Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, however, and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious faerie butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot through wit and cleverness… but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust?


This book was absolute perfection. I knew I would love it based solely on the little blurb above and that it was written by one of my favorite authors.

I think it should be said to check those CW/TW though this book was quite a bit darker than usual. Also felt quite a bit more mature, I’d say this still has no “spice” but does have some delectable tensions

The story is very found family, scheming and love in many forms.
I can not wait to read more by this author ((especially at how it ended, I crave a bit more))

World: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Winnie, Robert, Oliver, Sarah, and of course Mr Quincy (Not to mention some of our most favorite characters making brief appearances or at least being mentioned)

Over all I can not wait for more Victorian Faerie Takes

A huge thank you to the author, publishers and netgalley for letting me read this book early.

I love Olivia Atwater’s faerie fantasy series. The Witchwood Knot is set in the Regency Faerie tale world, with a more gothic theme. I absolutely loved Winnie and her response to essentially a mansion being haunted/overran by faeries. The romance was also slow burn, but done perfectly. Special thanks to NetGalley and Starwatch Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Her books have all been a delight so far. If you’re looking for a new light fantasy author to try and you’ve enjoyed period fantasy definitely pick her books up. You should absolutely start with her Regency Faerie Tales series and work your way through to this series. They’ve all been such a fun read!

With whimsical prose, charming characters, and a gothic setting, The Witchwood Knot is not to be missed. The Witchwood Knot is set in the same world as her Regency Faerie Tales series. I have only read Half a Soul, the first book in that series, and I was able to follow the story in The Witchwood Knot. However, if you have read the trilogy, you’ll enjoy cameos and mentions of the characters.

The Witchwood Knot follows Winifred Hall, the latest governess at Witchwood Manor. Witchwood Manor is unique, though. It is haunted by ghosts and faeries. Soon, Winifred has a new problem on her hands when faeries steal her charge, and replace him with a block of wood, also known as a fetch. Now Winifred must team up with Mr Quincy, the mischievous faerie butler, to save Robert.

What I Liked:
- I enjoyed The Witchwood Knot! The haunted manor was the perfect setting for this story. It enhanced the subplots and set the tone for the story.
- Atwater did a great job crafting Winnie’s character arc. When Winnie’s biggest fear was revealed, my heart broke for her.
- The witty, satirical dialogue. Atwater has a knack for creating charming, unique characters that steal your heart.
- The sweet, slow-burn romance between Winnie and Mr Quincy.

What Could Have Been Improved:
- My biggest complaint with this book is the pacing. In my opinion, it took a while for the story to get going. The Witchwood Knot is a quick read, but

Overall, I enjoyed The Witchwood Knot and look forward to the sequel! Olivia Atwater has cemented herself as a go-to author for regency stories with the fae and a dash of romance.

Winifred Hall is taking on a job as "governess" for an old friend. Winifred is many things, but governess is not one of them. She is to keep young Robert safe.
Winnie senses something is off as soon as she reaches the manor. And by wrong, I mean fae.

I love books with Victorian settings, and Olivia Atwater does it so well. The Gothic vibes are fantastic in this one.

Olivia Atwater burst onto my radar with her Regency Faerie Tales series, and I’m so glad I read that before starting this. While it isn’t necessarily required reading beforehand, there are some characters and information that come in handy knowing for this book, even though it takes place many years later.

First of all, I quickly grew to adore Winnie. She’s smart, cunning, keeps her head in stressful situations, and resourceful. It becomes obvious very fast that Winnie is more than simply a governess, as she has extensive knowledge of the faeries. I loved watching her interact with Mr. Quincy, someone who is more than what he appears to be. There’s a romance subplot that I was expecting to see, and loved watching it play out. Both Winnie and her love interest are a bit out of the ordinary, but somehow they manage to make it work with each other.

While the setting is creepy, it falls a bit short of gothic and Victorian. This is more of what I’d expect from a story involving the presence of faeries, where there’s a different side of the area that’s dark, enchanting, and even a little dangerous. I did like seeing how things differed between the regular side of the mansion and the faerie side of it.

The side characters were just as enchanting as Winnie was. Oliver, in particular, stole my heart, as the fearsome feline familiar at Winnie’s side. But the one I was most curious about had to be Mr. Quincy, the mysterious butler who was clearly keeping secrets.

This is a much darker story than Atwater’s previous ones. One character is learning how to express their autonomy and sexual desires after sexual harassment and assault, and healing through that process on their own terms. The other character is learning how to cope with their own loss of autonomy and facing the conflict of their desires with that that of the being controlling them. Seeing these two process their own trauma and start the healing process was a beautiful thing.

Overall, this was a fantastic story. I loved the fantasy elements and the romance, the plot and the characters, and the way this sets up further books in the series. I do wish that Winnie’s magic was further explored, because it was so interesting about how her magic was forbidden as dark arts by the current Lord Sorcier, but that wasn’t really delved into in this book. Overall, this is a wonderful start to the series, and I really hope that we get to see a bit more of Winnie’s sisters as well as an appearance from Winnie and Mr. Quincy in the next book!

Loved this book! Perfect blend of spooky, atmospheric, prickly, soft, and romantic. A fabulous addition to the faery genre. Can't wait for the sequel!!

I can't believe this book was so good it forcibly knocked me out of my reading slump.

It's a gothic tale with a wonderful slow burn romance. My favourite aspect was the characters, and I very quickly became attached to them. Especially Winnie, a very strong yet vulnerable heroine that I loved following. Mr. Quincey was also wonderful, and I loved watching how he developed and grew throughout the story.

Not only that, but thematically it deals with the threat of being attractive in a misogynistic world - it wasn't even the faeries and the horror elements I found most terrifying here, but the looming presence of a man that can't take a no for what it is. Which made the romance so much more impactful, as it is wholly built on consent and acceptance of each other. Exactly the type of romance I love.

I will say that I haven't read the Regency Faerie tales, but I definitely will, and I don't think it detracted from my enjoyment of this book. Although I have been told there's some bits and pieces you'll miss if you haven't read the previous series, so just be aware of that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Olivia Atwater is a gift to the fantasy genre! This book has everything I love…

-strong, smart female lead
-intelligent, snarky humor
-well written
-Fae represented appropriately 😆
-unique viewpoints/atmosphere
…also that cover?! SO gorgeous.

If you’re a fan of the Emily Wilde series or, any previous Olivia Atwater books I highly recommend. Every single book I’ve read of hers so far has been absolutely brilliant.

** SPOILERS ** Blew through this reading! Great pace and makes me want to read more of this universe. All the characters are interesting and unique. A creepy but not too scary fairy tale with just the right amount of romance. The only thing I didn't love is the romantic interest having a rat tail and smelling like blood.

What a thrilling book! A perfect Gothic romance with fantasy, bones chilling monster and awesome vibes. It's spooky, it's feeric and it's surprising. Loved it. Great book for fall and Halloween.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 - The Witchwood Knot - Olivia Atwater (release date: 28/11/23)

The Witchwood Knot is a gothic Victorian fearie tale that follows Winnie as she travels to and from the faerie realm to break a curse placed on the manor. At first I thought this novel was just another haunted house story, but it’s so much more, with parts of it feeling almost akin to a fable with the twists-and-turns keeping you guessing who the real enemy is.

One of my favourite aspects of the book is that Winnie is so strong and sure of her decisions and the choices that she has to make - she knows her strengths and weaknesses, and when she’ll have to rely on others to accomplish her goals. It was so refreshing to not once be like ‘what is SHE doing???’ reading this as sadly I face this a lot reading fantasy books.

The world-building in the novel is honestly incredible and the way Atwood distinguished between the different realms really stood out to me - but she made both the realms just as intricate as the other. The history in the book was woven into the story so well through adding them into the book as fairytales within the faerie tale; which was such a CLEVER way to do it as it never felt like an into dump! I would be absolutely obsessed if Atwood released novellas surrounding the backstories in the book 🤞

I didn’t know this specific genre was something that I needed in my life but oh my god I wish there was another 10 million pages of this story!! I think I may have just found a new auto-buy author 🤪

I highly highly recommend this book if you loved the OUABH series but wished it was a bit darker with a bit less romantic subplot!

(Thank you to Negalley and the publisher for providing this ARC 💫)

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Like many people I really loved Half a Soul by this author so I was really excited to pick up a new series by her.
Sadly it did fall a bit flat for me, I think for a couple of reasons. Firstly I just didn’t connect with any of the characters, specifically our MC Winnie. I know she was written to be a strong independent woman but (and I hate to say this) she just came off as abrasive and annoying.
I also found this so slow for the first 50% with really nothing happening. I’m glad I persevered though, as the tale does finally pick up and is very atmospheric throughout.
I do want to go back to the Regency Faerie series as I loved Half a Soul so much but will hold my breath for this new series for now.

Certainly as many of you know, Olivia Atwater is one of my favorite modern day authors. So, of course I jumped at the opportunity to advance read her upcoming release, 'The Witchwood Knot.'

Taking place in the same world I've come to know and adore.. as the Regency Faerie Tales, Olivia has lead us on a new journey in this.. her Victorian Faerie Tales series. This one's just a little bit darker, with a lovely gothic fantasy setting full of both wonder and chills. Even the cover has a beautiful papercraft feel to the art style that really gives off delicate, antique vibes.

Our main character, Victorian governess Winifred Hall, is charming and relatable. One of the things I love about Olivia's characters is they always feel very natural.. from their flaws to their quirks. There's no over-the-top attempt to make them stand out, they simply do because they come across like very real people.

Winnie doesn't even particularly like children.. or people.. for that matter and she has good reasons for the way she feels. Her backstory is richly textured. She's kind, though not falsely friendly. She's warm with those who have earned her love and trust.

Another of my favorite things about Olivia's writing.. is every character in the book always has a fully-fleshed out personality and story of their own. We may get more or less of it based on their role in the story, but make no mistake.. they are each individuals with a very specific part of the tale to tell.

The character development is as lush as the story itself.

Mr. Quincy, who is an absolute delight in all of his persnickety interactions.. and the clear frontrunner for my favorite in the book, despite my fondness for Winnie. Robert is at first, rather decidedly obnoxious, but as I came to understand his situation.. I liked him very much too. There are plenty of other great characters too.. and the villains are indeed dark-natured, just in a palatable way. For the most part.

As Olivia's writing has such a whimsical ambience, she did surprise me a little with a very morbid reveal about two-thirds or so of the way through. She handles it with her usual grace and eloquence, but I was a bit stunned at the horror of what I came to realize.. and I loved that. In fact, I'm still talking about that one incident in the book, around home.

All in all, it was another wonderful story. She just never fails me as an author. I always know I can count on her for a new tale I'm going to obsess over. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, romance, historical fiction, or just all around great storytelling. I can see a potential trigger or two here for some people, so if you have any of those.. just dm me and ask.. or do your research first.

Now I need a signed copy.. and hopefully a pretty special edition down the road. *cough* Kickstarter *cough* Fairyloot *cough*.. someone help me before I choke here..

Thanks, netgalley and starwatch for letting me review this book!

Winifred Hall approaches Witchwood Hall with a clandestine purpose- a magician posing as a governess, she is there to protect the young lord longfellow from the dark spirits haunting his home, by request of his grandmother. However, despite her skill and experience, Winnie is tricked and trapped from the moment she hands her luggage through the door to the cunning Mr. Quincy, and must take her life and the fate of the villagers into her hands to break the ties that bind the inhabitants of the Witchwood.

This book was so fun! Definite Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell/ Emily Wilde vibes, with a ton of cozy spooky ambiance. I like how the novel slowly unfolded winnie's past, and the fairy tale asides. I would most certainly read a series about the sisters which i am keeping mt fingers crossed for. 🤞

"The Witchwood Knot" by Olivia Atwater promised a dark faerie tale set in a magical version of Victorian England, but unfortunately, it fell short of expectations. The initial excitement of a gothic romance in a Victorian setting quickly waned as the story unfolded.

I failed to establish a connection with any of the characters, despite their potential. The lack of emotional engagement made the eventual emergence of romance feel more like a mystery, devoid of the expected gothic/Victorian atmosphere. The writing style, while okay, carried a certain stiffness that further hindered the immersive experience.

The Victorian setting, a key selling point, didn't deliver the anticipated vibe. The atmosphere remained vague and disappointing, lacking the essence of true Gothic or Victorian elements. The reliance on chapters telling a fairy tale felt lazy, disrupting the narrative flow and missing an opportunity for a more natural integration.

While the protagonist, Winnie, presented an appealing no-nonsense character, the overall lack of connection with the story, coupled with the confusion stemming from the shared universe with another series, left me grappling with a tangled narrative. The existence of crucial backstory in another series may explain the disconnect, but it doesn't excuse the failure to captivate.

In the end, "The Witchwood Knot" left me with a sense of frustration, akin to attempting to untangle a knot that proved impossible to unravel. Despite the potential for a captivating tale, the execution fell short, leaving me yearning for a more immersive and coherent experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and Starwatch Press for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Witchwood Knot- ⭐️🌶️

Fantasy
Romance
Victorian eta
Gothic Setting
Fae
Slow Burn
Clean Romance
Magic


This was a charmingly gothic-light tale! I found myself enjoying the dark house with a dark secret, but wishing for a little more. With the FMC called to the house to play hero and governess, I was immediately invested in her story. From what I understand, it is the same world as another series by Olivia Atwater, just a different time period. I wish a little more of the time period was evident in some way. But, I enjoyed this so much, and it read nicely as a stand alone. I will be going to read the other series.

The World-building was interesting in that it was done by having story within a story chapters. I find that it was an info dump, but it worked fairly well in bringing the past into play, as well as explaining some of the more tactile parts of the magic system. The dream/reality line was seamless and a great way to bring more whimsey into the story. I wish more of the FMC’s magic was explained. It wasn’t used more than 3 times, and I was still not sure how often it was used outside of dealing cards.

I liked the main characters and found them to be compelling in their journey to overcome their trauma. The FMC had such strength and grit. And the MMC was a complete softie with a hard exterior. I enjoyed the brutal truths and how the romance developed, in spite of the main characters. The side characters, while few, helped moved the plot along well. I’m hoping future books will get to know them better.

Yay for cat familiars!!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Starwatch Press for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this. It was really atmospheric, and I enjoyed the world overall. I wasn’t really sold on the romance between Mr. Quincy and Winnie. I wish there was a little more development to the characters, and would have liked to see more of Winnie’s sisters. I think my favorite character was Ollie!!

I feel like The Witchwood Knot was a bit of a let down. The writing style itself was okay, if a little stiff in my opinion.

I had a difficult time initially getting into the book and unfortunately, that feeling didn’t ever really go away. I didn’t connect much to the characters and the pacing felt very slow.

I was excited by the Victorian setting, but I didn’t get that vibe really at all. There atmosphere was very vague and and disappointing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Starwatch Press for this opportunity to read rate and review this arc which is available November 28,2023!

Return to the world of Half a Soul in this gothic dark fae Victorian England romance and be bored out of your damn mind.

I could not get into this book! I was not invested nor truly involved with the characters and plot. The idea is cool but for the love of god it read like a dry Jane Austen novel but with a more modern sensibility to it.