As the leaves turn and the chill of October sweeps in, there's nothing quite like curling up with a captivating read that embodies the spirit of Halloween. Enter "The Ravenswood Witch," a spellbinding tale that brilliantly weaves together mystery, intrigue, and a touch of the supernatural.

Set against the haunting backdrop of 1885, we meet a mysterious young woman, whose name remains unknown, desperately fleeing from an unseen force. Her journey leads her to a fateful encounter with the dashing Marcus Greybourne. A collision that results in her injury—a broken ankle—sets off a chain of events that entangles her in Marcus’s life in ways she could never have anticipated.

Marcus, charming yet enigmatic, convinces a local officer that she is his long-lost wife, Luna. The charade allows her the time to recover, but as she settles into the eerie Ravenswood Hall, it becomes apparent that the house holds secrets of its own. The tale of Luna Greybourne, the so-called Ravenswood Witch who has mysteriously disappeared, looms large over their interactions. The atmosphere is thick with eerie happenings—visionary glimpses of a woman wandering the grounds and ominous scratches appearing on furniture, hinting at the supernatural forces at play.

The narrative unfolds in dual timelines, shifting between the current predicament of our new Luna Greybourne and the world of Eloise, a privileged young woman existing months prior. Eloise’s seemingly carefree life, alongside her maid Rose, contrasts sharply with the tension and intrigue at Ravenswood Hall, adding layers to the unfolding mystery.

What truly draws readers into "The Ravenswood Witch" is its gothic charm reminiscent of classics like "Jane Eyre." The author shines in creating a rich atmosphere filled with spookiness and superstition, all while threading in a hint of romance that keeps the heart racing. The dynamics between characters are compelling—who can truly be trusted in a web of deception? What fate has befallen the real Luna Greybourne?

This 354-page novel is the perfect length for diving into on a cozy night by the fire, draped in a fluffy blanket, with a steaming cup of hot chocolate at your side. With its blend of suspense, eerie occurrences, and emotional depth, "The Ravenswood Witch" is a must-read for lovers of gothic stories and mysteries alike.

Prepare to be captivated by a tale that is as chilling as it is enchanting—this book is sure to keep you guessing until the very last page!

Not for me. I requested this to read in October, as I always like to stock up on "spooky stories" to get me in the Halloween mood. This wasn't quite what I expected, and not my favorite.

Things i love about this book :
The time period
The writing style
The plot

that doesn't mean i do not like characters, my preference is the above. Enjoyed it very much

A slow burn read. Gothic mystery with a good plot and eerie setting. I enjoyed the different points of view and the story.

🎃🎃🎃🎃/5

So it’s not a Halloween book but I read the ARC during Halloween time mostly because it’s the vibe I was getting. Now, it def took me a bit to get through ngl and I took breaks in between but the reason I’m giving 4/5 is because it genuinely has a lot of gothic elements to it and just the overall spooky vibe.

I thoroughly enjoyed No 23 Burlington Square so I jumped at the chance to read and review The Ravenswood Witch.

This is a very different theme and I loved it just as much.

A young woman literally falls for Marcus when she is running away from her pursuers, breaking her ankle. He saves her by stating to them that she is his wife. Carrying on with the charade to benefit him, she finds herself morphing into the role of Luna, the wife who has recently disappeared. The house is a mess, with what appears to be devil worship drawings on the walls everywhere. Feeling lonely when Marcus takes a trip, she nurses a half dead raven back to life and it befriends her, and appears to be trying to protect her.

Is Luna dead? Is she haunting the house? Is Luna the Ravenswood Witch? And what’s the mystery of the Ravenswood wood and the wishing well?

I raced through this in a day. However, I can’t believe I didn’t tie up the two storylines until quite late in the book! Such an immersive storyline which kept me glued from the first page to the last with quite a shocking revelation.

Highly recommend especially for witchy season!

Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for my spot on the blog tour.

I don’t usually do well with spooky things, so I had to read this is one sitting so I didn’t get too scared. The suspense and mystery kept me reading long past my bedtime to make sure everything turned out okay in the end.

There are a lot of gothic elements. The manor is crumbling and covered in occult symbols and the forest is creepy and mysterious. There’s rumors of witchcraft, mysterious ravens, signs of the occult, and people who might not be trustworthy around every corner. It’s difficult to know who is trustworthy. Even the main character is mysterious, making us wonder who she really is and how she got herself in this situation.

Some elements of the story are predictable, but there’s enough tension that the predictability doesn’t take away from the overall story. Some of it drags a little, and the reveals aren’t paced as well as they perhaps could have. However, the way the tension builds over time lends well to the creepy, mysterious setting. It all builds to a satisfactory ending.

The cast of characters are interesting and mysterious. I particularly enjoyed Bran, but I do wish I’d been able to get to know our two main characters a little bit better. Some of the characterization seemed to be lost in the challenge to keep things mysterious.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and it’s a great read for “spooky season” or when you want more atmospheric tension in a romantic story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are my own and were not influenced by receiving a copy.

An amazing story which had me completely hooked. Very interesting and it really made me think of those days when life was extremely hard for people. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I don’t think this book was for me. The last 25% was great and action packed, but getting there was difficult. The pacing was slow, making it hard to get through the chapters. Not much happened, yet the story kept hinting that something was supposed to occur. It was creepy and haunting, so those vibes were there as expected.

The writing itself was good- there were no issues with the actual prose. The story and the lack of significant events were the main issues.

Overall, this missed the mark for me.

SYNOPSIS:
1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she's caught she'll be hanged for murder. As she gets within a stones throw from the ferry that will save her, she collides with a stranger resulting in a broken ankle. To her surprise the man convinces the constable she is reclusive wife of 10 years, Luna. He carries her back to his crumbling manor, Ravenswood Hall, where he promises he will provide for her while she heals. But the real Luna Greybourne is missing and the haunted house holds dark secrets. As strange happenings continue in the house and extend to the surrounding dark woods, Luna fears for her life as the village know her as the Ravenswood witch and want her to pay for her supposed crimes. Who can she trust and who is out to get her?

THOUGHTS:
The setting delivers the dark gothic atmosphere you would expect from a dark crumbling manor and the creep connecting woods.

However, I found the story itself rather predictable. It had little sprinkles of backstory involving Luna's life before she was on the run for murder. However, everything that happened there and the reveal of which character Luna was, was highly predictable. I also feel like there was no depth to the characters.

While the book held potential for me it was a little disappointing and is more about the vibes than the story itself.

What starts out almost as a rip off of Jane Eyre, reveals itself to be a nuanced and twisty gothic thriller.

England 1895. a woman is on the run, she's terrified of being caught, she stumbles into Marcus Greybourne and falls breaking her ankle. In return for Marcus' assistance in her hour of need she agrees to play the part of his estranged wife Luna and mistress of the house. Her true identity remains hidden and revealed slowly in flashbacks.

The real Luna's presence envelops the house, with strange scratchings on walls and ruined furniture, her last known whereabouts are suspected to be the nearby woods but it has been a long time since she has shared a home with her husband. Is Marcus telling the truth about his wife's last whereabouts or does he have a dark secret of his own.

A fine twisty, engaging tale

I really liked the vibes and the start of this book but I found the story a little too slow. Unfortunate I found it dragged on and I lost interest in the story quickly. It took me forever to finish it because of this, I don’t think it was the story for me at this time.

This author seems to be the one for unusual stories. When you read the title, you somehow have an idea what kind of story this could be. Be assured that it certainly isn’t the kind of the story I expected. That doesn’t mean it was bad or that I didn’t like it. I was surprised by the story and I liked it. The two main characters are lovable and their relationship developed nicely and reasonably. The ending of the story itself was surprising but in a way acceptable.
I liked the story and recommend the book.

Jenni Keer wrote a good, traditional gothic in the spirit of beloved authors like Mary Stewart and Victorian Holt. I'm always looking for new authors that give me those feelings, so this was a delight for me! I'll certainly feature this story on upcoming themed episodes. Should the opportunity for an interview arise, I'd be happy to do that as well. Thank you for the ARC!

When Rose was sent on an errand by her mistress, she had no idea that in a short time she would be running for her life. As she made for the ferry that would take her to London, running for all she was worth with pursuers at her heels, she collided with a man on the river bank. A hard fall resulted in a broken ankle. Scooped up by the man, Marcus Greybourne, moments before the police arrive, he convinced them that Rose was his wife, Luna who had just had an unfortunate accident. Taking her to Ravenswood Hall, he promised to keep her safe while her injury heals if she would keep up the pretence of being his wife while she was there.

Rose/Luna, left alone while Marcus was away for a couple of weeks on business, whiled away the time by imaging and planning some of the renovations that Marcus mentioned and would be desperately needed throughout Ravenswood Hall, which had fallen into disrepair. Despite several strange happenings, which gave her a fright and made her question her decision to stay, and almost against her better judgement she began to care about the Hall, and Marcus, learning more about both from letters between the two of them, and also from the housekeeper.

'Did Ravenswood have another inhabitant? Surely the housekeeper would have mentioned it. Either Mrs Webber didn’t know there was someone up there, or didn’t want Luna to know. She couldn’t even get out of bed to investigate. It made her realise how vulnerable she was – an injured girl in an unsettling house in the middle of nowhere, unable to flee if she was attacked.'

The Ravenswood Witch is quite a slow burn initially and picks up the pace as the story progresses. Tension and suspense build with a gothic atmosphere which becomes quite dark as we learn more about the original Luna, who disappeared without a trace, and her ties to witchcraft. Superstitions abound and the villagers, who still believe in dark magic, are quick to point fingers.

It was good to see the new Luna gaining confidence in her role and I loved that she and the Raven she rescued, and named Bran, bonded as they did. Bran added an extra layer to the story as he became Luna’s protector. There’s a small but interesting and well defined cast of characters that I was never quite sure of, an eerie wood close to the house which no longer houses the flock of ravens the house is named for, plus undercurrents of witchcraft, devil worship and romance running through the narrative. I wasn’t expecting the twists and the fact that appearances can be quite so deceptive…or that impactful resolution! The Ravenswood Witch is another winner from Jenni Keer.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley.

This one's a hard one for me to review. I loved the premise and the writing. I always wanted to keep reading it but it was too slow for my liking. The setting, and eerie atmosphere were point on for this time of year 🎃

In the beginning we have a woman running away from the law. She bumps into Marcus Greybourne and accidentally injures her ankle. Then a Constable appears to question her but Mr. Greybourne says she's his wife. He whisks her away to care for her foot on his property. He convinces her to play along that she is his wife Luna. He has his reasons and she has her reasons for agreeing. Then there is another story being told in alternating chapters about the past. There's a mystery to who that lady is. I always wanted to keep reading to find out how the stories would connect and just what exactly happened to the real Luna Greybourne?

The first half of the story dragged on for me. It definitely picked up in the second half and secrets were revealed. The author is talented and I would most certainly read another book by her. Rounding up to 3.5 stars.

4,5⭐
Absolutely wonderful gothic, spooky vibes! Add witches to it, and you got me hooked!
This story takes place in the late 19th century (1885) at a gothic house in rural England. TBH, if it would have been Victorian age, I would have given it 5 ⭐, but that's just my personal preference :D
Added to the recipe was gothic mystery on the paranormal side, with a bit of romance and success!
I love the fact that our MMC and FMC found each other in their darkest times, and still hold on to one another pushed each other towards progress.
We do have a narrator telling us the story, but the voice is not distanced from the plot. It somehow gives you the perfect blend of details and objectiveness.
Indeed, some may say that the romance could have been improved, however we need to remember which time are we in! It was a time in which all manner of more intense romance would happen after marriage, behind several closed doors. Everything should have been kept very classy.

All in all, this is a book I would definitely read around Halloween and I would recommend it to my friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well, right at the beginning I was totally going, that whole situation is sus! A young woman on the run from a murder charge bumps into a handsome man looking for someone to play his mentally ill wife (who conveniently suddenly went missing) and willing to take in a total stranger? There are so many things wrong with that situation! But, despite that start I got to enjoying the story. "Luna" plays her part very well, sometimes a bit too well, as the wife of Marcus and mistress of Ravenswood. She is very likable and willing to please to make things go smoothly. Not that things are all bright and cheerful in Ravenswood or the nearby village. Rumors of witches and black magic abound (most of them pointed at Luna). There is a mystery to solve there, if Luna wants to stay and not be burned as a witch.

Besides that timeline, another one is entwined within this novel which is best not too discussed because it has a twist that I very much enjoyed and it helped explain a lot with how Luna is the way she is. I also loved the rescued raven, Brand, who has his own parts to play.

I ended up quite enjoying this story because it solved the mysteries nicely and everyone who deserved a happy ending got one.

An encounter on a riverbank - a woman fleeing something, and a man who rescues her.

Both have secrets to hide, but they can be useful to each other. But can they trust each other?

I did not enjoy it as much as No. 23 Burlington Square, but a fairly good read.

In this fascinating Victorian historical fiction novel, Jenni Kerr brings readers to Ravenswood Hall, a crumbling manor home harboring several terrible secrets. On the run and knowing she will be caught and hanged for murder, a stranger named Marcus Greybourne rescues her and persuades her to pretend to be his reclusive wife Luna. Convincing the local constable and the rest of the village that she is Luna, Marcus promises safety until her injuries heal. However, the manor home seems to carry some dark secrets hidden behind scratches, marks, strange happenings, and a tattered reputation that the new Luna thinks resembles witchcraft. With a complicated and dramatic gothic plot and some chaotic and complex narrative elements, Jenni Kerr has created a masterful and fascinating atmosphere that is perfect for October and the spooky season. With brilliant characters drawing readers’ attention to secrets and different parts of the layered mystery, Kerr has created a haunting and fascinating Victorian gothic mystery that readers will devour. As readers solve the secrets of Ravenswood Hall with the new Luna, the dramatic and sweeping nature of this fascinating mystery is compelling, immersive, and vibrant. Brilliantly written with intriguing and complex characters, this is a definite page turner that historical fiction fans will love.