I really enjoyed this book! I love witchy books and I love books that take place during WWII so this was the perfect combination of both. This is a dual-timeline story and the author does it beautifully, switching between timelines and characters. This was my first book by this author and I look forward to reading more from Carr.

The Witching Hour by Deborah Carr is a general fiction / romance novel set to be released on the 29th of September.

Apart from the very esthetic cover what intrigued me most was the fact that it’s about witches and it has two different timelines.

Something happened for Briar to be in a whole different time then she’s meant to be. Luckily, she came across a gentleman that has been helping her survive and getting her back to her own time. Time travel you say? Why yes. Right now being stuck in 1643, where witches are hunted and hanged by the witchfinder. Xavier does his best to find a witch with the expertise to send Briar back to 1943, a time where Nazi’s patrol the lands and war is going on.

After finding a witch and being sent back to her own time with absolutely no recollection of what has happened, or where she’s been all this time. Live goes on like normal, for at least a year. Until one night, when Briar is out past curfew and seeking shelter in a ruin. A storm is brewing, she knows she’s alone in this ruin, until she isn’t.

A very distinguished gentleman, in clothing that doesn’t suit her time is behind her. It’s Xavier, only she doesn’t know it’s him, he was in a cell waiting to be executed one moment and the next, he’s in this ruin with Briar (who he does remember) in a whole different time. What in the name of God is happening?!

A quest begins on finding out how to get Xavier back, with help from Briar’s mother Diana. Being housebound because Xavier shouldn’t exist in this time and without to proper documentation, he can’t wander about because of the Nazi soldiers patrolling. After months of searching, Diana knows how to send Xavier back, but the night she does so, due to a touch from Briar the moment he gets send back, she gets transported back in time with him.

It’s a bit of a back and forth with the time traveling, that got a bit boring, I guess. With Briar back in 1643 they need to find a way to communicate with Dianna and they need help and shelter. I don’t want to spoil to much so I think this is where I end my review; It’s best if you read the book for yourself. Sometimes you just read a book and don’t know how to review its story as a whole without spoiling.

I give this book ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ stars!

Mild spoilers
This book had a promising premise, a love story that unfolds across two different time periods, but both having something in common. That concept immediately caught my interest, and it's a trope I'd love to explore more in other books. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to the potential.
The first chapter was intriguing, throwing us right into the action, only to abruptly cut it short. Chapter two finally started setting the pace and introducing the characters, and for a while, the plot became engaging. However, by the middle of the book, we had already reached what the blurb had built up as the main conflict: Briar choosing between Xavier and returning to her own time. (Though it didn’t really feel like much of a choice.)
From that point on, the story just kept going… somewhere, though I’m not sure where exactly. Briar, Xavier, and even her mother had distinct personalities, but none of them experienced any noticeable development by the end. I understand that not all books focus on character arcs, so this wasn’t a reason for my low rating just something to keep in mind for readers who expect growth.

What really dragged the experience down for me was that I lost interest. I kept reading only so I could leave a complete review. The ending was predictable, and it took too long to get there. Some events felt unnecessary and that time could have been dedicated to something else.

The Witching Hour had potential, it started strong but ended poorly. The middle was a bittersweet stretch that felt somewhat empty. I also noticed a number of grammar issues and missing words that pulled me out of the story. The book would definitely benefit from a thorough edit, both in terms of plot structure and proofreading.

In conclusion: I’d recommend this as an easy, light read, it's not fast-paced and doesn’t have too many characters to keep track of. There are a few interesting moments and a decent ending, but overall, it just didn’t work for me.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have always enjoyed Deborah Carr’s book but The Witching Hour is the most enjoyable book I have read all year. The storyline made me feel like I was in 2 worlds and I didn’t want the book to end. I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars!

Deborah Carr was a new author for me and I really enjoyed this witchy love story across different historical time periods. This is definitely one for fans of Barbara Erskine.

I really loved way the similarities between Briar and Diana’s fear of the occupying soldiers during the Second World War and the fear of the witch hunter in the 1600s were so subtly added to the story. I also liked the time travel element in the story particularly how written messages could be passed between the past and the present and places overlapped between the timelines like Briar and Andre’s home.

The characters did fall a bit flat for me in this one. I struggled to care about any of them but I did love the premise and the story. I will definitely check out other books by Deborah Carr.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Witching Hour by Deborah Carr

Living in Jersey during the Nazi occupation, Briar Le Gros and her mother, Diana, are hiding a dangerous secret. Witchery runs in their blood.

One night, as the coven gather, a storm crashes down and, late for curfew, Briar must shelter in the ruins of an old prison. With a flash of lightning she’s brought face to face with Xavier Giroye, a surprising stranger … from 1643.

Briar and Diana must send Xavier back to his own time but when the spell goes wrong, Briar is transported to the past with him. Together, they go from Nazi suspicion to evading the notorious witchfinder! The clock is ticking to reset the balance and get Briar back to the present. But the choice is bittersweet; returning home means leaving Xavier, the one person she’ll ever love…

First time read for me by this author , and what a read ! I was gripped from the very first chapter .

Wartime genre . Tick.
Dual timeline. Tick.
Set in Jersey . Big tick .
Had a witch storyline . Even bigger tick.

Everything I could wish for in a fabulous read .
Perfect.

The Witching Hour is a departure from Deborah Carr's other novels set on the Isle of Jersey during the German Occupation. Instead of the story focusing on the struggles and dangers faced by the islanders under Nazi rule, we're introduced to a group of witches whose ancestors have lived on Jersey for hundreds of years. This dual-timeline novel covers two of the most dangerous periods in the island's history: the Occupation during World War II and the witch hunts of the 1600s. Deborah Carr's writing is flawless, switching between timelines and characters so effortlessly that I had to double-check to determine the year. This is not fanciful magical realism to make you feel warm and cozy. This is the real deal, witchcraft as it has been for millennia, with knowledge passed down from mothers and grandmothers. The story took off like a rocket in the prologue and kept my heart racing until the final page. I loved the mother-daughter bond between Diana and Briar, as well as the sisterhood of the Jersey witches. The romance between Briar and Xavier was perfect. And, I hated the witchfinder, Roger Dankworth, with every fiber of my being. Kudos to the author for having the courage to branch out into a different genre. The Witching Hour is spectacular, and I hope there's more to come.

I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them immensely so when I read the blurb for this one, i was intrigued as it seemed different from the other books written by the author, the only simarilty being that they're set mainly in Jersey, it was a bittersweet sweet tale of love, betrayal and fear set across a dual timeline and it most certainly kept my attention to the very last page. I'm not sure if the author plans to write another book with Briar and Xavier, I do hope so as I feel their story isn't finished