This is a wonderfully imaginative introduction to the Hedgewitch series and one that any reader will become fully immersed in.

I loved the world-building and how there's a balance between the bleakness of Cassie Morgan's boarding school and the beauty she finds in the magical village and the nature that surrounds it. Each comes to life and as Cassie's escape from misery catapults her into the unknown, and I feel that the reader will want their magical adventure or playtime when this book comes to an end.

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭,
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥
𝘖𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘸𝘺𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴,
𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥.

The verses such as this had my mind wander to my childhood when we'd play witches in the woods, as Skye McKenna has given so much life to witches both young and old who live in Hedgely a lovely magical village in the countryside near the infamous Hedge woodlands. I couldn't help but imagine a group of young witches reciting the verse in the same way Brownies and Guides do filled with hope and a sense of comradery. Each of the ones we encounter has their personality from the good wifch who follows the rules to the slightly erratic and carefree one - no doubt each will be relatable and their clashes of personality help bring them all from the page to someone they'd love to meet.

Filled with the wonder and whimsy of magic, adventure and a battle of good over evil? Hedgewitch is a book that's perfect for any reader who loves the idea of there being more than what you can see. I'd highly recommend it for the upcoming spooky season as not only are there witches and their familiars but evil goblins and things that go bump in the night.

This is a re-read as I stupidly threw out the review book where i had written my review. I could of just not review it but there is something very special about Hedgewitch. I think it is due the clever world building and a strong main character but more importantly Skye was not afraid to make the story darker when it needed to be. I also think that Skye also did a great job on the side characters which made the whole story come alive.

I will be carrying on with the series as I am dying to know what happens next

For all the above reasons Hedgewitch receives 4 stars

Update: I've just read the sequel and I loved it! I think this one was paving the way for a bigger story, so please take my critical comments below with a pinch of salt, a lot of the negatives I mention below, such as the Girl Guide elements became some of my favourite parts of the second book, I can see them really catching the imagination of children who read this. I know that I would've wanted to form a hedgewitch club in primary school after reading these books. Please see my review for the second book, this book was definitely finding it's feet just as Cassie, the main character of the book is, I recommend this series.

Original review:
Really wanted to love this, as I love witchy tales, and this was likened to the Worst Witch, but unfortunately, for me, it didn't deliver on what it promised.

I love the Worst Witch, but it differs massively from this story in that there is a mystery, and a villain that Mildred defeats, and a whole story is resolved in what is a very short book, with no loss of pace. I get the feeling that this could be a slow-burn series, and that more will happen in future books (I've just read that this will be a five-book series), but just reading this book alone, very little happens, and the main mystery that is set up at the beginning, Cassie's missing mother, is not resolved at all, and pretty much all of this book is setting up the village of Hedgely. Any glimpses of Faerie that feel like the plot is starting to get going get interrupted by huge Girl Guide-style witchy sessions, that I, personally found frustrating pace-wise.

Also, pet peeve, there is a test, and stages that the new witches have to go through to become official witches, Cassie does not pass this, but due to circumstances out of her control (which she does in the end overcome with the help of her friends), that judgement is overturned, in a similar way to the Harry Potter houses gathering points throughout the year, then Gryffindor wins regardless due to Harry's bravery in facing an external villain, worthy, yes, but kind of negating the hard work of all of the other characters.

Cassie also cheats at a random showcase of witchy talent half-way through the book, using an all-powerful magical object, this is never addressed, and there are no consequences of this, so that wasn't great either.

I think the main reason I didn't get on with this though is that the beginning of the book was fast-paced, exciting, and I really settled in to it, looking forward to Cassie investigating her mother's disappearance, but while that was an undercurrent, the search for the mother is just alluded to now and then, and the main focus of the story feels more Village fete/Girl Guide/WI, which is ok, but the book still ends with the main mystery unsolved, and the main character quite happy in the status quo, the last page doesn't even mention that the search will continue, so it wasn't clear from the ending that the story would continue. It ended pretty abruptly, and I was trying to flick more through the e-book, thinking 'Oh! Is that it? Is this a series then? It's not a cliffhanger? Are they going to keep looking for the mother or is that it?'

So, glad to see that it's a series, I'm guessing this one is just an introduction to the Faerie world and the Hedge and Hedgely's role in keeping it at bay. I'll definitely read the next one to see if it picks up, in general the characters, and sinister presence of the Hedge have promise, and the magical imagery was really good, but it will be pretty frustrating if the main mystery continues over five whole books.

If you like this, or like the idea of this and want more, then you'll love the second book even more, and you'll also love the Pinch of Magic series by Michelle Harrison, just love those Widdershins sisters!

Cassie Morgan hasn't seen her mother in 7 years, not since she was left at boarding school. When her mother is pronounced legally dead, Cassie doesn't believe it and runs away, planning to look for her. In the space of one day she finds that she not only has family living, but that she is descended from a long line of witches. She is taken to live with her aunt and begins her training. This was described as perfect for fans of Nevermoor and I can see why. This is a fun adventure, full of heart, and also with a mysterious puzzle at it's centre. As Cassie trains hard to fulfill her destiny and become a witch, she is still looking for clues to the whereabouts of her mother. This is planned as a 5 book series I believe. I am certainly keen to read on!

i really loved this book so much, the illustrations were wonderful and the world was very gentle but also exciting and magical at the same time. feels like brownies/scouts meets magic and i think children will love this.

A really good start to a new series that is a fun blend of reality, myth and fairy tale. I loved the characters, particularly Montague, the talking cat. It is, as I've said, great fun, an adventure story that is also about mothers and daughters. The setting is well done, I found the world created very immersive and enjoyable. I look forward to the next in the series.

When I saw this pitched as for fans of Nevermoor I knew I had to give it a go because I'm always on the look out for more books in a similar vein to recommend to our customers and the cover for this is absolutely stunning!

I eagerly dove into the book and was immediately intrigued as I could see echoes of other similar books within the opening pages, and I was drawn in by the mystery aspect as I'm rather partial to a mystery and Hedgewitch's is two-fold with Cassie's mother missing and children vanishing in.

I thought it was well written and easy to binge read your way through with a cast of bright and intriguing characters that do stay stuck in your memory after the book is finished. I liked Cassie well enough as a main character, though I suspect any annoyance I felt with her at times is more down to my age rather than characterisation!

I loved the addition of a sort of Brownies for Witches, complete with badges to earn and found it heartwarming to see Cassie become closer to her aunt and learn to accept help from others as she makes friends along the way. It's also positively bursting with magical creatures and has some brilliant plot twists, particularly towards the end.

However, I did find my attention wandering throughout and at one point I was mostly reading because I was curious to find out who'd been destroying the protections and what had happened to the kids.

I found that in places the description was a bit overdone and unnecessary and dragged down the pacing and yet at other times things would be name-dropped without any description. While I loved the aspect of having Brownies but for Witches, I was expecting a lot more magical learning to come out of it, and expected it to be used as a way to get more to grips with the magic of the world, however I found those scenes largely uninteresting as it was mostly sitting around and bickering with her nemesis.

I said I'd seen echoes in the book of others in the same vein, the major one being Harry Potter. Something about the scene where she's running away reminded me slightly of Harry being dropped off at Privet Drive, and the ending was a bit Harry Potter-esque. Cassie failed her test, and I was expecting her to have to try again in the next book but she's allowed anyway because of her courage.

All in all, this was a bit of a mixed bag for me and I'm not sure whether or not I'll pick up the next one, however it'll be a wonderful book to recommend to the intended target audience in place of HP or Nevermoor!

Hedgewitch is the first book in a series and it begins with Cassie Morgan who flees the boarding school she has been placed in since her mothers disappearance
The opening is so tantalising, that it urges the reader to move through it pages, questioning 'why are children disappearing, where has Sophie's mother gone?'
Sophie's escape leads her to Hedgley - where cats can talk, young girls train to be witches and her aunt is the witch in charge - a Hedgewitch.

Sophie begins the most wonderful but at times perilous journey of trying to locate her mother. The pages are filled with magic and the tale leaves the reader always wanting more.

What another really great book for this spring. I loved the cat, Montague, and the growing friendship between Cassie and two other young witches. This is a wonderful story about finding your place in the world and learning that the world is a much deeper and darker place than we realize.

Of course, I was always going to be drawn to this beautiful cover and promise of quirky witchcraft. Touted as a new Nevermoor or The Worst Witch, I was very excited to dive into a new middle-grade witch series and go on a unique, magical ride.

Cassie Morgan was left at a girls’ boarding school by her mother, seven years ago. Obsessed with fairytales, Cassie spends her time reading and keeping out of everyone’s way. She has a feeling that her mum is still alive and in a bid to find her, she runs away from school. After a vicious goblin attack, a talking cat called Montague rescues her and takes her to the village of Hedgely. Hedgely is protected by the Hedgewitch, who just so happens to be an aunt that Cassie never knew she had, and danger is slowly closing in on the village.

There is a mystery element to the adventure too, as children have been going missing. While their fate slowly reveals itself, we learn a lot about the threats that surround the people of Hedgely. The fact that these dangers are starting to encroach on the real world suggest that the monsters that Cassie has always read about may be a little more real than she first anticipated. At the start, it did feel like Cassie was just getting very immersed in her favourite book rather than having a real life adventure. However, as the world of Hedgely began evolving, I started to realise that actually this was all very real!

Hedgely reminded me of a small English village in many ways but it definitely had a certain glittering aura to it. The little details were so rich and all of my senses came alive, as Cassie explored her new surroundings. Cassie’s new home with the Hedgewitch managed to be both welcoming and a little bit threatening. I wasn’t sure whether her aunt Miranda would be friendly and I think those uncertain vibes were reflected in her house.

Some of the descriptions were really beautiful and Skye McKenna is clearly a talented writer. There are some powerful, affecting images and they evoke the atmosphere of the scene so well. There is a part where Cassie is called in to see the headmistress and is told that her mother is dead, which she doesn’t believe. The whole meeting is very bleak and hopeless and the image of the headmistress’ dog with his dark fur and sharp angles is almost a physical embodiment of the mood. Very smart!

Montague is a fantastic character. He’s very smart, proud and a little bit snobby but he is also very loyal. I love seeing how writers incorporate cats into magical stories because of course, they have to be helpful sidekicks but they also need to be believeable cats. I feel like these requirements have conflicting interests but Montague seems to have the balance right. Anything with a talking cat is a winner with me!

There is a scene where Cassie visits a bookshop in Hedgely called Widdershin’s. I honestly never wanted her to leave! The writing was so vivid that I could almost feel the dust on the pages, smell the vanilla in the air and hear the chase of the bookwyrm through the stacks. It was a fantastic reading experience and I can’t wait to visit other places in Hedgely in future books.

Hedgewitch is a unique adventure about a young girl on a quest to find not only her mother but herself and her purpose. I loved that we were introduced to fae folklore creatures which we don’t often see in mainstream fantasy, such as brownies and phookas. I would love future instalments to explore more of them and to deepen the friendships that Cassie makes in the first book. Full of magic, mystery and heart, I can’t wait to see where the Hedgewitch books go next!

The title of this book attracted me, I was hoping for a well written story linking to nature and the natural world but I really struggled you get past the first couple of pages. I'm not sure what it was about it but it didn't hook me or pull me in. One of my very rare DNF.

Cassie is exactly the type of character I love to introduce my school class to. This book has great pacing and world-building, perfect to keep the younger ones engaged (and me). I loved diving into this magical world and getting to meet all the amazing characters and creatures. It will be an amazing edition to my school book collection and I know my children will be dying to read it when they see it. Perfect adventure and cannot wait for book 2.

This is such a cute story. I really felt with Cassie as she finds out about her abilities and finds true friends.

“For we are witches, one and all,
And we are not afraid
Of goblins, grigs and gwyllions,
Our wards and charms are laid.”

All Cassie Morgan has to remember her mother by is a mysterious key and the promise she made that she would wait for her. Cassie never imagined she would still be waiting for her seven years later, behind the bars of Fowell House, with its questionable food, detestable teachers, a headmistress who’d give the Trunchbull a run for her money and the bullies on the hockey team.

When Cassie runs away from her boarding school, a talking cat named Montague accompanies her to Hedgely, where she meets the family she never knew existed. Only, her mother is not with them. It turns out the stories Cassie has been reading about faeries shouldn’t have been filed under fiction, and witchcraft? It’s real, too.

The first in a five book series, Hedgewitch was a lot of fun. Being a new series, there were so many new people and non-humans to meet.

When we join twelve year old Cassie at Fowell House, she’s an outcast whose primary escape when she’s perfecting her invisibility is reading. Once she arrives in Hedgely, some things come naturally to her but she struggles with others. The pain she feels as a result of her mother’s absence is always there but, despite this, Cassie has an unshakeable optimism.

While Ivy has the potential for complexity due to both her personality and home life, so far she’s mostly sycophantic. Rue and Tabitha have the makings of being both supportive friends to Cassie and good teammates.

“For we are witches, one and all,
A coven of the best.
Good friends who stand together
Through any threat or test.”

We’ve gone to work with the Hedgewitch but I suspect her page time will increase as the series continues and we’ll get to see what she’s truly capable of.

Montague, though? A mixture of wisdom and cattitude, Montague is perfect already. Joining Montague in the ranks of practically perfect in every way is Mrs Briggs, who smells of gingerbread and is welcome to cook for me whenever she wants.

Hedgely has many stores I want to explore further in future books but none as much as Marchpane’s, where I’ll be eating when Mrs Briggs goes on strike, and Widdershin’s, a Tardis bookstore.

I’m keen to join Cassie as she continues to search for her mother and am looking forward to coming face to creepy bone mask with the Erl King.

Magic I most wish was real: Spoon of Eternal Pudding.

“For we are witches, one and all,
We know, protect and heal,
With noble hearts, loyal and kind,
And courage true as steel!”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Welbeck Flame, an imprint of Welbeck Children’s Limited, for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book! It started off reminding me of the kind of old fashioned all-girl boarding school novels, but then changes quickly into a fun book about young witches discovering and learning their powers. It's nothing over the top, the main character isn't miraculously the most powerful witch ever, she has her flaws and struggles, but her friends help her out and they learn from each other. It was well paced, i never felt like it was dragging at any point.

sort of spoiler, but not really following:

I was concerned at the end that the author was trying to squash Cassie finding her mother into the last couple of chapters of the book, as that seemed to be where it was going, but luckily it was ruse, and this didn't happen, setting up for a 2nd book in the series! which I will happily read, as i really enjoying this one!

so i recommend this to most people. It will likely be most enjoyed by girls, but let boys read it too! there aren't many male characters, but that shouldn't stop them!

I adored Hedgewitch. It’s a delightful, magical adventure full of witches, faeries and other fantastical creatures. I enjoyed the engaging characters and the world building. As a former scout, I especially loved how the coven resembled and worked together as a troupe of scout-like patrols.
Perfect for fans of The Apprentice Witch series by James Nicol or the A Pinch of Magic series by Michelle Harrison.
Thank you to NetGalley and Welbeck Publishing UK for the advance reader copy.

It's hard for me to review this book. I decided to read this book because it sounded like something I would've adored when I was the target age. And i'm pretty sure I would have. But it's written in a style that as an adult I can no longer enjoy.

There's nothing wrong with this book. It's pretty interesting and fun. I think a lot of kids will adore it. But I personally didn't enjoy it.

A compelling and thrilling adventure for a young witch on the hunt for the truth about her mother, always hoping she can find truths and answers!
Cassie has been at Fowell House for 7 years, ever since her mother dropped her off, never to be seen again. Now she has been legally declared dead and Cassie must go to the orphanage. From one dreadful home to another proves too much for Cassie and she runs away instead. With no family or friends, she really has nothing more to lose. Well, all except her precious books hidden in her room. She manages to take one with her, one that will inevitably assist her, though she doesn’t realise that yet!
Her first night on her own proves to be dangerous and eye opening. A gang of goblins try to hunt her while a cat advises her in her first broomstick flying lesson.
Discovering she is actually the niece of the Hedgewitch, a powerful witch protecting the border between the human and faerie world, Cassie moves to Hartwood Hall. The cat, aptly named Montague, accompanies her there and Cassie meets new family, makes friends and learns that she can become a witch over time!
Even as she learns new ways and adapts to family, friends and safety, there is always the motivation to hunt for her mother. Vowing early on to break rules, enter into danger and take any action necessary, Cassie will do all she can to find out more.
Along the journey, there are plenty of trials, one particularly unpleasant rival and goblins to battle. If there is one thing mosts readers know, it is not to trust those who are faerie. Tricks and taunts are their specialty. Can Cassie learn enough witch skills to protect herself and find her mother?
Cassie is strong, determined and stubborn. Her friends Rue and Tabitha are loyal and brave, all heading into Cassie’s adventures head first. Led by heart or head, these girls are friends you can count on.
I loved reading this story and found it a fascinating study of all things faerie, as well as a brilliant story of finding home and friends. Knowing there is more to come is truly exciting! I cannot wait to visit Cassie, Rue, Tabitha and Montague in Woodwitch, coming in April 2023!

A lovely family book to read together. There was enough to entrance and engage us all. A new family classic.

I loved reading this book. It reads like a mystery fairy tale with all the right kind of elements.
Cassie and her friends are brave but I appreciate how their behavior is not condoned.
Looking forward to read more about the earl king.