Thank you Net galley for providing me with a free copy of The book of Gothel in exchange for a honest review

Throughout the entire book my rating kept shifting from 3 to 2 stars. By the end I decided to settle on 2.75 stars, considering that although it wasn't necessarily a "bad" book and there were aspects to it I loved,(depictions of feminism on religious context) the way it kept dragging on, as well as the plot taking very weird turns was enough to tire me.

I have nothing to say about the characters. I found the MC to be interesting and felt apathy towards her love interest. Not saying he was a badly written character but I am saying that I had no reason to be rooting for him considering their relationship was build more on telling rather than showing. In fact the most interesting relationship in the book was the MCs with her mother.

As many other reviewers have mentioned you could easily forget that this is a Mother Gothel retelling, and to that I have mixed feelings. On one hand I appreciate the creativity and unique spin off McMyne gave this on the other hand I was promised a mother Gothel story and this felt anything but.

4.5 stars

The Book of Gothel is a charming and lyrical fairytale telling the origin story of Mother Gothel from the beloved classic tale of Rapunzel. We follow a character named Haelewise on her journey throughout life and hear the story of what really happened with Rapunzel from the Witch's own mouth. Full of black magic, a sinister atmosphere and discussion of fascinating historical themes, this is a tale that will stick with you long after reading and is a truly unique retelling; that instead of casting Gothel as the villain tells the tale of a complex and flawed woman.

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.

My favourite thing about this story was the enchanting atmosphere, I'm a sucker for any book set in a forest and the combination 0f the vivid imagery, haunting prose and lush descriptions the author creates set the stage a truly incredible and moving tale. I also adored Haelewise as a character, she really carries the story and was a very complex character but you grow so invested in her and her story. She has such inner strength and kindness, but is often treated as less than or ostracised for being a witch and hence you see how this shapes the way she interacts with the world.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the midwifery aspects to the story. I tend to love anything healthcare/healer related, especially in this kind of historical atmospheric fantasy because I find it so interesting to see how practices are different from now. I also thought making the mother gothel character a midwife was such good decision, it added an extra layer to her character and the feelings she has towards the babies she helps deliver.

While I wouldn't have said the romance was a huge part of this book, it is still a significant aspect to the story. I really liked the relationship between Haelewise and her love interest, the slow development from childhood friends to lovers, to being torn apart by circumstances, to having an affair type relationship, to eventually having a really sweet and fitting ending, you feel the angst and passion throughout all stages of life and honestly it's just a beautiful journey.

I also really enjoyed both the historical setting and the framing of women within it. The Tower of Gothel provides a refuge for women who need help (often with pregnancy/gynae related concerns) and in an era where this aspect of women's health was often neglected it is really interesting to imagine was this kind of refuge would be like and the stories of the women who seek help from it.

Overall this a stunning tale of sacrifice, motherhood, womanhood and love against the odds. I think if you enjoyed the Winternight trilogy or Circe you will love this one as well, following the stories of women often forgotten by history or cast as the villains, told through gorgeous lyrical prose with a beautiful atmosphere there is so much to enjoy!!

The Book of Gothel by talented author Mary McMyne was an amazing, dark folklore origin telling of a witch who was responsible for kidnapping Rapunzel and locking her inside of tower surrounded by mist. Healewise, the villain of Rapunzel’s story (who is not a villain at all) is telling a story of her life from her own perspective. The story follows a young girl with mysterious fainting spells, who can feel the veil between life and death. Because of her fainting spells the girl is constantly treated as a possessed child/controlled by demon, and everyone in her village are afraid of her. Her only true support and the person who cares for her the most, is her mother.

My favourite part about this retelling was that it’s a 12th century Germany set, filled with folklore fairy tails (which was a very pleasant surprise). The author puts a creative spin on well known stories such as snow white or red riding hood.

I loved how complicated and misunderstood Healewise was. Since early childhood her life was a constant struggle and the love between mother and daughter was absolutely enchanting. The novel shows how medieval women were treated and how church was controlling people and prosecuting the ones who did not accept Christianity or worshipped other gods.

I really wanted to love this book. However…
There was way too much plot telling for my liking. I did enjoy most of it and loved the concept, but I also found some of it a little boring at times, especially at the end. I’m a character driven reader and I really wish there were more character tellings and dialogs, and less details about surroundings. At times it even felt a bit repetitive.

I started reading this book, knowing that I should be expecting a story to be from Mother Gothel’s perspective, but I was kind of hoping, around the middle of the book, to start reading about Rapunzel as well. The plot was slow moving, and once I got a glimpse of Rapunzel as a baby only at the end, I could not help myself, but feel a little bit disappointed.
I also kind of expected a more complicated ending. From my perspective, the way plot was developing and how grim the whole setting was, I expected a darker ending.

To wrap up this review, if you’re someone who likes well written, slow pacing historical fantasies with a few additional twists in classic fairytales, when I would definitely recommend it.

I do like the fresh take on a turnaround story of a supposed to be villain of the story. It is a good narration of how things happened before the real story of Rapunzel. I felt a Maleficent vibe in this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was expecting a villain origin story that explored a morally grey character and this wasn’t really that. The plot sets up certain elements that are interesting world-building but they don’t really go anywhere, leaving the last third dragging and feeling a little lacklustre. Haelewise, the protagonist, is lonely and isolated for much of the first half of the book and the author does a good job depicting that evocatively. Haelewise is also the only character that feels fully realised.

If you’re a die-hard fairy-tale retelling fan and enjoy folklore, then I think there’s a lot to be enjoyed in The Book of Gothel.

This is a pretty good historical fantasy if you're looking for something that's like Grimm's fairy tales. However, I personally don't think this works as either a villain origin story or a Rapunzel retelling. For one, Rapunzel doesn't even appear until the last 15% of the book, and even then she's more like a side note than a crucial part of the plot. Most of the book is spent on Haelewise's childhood and teen years, and her family's religious and magical heritage.

Nothing about Haelewise really screams "evil", though. She trains as a midwife under her mother's guidance, falls in love, and eventually flees her village and takes refuge in the tower of Gothel after the villagers try to stone her. Time and again, we see how she tries to help people, young women specifically. She faces discrimination because of her use of magic and the religion she strives to practice in secret, which goes against the teachings of the church. Haelewise is portrayed as a misunderstood, good woman, cast as a villain because it's convenient for other people, which isn't quite what I was expecting, but maybe I should have.

One of the major issues I have with the book is how often sexual assault is perpetrated against women. There is maybe one decent man in the entire story, and almost every young, female character gets abused, whether that's physically or emotionally, by a man in her life. I understand that these were dark times, but the use of sexual violence felt like an easy shortcut to let us know a character was bad, even though there are plenty of other ways to do so. Not only that, but the female characters had very little agency. Things happened to them, usually done by men, and they suffered the consequences. This includes Haelewise, who is almost constantly under someone's control, or at the very least guided to her next action by someone telling her what she should do.

If Rapunzel wasn't mentioned by name, I never would have guessed that Haelewise is the wicked witch that locks her up. There are hints of the Rapunzel fairytale here and there; early on, we're told of rumors surrounding Ursilda, a princess, who was stolen by a witch and locked in her tower surrounded by mist. She was rescued by her father instead of a prince, but the setup is very similar. Ursilda is not a substitute for Rapunzel, however, which means this myth is actually used again towards the end, but with the name of the princess changed. Personally, this felt like a strange choice, and one that can easily cause confusion. In fact, based on the characters in the book, it would've made a lot more sense for Ursilda to be Rapunzel, and I would've been interested to learn what happened to the witch after Rapunzel was supposedly rescued.

The Book of Gothel is a fairytale reimagining from Mother Gothel's POV. Haelewise is the Witch who stole Rapunzel and raised her in the Tower Gothel, though that part has little to do with this story which focuses on how Haelewise became who she was.

You have to admire the huge amount of research that McMyne has undertaken into medieval German religion and society. This interweaves with the story of Haelewise and her journey from a shunned fisherman's daughter to a witch. The plot is inventive and interesting and I really liked the mythology and world building in this novel.

Haelwise herself goes through many heartbreaks, sometimes it gets quite dark and you're waiting for her to get some sort of reprieve from all the bad things that happen to her. She grows as a character throughout the book and I always like a good villain origin story. There's a small amount of romance in the novel and it doesn't detract from the main plot line.

At times I found the story to be slow and I felt there was an over-reliance on telling instead of showing, however, this was a wonderful debut novel that I enjoyed. Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an E-Arc in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you're expecting a retelling of Rapunzel, that isn't what this book is about. It's about the witch who put her there. When Haelewise's mother dies, and her father abandons her, her safety in the village where she lives is threatened, her opponents considering her cursed and a witch. Haelewise decides to find the wise woman in the woods, living in Gothel, who takes her under her wing, along with another girl, Rika. But Rika has secrets, and her secrets thrust Haelewise into an adventure that leads to the beginnings of the Rapunzel story that we all know.

Haelewise was not what I was expecting. I don't mean that in a bad way. When I think of Mother Gothel, obviously I am coloured by the original story and had certain thoughts of how this story might go. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised at how the author chose to take this origin story for a villain I've known since I was a child. Haelewise was a strong, purposeful character. I resonated with her origins, her life, her childhood, her relationships with her parents and with her love interest, Matthias. The author constructed this beautiful, poetic world around Haelewise and her journey that I found so interesting. The worldbuilding was intricately woven and engagingly written but seemed so real. Religion and history and the haunting magic permeated the story so well and worked great together. I would definitely recommend this as a read to others.

I am sure everyone well known about Rapunzel story isnt? But the villain from this fairytale-Mother Gothel actually is a big mystery for my self until Disney Tangled movie give her big spotlight. The chance to got original tale from villain side was interest me.

First of all I enjoy the writing style, the narrative is smooth, lyrical but still easy to follow. I appreciated how author inserted some other fairytales such as red riding hood and snow white into this story. I am clueless about Germany folktales but this book seem original, convincing and authentic to the sources. The worldbuilding is intriguing but I dont get enough details about it. The pace kinda slow and the story seem complicate but not offer many additional to the plot and character arc FMC to become villain. There is alot element about keep balance between old and new religions. This book focused on early life of Mother Gothel and Rapunzel only get glimpsed appearances as baby.

My mixed feeling about this book is about Haelewise aka the last generation of Mother Gothel wasn't feel villainous for me. She only tried to survive when tangled in another people issues. When I read villain story I expected real wicked and cunning personality. Overall it is fast and enjoyable read for me and for other readers who love darker side from their fairytales.

3.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit from Little Brown Book Group UK for letting me read my copy. I am grateful but my thoughts are my owen. The Book of Gothel will publish at 28 July 2022.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group/Orbit & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I love a fairytale retelling, especially a villain origin story!

There’s a whole lot of good stuff in this book, the world building was great & writing was excellent.

However, for me the pacing felt a little slow & I didn’t really connect with Haelewise. The magic was honestly a bit confusing & kind of felt like an afterthought rather than part of the story. And infidelity trope is my least favourite & it didn’t add anything to the plot or non-existent character arcs.

Overall, a good retelling with a unique take on Mother Gothel’s life before Rapunzel.

I gotta be honest and say that I wasn’t actually the one to request this one. That would be my wife.

See, Mrs Cabbage is a Disney-nut. And, tangential to that, she loves herself a good fairy-tale. So when we were drunk one night when holidaying on the isle of Arran (beautiful place, great whisky), and I’d seen that Orbit were offering books detailing the story of Rapunzel’s tower-mum… I was kinda bullied into requesting it.

The Book of Gothel has a somber tone to it throughout, which really nails the whole dark fairytale retelling vibe. But with that said, I didn’t feel that there was a lot of tonal variation? Which I guess is a really up-my-own-arse, can’t-find-my-words way of saying that it always felt somber. Constantly. And as a result, it felt a little bit flat, and a wee bit dry.

Maybe because of this, I had a hard time trying to build up any momentum with this one. You know those books where you read 50-100 pages at a time, enjoy them well enough, put the book down and then just… don’t feel a lot of pressure to pick it back up? Yeah, that.

In this book, Haelewise is a sickly child whose mother and father have tried everything under the sun — whether christian or heretical — to cure her of her fainting spells. Nothing works, of course, and when her mother eventually dies and her father basically abandons her for a Good Christian Woman, Haelewise is left by herself. Left to chase the ghosts and secrets of her mother’s past, which eventually lead her to the infamous tower of Gothel — which no man can see.

Now, I’m not too familiar with the original story of Rapunzel and/or Mother Gothel, not beyond my wife playing Disney’s Tangled on a loop, at least, so this “retelling” was starting on a blank slate, for me. Maybe that ignorance worked against me, because for much of The Book of Gothel, I was never quite sure where it was going. Haelewise never really felt like she had much agency — which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but I feel like she could have done with some goal to work towards beyond “find out what my mother never told me.” With only that one driving point, she and much of the side character cast felt a little one-note. Even in terms of voice or dialogue, there wasn’t much colour to them.

In the end, I feel like this is potentially a “read it if you like the subgenre” kind of book? It’s a decent enough read, if not particularly ground-breaking, but I’m not sure I was the right reader for this one.

I thought this was a really interesting, original tale of Mother Gothel, but I do have some mixed feelings over it.

On the one hand, the writing is beautiful. McMyne has a wonderful way with words, and I felt swept right into the magic and wonder of the story. Her descriptions were beautiful, and her story was unique and interesting. The world she built was rich and I was gripped from the start by this poor girls plight. I really felt for poor Haelewise, who became the villain we all know as Mother Gothel. She went through so much, all at others whims, and came out the villain in the end.

And I think that's part of my problem with it?

She wasn't villainous really at all. Just a young woman, and barely that, who lost so much and gained so little in her search for answers. The whole tale was her being dragged into other peoples problems, and made to help them in return for answers/ assistance for her own issues... and then she gets dragged into something else for her troubles and very little in return.

The ending was bittersweet, and I won't say more for fear of spoiling it!

Overall, a wonderful and magical read — I just wanted a little more!

A really enjoyable read. I've been wanting a Gothel origin novel for ages and this didn't disappoint. A must read for anyone who is fascinated by the dark side of fairy tales. Original and compelling.

I love fairy tales and all things villainous but unfortunately The Book of Gothel wasn’t my cup of tea.

The book begins with Haelewise’s childhood and journeys onto how she became known as Mother Gothel.

I’m not particularly a fan of historical fiction and to me this read quite like that, credit to the author for the research but maybe I’m not the target audience.

There was also quite a lot of German words/sayings which could be confusing at times, especially if you don’t know the language. (I understand it’s a retelling with traditional German folklore elements)

I went into this book with high expectations but unfortunately it just didn’t grasp me or maintain my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

"The Book of Gothel" is the debut (debut!) novel by author Mary McMyne, who must have written many, many books in past lives. The writing is beautiful, the story is heartbreaking, the characters are brilliant... and the whole thing is polished to perfection. I'm hoping there will be much, much more from this author in the future, because I will be eagerly awaiting every single book.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

An origin story for Mother Gothel (of Rapunzel fame) given a real historical setting. The story is bookended with a modern scholar finding and translating the first person account of “Haelewise, daughter-of-Hedda The Year of Our Lord 1219.” It also features real historical figures, such as Hildegard of Bingen, that help to place the story is western Germany.
This isn’t really a Rapunzel retelling, the baby Rapunzel makes a very brief appearance at the end. The story is focussed on the early life of Haelewise, a girl shunned and feared by the town for her black eyes and fainting spells. All she wishes for is to marry, have children and be a midwife – just like her mother. With the death of her mother, the mood in the town turns more dangerous towards her and she ends up fleeing into the woods, in search of the mysterious Tower of Gothel. There she learns about the magics that her mother used and a circle of women who worship the Mother (as opposed to the Christian Father).
There were some interesting elements: the main villain story has hints of Red Riding Hood and the wolf; a look at conflict between new and old religion; and the role of women in society and the vilification of those who do not conform. And it is obvious that a lot of research and care has gone into the historical elements.
I wasn’t keen on the modern bookends to the book- it didn’t add anything for me- nor really the first person narrative. I felt it limited the scope to fairly sheltered teenage girl making questionable decisions, who, despite her struggles, I didn’t particularly like or feel connected to. Other characters seemed more interesting but we don’t get to know them very well and the circle of magic-using, Mother-worshipping women was dangled in front of us but never properly explored.
I’m sure lots of people will fall in love with this book but sadly, it never fully captured me.

You know the story of Rapunzel…or at least you think you do. The Book of Gothel reimagines the story, from the point of view of the witch that put her there.

Welcome to The Book of Gothel.

This story follows Haelewise, daughter of Hedda. She has lived her life in her mother’s shadow, always fiercely protected by her. Haelewise is prone to fainting spells and, along with her strange black eyes, she is shunned by her Christian village as they believe she is a witch/possessed by a demon. She lives for the stories her mother tells her, of witches and wolves, and an ancient tower shrouded in mist.

When her mother dies, Haelewise is left alone and unmoored – she sets out to find the tower from the stories, hoping doing so will bring light to her strange spells. She wants to find answers to the secrets her mother kept and the power she feels.

What she finds is that all the stories are true and there is more to her mother, and herself, than she ever knew.

The Book of Gothel is a rich reimagining of everyone’s much-loved tale – Rapunzel. This isn’t your Disney fairy-tale though; this is a historical fantasy that is more on par with The Brothers Grimm. Dark and twisted, the book seamlessly blends the past and the present.

You will be drawn into Haelewise’s tale from the very beginning, eager to discover the truth with her. I really enjoyed following Haelewise from her childhood through to her adulthood and seeing her grow as a person. It was fascinating to see her traverse the many dangerous situations she found herself in, and I loved seeing the interaction with other characters.

Every character in this book was carefully written, including those from history (you could see the amount of research McMyne did for this book). Every character was fleshed out and entertaining, which is difficult to manage with so many characters converging. I especially loved the many strong female characters, all of whom defied convention.

McMyne puts a creative spin on the story we know, as this is told from the view of “Mother Gothel”, so how Rapunzel comes to be at the tower will surprise you. However, the entire plot is so well-crafted and woven that you will be compulsively reading throughout and enjoy every second of every character.

McMyne incorporates elements of historical fact from Medieval Germany (Hildegard von Bingen, traditional medicine, paganism, religious beliefs etc) and weaves the fairy-tale and magic in, creating a superb story that feels like it could be real.

Overall, this is a well-crafted, intelligent, and fascinating book and one I am certain will appeal to all fairy-tale and historical fiction readers alike. I was enthralled by this book and couldn’t put it down.

This was a real mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I loved the story of Haelwise and her journey of self discovery. On the other, I felt like the 'Rapunzel' element of the story was just shoe-horned in to make this a re-telling. It's a shame, because Haelwise was a fascinating character and the world she inhabits was equally intriguing. Focusing on the forgotten lives of Medieval women, there was a lot to unpack and I sometimes found the relationships between the different sets of royalty a little confusing. I also thought the pacing was pretty poor, with a lot of time given to Haelwise's childhood and then what seemed like a rush to the finish in the final few chapters. Overall, I appreciate what the author was trying to do here and just wish that she had focused on Haelwise and the women of the Mother without including the Rapunzel plotline.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you for this lovely story of the witch who captured rapunzel in the tower. I loved the way the religion was portrayed, as well as how the main character fought for everything she believed in, and wanted.

This book is about Mother Gothel, renowned by the tale of her kidnapping Rapunzel and keeping that poor girl in a tower.

But was that true?

This book opens with a scene where a Professor was called by a German woman to read an old manuscript in a cellar in her residence. So this whole book is the contents of that old manuscript.

The story unfolds from Haelewise's POV, a girl that labeled as cursed and avoided like plague by people. She has a mother, a father, and no sibling. She loves her mother so much but then suddenly her mother fell ill and died not long after. After that her father abandoned her to remarried to a widow.

Not only that, her childhood friend, the love of her life, put in an arranged marriage by his father. Left alone and heartbroken, she left her house to an isolated tower called Gothel, where she met an old lady who inhabited that tower.

This is not a simple imaginative fantasy. McMyne definitely did her research well and you can also see her references on the "dedication" pages. The setting was so medieval and atmospheric. I love the way the story revolved around women because apparently men are trash. Ooof course. Haelewise didn't even want to mention her father's name, not that he deserved to be mentioned tho. Stan women🛐

TO BE HONEST... I was quite bored because the pace was veerryy slow and nothing thrilled me. Took me a month to read the first 55% but I finished the rest in a day because it DID get better. So glad that I didn't drop it off before🥲

At first I was so confused like which one's Rapunzel wicked mother? They all seemed fine. But after a hundred pages or so I gave up guessing and focused on the story instead. Or maybe this story didn't have direct connection in Rapunzel? I really didn't care anymore. But then suddenly THAT *connection* appeared. The twists were so subtle but surprising because they came at me when I least expected them. They really caught me off guard and gave me chills.

At the end I decided to give this book 4 stars because even though I didn't quite like the first half, the conclusion was so satisfying and neat. If you liked Circe by Madeline Miller then you probably will like this book!