The Witch of Willow Hall

Oh my goodness, this book! I finished this in two days flat, and pretty much neglected all household duties in the process. I could NOT put this thing down! Have you ever read a book on your eReader, only to love it so much that you needed to buy the physical copy? Just to hold it in your hands?

Yeah. Me too. As soon as human possibly, I need a copy of this book.

The author created characters that are unbelievably individual. Each has their own personality, their own quirks, their own histories, their own hopes. Each progresses in depth as the plot moves forward, each one is memorable, and a couple take residence in your heart before the novel is through. The mystery that swirls around the story is incredibly well written, the plot moves forward quickly and the end of the book leaves you feeling both complete and slightly haunted.

I need everything that this author has ever written or will write.

This book was romantic and good while also maintaining a creepy dark vibe. I liked Lydia very much. I found her to be relatable and down to earth. I enjoyed this book and I will read this author again for sure.

The book pulls you in from the beginning with many twists and turns. I didn't want to put it down, and could not wait to see what was going to happen next. I'm hoping for a sequel.

When rumors force a wealthy Boston family to flee the city to the country side with their three daughters, life takes a turn in so many ways. Not only does the middle daughter, Lydia, see her sisters for who they really are to her, she finds out exactly who she is and comes into her own.

From the start, the author had my attention and I was fully immersed in the story. Historical fiction with a side of romance and major helping of creepiness, this debut novel hits the mark!

From the bustling society of Boston, the Montrose daughters find themselves hurried off into the country and the quiet confines of their new home, Willow Hall. Vain, self-centered, selfish Catherine. Quiet, kind Lydia and spoiled, sweet little Emeline. Lydia, ever the peace keeper, tries to keep everyone content and thankful for their lovely new home. Is she happy? She thought she was, at least content, until disaster befalls them all. Will Lydia be the one to once again bring peace to her family? She just isn’t sure if she has the strength to make this happen or the power.

Fox delivers a highly entertaining and tantalizing story in the Witch of Willow Hall. Her novel begins with the underlying story of family in disgrace and a family with dark secrets. There is hidden history that has been kept from those who need to hear it. Though you might figure it out yourself, it doesn’t matter. Fox keeps the story hooked into you with plight of sweet Lydia and her efforts to extract herself from the toxic influence of Catherine and become her own person. The hints of the supernatural are subtle and slowly take their place within the storyline. Older teens who enjoy escaping into a book will gladly crawl into Lydia’s world. This is one of those novels that sneaks up on you, grabs you and immerses you within the pages so that you have difficulty just putting it down to get a snack. Pick it up and enjoy the immersion.

What a story! It absolutely captivated me — as soon as I started, I had to keep going to find out how the tale would unspool. This is an excellent gothic romance, deliciously dark, full of secrets, shame, and the supernatural.

The ULTIMATE page turner!

I typically don't read such dark novels, and I always hesitate when reading a new author's first published book, but the fact that the main character had a great aunt that was killed during the Salem Witch Trials, and I do too, I picked it up.

Set in the 1800s of Boston, Lydia and her family have fled to the country side amidst a family scandal. She soon discovers that she too, is a witch and is struggling to come to terms with it while trying to learn more about it. As her relationships with her family start to crumble, she starts to realize how strong her feelings for her father's business partner are and then must deal with her sister's scheming ways.

I can't convey enough how well or how captivating this book was to me. I never would have guessed that this was Hester Fox's debut novel and I cannot wait for another one! Not gonna lie, I'd love to see a Hale Women series and watch them evolve each generation. We'd get to catch up with the others and see what new troubles their powers cause as the times change around them.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2413141180

I throughly enjoyed this book, Lydia and her family move from Boston to the outer suburbs after rumors spread about the eldest daughter Catherine. On their first day Lydia meets John Barrett who turns out to be her successful father’s new business partner, and she instantly likes him. As they try to settle in this new way of life Lydia doesn’t get along with her manipulative older sister Catherine, while doteing on her younger sister Emiline. She’s also hiding many family secrets, and learning how to deal with new truths she’s discovering about herself. Lydia’s character is written so well, I easily felt every emotion as she did. The Witch of Willow Hall reminded me of Alice Hoffman books, whom I love, so I highly recommend.

*This ARC was given to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was exactly the kind of book that I love. When I first heard about this book, I knew I needed it. This was the perfect blend of a gothic novel. A family trying to outrun a rumor, a haunted house, and secrets left and right.

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. It captured me completely and the plot itself took me by surprise. While I did guess at the secret that was haunting Lydia's family, I wasn't disappointed to find out I was right, or thought it was obvious. The rumors were always mentions, but never fully spoken and I thought that was exactly how the book read. Like everyone knew, but no one would say it out loud.

I didn't think I liked how easily Lydia fell for Mr. Berret. That literally changed within a couple pages afterwards because of course it had to happen this quickly. She was a girl who lived in her books and here came a guy who filled the role of her prince, but the author did such an amazing job at writing Lydia's feelings that I fell just as quickly for John as well.

Throughout this book, I was so frustrated. With how John was acting, with Catherine and the way she was selfishly acting (though in the end, I did like how her character was handled), and one of the biggest frustrations was when and if the ‘witch’ would make an appearance. The supernatural aspect in this book is very subtle. Yes there are ghost, and while Lydia did have moments when her powers would show, these moments were tiny details compared to the secret that made this family run.

I think that's what I enjoyed most about this book. The magic in it was just mentioned in the right ways that made it seem like, yes this is real.

If you love stories about ghosts, witches, history, and romance, then please add The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox to your reading list. Two centuries after the Salem Witch Trials, Lydia Montrose, a descendant of one of the victims, lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with no knowledge that she's a witch. When her powers briefly manifest themselves following an incident with a neighboring child, Lydia's mother tells her that she must suppress what she's feeling and lock it up deep inside herself causing her to fear the unknown. After a surprising and shocking family scandal, Lydia and her family are forced to leave their beloved home to relocate to New Oldbury and take up residence in their summer home of Willow Hall. Their old acquaintances (including Lydia's fiancé Cyrus) want no association with the Montrose's and their sullied reputation. While in New Oldbury, Lydia and her sisters meet her father's new business partner, John Barrett, and his friend Mr. Pierce, and experience a score of tragedies that many believe are a result of living in the haunted Willow Hall. Can Lydia find a way to accept who she is and control her powers? Will she be able to find a true love match, rather than a business merger arranged by her father? Can she find a way to make peace with Willow Hall?

The Witch of Willow Hall is beautifully written and riveting. I read it in one day because I could not put it down, and I immediately went to Hester Fox's website to see if there were more novels, but this appears to be her debut novel. I look forward to reading more from this author. On a separate note, how cool is it that this book has references to Puritanical Salem and the author's name is Hester?

I received an advanced read copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I find this an excellent example of the horror genre for young adults. The main character, Lydia has powers such as clairvoyance and telekinesis, but the book does not give her an unlimited amount of power. I found her believable and understood the temptation to give her sister a potion to induce a miscarriage. Society at that time really would have looked down on the entire family for a child born out of wedlock in an incestuous relationship.

The ending wrapped up the story well, but I had a harder time believing that her sister would move to New York on her own, despite her secret past. Upper-middle-class young ladies would not normally do this unless they had been disowned by family. Lydia and Catherine had kept their terrible secret hidden from their parents in this story, so the motivation to leave for New York was not that strong.

I would recommend this title to my students in a summer reading list or seasonal reading list for October. I might use it for my lessons, however, this would depend on the school and curricular pacing guide.

Oh my goodness! Don’t you just LOVE this book cover? I think it’s perfect for this amazingly curious, dark, mysterious work of historical fiction awesomeness! I think this book, The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox, is being promoted as a Romance genre book, and it does have the most wonderful love story, but it’s so much more than that. I found myself utterly transfixed with this book, creeped out, and consistently desperate to find out what was going to happen!

Premise- The Montroses are relocating to their new home, Willow Hall, after rumors about the eldest daughter, the beautiful and captivating Caroline, make their wealthy (but “scandalous and immoral”) family Boston’s ultimate pariahs. Lydia, the sensible sister (read: the plain one), spends her days caring for her younger sister and feeling like a spinster after her recent failed engagement. Right away, things seem amiss at Willow Hall. Weird things are happening- sudden door slams, wailing in the middle of the night, outbursts of anger, etc…scary!

Then, when an unspeakable tragedy occurs, Lydia despairs over her new reality, and learns that the rumors which ousted their family from Boston are far worse and truer than anyone ever imagined. Caroline’s secret threatens to destroy their own family forever. On top of that, Lydia- always the caretaker, handler, “fixer”- finds herself competing with her sister for the handsome Mr. John Barrett’s affections, a guy who just so happens to be their father’s new business partner. Drama, drama, drama I tell ya!

This book had everything- history, sibling rivalry, danger, tragedy, love, you name it! As I got closer and closer to the end, I found myself feeling so sad that I wouldn’t be “living” with the Montrose family much longer. In fact, this family and the town of New Oldbury would be the perfect setting for a Willow Hall series…hint hint!

If you are looking for a WONDERFUL story that will have you hooked from the first page, this book is it! Add October 2nd, 2018 to your calendar because that’s when The Witch of Willow Hall comes out, and you don’t want to miss it!

5 out of 5 stars for The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox. Thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House Books (US & UK) for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

A breathtaking read that I kept trying to put down so I could work on other things on my to-do list, but within two or three minutes I was right back at it. Started reading around 11am today, finished around 3.30pm today. Whoops.

Puts a spin on historical fiction and historical romance, dropping the reader into a family leaving Boston in the 1820s in the wake of some undefined scandal involving the eldest daughter. The story is told by the middle daughter, bookish and occasionally volatile Lydia, whose anger manifests itself in, shall we say, interesting ways.

Willow Hall, their new home, affects each of the three daughters different. Emeline, the youngest, starts showing a tendency to anger she's never displayed before, and claims to have a friend, a little boy, who lives at the pond on the property. Lydia's disturbed sleep leads her to hear and see things nobody else in the family seems to notice, while she feels an immediate strong inclination for their quiet neighbor, John Barrett. The eldest daughter, Catherine, is the only one who seems not to notice anything strange about the place, since she's wrapped up in her own woes, relating to the scandal in Boston. The son of the family, Charles, is only mentioned, never seen - he is apparently gone from the family as part of the general disgrace.

Totally satisfying. I recommend it!

The Witch of Willow Hall is a Victorian Gothic Romance that hits all of the right notes; a society scandal, family drama and just a touch of the spiritual to give it a twist.
The Montrose family though well off is forced to flee Boston for New Oldbery, due to a scandal and a family secret long kept hidden. The family has three daughters, Catherine, who is concerned only with herself, Bookish and quiet Lydia and Emeline, who at eight is full adventure and excitement for new discoveries and a older son Charles who is discussed but never seen.. Upon arriving at Willow Hall the dark overtones are set out quickly, the girls mother is forlorn, Catherine, the cause of the upheaval is dismissive and nasty, Lydia ever the peace keeper tries to lighten the mood, and Emeline dashes off to find adventure. .Soon after their arrival in Old Newbery Lydia happens quite by accident to meet John Barrett in the woods near an old mill, he starts out very charming and soon turns subdued. He turns out to be Mr. Montrose's new business partner and has secrets of his own. Lydia hears wailing in the night and sees a figure walking through her garden, she also has a way with herbs, these revelations all lead back to a mysterious family member from the past who was hung in Salem for being a witch. There is more than one secret that is endangering the family, and as they come to light it is up to Lydia to make the correct choices and the sacrifices to save her family. But just like a heroine in one of Lydia's books she perseveres and is rewarded with her knight and a happily ever after.
I was entranced by the storyline and actually read it in one sitting, late into the night I might add,. I just couldn't put it down. For this to be Ms. Fox's debut novel, I am sincerely impressed. I'll be looking to see more of her work in the future. The characters are well written you feel their joy, their pain and how society's rules could make or break a family are very well displayed. The storylines work so well together and I would love to read more about the Montrose and Barrett families in the future. The otherworldliness is subtle and only adds to the depth of the characters and their struggles.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I loved this book! It was beautifully written and I fell in love with the Montrose family even the spiteful Catherine. Lydia is the buy and some what reminds me of the Lydia from Beattlejuice. This book is full of scandalous affairs and heartbreaking secrets and ghost. I read it in one sitting. What else made this a great read was how the author draws you into the world. I felt like I was in 1821 listening to Mrs. Tidewell telling me all the juicy gossip and rumors and couldn’t get enough. This book is set to release in October and if I hadn’t received this as a ARC, I would have bought it in heartbeat so I could ready it in the fall with a nice cup of tea and the afterlife close around me. I will be buying this book to add to my collection.