First, thank you to netgalley and st martins press for the eARC!

4.5
The story was a good pace, wasn't boring, had good world building and good character development and lots of twists. I like that it was set in old England with top hats and corset dress vibes. I give it a 4.5 star though cause it didnt wow me like a good 5 star should. It was more of a comfort read, like witches and werewolves i've read a lot of before and it wasn't really anything new in that aspect but I'd still pick it up when I'm in the mood for that genre. Overall, It was a good book and would recommend if you are looking for a werewolf or witch book with old England vibes.

werewolves are definitely back! I’ve been seeing an uptick of them this past year.

this was a fun read, quick and not hard to follow in terms of world building. this would be a great intro for someone looking to get into paranormal fantasy, and the Victorian England backdrop was a unique touch.

I wish there was more showing instead of telling as that can take me out of a book but Cordelia and Bishop were fun characters!

thanks netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this earc in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine Bridgerton but with blood magic, arranged wolf marriages, and a witch heroine who wants to burn it all down. That’s Witch of the Wolves. Cordelia gets kidnapped by a brooding werewolf in Victorian England and is told she’s now his mate. Instead of swooning, she starts plotting. This one is for romantasy readers who want their courtship spiced with political rebellion and shirtless shapeshifters. Secrets, power struggles, forced proximity, and betrayal are served hot — just how we like it.

Entertaining and great character chemistry. The setting and period were fun. I love Victorian era books. I loved the forced proximity trope, and it was done well. Cordelia was a witty character I enjoyed reading.

Such a good book! If you were a fan of ACOTAR it definitely gives those vibes. The author did an excellent job of creating characters that I just hated. Love a good villain to hate. Just makes the redemption so sweet! I loved the creative spin with witches and werewolves. Can’t wait to read more! This definitely ended with room for more world building so I’m definitely going to keep an eye out from this author! Gave a 4 because I definitely wish the author was able to add a little more spice and I just wish there was more there but definitely think she can build upon that in the next book. Great book. I just devoured this. Thanks so much! I can review on Amazon when it allows!

A fun historical romantacy that features a just about everything!! The story centers around an independent Witch as the FMC and her love interest who happens to be a warewolf. But there are necromancers, vampires as well as others in this fun, fast paced read. I think this is a great relaxing and fun read for a weekend or evenings after a long day at work. The pace of the story is quick, the plot is good, the characters are fun and super likable. Over all a great read.

I absolutely LOVED this story. It pulled me in after the first couple chapters. Now I have to be patient for the next book! I did not see that twist coming. The last few chapters had me emotional. Ann and Marjorie's powers are bad a*s! I just kept waiting to hear an I love you! Fantastic Read!

Hello new romantasy addiction! This was so good. The perfect level of enemies to lovers and slow burn!!

Reading Journal Details
Book: Witch of the Wolves by Kaylee Archer
Format Read: ebook (~352 pages long)
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

My Quick Take Review
Witch of the Wolves is a character-driven and richly atmospheric fantasy with Victorian vibes and an enemies to lovers slow/medium burn romance. The pacing was a little uneven, but this was overall an incredibly enjoyable journey worth diving into.

Some Key Features
👗 Victorian era vibes
🩸 Powerful bloodlines
🐺 Werewolves
♟️ Methodical planning
💗 Enemies to lovers

My Full Review
I found Witch of the Wolves to be an absolutely delightful read from beginning to end. The book beautifully combines a captivating, enchanting world with a wonderfully diverse and multidimensional cast of characters. Just when I thought I had uncovered all the secrets and mysteries, author Kaylee Archer kept surprising me, unveiling even more depth and complexity.

Cordelia Levine, the main protagonist, truly stood out to me. I found myself consistently rooting for her; her arc felt natural, her resilience and tenacity was inspiring, and I'm genuinely excited to see where her journey goes next.

The chemistry and banter between Bishop Daniels and Cordelia kept the novel entertaining and stoked the flames of the enemies to lovers trope rather well. Their relationship unfolded with great emotional depth as opposed to feeling like rushed tension, which I appreciated.

If I had to nitpick, the pacing did wobble a little, especially through the middle stretch. Still, it didn't take away from the immersive experience or the intrigue of the story. The world building and character dynamics more than made up for any slower moments.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy (ARC) of this truly spellbinding romantasy novel in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely my own.

I LOVE a witch and werewolf story...and Cordelia is both. Im obsessed. She's clever and funny and named Cordelia - adorbs. The story started a little slow for me in world building, but quickly picked up and sucked me in. I'm looking forward to book 2!

Secrets and spells galore in this book! It has the coolest witches and the neatest wolves in this story! I could not put this one down. It has all of the beef elements of a good fantasy with other genres sprinkled in! A must read for this year!

I had really high hopes for this book because the synopsis sounded super interesting. Unfortunately, I had to DNF the book about 20% in.

There were several things that hit me about the book right off the bat. The plot is severely underdeveloped, the interaction between the FMC and the MMC feels forced, the writer seems to “tell“ instead of “show” ask what’s happening. For example, Cordelia makes the decision to trust Bishop. But instead of showing us why Cordelia made that decision through character building, plot development, and actual emotional development between the characters, she instead just states that Cordelia trust him because of “x, y, z“.

I really hate giving one star reviews to debut authors, but unfortunately, this was a one star read for me. I feel like with some rigorous editing, and some heavy plot development. This book would have been a lot more promising. Instead, it came off as a book written for someone in high school with some 18+ spice thrown in.

This was a quick, easy, and fun read.

I liked the intriguing plot and thought the writing flowed nicely and was good. I loved the Victorian-era setting; I thought it was unique and not a setting you see often in romantasy. The pacing was fast and kept the story moving. I also really liked all the betrayal.

While I enjoyed this, it wasn't great. It lacked depth and complexity. There were a lot of small inconsistencies in the plot. Cordelia's character was also very inconsistent in her thinking. The magic system was weak and underutilized; for a book with witches and wolves, I wanted more witches and wolves. Not sure if I'll be picking up book 2.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!!!
Thank you Netgalley, Kaylee Archer, and St. Martins Press for the ARC!
I would give this 6 stars if that were an option. I devoured this book. Honestly, it should be named betrayal! There is so much betrayal and secrets in this story that I ate it up. I absolutely love stories that make me angry for the main characters and this did that. I was ranting to my husband all day every time something new and terrible happened. The story is well written, and keeps you engaged the entire time. I loved/hated it in the best way!! I'm going to read this so I can experience it again knowing every betrayal and wonder if I should have caught them the first time.

Witch of the Wolves is a lovely paranormal romance with magic, Victorian vibes, and lots of sexual tension! I enjoyed this book so much !

Bishop Daniels. Incoherently screaming.

I was very excited to read this because I haven’t read many werewolf books, and I think this definitely scratched that itch! Following a witch, Cordelia, as she learns about her parentage, and is taken to live amongst wolves, including the prospective Alpha, Bishop, who she takes a liking to despite the horrors she is facing.

To start off, this novel is very violent, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re interested in reading it. Some of it really took me by surprise, but it worked so well for the plot, and for the sake of them being werewolves, it was intense! Initially, I had a difficult time getting into this book, but it picks up pace very quickly. The entire second half is nonstop action in many different forms from the actual plot, to the romance between Cordelia and Bishop. I actually enjoyed this being fast-paced, but we definitely could have spent more time building Cordelia and Bishop’s relationship.

It is very insta-love, but I would have felt more inclined to believe it/enjoy it if we got more of them, or more conversation between them. Also, it gets frustrating when Cordelia keeps internally thinking she’s not sure what to think about Bishop, then the next page she’s all in with him. She has the potential to be such a strong character, and she has her moments on the page, but I was not as captivated with her as I would have liked. This goes for Bishop as well. He was such an interesting character, and the combination of him being a werewolf and a respectable man was a great choice, but I was missing something. The side characters also had so much potential here, but we simply do not get enough time with them.

There are a few inconsistencies that I picked up on, and they were usually minor (like its said bedding was returned to Cordelia’s room, then the page after it says there’s still no bedding), and while it was small things like this, it stood out. The novel takes place in 18th Century England, though at times it did not feel like it. I think this is mostly through the dialogue. The only thing reminding me of the time period was whenever clothing was mentioned, or the repeated notions of how women were treated at this time. That is a big theming in this novel, and while I like that choice, it did not reach it’s full potential.

With that said, this is a really entertaining book, especially if you like a novel that is action heavy. I finished this book still interested in seeing where the series will go, so for that, I am glad!

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! Book publishes Sept. 30 2025!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange this is my honest review.

Witch of the Wolves by Kaylee Archer is a historical romantasy read that is fine at best.

Archer introduces Cordelia Levine a witch who lives with her aunt in London. Through a series of events she learns her father is a werewolf and alpha of the local pack and ends up in her father’s house with his pack and betrothed to Bishop her father’s heir apparent.

The writing isn’t bad. It’s the plot I felt annoyance at. Cordelia claims to be strong and independent and then calls herself foolish and ignorant when she ended up falling for her father’s schemes to bring her to the pack and be wed to Bishop. I can’t fault her for that because she was lead to believe she was in danger and they could protect her. She also of course finds Bishop super attractive. But I don’t think Bishop is really free of sin here either he helped bring her to the pack? I don’t really care if he was ordered by his Alpha and he wants to “protect his wolfy brothers” he still knew of the plan and brought her there knowing what her father had planned. Then there is the “I want her for her womb to have Bishop’s sons so my blood goes on” trope is tired, this felt like one of those ads you see on reels or shorts for a shifter pack romance thing except in book form.

Cordelia has a “not like the other girls” vibe that throws me off, especially at the end. Bishop doesn’t say much which speaks volumes, but he’s hot so it’s okay! Also just the level of demanding abuse towards women because they are women I find myself cringing at.

Overall this was not my cup of tea 2/5 stars. Buy or pre-order by September 30.

Witches and Werevolves! Some action and romance. What more could you want? I really enjoyed reading this and can't wait for the second book to come out. I love getting lost in any sort of fantasy books. The two main characters complimented each other perfectly! Cordelia is strong and independent and angry at her situation and the situation of some of the other women in the house. Bishop is the dark, silent and brooding type who is doing his best to look after his group of werevolves that he brought to Cordelia's father's pack. There are definite sparks between them! Can't wait to see how that turns out in book 2.

The Victorian England setting mixed with paranormal romance was a unique touch, and I really enjoyed the fast-paced storyline, decent action scenes, and the variety of characters.

This isn’t a deep or complex read—it’s fun, fast-paced, and perfect for readers looking to dip their toes into paranormal romance. It’s not the greatest thing I’ve ever read, but I can definitely see myself continuing the series. Just a heads-up: the sexual tension is high, but there’s little to no spice, so don’t go in expecting anything too steamy.

Overall, a solid mix of magic, witches, and werewolves—definitely worth a read if you’re into the genre.

This book gives A Court of Thornes & Roses vibes in the best way possible, if witches, werewolves & love is your forte this is the book for you. This book kept me entertained and on the edge of my seat for the second half of the book. The plot is a beautiful love story brewing up some trouble in the castle and will keep you guessing! I will definitely have post notifications on for this author!