Hester Fox weaved an impeccable story that had strong, vibrant, and palatable characters. I am unsure where authors get such a magnificent talent for creating complicated and unique people. The Witch of Willow Hall easily masters this. I fell in love right away with Lydia and her family.
This was instant and love at first read.
In full transparency, I was able to gain a free copy of the book through Graydon House Publishing. My review will be an honest breakdown of all my thoughts on The Witch of Willow Hall. I am so glad that I managed to get hold of this novel. I love Lydia’s strong yet humble personality and enjoyed her deep thoughtful mind that is complimented by her kind heart.
She is everything I could ask for as a main character.
This book was truly a gem I genuinely enjoyed reading despite having qualms to start it originally. It sounded interesting to me but for some reason I am more of an historical fiction, fantasy, or crime kind of girl. I do love a good vampire story too. The thing about witches though, is as a reader, I always find them hard to vibe with. Simply they are not my jam.
I have no explanation for this. Only a few exceptions have been made to this with books like A Discovery of Witches by Harkness. Fortunately, Hester Fox’s book was happily one of those exceptions to the rule. There was something about the description and beautiful cover that called to me, so I decided to give it a chance. There was nothing to lose. It wasn’t long before I was sucked into a wonderful tale with a rich historical setting that pleased me so much.
Lydia is smart, morale, and an awesome human being. The girl’s caretaking nature and incessant need to take care of her family is something I can particularly relate with in my own experiences. A true soul sister in the things that matter the most in life. The connection and understanding I had for Lydia isn’t easily found in most characters. A rare find for me as a reader.
The other characters are easy enough to understand and Fox did a terrific job with their personalities and making the reader feel like they have known everyone for years. This book was like finding an old friend. It truly was.
John, who is Lydia’s love interest, is just the person and man you want to see. I know Lydia and John themselves would disagree with me, but they are definition of what a healthy relationship should look like despite all the oddities that arise. I felt happy and good about their pairing up as a couple.
The book is filled with lots of supernatural occurrences and wonderful magic but everything is shrouded in mystery. This left me in utter suspense as more and more became revealed. Honestly, the whole time I was bouncing off my seat anticipating what was going to happen next.
The scenes are fast paced and the shock factor never ending. I would have to go back and reread scenes just to make sure I had read them right because the disbelief of what was happening was just that strong. I was shook.
There was one scene in particular that made me want to throw my tablet across the room and scream how dare the author do this to me! It made me want to cry. I feel like I shouldn’t say more than this because it would be an epic spoiler and don’t want to ruin it for others. As a reader though, it is always a victory when authors can bring about such powerful emotions.
I bled for this scene.
There is just a very emotional and tragic part of the story that tugged my heart strings quite sharply because by the time I got to this part of the book. I was invested and loved the characters. Their pain felt real to me.
This is definitely a book that everybody needs to pick up. I wish the author would write a sequel. There is more than enough story left to be told. The ending was quite satisfying but I am not going to lie. I want more!
— Book Synopsis —
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.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
FACEBOOK PAGE:TheChroniclesOfHistory
TWITTER: SamanthaJJamesx
INTAGRAM: sammyloveshistory
PINTEREST: thechroniclesofhistoryblog
TUMBLR: samanthajameswriter
JOIN THE HISTORY TABLE GROUP:
Share in a love of history, writing, books, or just reading! Everybody can join who love history. The rules are pretty relaxed. The main ones are to be civil towards each other and keep modern politics out of the discussion.
JOIN OUR GROUP BY CLICKING HERE
BOOKENDS OF LITERATURE GROUP:
Authors and readers alike come share your books, writing, book reviews, and love for all things book! This is a community for writers and readers alike to find a home. Just like the history group, the rules are relaxed. We just ask for civility and kindness towards each other.
JOIN OUR GROUP BY CLICKNG HERE
THE CHRONICLES OF HISTORY 
oh yay, another book that now I will add to my list and will be anxiously wanting to read!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was a great read!
LikeLiked by 1 person