The Witch of Willow Hall
"Steeped in Gothic eeriness."--Nicola Cornick, USA Today bestselling author
In Salem, they burned. Now, they will rise.
New Oldbury, 1821
The house holds its breath, trying to outlast me...
Something has awakened in Willow Hall. Eighteen-year-old Lydia Montrose can feel it. But she has no idea what it is.
Rocked by rumor and scandal, Lydia, her parents, and her sisters, Catherine and Emeline, fled their sparkling life in Boston for the sleepy country estate. But bone-chilling noises in the night have Lydia convinced their idyllic new home wasn't exactly vacant when they arrived.
The Salem witch trials cast a long shadow over the Montrose family as the cloying heat of summer in Massachusetts mingles with something sinister in the air. The sprawling history of Willow Hall is no stranger to secrets, and its dark past soon calls to Lydia, igniting ancient magic she never knew she possessed. But with menacing forces unwilling to rest, threatening to tear her family apart, Lydia must learn to harness her newly discovered power or risk losing everyone she holds dear.
Don't miss A MAGIC DEEP & DROWNING, Hester Fox's lush, enchanting reimagining of The Little Mermaid, where a young woman in 1650 Friesland must face a deadly choice between love, duty, and a mythic legacy...
Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox:
In Salem, they burned. Now, they will rise.
New Oldbury, 1821
The house holds its breath, trying to outlast me...
Something has awakened in Willow Hall. Eighteen-year-old Lydia Montrose can feel it. But she has no idea what it is.
Rocked by rumor and scandal, Lydia, her parents, and her sisters, Catherine and Emeline, fled their sparkling life in Boston for the sleepy country estate. But bone-chilling noises in the night have Lydia convinced their idyllic new home wasn't exactly vacant when they arrived.
The Salem witch trials cast a long shadow over the Montrose family as the cloying heat of summer in Massachusetts mingles with something sinister in the air. The sprawling history of Willow Hall is no stranger to secrets, and its dark past soon calls to Lydia, igniting ancient magic she never knew she possessed. But with menacing forces unwilling to rest, threatening to tear her family apart, Lydia must learn to harness her newly discovered power or risk losing everyone she holds dear.
Don't miss A MAGIC DEEP & DROWNING, Hester Fox's lush, enchanting reimagining of The Little Mermaid, where a young woman in 1650 Friesland must face a deadly choice between love, duty, and a mythic legacy...
Look for these other gothic mysteries from Hester Fox:
- The Book of Thorns
- The Last Heir to Blackwood Library
- The Widow of Pale Harbor
- The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
- A Lullaby for Witches
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Community Reviews
What an interesting novel. there is an essence that surrounds this novel making it reminiscent of Joyce Carol Oats. It comes through the haunting aspect of the novel and the ease of which the story develops and grows, allowing the gothic nature of the film to grow. That’s the beauty of the novel, that it makes sure to focus on the characters while also having that gothic feeling lingering right on the fringes of the story. It never goes away, and that’s the eeriness of the story, that in Willow Hall, the paranormal creeps up on the reader, making them by surprise before returning to the shadows of the story. It’s a magnificent way to tell the story while also giving the characters a chance to develop as the narrative goes on.
The characters really get to shine and develop as the story went on. There’s scandal and tragedy that moves the story forward and the characters react in tandem with these events instead of just reacting to them afterward. Lydia is a very strong character as she works to understand the hauntings of Willow Hall as well as the mysteries that surround her. She matures throughout the story and even becomes a softer character in the sense where she learns to love herself and be at peace with the differences between her and her sister. Lydia finds inner peace, which is more than can be said for her sister. On that note, Catherine is a completely detestable character. She yields nor sympathy from the reader on any level, and that seems to be Fox’s intent, to create a character so self-involved that she is oblivious to the ghostly world around her. It works to create another layer of tension in the story, one that is more character driven than plot driven. It gives the story some dimension and a way to understand the characters
Overall the writing is solid. Fox writes the story with ease, allowing summation to have its proper place in capturing the passage of time. The story keeps moving forward. The story doesn’t lag and focuses on building up those very gothic moments with visually beautiful detail, making them as vivid and as haunting to the reader as they are for the characters. It’s an unexpected delight and quite a different route as far as gothic literature is concerned.
The characters really get to shine and develop as the story went on. There’s scandal and tragedy that moves the story forward and the characters react in tandem with these events instead of just reacting to them afterward. Lydia is a very strong character as she works to understand the hauntings of Willow Hall as well as the mysteries that surround her. She matures throughout the story and even becomes a softer character in the sense where she learns to love herself and be at peace with the differences between her and her sister. Lydia finds inner peace, which is more than can be said for her sister. On that note, Catherine is a completely detestable character. She yields nor sympathy from the reader on any level, and that seems to be Fox’s intent, to create a character so self-involved that she is oblivious to the ghostly world around her. It works to create another layer of tension in the story, one that is more character driven than plot driven. It gives the story some dimension and a way to understand the characters
Overall the writing is solid. Fox writes the story with ease, allowing summation to have its proper place in capturing the passage of time. The story keeps moving forward. The story doesn’t lag and focuses on building up those very gothic moments with visually beautiful detail, making them as vivid and as haunting to the reader as they are for the characters. It’s an unexpected delight and quite a different route as far as gothic literature is concerned.
If you are looking for a book to read during this fall season, then look no further! The Witch of Willow Hall is the perfect book to get you in the mood for the changing of seasons. Feel that chill running down your spine? Don’t worry, I’m sure that it is just the cold weather creeping in.
The book starts off with a family who suddenly has to move to the country from Boston because of a scandal. However, we do not know what this scandal is and why it is bad enough that the entire family has to move so far away. It is definitely a Gothic read, as it is set in that time period and the surroundings, going-ons, and especially the language that the author uses plants you perfectly in that feeling. I was interested from the start and found myself unable to put this book down, wanting to read more and discover what was going on. It reminded me a bit of the movie Crimson Peak, in which we were unaware of what was truly happening right up until the very end.
I personally enjoy mystery and suspense over hack and saw horror; I want my scares to be subtle, the kind that gives me goosebumps instead of jumping out of my skin. Because of this reason, The Witch of Willow Hall is going into my must-reads for the Halloween and fall season. It has just enough of that creep factor–but it is firmly cemented in reality. If you are looking for a give you goosebumps, creeping under your bed kind of read, then this is the book for you!
Thank you to Grayson House/Harlequin for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
The book starts off with a family who suddenly has to move to the country from Boston because of a scandal. However, we do not know what this scandal is and why it is bad enough that the entire family has to move so far away. It is definitely a Gothic read, as it is set in that time period and the surroundings, going-ons, and especially the language that the author uses plants you perfectly in that feeling. I was interested from the start and found myself unable to put this book down, wanting to read more and discover what was going on. It reminded me a bit of the movie Crimson Peak, in which we were unaware of what was truly happening right up until the very end.
I personally enjoy mystery and suspense over hack and saw horror; I want my scares to be subtle, the kind that gives me goosebumps instead of jumping out of my skin. Because of this reason, The Witch of Willow Hall is going into my must-reads for the Halloween and fall season. It has just enough of that creep factor–but it is firmly cemented in reality. If you are looking for a give you goosebumps, creeping under your bed kind of read, then this is the book for you!
Thank you to Grayson House/Harlequin for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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