Amazing writing, new favorite book!! From the very beginning it hooks you right in. Not enough words to express how much i enjoyed this book.

A gothic feminist mystery about a missing woman, a rotting town, and the dangerous power of buried truths.

I found The Witch of Willow Sound to be beautifully written, with main characters I genuinely cared about. Although not scary as such, there’s a lingering eeriness that gets under your skin. The injustices explored were haunting.

(Firstly thank you very much for the arc)

To say I couldn’t put this book down is an understatement, It made me late for work twice. And when I was at work I was thinking about how soon I could get back to this book.

It is a wonderful spooky mystery, equal parts cozy and daunting, wrapped up in some truly stunning atmospheric prose. Everything is described with such emotive elegance, the trees, the house, the teacups, the twigs on the ground. I don’t know enough about flowers to actually say “wow, this writer knows a lot about flowers” but it felt like they knew a lot about flowers.

Fade was an excellent and well written protagonist, she’s definitely tough-as-nails like the summary puts it but shes not inhuman. She’s strong, resourceful, funny (her dynamic with Nish was a joy to read, I’m begging for a whole series of their adventures actually) and despite everything, kind. There was so much heart in this book and she was the perfect protagonist to carry it.

Flaws? Made me ship the protagonist with a cop, my moral backbone is breaking.

I really enjoyed reading this modern gothic novel! It kept my attention the entire time reading it. The prologue was very disturbing and graphic, it was definitely a different way to start off a story. However, this is a very important part to read, because there will be a complete understanding as to why it happened. This book has all the gothic book elements in it, which I loved. I found the female main character to be funny, strong, witty, interesting and sarcastic.

What truly intrigued me is that this story is inspired by real witch lore and east coast traditions. This fast paced book is not scary, just a little spooky mixed with a cozy cottage setting. This book has all the witchy vibes! It also comes with mystery, a gothic romance, identity discovery, family secrets, vivid descriptions and the power of magic! The author’s debut novel took me into a rabbit hole of gothic fantasy!

“The Witch of Willow Sound” starts off with an eerie dark disturbing graphic scene. Once the prologue is over, this story takes us on a journey with a girl named Fade. She is asked to look for her aunt, who went missing. Fade is also told to not trust anyone she comes across, including the cops. Willow Sound is the place where her aunt always stays. As Fade arrives at her aunts home, everything about it was different. It was no longer this bright and cheerful cottage, but a dark and gothic one. As this story unravels, we get to learn about Fade and what kind of powers she possesses. Overall, I give this a 4 out of 5 stars!

I highly recommend this to anyone that loves gothic mystery and witchcraft. This reminded me of Alice in Wonderland mixed in with gothic witchcraft. Also, I think readers of the book “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches” would enjoy this.

Content warnings include murder, death and misogyny.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Vanessa F. Penney and ECW Press publishing for this digital advanced reader’s copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This book is expected to be published on September 30, 2025!

The Witch of Willow Sound is a gorgeous novel, from the intriguing cover to the exquisite woodcut flower stamps on each separate, titled book, to the beautifully written story. Unbelievably, this is the author's debut book! Contrary to the title, if you're looking for spooky witchcraft or magical realism, you won't find it here. Oh, there are plenty of witchy accusations and ignorance from people who should know better, considering this is the 21st century. "The history of those accused of being witches, in any culture, is often a story of hatred, oppression, and fear of strong women."

The remote Nova Scotia coastal location is a perfect gothic setting, especially with a deadly hurricane on its way. The story unfolds slowly, bit by bit, as Fade tries to discover what has happened to her Aunt Madeline. Fade carries scars, both physical & emotional, from her years of cyber-hunting child abusers but is still a force to be reckoned with. "After years hunting the most evil monsters on earth, I realized they are everywhere. They look like anyone. They're nothing special. And there's no end to them."

My favorite character was Nish, the folklore historian/archivist, who "looks like he's on the verge of exploding into confetti." The comfortable bantering between Fade and Nish felt like true friendship, even though they are opposites in every way. (I hope there might be another book in the works that continues their adventures, with Nish "Indiana Jones" and Fade "Tony Stark.")

I loved everything about The Witch of Willow Sound and will purchase a copy when it's published. This is a book I will enjoy rereading.