I found this book very boring. I think the style and pacing was intended to mimic Jane Austen’s works but it falls flat.

I didn't mind the writing style at all. It was flowery and a bit pompous but in a fun way. It was the slow pacing that I had issues with.

There was a lot of info dumping at the beginning of the book which slowed everything down. Most of it I didn't need to know, or it could have been brought up at a more appropriate place in the book.

For a book that moved at a glacial pace and was unbelievably boring for parts of it, it jammed in a lot of stuff! I do wonder if it would have been better to have saved some of the stuff for the second book.

The romance was very lacklustre. There was no chemistry between the characters and there wasn't any build up. It felt forced.

This isn't a witchy version of Pride and Prejudice (or if it is, it's a bad one). If you like historical fantasy with a bit of romance then you might enjoy this but don't go expecting Austen. You'll be disappointed

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there aren't enough queer Regency books out there, but Natania Barron takes it up a notch with her addition of Netherford Hall. I absolutely enjoyed this book from start to finish. The characters were realistic with their virtues and flaws on full display, including and particularly the secondary characters that turned this into a deep, complex, and believable world with underpinnings. We hear about places we aren't visiting and how they affect the protagonists, how what the protagonists do affect others: this is not a brief touch, but the threads of the world all elegantly interwoven. The pacing is solid throughout, with my only quibble being that the latter 1/4 seemed to have a lot happening all at once compared to the earlier slower pace, but given the context, is eminently reasonable. There's a lot happening in Edith and Poppy's world!

This very much *felt* like a Regency piece with the right language and details included, the right concerns for characters (including social perceptions of roles) rather than a story slapped in with Regency wallpaper. The author's clear research and attention to detail were evident, which made for a pleasant and consistently immersive reading experience. There were no moments of disbelief or language misuse to throw a reader out of the period/story. Every character's voice is clear and distinct, making POV transitions smooth.

The queer relationship*s* in this book were excellently written and there was no queerbaiting (hallelujah!); we have well-developed relationships of all flavors, including platonic familial ones. Edith and Poppy stand at the top, all of Edith's concerns and insecurities hidden behind her proper visage, and all of Poppy's chaos and misapprehensions making for, once again, *believable* relationships, believable people, which make it a book I know I'll be re-reading.

DNF at 26%

The writing style of this one was just not working for me at all. It all felt like it was trying to be flashy and ended up feeling stilted instead. Dialogue felt cold and clunky and these characters all felt hollow.

I believe this book wasn't written for me - but people who enjoy magical realism that's more of an alternate historical universe than magic in real history will enjoy it!

I was provided an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley.

After most of her family of witches dies in a fire in London, Edith, her uncle and nephew head to Netherford where the family owns a country mansion and Edith becomes the official Gentlewitch of the town.

Poppy and her family live in a house on Edith's property as her tenants. Poppy has spent years, since she was a child, wandering through Netherford Hall and is sad that the mansion will soon be occupied.

This alternative history-fantasy-romance, creates an England where witches and vampires live among mortals. Taking place some time in either the 18th or 19th century, the novel not only tells the story of Edith and Poppy's romance, it also delves into the circumstances of Poppy's miracle cure from a childhood illness and the price that was paid for that cure.

There are a number of secondary threads coming out of this novel, possibly because it is going to be the first in a series. I liked the book a lot but felt that the final 1/3 had a bit too much action that at times felt confusing.

All in all, a good read and I'd be happy to keep up with the story in book two.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Solaris Nova for the advanced copy of this book!

Taking place in Regency London, this is a delightfully cozy queer romantasy. When Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood's home and family are lost in a fire, she must relocate to her ancestral home, Netherford Hall in Kent. This move uproots Poppy and her family as tenants of Netherford Hall where magical happenings occur. Poppy's family has fallen into the lower class of magical society and have a distrust of witches from traumatic circumstances. Unable to claim any magic of their own, there is a uniqueness to Poppy that is a mystery. As such, the initial meeting of Poppy and Edith is tumultuous at best. With a new Gentlewitch in town potential friends and enemies circle with motives of their own to form alliances and potentially challenge Edith's inheritance. Edith must also solidify her inheritance through marriage, but with a dangerous threat from the past emerging, will love survive the test?

I really enjoyed the vibe and atmosphere of the regency period of this book, along with sensory details that make the writing vivid. The characters are delightful and diverse which is refreshing. This will be the first book in a trilogy that will focus more on the relationships of other characters but will give us a chance to keep with other characters we've gotten to know. This story is about love on all fronts: family, romance, and for oneself. I'm looking forward to book 2 and would this one a solid 4 stars.

This is exactly what I hoped for from this splendid book: a queer Jane Austen style comedy of manners with a hint of Gothic, and a whole lot of complicated magic. (It's not in the LEAST a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, by the way, which the pitch does rather imply. Netherford Hall is fully Austen pastiche, containing many familiar tropes from across all of her books, but has entirely its own plot - it starts with a surprise aristocrat landing in the big house of a close-knit community, but Edith Rookwood is as far from Mr Bingley as one might imagine. (She's a little closer to Mr Darcy, personality-wise, while the Brightwell sisters feel closer to the Dashwoods than the Bennets)

I did enjoy how many Austen-ish story elements were used in this story, such as the quirky townsfolk, the messy class issues, the country vs town dynamic, the social events, the restrained awkwardness of many of the characters, and the horror of one's plans being thwarted by surprise relatives with secrets to blurt out all over the place. A mysterious dress delivery could be compared to Jane Fairfax and the piano, and Netherford Hall itself is more than reminiscent of Northanger Abbey...

There also marvellous worldbuilding elements you'd never see anywhere near an Austen novel -- like the intricate society of witches (a far more stifling hierarchy than mere social class), vampires and other paranormal details, not to mention a fully integrated LGBTQ+ friendly society where any gentlewitch may be in want of a wife, rather than a husband.

Most of all this is a love letter to a magical house, with the humans who care for it also allowed to fall in love along the way. The clothes are detailed in ways that are incredibly vivid and compelling. Poppy (Perspehone) Brightwell was a compelling heroine, and I was also deeply invested in the happiness of Uncle Auden, former rake now stuck in the most responsible (if not entirely prestigious) job as his niece's majordomo.

After the pleasant slowburn pace of the characters and plot, I found the final act of the novel startlingly fast and a bit darker than I had expected from what started out as a gentle, cozy read (though the tragic backstory should have been fair warning that this novel had teeth). Still, it was all resolved neatly and I very much look forward to the next book in the series.

I really enjoyed the first third of this book. The world was intriguing, and I really like the idea that queen relationships were a normal part of this alternative history. (As in the queen relationships were accepted and even promoted with marriage and the like.) Not only was the world fun, but the bricks being laid for the mystery had me hooked. I was excited to learn more about the mysteries surrounding Netherford Hall, Edith, and Poppy. However, around the 50% mark I began to feel that the book had bitten off more than it could chew. There was so much world building to cover, and back story to unearth that the steady pace of the beginning was lost.

I felt that we were suddenly at break neck speed with both the romance and lore dump. New characters were jumping in left and right. And the ending itself felt so rushed that the payoff just didn't really matter to met in the end.

It seems the author was going for a a regency romantasy series. I think it could have been really successful too. However, I think the story of Edith and Poppy would have been better stretched out over multiple books. There was just way too much to cram into this one book. I will say that the premise of the next book seems more insular so I would be tempted to pick it up. It may be able to rectify some of the issues I found with this first book. Ultimately, I would give this a 2.5 because I really enjoyed the first 40%. But since that isn't an option I will give the book a 2 star.

I became a fan of Natania Barron’s from her Thread Talks on Twitter, so I of course got super excited when I saw this available on NetGalley! Welcome to a delightfully delicious witchy regency adventure with a big helping of romance!
Basically, Edith is a gentlewitch who moves into Netherford Hall and needs to navigate both life there and her own struggle with her magic. She meets Poppy, daughter of the nearby family, quickly insulting her at a society function (we can see where this is going).
Natania is an incredible author. This book is well designed and put together with vivid description such as the idea of “baked bread” to describe a setting as warm and comfortable. She is not too heavy handed on the world building, giving you just enough at a time so you are able to orient yourself in the story while there is still the impression that there is a lot left to learn. As expected from following Thread Talks, Natania puts a lot of work into describing apparel and making the clothing matter.
I loved the nods to the different versions of pride and prejudice, such as the muddy hem of Poppy’s dress and the line about how someone was bewitched “body and soul.” However, I don’t know if I would quite call it “pride and prejudice and witches” as advertised, but I still think it is an attractive and entertaining regency story. This book comes out next week (!) and something that I definitely think everyone should add to your TBR.

Stars and the speckled firmament! I've just finished reading Netherford Hall by Natania Barron and am besotted by the characters, story, and writing style. Thank you to Natania and Solaris Nova for the ARC so that I could experience this beautiful story and encourage others to do the same.

Described as Pride & Prejudice & Witches, Netherford Hall follows Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood, who was recently displaced due to a terrible fire that claimed the lives of all but two of her family members. As they move to Netherford Hall in Kent to rebuild, she meets one of her tenants, the headstrong and curious Poppy Brightwell. Through property disputes, love potion poisoning, unexplained house repairs, and pervasive nightmares, the magic of Netherford Hall wants to be discovered - even if it may ruin the lives of everyone in Nethorford.

From beginning to end, I was absolutely enchanted with this novel. As someone who doesn't often read Regency-era stories, I was both excited and apprehensive to give this book a try - but sapphic Regency paranormal fantasy? I think anyone whose interest is piqued will have a great time. The story's pacing is fantastic, and the creativity is out of this world. Barron is a talented author.

There's a lot of lore here, so if that's not your cup of tea, then it might be more difficult to pick up. That being said, I loved learning about this world (and was thrilled to see that it appears to be the first in a series!). The characters were all dynamic and complex, and the point of view shifted to so many characters but never in a way that felt confusing.

Netherford Hall is set to release on August 30th and you should absolutely preorder it now. Thank you again so much Natania and Solaris Nova! I'll be patiently waiting for the next installment. :)

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

DNF @ 28%

I'm kinda disappointed because I really wanted to like this.

Right off the bat, the first chapter is full of world-building exposition explaining how the gentlewitches and the various hierarchies work. I understand that it's necessary for the reader to know these things in order to understand the stakes, but the way it was executed (characters having awkward conversations explaining things that they should already know) was not it. I expected the infodumping to stop after that first chapter, but the following chapters contain additional world-building exposition that is tiresome to read, and also rather complicated? I would have preferred not having all that exposition, because I didn't understand it very well either way. Maybe this is a skill issue, or the way that it was written, but I just found it so tedious.

The writing style is very last time-y, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the character dialogue come off as rather stiff and unnatural, as well as making the characters feel kind of,,, cold? And impersonal. I suppose the writer is trying to deliberately emulate Jane Austen's writing, given the setting, but it just doesn't flow well.

The main issue I have with this book is the use of PoVs. The synopsis mentions Poppy and Edith as the main characters, but for some reason, Edith's uncle, Auden, who is not mentioned AT ALL in the synopsis has like, more PoVs than Edith? And about the same number of PoVs as Poppy, but also he has more page time than both of them? And there's nothing wrong with this character, Auden seems rather nice, but this book is pitched as a romance between Edith and Poppy, but instead of reading about them, I am reading about this guy. I did get some interactions between Edith and Poppy, but their interactions are so so uninteresting and frustrating. I know this book is a Pride and Prejudice, enemies-to-lovers sort of thing, so there won't be romance from the start, but their initial animosity isn't even exciting or thrilling to read, it's like they just hate each other for no reason. Edith especially is very hard to understand, because this book spends more time inside her uncle's head than hers!!

Anyway, maybe the romance gets better later on, but I won't be continuing further because I do not care about these characters.

I think the direct comparison to Pride and Prejudice actually does the story a disservice. Or at least required a very different setup and series of events - beyond a couple initial beats, the story quite quickly veers off from P&P into something entirely its own and it would have stood quite well on its own with just "Regency Witches" or something similar that didn't have such well-known expectations.

I also found it trying to do too much all of the time - PoVs jumped multiple times within the same chapter with very little indication; for the first few chapters, we got Auden's perspective overwhemlingly more than Edith's, which felt a little jarring; there's witches, vampires, werewolves, fae, the quick introduction of all felt like biting off more than the reader could chew. While all of the various storylines - the mystery of the fire, Poppy's affinity for Netherford Hall, Poppy's father's curse, the American relatives, Edith's magic, the vampires, Edith's marriage - do all come together by the end, some of them feel so perfunctory that I can't help but think how much stronger any of them would have been if there had only been one or two at a time. The romance kind of gets similar treatment, an undercurrent in everything going on, but because there's so much that needs to be resolved, we don't get to spend as much time with Poppy and Edith and I'd like. Because when they're together, it's so nice

I love a cozy queer book and that's what this felt like. Throw in witches and the Regency era and I was very intrigued.
There is a great simplicity to it, yet it's still well written and the descriptions (rooms and dresses etc.) provided great atmosphere.

I always appreciate a book where the diversity just is. It's not novel, problematic, etc. It's just the way things are and it's beautiful.

I will definitely continue with this series.

Thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

Netherford Hall has writing and magic reminiscent to me of the Narnia series - there's time taken to establish the society, to explain the rules of the magic, all while written with this whimsical charm and dialogue that is often missing in a romantic fantasy.

Although the story is based has elements of Pride and Prejudice and Little Women, there are certainly enough differences in the storytelling and its beats to keep the book interesting; this is also a book that is not only has queer main characters, but eschews heteronormativity entirely - it is a given that the gentlewitch is the matriarch, and it is given that she will take a wife. All of this is written as if this is plain and obvious, which I so appreciate - no need for tumbling over oneself to explain the queer representation or make any side comments on it.

Like many fantasy books, and truer-to-classics historical fiction, this book is one that you have to take the time to read and commit to, especially with learning all the magic terms and the familial structure. But give it the chance, and it'll be loads of fun! I'm excited to see where the series goes!

LGBTQ+ Pride and Prejudice with witches, vampires and other mythical creatures.....this took a big bite out of the historical fantasy genre that was bit too much to swallow.

This was a beautiful, funny and clever regency romance with a supernatural twist, set in a non-heteronormative world… so yes, basically everything I look for in a book! It’s billed as “Pride and prejudice and witches” and while I see the parallels to the famous Austen novel, I do not think they’re obvious enough to compare, and this novel is sufficiently strong to stand on its own. I had no problem with the insta-love aspect, and expect the world building and magic system will be further developed as the series goes on. I found it incredible entertaining and finished it in just under two days. I would highly recommend it and look forward to the sequel!

This was described as Pride and Prejudice and Witches, and it so is!! I loved the historical and atmospheric vibes in this. There was LGBT representation, romance, fantasy, and a throwback to a classic. Recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was so pleasant! It was the perfect blend of cozy meets Pride and Prejudice meets witches.
I absolutely ADORED the writing in this and I loved the Pride and Prejudice references throughout.
The characters and places are lovable, and I enjoyed seeing the development (romantic and non-romantic) between many of the characters!

The magic in this world is very soft magic and is subtly used throughout. I would love to know much more concretely about how the magic works in this world in future books if possible, but if the magic stays soft then I have no complaints either!

The descriptions of the places, appearances, and the dresses were GORGEOUS.

I will definitely be reading more from this author just from their writing style alone, I cannot describe how much I enjoyed it from the very first sentence - I highlighted A LOT of passages and sentences from this book! It was a really stronge part of this novel! And I will definitely be interested in seeing what happens in the next installment of this series. Also, the cover is GORGEOUS!

I do think the mysteries, reveals and foreshadowing were the weakest parts of the book. I feel they weren't at the forefront at all; it was easy to forget there were even mysteries to solve if I'm being honest. I was very happy to just read about these characters' day to day life, the setting and the relationships.

Adult Content Warning for sex scenes.

I enjoyed the relationship between Poppy and Edith, but I felt that the magical elements were somewhat unclear and occasionally left me confused about what was happening. However, the romantic part got me blushing, giggling and kicking my feet!