The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

The Traveling Sisters agree don’t look any further!  This is the perfect read for this time of year!!!  We are all cheering with excitement over this one!!!

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox

Norma’s review

Spooky, suspenseful & a little bit witchy!

This book reminded me so much of the gothic romantic suspense novels that I used to love reading growing up. They were my absolute favourite stories and this tale just made me feel all nostalgic and reminded me of my fondness for these types of stories.

THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL by HESTER FOX is a dark, haunting, romantic and an excellent debut novel that had me totally absorbed, entertained, and interested throughout this entire book.

I wouldn’t necessarily say that this story was all that gripping or suspenseful for me though but it definitely had an ominous feel to it that I found quite appealing.

HESTER FOX delivers an atmospheric, intriguing and beautifully written gothic romantic tale of suspense and mystery here with wonderful character development, a captivating setting and an extremely spellbinding storyline. I really enjoyed the creepy dark vibe and the supernatural aspect to this novel even if it was a little subtle the real magic here was in Lydia’s character.

It was one of those books that definitely cast its spell on me and I wanted to savour every single page.

 

Brenda’s review

Norma, Lindsay and I read The Witch Of Willow Hall with six of our Traveling Sisters and we all agreed that this was the perfect book for this time of year.  

The Witch of Willow Hall is just what we were craving.  It has all the elements for a great spooky, atmospheric, entertaining and chilling read with just a little bit of creep to add a little shock to the story.  There is just the right amount of tragedy and romance with a sprinkle of witchcraft and a dash of the supernatural, making this the perfect gothic historical fiction for us. 

We loved the gothic feel here with Willow Hall and were intrigued by the mystery it holds from the past and now the mystery of a scandal that a family is fleeing from.  The suspense to the story grabbed us right from the start and increased as tragedy hits and secrets are slowly revealed.

The sisters here in this story are compelling, complicated and one very messy one that we grew to love to hate.  They are very different from each with some mystery to their characters making each very intriguing. We loved the dynamics between them.

We highly recommend this fun and entertaining gothic historical fiction to anyone who loves an easy paced story.

Lindsay’s review

Gothic. Mysterious. Haunting. Secretive.

This was a spine-tingling, highly atmospheric story.   Willow Hall, the countryside mansion that this novel revolves around, has such an alluring and dominating presence.  The house itself, the grounds the house lays on, the woods and the hidden pond. They all held a vital piece of this story and added an extra layer of suspense and intrigue.   I loved that!

The characters were so very well done!  The author, Hester Fox, does an outstanding job developing each and every character whether they were central to the story or held background roles.   There is a supernatural element to this novel which is handled very gently and subtly. I tend to shy away from novels involving strong supernatural aspects.  My hesitation is always that the story will feel unrealistic, however, that definitely wasn’t the case with this novel. I truly felt interested and invested in this story throughout.

For me, the intrigue and suspense in the first half of this novel outweighed the second half.   While I was still interested and engrossed in the main storyline, I felt that some parts of the second half dragged.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read that was perfect for the month of October!

Thank you from us all to NetGalley, HARLEQUIN – Graydon House Books and Hester Fox for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: Beautiful, alluring, eye-catching, intriguing and a fitting representation to storyline.
Title: Appealing, suspenseful, intriguing and a fitting representation to storyline. My interest is always piqued when the word witch is in a title and I’m usually all over it!
Writing/Prose: Well-written, engaging, captivating, and fluid.
Plot: Foreboding, menacing, engrossing, leisurely-paced, enjoyable and extremely entertaining. I adored this storyline!
Ending: A lovely ending that I was extremely satisfied with and left me feeling hopeful.
Overall: A fascinating read that had me totally engrossed within this gothic romance tale from start to finish! I absolutely loved the creepy and menacing feel that subtly emanated throughout this wonderful atmospheric tale! Would highly recommend!

Have you read this one?  Agree with the sisters or disagree?  Want to add this one to your list to read?  Drop us a comment!  We would love to hear from you!