This book immediately reminded me of two of my favorite books I've read so far this year- Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and A Study In Drowning. It's as if Emily, with her quick dry wit and grudging care for others, stepped foot into the melancholic and thoughtful Study In Drowning manor. Winnie was amazingly clever and snappy, and gotta say, I loved Quincy's rat tail. Their romance was cutting, aggressive, and pointy, and slowly dulled and healed over as the book continued and each of the characters began to heal themselves. It was incredible to watch and I cannot wait for this series to continue.

Having never read the Regency Faerietales series, I regret to say that I fear they can never live up to what this did for me.

Mm"The Witchwood Knot: A Hauntingly Enchanting Tale of Love and Magic"

Step into the bewitching world of Olivia Atwater's "The Witchwood Knot" and prepare to be swept away by a spellbinding romance like no other. This hauntingly captivating novel will transport readers to the mysterious halls of Witchwood Manor, where secrets lurk and faeries hold sway.

In this mesmerizing tale, we meet Winnie, a governess with a courageous heart and an unwavering determination to rescue the grandson of the dowager of Witchwood Manor from the clutches of faerie enchantments. Despite her employer's skepticism, Winnie fearlessly undertakes the responsibility of finding the missing boy, unearthing a web of fantastical intrigue that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

"The Witchwood Knot" is a standalone novel that delicately weaves together elements of the Regency Faerie Tales series, adding depth and richness to an already engrossing narrative. Atwater masterfully incorporates gothic undertones, luring readers into a world of haunting beauty and dark secrets. As Winnie ventures deeper into the heart of the manor, the palpable sense of foreboding intensifies, creating an atmosphere that is both chilling and irresistible.

What truly sets this book apart is the unexpected sweetness of the romance that unfolds within its pages. As Winnie and her mysterious counterpart, whose own past carries scars and emotional barriers, converge in their quest, their connection deepens. Atwater skillfully portrays their gradual transformation, as they bravely navigate their painful histories, allowing trust and love to blossom amidst a backdrop of danger and enchantment.

Through Atwater's deft storytelling, I found myself rooting for these resilient characters, empathizing with their struggles, and celebrating their triumphs. The blend of thrilling suspense, tender romance, and breathtaking magic makes "The Witchwood Knot" an irresistible read for fans of all genres.

Prepare to be captivated by the tangled threads of love, mystery, and the supernatural in "The Witchwood Knot." Olivia Atwater's evocative prose and captivating storytelling left me eagerly awaiting her next enchanting tale.

I received a copy of The Witchwood Knot as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia Atwater weaves a gothic Victorian world of magic in this book. The main character, Winnie, is a headstrong trauma survivor who battles her demons throughout this book. Her wit and underlying kindness really drew me to her character. Her counterpart, Mr. Quincy, was a complicated character I grew to enjoy more and more with each chapter.

The story is captivating and I found it to be an incredibly unique concept with the infusion of dream sequences, magic, and mystery. The author provided a host of detail to really immerse yourself within the story, and I think covered the issues of both sexual assault and consent admirably without making it uncomfortable.

I give this book a solid 4.5 star rating and I’m hoping to read more from this author soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and the wonderful publisher for my first ARC!

This book while I initially thought to be a spinoff within the Regency Fairytales world, simply separated by time, is certainly more of a sequel-ish entity than expected.

It relies a lot on expositionary information that readers of the Regency series would already be aware of and eventually the novelty of recognizing the repeated info becomes weary to old readers' enjoyment of this series.

Winnie is an excellent protagonist and moments where Atwater let's her wit and frustrations out are gems in this reading.

Witchwood Manor is well-described and for readers like myself who require a lot of physical detail to properly map out a space in their head, Atwater has a great grasp of writing that out.

Definitely a lot exposition wise but with this style of world-building that's kinda the norm.

Fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me access to this E-Arc.

*4.25

This book gave me all the gothic vibes with a little bit of romance. It was definitely a dark read. It’s perfect for the Halloween season. The story was set at a haunted mansion where sinister things are afoot. I enjoyed the way that Olivia Atwater writes a story. It was engaging throughout the novel. It was hard to put down. I look forwarding to read more of Atwater’s novels in the future.

I really enjoyed this as I enjoy Olivia Atwaters. That being said, I wish the romance between Winnie and Mr Quincy was more fleshed out. And that it had leaned more into gothic elements. Still a pleasant fun read.

This was a brilliant gothic fairytale and a very atmospheric and appropriate read as the dark nights draw in. Winnie was an enjoyable strong female lead and the narrative throughout with the female cast of characters really represented the differences in trauma responses and the validity of them all.
Oliver was so close to my heart reading this, especially as I just lost my own cat called Ollie! I hope he is protecting me the way Oliver protects Winnie.
Rich in detail and description I do wish there had been more build up with Mr Quincy and slightly more depth to the Lord's motives.
Overall a great gothic fairytale inspired story with scope to build on the world and expand out to Winnie's sisters and Mr Quincy's siblings.

I think this was the first period dark faerie tale I’ve read. I really liked it. It was creepy & engaging. Filled with faerie lore but also a good mystery with a little romance added. Definitely a new take on the dark faerie tale genre for me. I can’t wait to read this author’s other books set in the same world. She deals with some difficult subjects sensitively- past childhood trauma & sexual assault. I love Miss Winnifred Hall & her belt of weapons. You will be rooting for her to solve the mystery, rescue the young lord, and maybe others along the way. Thank you Starwatch Press & NetGalley for the advance copy!

3.5 stars

A beautifully written little dark faerie tale. This was my first Olivia Atwater book and it was quick, creepy, and enjoyable. I loved the gothic atmosphere, the haunted manor setting, the questionable characters, and the way the human and faerie realms were entwined. I loved Winnie as the strong & clever MC, and a number of the side characters grew on me as well. There was only a hint of romance - I would have loved a bit more but it was very sweet nonetheless. I think if it were longer I would have had more time to become invested, but it did keep me interested and wanting to know what happened. A great read for this time of year.

Thank you to Starwatch Press for the ARC!

I requested this because although I LOVE gothic fiction, I really am not keen on the fae elements in books, usually, and thought I would try something different. That said, I did really enjoy this book , the setting, characters and general vibe of the story were all interesting and worked together really well.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NETGALLEY for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a short and sweet story about Winifred Hall's time at Witchwood Manor - she initially is there to take care of a young boy, but she ends up having quite an adventure with the faeries of Witchwood Knot.

My favorite character was the ghost cat familiar, Oliver. I also enjoyed the magical elements thrown throughout this story and the message that the author conveys regarding the way children and women are mistreated when they deny the desires of men.

I would love to read more from Olivia Atwater in the future and I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read about faeries.

I think fans of Atwater's regency books may or may not like this depending on what brought them to those books in the first place. If they were primarily interested in the regency or "bridgerton-esque" vibes of the other books this may not be for them. However, if they were simply interested in a genre fiction infused with fairy lore I think they will enjoy this a lot. It's a pitch perfect Victorian gothic full of whimsy and faeries.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a very fun, darkly comic Victorian-era gothic mystery, complete with devious faeries and magic and a seemingly haunted house. While I found the pacing a little slow to begin with, once I was into the main story I was hooked in. I loved the snarky confidence of FMC Winnie, and the darkly mysterious presence of Mr Quincy from the get go. I've seen it billed as a gothic romance, but seeing as the romance plot doesn't kick in properly until quite far in, I'd say it's more of a mystery with romantic elements! I enjoyed how this book managed to be cosy and whimsical while also being darkly fantastical, and I think I'll definitely be checking out the author's other books set in the same universe.

I've fallen in love with Olivia Atwater as an author because of her Regency fairytales, so I was more than excited to see her now tackling the Victorian times. "The Witchwood Knot" is the first in that new series, and it's just as beautifully, almost whimsically written as its predecessors. It tells the story of Winifred Hall who newly arrives at Witchwood Manor to become the governess to the master's son. The manor quickly reveals to be haunted in some way, with the fae having their grabby hands all over it.

I do have to say that the descriptions of the story given on goodreads and co are not the very best, because they reveal a story development that actually happens much later in the book. At first, it's more of a slightly gothic-y haunted mansion story with faeries - and of course we meet our love interest rather soon. Mr. Quincy is not my favourite of Atwater's dashing fae love interests as a person, but I liked him a lot (even though I could have lived happily without a certain um, physical attribute of his). Winifred is great protagonist, layered and capable and relatable. She is, perhaps, a bit Too Good At Everything, but in books like these I don't even mind that much.

While I generally enjoyed the settings of Atwater's previous books a bit more and wasn't completely captivated by Witchwood Manor, I still think this is actually one of her strongest books. And that's because of the subject matter: "The Witchwood Knot" focuses heavily on consent and the consequences of sexual abuse and harassment, and it got rather dark at times because of it. The romance is absolutely amazing because consent is at its core, and while, as I said before, Mr. Quincy is not my fave out of all the fae love interests, his absolute insistence on consent and his unwavering support of Winnie makes him perfect for this book. I love him for the things he stands for.

All in all, a great start to the Victorian fairytales series that didn't blow me away but had something important to say. You can read it without having read Atwater's Regency fairytales, but you will miss out on quite a bit of lore and background, which surprised me. 3,5 stars.

Set in a Victorian Era setting, Winnie finds herself in a house that has WAY more secrets than she bargained for.

I was not convinced that I would enjoy it as much at the beginning as I felt the world building was relatively lacking and I wound up feeling pretty confused. As the story goes on, however, I found myself absolutely invested in Winnie and Mr. Quincy. I truly wound up loving this book by the end. This story is marketed as a gothic romance, but the romance doesn’t sink in until the later half/last quarter of the book, so I don’t necessarily recommend it to romance lovers. That being said, the tension is *chef’s kiss* and the dark magic wrapped up in this world is so worth reading. I definitely recommend it, especially as a spooky fall read!

**This copy of The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater was given to me as an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review. This does not change the way I rate books nor the way it is reviewed. Thank you to Olivia Atwater, Netgalley and Starwatch Press. **

The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater was a pleasant and beautifully written novel. Taking a darker stance than her previous work, Atwater tells an enchanting gothic romance with elements of mystery, magic and fae folklore.
The story revolves around Winnie, a young spinster, hired by Lady Longfell to be a governess of Witchwood Manor. However, the title is a guise. It seems the Lady has hired Winnie for her magical abilities and knowledge in dealings with the Fae. WitchWood Manor is cursed by the Fae; it is up to Winnie to help lift the curse and save her young charge, Robert Murray.

The pace of the book, like many gothic novels, is slow at the beginning. It creates this haunting sense, almost as if anything could happen at any time. Once things began to pick up and we really got a sense of what world we were looking into, I feel like the novel really flourished.

Things I loved:
- Winnie: She was a strong female character. A Survivor of SA, who went from being cold and detached in order to survive the world she lived in to Empowered and self assured.
- Mr.Quincy: I love me a morally grey man. Especially when he's a fae. I loved that Atwater made him more FAE. Like Holly Black does her mmc's, She gave that man a TAIL. I loved it. My only wish was that we got to see him more. That we got more moments between him and Winnie at the beginning.
- A Ghost cat familiar
- The mythology this book sets up: This book obviously is setting up for a grandeur story. I dont think we've seen the last of Winnie and Mr.Quincy, and that we will see other beloved characters from the previous Novels.
- The theme: Atwater could've written another gothic romance novel that focused on the MC finding love and have left it at that. But she took it a step further. She wove a story with an undelying Theme that made the world believable. That brought some realism to this fairytale. I was able to connect with the MC more because of it.
- The afterword from the Author: I usually dont read the afterword but I did this time. Words cannot express how wonderful it felt to read it. I love the author even more for it and would love to see other authors follow.

Things that I enjoyed but wish had been expanded upon:
- Side Characters: Some characters felt like there were there to just be there, only appearing when needed for the plot. Their interactions with the main characters couldve been more fleshed out.
- The Slow Burn: I am a sucker for slow burns and while this book is definitely a VERY slow burn, I feel like once the romance did happen, it kinda came out of nowhere. I wish there had been more interactions where the line between flirtation and wit were blurred between Quincy and Winnie.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and am looking forward to the expansion of the world we were introduced to! Can't wait until the next book :)

The Witchwood Knot is a gothic, spirited tale full of depth arrives at a dark and dreadful manor tasked with caring for sets out to rescue the boy with an unlikely companion. A truly unique story full of energy and intrigue that drew me in and kept my mind turning the whole way through. The story lives on past the last page and will leave you in anticipation captivating storytelling blew me away. This author is a profoundly skilled writer and highly look forward to picking publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC! and character. The book follows a Victorian Governess who a young boy who is soon abducted by the Fair Folk. She for more! Absolutely 5/5 stars. The masterful

This is a beautifully written victorian style novel, set in a gothic fantasy land. I did not read the plot beforehand or have any experience with this author but was intrigued by the book cover and let me tell you it did not disappoint. I have never read a book like this before I felt it was a tad long winded at times but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It is based in a spooky manor following the life of the “governesses” Winnifred Hall which you can’t help but admire. The other characters such as Mr Quincy and Oliver (the cat) you grow to like even though they are unconventional. I would recommend this book to any fantasy lovers as it is something unique.

LOVED THIS BOOK. I enjoyed every second I spent reading The Witchwood Knot, from the moment Winnie arrives to serve as the governess to spoiled child Robert at a haunted mansion in England to the very end. Winnie was, in fact, hired not as a governess, but as a magician protector for Robert. When she arrives at Witchwood Manor, she's greeted by Mr. Quincy, a butler with wine red eyes, a cook, and a housekeeper who refuses to live in the haunted house. Luckily, Winnie knows how to handle herself around faeries. But when Robert is kidnapped by fae despite all of her precautions and a human monster begins terrorizing Winnie, she only has one possibly ally she can turn to: the very same Mr. Quincy who was so unwelcoming when she arrived.

This is a gothic romance in an England with faeries, magicians, familiars, and necromancers. Atwater's prose is beautiful, with chapter-long intervals of true faerie stories. Winnie is a flawed character who knows herself perfectly: she recognizes her strengths and her limitations, and she struggles to abide by her own ethical code. Atwater has written a restrained romance with an earned HEA. Mr. Quincy may start out as an ambiguous character, but as he and Winnie work together and begin to understand each other, both they and the reader see how well matched they are. Also - Oliver the familiar is one of the most delightful kitty characters I've read in a while!

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

The Witchwood Knot is a gloriously dark yet cozy faerie tale. The story is wrapped in mystery and has a whimsy quality throughout. The fae lore in a victorian setting added an otherworldly feel to the book. Alongside the enigma of the manor there’s a romantic sub-plot. I didn’t expect this as I went into the book blindly but I really enjoyed the slow-burn which crept upon me, it was truly heartwarming. What stood out for me is the FMC. She is great, the strength she shows despite adversity was something to admire. The author explores themes around women and society through this character beautifully. Overall a lovely gothic read. Thank you to NetGalley and Starwatch Press for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.