestly. I tried really hard to like it, but the writing style was not my favorite. There were parts that I enjoyed, but overall I was not the right reader for this one. I did enjoy when Piers learned the truth about herself/her abilities, but otherwise I could not get invested in the story

Piers likes eating poisonous berries and doesn't know why they don't kill her. However, she knows that if she stays in her abusive marriage, her husband will kill her. Piers fakes her own death and flees to a relative who lives in the woods and is part of a group of bane witches, women who can digest poison to kill men who do bad things. This was a fascinating take on female revenge and witchcraft, with a group of women who are literal poison. I enjoyed the book, the characters and the overall magic explanations.

A revenge fantasy about a woman who discovers her family have the ability to kill terrible men. It's dark and sometimes delicious, but I found it difficult to keep my interest - perhaps it was the uneven pacing, or simply being unable to connect with the main character and her decisions. I suspect other readers will enjoy it more than I did.

I enjoyed The Bane Witch more than I expected with its dark twists and turns and snippets of romance. I also liked that theme of women taking back the power and the overall magical world. I should also mention that I love the cover. I would recommend picking this up during the fall season!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for a review!

Thank you, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Piers Corbin has always had an affinity with poison. She ate pokeweed berries at age fine and led to an accidental death of a stranger, to her own husband whose dark proclivities have become dangerous, poison has always been part of her story. So she decides to fake her own death to escape her husband and goes to live with her great-aunt in the mountains, where she will soon discovers poisons are her birthright. She's a Bane witch, a woman who ingests deadly plants and exact her vengeance on evil men, getting rid the world of them. Now working at her aunt's Myrtle's cafe and flirting with the local sheriff to get rid of his suspicions on her own body count, she will soon attract the eye of a serial killer and soon there will be time to feed.

Poison can do so good in the brilliant, haunting and thrilling novel of Ava Morgyn, absolutely original, well written and so, so GOOD. I loved reading book about women who gets revenge against bad men and this book is so perfect! It's a story about recognize your birthright, realizing you're not a victim, but a hunter, a brilliant woman able to get rid of evil men from the world and that's so amazing.
A witch, an hunter, a poison eater, Piers is a fantastic main character and this story is so original and incredible, it will remain with me for so long and it's absolutely recommended! Hurrah to female power!

Okay this was such a great read! Like the cover is deceptively giving a cozy vibe but the actual story is much darker. There was at times too much description and normally that just takes me out of the story too much but this did not affect my read of the book at all. I throughly enjoyed the characters of this book, I think the character development was so good. The pacing of this book was excellent as well! This book gave the perfect blend of fantasy/witches and thriller, which is exactly what I was in the mood for! I have not read a novel by Ava Morgan before but I am for sure adding her next book to my tbr!

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC!