The Book of Gothel is absolutely amazing. The writing is superb while the concept is brilliant. The story is Rapunzel from the perspective of Mother Gothel. The tale is set in the 12th century in Germany. The characters are engaging and well-developed. The story is very imaginative and fun to read. It is filled with magic and romance. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Book of Gothel today.

Thanks to Orbit for my early copy.
I really enjoyed this book. I love Rapunzel so was looking forward to the story behind the witch!
It didn’t disappoint and I loved the writing style, pacing & characters!

As far as fairy tale retelling & villain origin story goes, this one is quite a decent one. A unique, original spin on the backstory of Mother of Gothel from Rapunzel.

A cozy read, filled with magic and adventure. I am impressed by the non resemblance of the story and characters compared to the original tale.

Haelewise as a main character is pretty solid. She had tragic things happened to her, making it so easy for us to symphatize. She also had this "villanous" tendencies that ended up making her character pretty gray.

Her early childhood stories are my favourite out of everything. The magic world building started then. We also could witness her determination and intention started to form from this stage of the story.

All the journeys she's had made sense. But they could also feel a bit repititive. Still I think every lingering questions were answered pretty well towards the end. I'm glad that Rapunzel took a very small part of the story, making Haelewise the true main character.

I was offered this book as an ARC via NetGalley and could not put it down. If you are a fan of Grimms' fairy tales and authors such as Naomi Novik you will love this book. An unusual retelling that I stayed up way too late to finish!

The Book of Gothel is an enchanting standalone retelling of the tale of Rapunzel from the witch's perspective. It is set primarily in 12th Century Germany, however it starts and finishes in the present day. This is a mesmerising story in which you are never quite sure what will happen next. It is beautifully written, well researched and I loved the atmosphere the author created, you definitely get a sense of the dark and magical fairytale undertones. The world is rich and complex and the detailed descriptions of the settings, particularly in the forest, conjures up vivid imagery. I enjoyed the magical components and in particular how the use of a plant called alrūne affected Haelewise.

There is an interesting cast of characters, many of whom are female, and the author has taken the time to develop these characters to their full potential. Haelewise is an intriguing character, she experiences unexplained fainting spells which appear to be incurable and alongside her unnaturally black and light-sensitive eyes she stands out in the village. People believe she is possessed by a demon which ultimately drives her away to seek refuge. Haelewise is a complex character with a stubborn streak and she stands up for what she believes is right to the detriment of everything else. She is more of a quiet, reserved heroine than the strong, ruthless and fiery female leads we usually read about in fantasy novels. Her romantic relationship with Matthäus was very sweet and somewhat emotional and didn’t overpower the storyline. I just couldn’t figure out the forest witch, Kunegarde, you are never quite sure if she is a good or bad person?

Whilst the pacing is slow it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. The Book of Gothel is an enjoyable read and what it lacked in excitement and action, it made up for with it’s atmosphere and uniqueness and I haven’t yet read a Rapunzel retelling which focuses on the witch’s story. A must read for those readers who love fairytale retellings and historical fantasy. 3.5 STARS

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley

Me: This is a good book.
G.: What do you mean? Do you mean to wish me to read this book?
Me: Ee...
G.: Or do you mean that this is a good book whether I want it or not?
Me: Well...
G.: Or perhaps you say that you feel good about this particular book, or are you simply saying that this is a book to be a good read?!
Me: All of them, I'm SURE! The best retelling I've ever read!

"There’s nothing like a woman who lives alone to get stories going."

This fairy tale is set in Germany in the 13th century, about Mother Gothel, who become known by the name of a tower. The tower that kept Rapunzel in it. This is the story of Haelewise, daughter of Hedda, a witch who stoled a girl, but did she really?!

A villain who has said the story from her point of view is not a villain anymore, it becomes a heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of a girl who tries, try so hard to survive.

The magic elements are slight and the charm and pull of the story are huge. This Rapunzel tale is full of love, a caring heart, and even tarnkappen, magical hand mirror and figurine!

One of my favorite books of this year.

My huge thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley for giving me the chance of reading The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne; I have given my honest review.

Under a trapdoor in the cellar beneath an old German house, a manuscript has been discovered. It tells the tale of Haelewise, a girl skilled as a midwife and able to sense the barrier between life and death, but distrusted by her neighbours who label her a 'witch' because of her black eyes and strange fainting spells. When her mother dies, and the boy she loves is forced into a loveless marriage, Haelewise decides it's best to leave the town she grew up in and seek refuge in the forest. There she finds an unexpected haven in the ancient Tower of Gothel, home to a wise woman, who keeps the old traditions of herbal lore alive.
The blurb to this book promised a new take on the old fairy tale about Rapunzel, which I thought would be an interesting read (I'm always up for a reinterpretation of old tales), but it fell a little short of my expectations.

Haelewise's manuscript felt too long-winded and rambling; the story of a life with all its ins and outs, rather than just the core story-arc. It may be of course that you like a novel to develop in this way, but I felt it was too matter-of-fact, too realistic, and with not enough magical or fantasy elements. Maybe too much 'tell', not enough 'show', but as fantasy it left me wanting something more.

I think in many ways it would have stood better as straight-forward historical fiction, a story of women versed in pagan ways fighting to survive against 'modern' Christianity.

I am so sad I didn't love this. I adore retellings and was immediately drawn to this story, but it didn't deliver the way I wanted it to.

The premise was great and I do appreciate all the work that went into tying different folk tales together. However, the story had a slow start and, except for the last few chapters, it failed to grab my interest. My biggest issue was that there was no plot. I didn't know what I was reading towards so I couldn't be excited about it. I almost DNFed it a couple times because I just couldn't be bothered.

The characters also felt flat. I liked the bond between Haelewise and her mother, but none of the characters stood out to me. I didn't have the urge to claim any of them as my new best friends, or protect them or root for them.

Overall, it was a meh read. Kinda disappointing actually.

I was so intrigued by the blurb of this book as I absolutely love both fairytale retellings and villain origin stories. This book sounded like it would fulfil both of those tropes and I was excited
This was more of a historical fiction novel with some magical elements as opposed to a retelling/origin story.
I have to say that Haelewise was one of the most infuriating protagonists that I’ve read about in a wee while. She had zero sense of self preservation and just wanted everyone to trust her. She also seemed incapable of understanding very basic instructions. Stop telling people secret things!
I enjoyed the sense of rebellion among the women. I liked the tower and the purpose of the tower.
This was an ok book, it was enjoyable enough but I feel a longing for a good retelling.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review

I love the story of Rapunzal and so I was very intrigued by this retelling but from the point of view of Mother Gothel. I have not liked her in any version of the story but this story had me rooting for her!

This is a wholly unique take on the story where we see her from childhood to adult and all the events that led her to becoming the Mother Gothel we know in the story of Rapunzal. I really loved how Mary gave us the perspective of Haelewise who is always known as the villain and yet in this story she is so much more than the evil witch who stole Rapunzal. Her going to seek refuge in the tower of Gothel is the catalyst for how her story goes from her being an insignificant peasant girl to the legendary Mother Gothel and yet in this story we question whether she was truly the evil witch the people made her out to be.

Even as young as ten, I understood that men make up reasons to get rid of women they find disagreeable.

The story has a slow start but I really enjoyed seeing who she was and how she grew into who the legends say she was. She is fierce and cares deeply for those she loves, she is an angry woman who has been put into difficult situations just because she is a woman. I related to her a lot which surprised me but I ended up really loving her and her reliance and perseverance through everything.

It was so interesting to see how we see a pagan religion fighting to survive in a community that called them witches and would kill anyone for practising it. How a secret society was built through a network of women where Haelewise finally found companionship and acceptance. She works as a healer and women who have nowhere else to go come to her and I just really loved how she cared so deeply for these women and did everything she could to help them.

“Will you come?” He met my eyes. “I would go with you anywhere.”

We meet Haelewise as a young girl who has fainting spells and so is shunned to the edges of the community and yet makes a friend in Matthaus. This quickly blossoms into something more but circumstances keep them apart and yet they find their way to each other again and again. I really loved seeing their story and how despite everything they keep finding each other.

I do wish we could have seen more of her story as an adult and especially her story after she took Rapunzal to the tower and how that story wove into hers but is only a small part of her life and yet that is what she is remembered for. I would especially have loved to see more of adult Haelewise and Matthaus.

A woman doesn’t have to be pure to be good. Girls get angry. Mothers fight for their children.

I really enjoyed this story even though it was something really different to what I was expecting and once I started I flew through the story and was completely invested in her story. The ending was a nice little twist too!

I was excited for this retelling of #Rapunzel & I was excited to have a wicked witch origin story. I was excited to have a juicy, dark, and cruel story. Instead, I was treated to a story almost without plot, thin, underwhelming characters, with no real agency. The story was also glacial. I was able to skim read multiple pages and still catch up easily on the story.

So many moments had me thinking, yes, here we go, this is when Haelewise finally shows her teeth, and nothing. The world building collapses in on itself and I'm frustrated because this could have been so good. I finished because I was too far through to DNF but ultimately, this didn't live up to expectations.

Gothel could have been a great story but the tenuous connection to Rapunzel undermines it. If this book had been written as a unique fantasy, it would have been stronger.

With her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.

Haelewise has spent her life shunned by her village, her strange eyes and fainting spells convincing them she was cursed by the devil, infected by a demon. Her only solace lies in her mother and the stories she tells her about Princes in wolf skins and Princess stealing witches, Little did Haelewise know just how true these stories were. When her mother died, not knowing what to do with herself, Haelewise goes in search of the tower of Gothel where she hopes to become an apprentice, but Gothel isn't wholly the sanctuary she expected, and Haelewise quickly becomes embroiled in a story bigger then her, one filled with Princesses, evil and true love, without the happy ending. Haelewise may not know it yet, but she is to become the villain of this story, but for now she is determined to do whats right, save those she loves, right the wrongs that have been done and bring down the true villain.

Haelewise is a character I just instantly fell in love with. A girl living a simple, if not slightly different life, All she wants is to be normal, to marry, have children, take over her mothers midwife practice, But fate has other plans in store. She is a girl who knows loss, who has been abused both physically and emotionally, a girl who simply wants somewhere to belong. Her story is not a happy one, yet it is filled with love, family, friendship all the same. She is a girl resigned to her fate, dealing with the hand life gave her, but she will not rest till her story has been told, the truth of it, not the tale that has been passed down in generations showing her as the villain, but the one where she forgoes her own happy ending to save a child surely to die otherwise.

McMyne gives us a standout cast of side characters; Matthaus, the boy Haelewise loves but is destined never to truly have, Mother Gothel, the women who lives in the tower when Haelewise goes to seek refuge, Prince Ulrich, the wolf in man form who is the true villain of her story, as well as many, many more. Some may only stay for a matter of pages, sentences sometimes, but they all play a pivotal part in telling Haelewise's true story. I especially loved the inclusion of the female characters, Frederika, Ursilda & Beatrice, women fighting against the tyranny of men and religion, trying to bring the Mother back into the world. Their small acts of defiance helped Haelewise on her journey and she wouldn't have had a story to tell without them.

Can I just start off by saying I'm loving this outbreak of retelling's showing the, usually female, villain in a different light. How they weren't evil, simply misunderstood, villains of circumstance, or a need to vilify anything different. McMyne takes the story of Haelewise, Mother Gothel, and tell the story of a woman who was forced to become a villain to protect those she loved. She brilliantly brings to light the plight of women throughout history, how they were limited in their roles, forced to stay within the roles society expected of them, and if they strayed even a little, were seen as different, cursed, evil, thanks in large part to the Church. She shows how the Church shunned anything that threatened their rule, control over the people, and showed it as evil.

I will admit to being slightly thrown with the first chapter, with it's modern characters and setting, but by the end I couldn't help but praise the authors choice to write the story as she did. It added a deeper emotional element to the tale and made sure I finished the book with bittersweet tears in my eyes, The Book of Gothel is a story that both meanders through Haelewises life, but also moves at a pace that makes it nearly impossible to put down. McMyne's writing style ensures this reads like a fable of old & I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.

🏰 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙡 🏰

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝘂𝗻𝘇𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲?

Enter a world of dark magic, mysterious woods and evil princes. This is the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it. 
With her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it.
But when her mother dies, Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the tower of legend-a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing.
But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It's also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that reveals a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles behind the world Haelewise has always known.

I was very surprised by this book, I had wanted to read it as soon as I saw the cover reveal and was thrilled to receive an e-arc from Little Brown Books Uk on Netgalley
I was expecting a full on fantasy novel depicting why Gothel had taken Rapunzel and the events leading up to that. However, that’s really not how the story goes! This is much more of a historical fiction, with the hardships of medieval life and the suspicions around witchcraft. Totally not was I was expecting but a truly wonderful book nonetheless.
I highly recommend that you immerse yourself in Haelewise’s life and learn all about the legend that is Gothel.

𝗔𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰, 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.

Thank you again to Orbit books Uk for my ecopy. The Book of Gothel is out today!! Don’t miss it!!!

I received a paperback ARC copy from the publishers of this book in exchange of an honest review. I haven’t read many books of this genre, namely sci-fi and fantasy but this novel was a pleasant surprise. In fact, I loved it!
The Book of Gothel is action packed, fast paced, full of magic and mystery, and it held my interest and attention from the first page to the very last one. It is a story of Rapunzel told by the witch guarding the tower. In fact, this book is like a library of numerous different stories from my childhood and that of my son’s as I in turn read the stories to him when he was small.
While reading this novel, I wished the main character to be strong, to be well, I saw her as an underdog and throughout the book she blossomed to a confident and powerful mother. I loved the character development in this book, and the complex relationships between the characters.
The writing style in this book is fantastic. It feels otherworldly and old, and transports the reader to a time when this novel was set, and to a place where this story took place.
I throughly recommend this book to all readers, especially those who like fantasy novels. I’d give it 6 stars if I could.

Tangled is one of my all time favourite Disney films and Mother Gothel one of the most interesting characters so I was really intrigued by the premise of this book. Be aware before going into this book that it is NOT a retelling of the story of Rapunzel, but rather a beautifully written and lyrical story about Haelewise, the witch who kidnapped Rapunzel, and how she becomes to be the character that we all know. I've seen people call this a villain origin story and expect it to be dark and twisty, but not all villains have to be born evil, and I liked the way in which this author tackled the story of Mother Gothel's life.

Haelewise is now one of my favourite characters. McMyne has created this complex, flawed, and fierce character, who didn't allow any of the setbacks she had in life, including being shunned by her village for suffering from mysterious fainting spells that they claim are the work of evil. Haelewise has no one but her mother and her stories as her only solace. Haelewise is full of strength and determination and we get to watch her bloom into herself. Sometimes the decisions she makes are questionable but knowing what we know about her, I absolutely understood the driving force behind all of her decisions.

The writing in this book was very atmospheric. I really enjoyed the setting and the author was able to conjure up vivid imagery of the setting with rich and lush descriptions. I can't say I'm familiar with German folklore but I thought the way it was woven into the story felt authentic. However, I do wish we got a little bit more worldbuilding. Maybe more in depth explanation of the religions of this world and I also think I would have liked a bit more info about the magic system.

I absolutely adored the themes woven into this story about womanhood and pregnancy. One of the core relationships driving this story is Haelewise's strong bond with her mother, which is the strength she seeks in the darkness. There is a lot of emphasis in this book on strong women and violence/control of women by men, and I really enjoyed this feminist outlook in a historical fantasy retelling.

I've not had much luck with historical fantasy before but this is one I would highly recommend to everyone, especially anyone who loves fairytale retellings and stories woven with folklore. It was a stunning debut and I'm looking forward to reading more from McMyne in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, Little Brown and Orbit for providing me an eARC to review!

I'm not very familiar with the story of Rapunzel apart from girl with super long hair is locked in a tower by mean lady, but I don't think this lack of knowledge impacted my enjoyment of this book. I do think the blurb makes this out to be a lot more exciting than it is though - the blurb to me promises a more traditional fantasy story with magic and politics and strong female characters, but I think this leans more literary fantasy and is instead more about motherhood and womanhood.

If I had known that going in I probably wouldn't have picked this up, because I don't particularly enjoy motherhood themes in books, and this one has a LOT of it. Haelewise is a midwife so there is already a bit of baby content, but she's also obsessed for pretty much the whole book about becoming a mother herself. Good for her I guess, but I just couldn't really connect with her cause this was her overwhelming personality trait. She was also hell bent on getting down with her childhood sweetheart which I also couldn't really understand cause he was boring and never really seemed to make much of an effort to be with her - was kind of hoping she would grow out of it but alas :/

I think I have also realised that I don't really like books written in the fairytale style of telling rather than showing. We're told that Haelewise has changed so much over the course of the novel, and what her wants and fears are, but I feel this kept the reader at a bit of a distance. Things at times were also quite conveniently solved, but I'm putting this down to the fairytale style of the book so I'm not THAT annoyed by it. But this book I think really just boiled down to 'men are cruel and dumb for underestimating women' and by the end I was kind of like...yeah I get it? I felt like every woman in this book was pregnant or already a mother, and every man was either 1) sweet doting partner or 2) disgusting pig. I wanted more from the characters and the magic and the atmosphere, and sadly I think the fairytale style of writing just didn't immerse me.

The epilogue also felt a little self-inserty on the part of the author telling the reader what to think about her book which I wasn't the biggest fan of. I definitely think that the trend of historical/mythological retellings featuring women who have traditionally been reduced to side characters is an interesting one, but when the market is so oversaturated now I need one that will really blow me away, and sadly I thought this was just fine. But I also think that most of my lack of connection to this was not really getting along with the central themes, and I'm not sure that this book has entirely been marketed correctly to find its perfect audience. I think perhaps fans of The Bear and the Nightingale might enjoy this, or if you're just really hankering for some birthing content.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC.

The Book of Gothel tells the story of the witch in Rapunzel, reminiscent of Circe and Wicked, unfortunately, for me, I felt it lacked the charm of either of those retellings. Looking at the other reviews, I think I might be in the minority, so I think this might be a massive case of it's not me, it's you.

It was well-written. Mary McMyne's writing is beautiful and creates a great sense of time, place and atmosphere, but unfortunately, I never felt any connection to the main character Haelewise and I the plot moved a little too slowly for my tastes.

So, very much not a book for me, but not a bad book.

I would rate this book 5 stars for originality alone.

Retellings featuring villains, mostly, witches, of famous fairytales are more common now than ever. The most well-known, I think, are Maleficent, the Queen of Hearts and Ursula, but I've never heard or read anything about the witch in Rapunzel's story. The thing is I was only interested in Rapunzel's story after watching TANGLED. I loved that film so much.

So I was elated when I learned that The Book of Gothel features Mother Gothel. About time we hear a side of her story.

The Book of Gothel didn't just retell a part of a fairytale, the author relied on her story based on history. The author clearly did extensive research to write this story. To start, Haelewise, grew up in Germany, with her mother, in a time when superstition and the supernatural were highly believable to people. Medical explanations were not a thing yet, which made Haelewise labelled as cursed or possessed due to her fainting spells. So she grew up, isolated, and later when her mother died, journeyed alone to find a place from one of her mother's stories. Despite having magical and supernatural sides, it was obvious that the author featured real Medieval Germany, with its folk beliefs, religion and traditional medicine.

Haelewise was a very well-written character. I saw her develop into someone who would become a villain someday. The plot was very well-executed, with the author retelling a legend but not forgetting that her setting is in a real world, with real culture and beliefs. So I ended up loving not only the fairytale side but also the realistic part of the story. I love fairytales, I don't think I'll ever grow tired of fairytales no matter how pessimistic and cynical in life I become, I will always love fairytales. So I was surprised that I ended up loving this retelling despite the fact that there were parts that have less magic involved.

I think it's mainly because the writing style of the author is amazing, making her book very engaging and hard to put down.

The book of Gothel was such a fantastic take on the story of the witch who locked Rapunzel in her tower. I also picked this book at such a right time. I had just finished reading Camelot by Giles Kristian and one of the things that he mentions in his author's note was how the women side of the story are often lost to time. And so, when I picked this book, it felt serendipitous as this is a story of a woman who has been vilified throughout the various rendition of the fairy tale. Getting to read even a fictitious version of how she became this person felt just right.

Firstly, the writing in this book is just gorgeous. It's so atmospheric and fascinating. I was immediately pulled into this medieval setting with its cold dark forest, superstitious people, fanatical religion and old magic.

Throughout the story we follow the journey of Haelwise aka the witch - from a very sheltered childhood to a tumultuous adulthood and what a journey it was. I have to say, Haelwise isn't an easily likeable heroine. She is petulant and at times her actions are questionable but reading about her upbringing and her intense desire to belong to someone/someplace, to have friends and family on whom she can rely, love and care for also made me feel quite sympathetic towards her and put many of her actions into perspective. Haelwise's relationship with her mother was a pillar of her life and I truly adored their bond. The loss of her mother and knowing the sacrifice that she made for her shaped Haelwise life and at times the grief felt truly heartbreaking.

Haelwise is also a very determined character with a lot of moral strength and its quite evident in the later half of the story where she is willing to go to any lengths to protect and get justice for those she loves. I did think that as we moved towards the climax, things started to feel a bit rushed at times. Especially the relationship development with fellow women characters felt quite abrubt. I would have definitely loved to see more depth to these relationships. The villian was very much of a mustache twirling variety and I'd have also loved if we had gotten a bit more insight into the magic they wielded.

Overall, this is definitely one of the best debuts I have read this year. It is very character driven so feels a bit slower at times but it also has a certain immersive quality to it which made this so worth my time.