The Ravenswood Witch is the perfect spooky read for fall! Set in 1885, it follows a young woman on the run who ends up impersonating the mysterious Luna Greybourne, known as the “Ravenswood Witch.” The atmosphere is dark and gothic, with Ravenswood Hall full of eerie secrets that keep you guessing.

The slow-burn romance between the woman and Marcus, who takes her in, adds just the right amount of tension without overshadowing the mystery. I loved the suspense and the supernatural touches, and the twists completely surprised me.

If you're into historical fiction with a witchy, gothic vibe, this one is a must-read!

The Ravenswood Witch is a brilliant read. I honestly couldn't tell if there was an actual witch or if it was just due to drug abuse and the brain being muddled up due to this.

Luna and Marcus' relationship, while strenuous at times, was beautiful and I loved watching them slowly fall in love together while keeping up the pretence that they were married and that Luna was his wife of ten years.

I thought I knew who Luna really was but it was cemented for me at a certain part and again when you discover who the true evil person is in the book. I had no idea until right when it happened and it just hit me.

Honestly a brilliant read and perfect for an October read with Halloween coming up.

The Ravenswood Witch is a well-crafted gothic novel that captures the essence of the genre while delivering a suspenseful and engaging narrative. Set in 1885, the story follows a woman on the run from the law who finds refuge in the dilapidated Ravenswood estate. Its owner, Marcus Greybourne, aids her escape by claiming she is his wife, Luna, a woman shrouded in mystery and accused of witchcraft.
The novel excels in atmosphere, vividly portraying Ravenswood as a decaying and eerie setting perfect for secrets and hidden dangers. The romantic tension between Marcus and the new “Luna” is skillfully built, providing emotional depth amid the ever-present threat of their respective pasts. Their love story, tinged with both passion and foreboding, aligns well with the traditional gothic motif of romance shadowed by dark secrets.
Though the plot twists are somewhat predictable, the narrative remains compelling. The pacing is steady, with enough intrigue to keep readers engaged until the end. The writing is fluid and effective, creating a vivid sense of time and place without bogging down the action.
Overall, The Ravenswood Witch is an enjoyable read that delivers on its gothic promise. While the surprises may not shock seasoned readers, it’s a satisfying novel for anyone looking for atmospheric, character-driven storytelling with just the right balance of romance and suspense.

3 Stars
One Liner: Could have been better!

A young woman is on the run from authorities for the murder of a young man. She plans to escape to London but collides with a stranger and ends up breaking her ankle. The stranger claims she is his wife and saves her life. The young woman is thankful and agrees to act as his wife. However, she soon realizes that the stranger's wife was branded a witch.
Being the mistress of Ravenswood Manor is not easy, with strange events happening around her. Whom should she trust? Did she end up in a worse place than before?
The story comes in the third-person POV.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the author’s previous two books (No. 23 Burlington Square and At the Stroke of Midnight) and had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, the terrific premise was given an average execution.
Firstly, what I liked about the book –
The setting delivers the Gothic vibes it promised. It is dark, dirty, and suffocating. There’s a bit of animal cruelty as well, though the mentions are limited to what is necessary for the plot. The atmosphere is spot on.
Bran is such a terrific pet. The crow ends up with more personality than some of the characters (take what you will from this statement).
The beginning is great and hooks the reader right away. It establishes the conflict and sets the stage for drama and intrigue.
The romance is not explicit or excessive. While I still wish for a few more interactions between them, it doesn’t overpower the plot most of the time.
However, things started to go downhill pretty soon. Here’s why –
We get extensive snippets about the past from another character’s third-person POV. This could be the young woman or not. While I was initially curious, by the halfway mark, I had enough of it. All this is filler content and unwanted.
A better approach would have been to provide the backstory in three chapters – one to establish the details, the second to deal with the conflict, and the third for the reveal. That way, we would have saved around 50 pages (or more).
Marcus and Real Luna could have gotten a chapter or two each to add depth to their arcs. Except for being the brooding, handsome, heartbroken man, Marcus doesn’t do much. The real Luna is worse since we don’t even get to see her.
A lot of space has been wasted on a character that pretty much went nowhere. Not to mention the repetition that weighed down the pacing and made this move slower than a snail.
The side characters like Mr. and Mrs. Webber also could have gotten some detailing. A couple of more scenes in the village would have made it easier to support the sudden developments at the end. Right now, it sounds strange and out of character.
For books with paranormal and witchy themes, it is better to go full into the vibe. Going this way and that doesn’t help much. Sustaining the effect is important, irrespective of the characters’ opinions.
To summarize, The Ravenswood Witch has immense potential but ends up underwhelming and slow, with more fluff than substance. However, it will suit your needs if you want an atmospheric read for the season.
Of course, I will read the author's next book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

An atmospheric historical fiction perfect for the autumn and spooky season. There is an old manor, secrets, witchcraft and occult elements, a pet raven🐦‍⬛, suspense, and a dash of romance. If you are drawn to any of these themes then you are in for a good time.

The story starts with our main character running away from the police and colliding with a stranger which results in her falling and breaking her ankle.
We don’t know what the young woman has done, but she is saved by the stranger who feels guilty for her injury and he declares her as his wife to the apprehensive officers.

She is taken to his home, Ravenswood Manor, where she finds out the kind stranger has an ulterior motive after all, he wants her to play the role of his missing wife so he can claim her inheritance. Feeling like she has no choice since she is injured and a fugitive she agrees.

We find out the stranger’s name is Marcus and his wife was known as ‘The Ravenswood Witch’. At the manor strange things are happening, there are pentagrams and symbols on the walls, shadows, and the mystery surrounding the manor and the previous mistress of the house deepens.

I loved this book, I would say it was perfectly paced, not too fast, nor overly descriptive. The characters were intriguing and all throughout the story I was very eager to find out what happened to the missing wife, Luna the mysterious, and unstable witch.

I anticipated some of the twists, but not all of them and I was pleased with the ending.
The pet raven Bran was my absolute favourite and now I want a raven too. A beautiful heartwarming story that I definitely recommend.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #arcreview #theravenswoodwitch

The story was interesting, but a tad repetitive. Felt like this book could have been a lot shorter. Called who the big bad was in the end as well. Wasn’t bad, just wasn’t finding reasons to want to sit and read this. I kept going for you little, precious Bran! 🐦‍⬛ I’m so glad you got your HEA 🥹

Book Deets 📖
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Emotional Damage:💧
Genre: Historical Fiction, Gothic Fantasy

In 1885, a murder suspect seeks refuge, only to be found by Marcus Greybourne, who convinces the authorities she’s his missing wife, Luna, the infamous Ravenswood Witch. He takes her to his crumbling manor, where strange occurrences and dark secrets abound. As the woman impersonates Luna, she fears she’s traded one deadly situation for another, facing a terrifying fate far worse than the gallows.

Entertaining and fast-paced, this atmospheric mystery is highly suspenseful with fascinating characters and a romance subplot. I enjoyed it from the first sentence. It’s spooky and fun to read—a great choice for the Halloween season!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Rating: 3 Stars
***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC ebook. (Trying to avoid spoilers!)

I thought this was interesting read-- Our Unnamed FMC stumbles into Marcus Greybourne while on the run from her town (accused of murder), she breaks her ankle and he calls her his wife when they're stopped by the constable. She takes on the role of his wife, Luna Greybourne, and as the plot continues it's very well done w/ the setting: spooky, gothic, lush fall/descriptions. A very good plot twist in the mystery for who she is and her story.

The pacing at times did feel like it was a bit too drawn out--I for one felt like the scenes w/ the town, his aunt, etc. didn't do the best job because there hadn't been a ton of character development prior to the more unsettling scenes. I thought the romance was kind of sweet...if not clearly delusional at times leading up to their feelings because discussed. The mystery was good, atmosphere was abundant, I really do feel like it's more a pacing/character issue that it felt flat at times.

From Good Reads
3.5-3.75 stars (rounding up)

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We begin this book with a woman on the run where she runs into (literally) a man who breaks her ankle AND assists her in getting away.

She is given safe haven in exchange for pretending to be his wife Luna. His wife Luna is a mystery. She was seen as a dark witch and there are many rumors surrounding Ravenswood house.

This was a lovely blend of historical fiction, mystery and part thriller with a sprinkle of romance.

I loved theconcept of thisbook but it felt likeitwenta little slow in the beginning to conclude very suddenly. I wish we would have gotten a bit more with the ending!

The cover of this book is amazing and is what drew me in. It is the perfect read for spooky season with a gothic background. To be transparent this is not my usual type of book, but the sinister feel of it is what kept me going. Although this was not my cup of tea, I do think it will be a great read for others who are more into witchcraft, devil worship and a gothic setting. Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the arc.

I’m so annoyed but I’ll try to give a good quality review for the arc. I’ll try not to rant.

But literally ending this book when lol it was devil worshipers who were the evil people. You know those people who didn’t fit in and didn’t go to church? Yeah, those guys are evil. That guy that slaps his wife around? Not everything is black and white. Your husband that literally controls who you talk to and won’t tell you why? He was just trying to protect his wife ~~~. Not to mention the slurs just sprinkled in there. Writing a historical novel does not give anyone the excuse to use a slur. This was especially stupid to use it with a main character we are supposed to support. This paired with the amount of times the main character mentioned the Bible or being a good Christian, the author’s beliefs are obvious.

The only good part is the twist in the flashback. That one was pretty good, but not good enough to redeem the book. I will never recommend this book or author to anyone.

Got an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This was a solid 3 star read to me. It will be great for readers looking for a little gothic reading during spooky season. I loved the atmosphere. It definitely felt like I was in a haunted old gothic house on the edge of a creepy forest. The plot definitely kept me intrigued. I was very curious what the logical explanation was going to be for all of the weirdness at Ravenswood. All of that being said, there were parts of the book that felt very repetitive. "Luna"s constant back and forth inner monologue around who could and could not be trusted felt increasingly like a broken record, which became a bit of an annoyance. Overall, this is a solid witchy, gothic for anyone looking to kick their spooky season off with a low stakes (in that it's not SUPER scary) read if they are willing to deal with some repetition in the narration.

1885 - Ravenswood

A young woman is on the run for her life when she literally runs into Marcus Greybourne, the owner of the Ravenswood Hall, a crumbling old home. Marcus sees an opportunity and is more than happy to lie to the constable that the woman is not a fugitive but his wife, Luna. He agrees to keep the young woman safe while she heals from her injuries if she agrees to pretend to be his reclusive wife.

It's a win-win situation, but Ravenswod Hall might have other ideas. It's a neglected home that is full of destroyed wallpaper, drawings on the wall, and broken furniture. Luna has gone missing, and Marcus needs to prove that she is still alive.


This book has a gothic feel with the crumbling home full of things that go bump in the night. Rumors of witchcraft and strange happenings help set the eerie feel of the book. As does the mistrust of the villagers, the rumors, the raven which comes calling.

This was an enjoyable book which kept me on my toes. I loved not knowing who was telling the truth, who to believe, and to who to fear. I loved the not knowing and found it paired nicely with the chilling and gothic feel of the book. Plus, the hints of witchcraft made for a gripping read for me.

This was the first book that I have read which was written by Jenni Kerr. I look forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.

Gothic, wonderfully written, dark, and atmospheric.

I enjoyed the thriller aspects of this book and its supernatural themes. Its historical setting also felt well realised and social nuances of the time felt well explained without feeling forced. I did predict a couple of the twists but was pleased that I still found some to surprise me. The elements of mystery culminated in a tense and atmospheric climax, so it feels perfect that this book is coming out just in time for Halloween.
I did not personally find the romance compelling, as I felt like the two parties didn't know each other very well!
This book is great for fans of the Victorian Gothic, or just anyone looking for an easy read for autumn.

I really enjoyed this historical romance and mystery with tones of the supernatural. Jenni Keer’s books are always a comforting read, perfect to curl up with on a gloomy autumnal day.

A young woman on the run from the police ends up colliding - quite literally - with Marcus Greybourne. To her surprise, instead of turning her over to the local constable, he instead hides her identity and insists that she is in fact his sickly and erratic wife, Luna. Bringing her back to Ravenswood Hall, the two of them agree that she will stay until she is healed and in return she will act as his wife long enough for him to receive an inheritance payment. But when strange events around the house start following her, the woman has to wonder if she has in fact sealed her own fate.

The “creepy old house and forest” setting of the book was perfectly suited to the story, and I liked the somewhat unclear approach to the supernatural. The relationship between the two main characters was sweet and well-paced, and their opposing views on magic was a fun element that helped add some conflict to the story without having to resort to forced miscommunications. The suspenseful parts of the plot were perfect to help keep the reader’s interest, and the more gruesome scenes were effective but not gratuitous.

There were some twists to the story that I found to be quite predictable, and a pretty major one that took me completely by surprise. Though I felt that the ending of the book had a large tonal shift from the rest of the story, overall there was the perfect balance of suspense and action to keep the plot moving and the dual timeline aspect was quite cleverly done. If you’re looking for an eerie read just in time for Halloween, this is definitely the book for you. Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

4/5 A gothic romance perfect for a cool autumn night.

This book was very intriguing, the Jane Eyre inspiration definitely showed, Jane Eyre is one of my my favourite classics and it was lovely to see a book inspired by it. I enjoyed the gothic side of it, the historic side too. I loved that a friendship of convenience turned into love and the long winding road of witchcraft intertwined. It was fun to read.

This was a fun gothic historical fiction with lots of atmosphere and spooky, witchy vibes. For me, there wasn't enough strength to the character development, plot and back story as the author spent so much time creating the chilling atmosphere. The novel lacked balance and I felt it was quite melodramatic. However, this was an easy fun read and if you like this genre definitely pick it up.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

A spooky gothic read just right for the Halloween season. Set in 1885 this is the story of a deception that plays out through the book from almost the first page. It has all the ingredients of a gothic romance - crumbling old house in a raven infested wood, things that aren't as they seem, and a simmering romance between the cuckoo in the nest, Luna, and Marcus Greybourne the owner of the house. Thoroughly enjoyable, with a nod to Jane Eyre and plenty of haunting atmosphere.

‘I’m damaged,’ she said. ‘And you think I’m not?’

What a beautiful, engaging read. As soon as I started reading this book I was swept away by the beautiful writting. This is the perfect book to read during fall season, with its arresting narrative, gothic witchy vibe peppered with love and tragedy. For the first half of the book it maintains a good level of mystery, as it's a slow burn book, delving deeper into the characters' head. The pace of the book is steady, writing again is excellent. There were instances when the suspense was at its peak and I felt my heart racing along with the characters and that's the best part of this book, you hardly feel like you're reading a book, it was like I was present in the scene. Kudos to the author for writing this beautiful piece of literature.