My enjoyment of this books was very high. I had some problems with the pacing and the long chapters at first but later realized that was a part of the books charm and ended up not minding it at all.
It had witches, vampires, regency sapphics… What more can you ask for? The story felt very put together and i was reading the pages very fast. It had a large set of characters and I learned to love them all. I somehow do wish that we could have focused on the romance more and seen more scenes with the mcs interacting but other than that i enjoyed this book very much and found it super entertaining.

I really love period novels so when I got a chance to read this book I was so excited. I really loved the sprinkles of magic that was through the book as I continued to read the book. I couldn’t put it down.

Netherford Hall by Natania Barron is a wonderful paranormal historical romance set in an alternate version of regency England where witches, vampires, and werewolves are the norm.

When the long absent gentlewitch, Edith Rookwood, returns to Netherford Hall, the village of Netherford is thrown into turmoil. One of the villagers most affected is Poppy Brightwell, who has been frequenting Netherford Hall for many years. With the family now in residence, she must stay away from a place which seems to call to her. Not only that, but she has an undeniable attraction to Edith, and it seems her feelings are reciprocated.

I really enjoyed this story, it had just enough romance, mystery, magic and action to keep me glued to my ereader. I am an avid reader of historical romance, and the regency period in particular, so I found the setting both familiar but refreshingly different.

There were quite a few characters in the story, and some complex relationships between them. It was interesting figuring out how they all related to each other and trying to figure out where they fit in the scheme of things.

The only issue I had with the book was the way some of the transitions between scenes was mostly absent. Several times I was so confused that I thought I had skipped a page or two and had to go back and reread several times to figure out what was going on.

Still, even with that bit of confusion, I loved Netherford Hall, and recommend it to lovers of historical romance or paranormal romance. I will be watching for book 2 in the series.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This one was a little too slow moving for me, maybe a little boring even. However, I do see lots of people enjoying the pacing, ambiance and themes, so I would still recommend it to people who normally enjoy cozy historical fantasies.

This book would most definitely benefit from having better chapter divisions. A 40 page chapter that focuses on one character, then a different one, then goes back to the previous and takes place during three different events is too much. It made the reading experience feel tired and confusing, since there were no stops to signal where we were about to follow someone else.

The cozy fantasy vibes, the usually accepted and even expected queerness, and the alternate historical time period with paranormal creatures being mentioned regularly create a very nice atmosphere and leave an open door for multiple companion installments.

This was a great mystery about legacy and family. I loved seeing the string of everyone coming to the estate, everyone wanting something and everyone hiding secrets, including our leading ladies!

For fans of sapphic historical romance and especially those that have enjoyed Pride & Prejudice before, this was a delightful read that sprinkles a little magic throughout as well. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, and am excited to recommend it in the future.

I don’t often hand out one-star reviews but there is really no other rating I can give Netherford Hall. It was simply a bad book with no redeeming qualities. The characters are flat and uninteresting, are awfully one-dimensional, and have no personality whatsoever. The author seems to think that giving them one or two defining characteristics is the same as developing them fully. It really isn’t. The relationships between the characters are equally boring. None of them have any sort of chemistry, and the main romance is depressingly unremarkable. The two characters don’t fit together, they despise each other for a good portion of the book and then suddenly fall into each other’s arms without having gotten to know each other in between.

The plot was pretty much non-existent nearly until the end. I couldn’t understand what was the driving force of the book and found myself bored from start to end. Perhaps the author attempted to bring some life into her narration by regularly switching points of views. All this achieved was give a sense she didn’t know what she was doing and that the point of views were chosen at random. As for the world building, it is obvious to me that the author put much thought into it. It would have been useful to actually inform the reader about the intricacies of that worldbuilding. As it were, after having read the book, I still have no idea what a gentlewitch is (or any of the other types of witches and other creatures mentioned, save for vampires), and that was pretty important to understand the story.

What a brilliant novel!
I really enjoyed the setting, not only the time period but also the different houses and families, that were connected in interesting ways through social obligations and magical hierarchy.
I also adored the two main characters and their relationship. The build-up felt very natural and the growing adoration Edith and Poppy held for each other made me swoon multiple times. Especially Edith's more masculine appearance was a nice surprise and really made me fall in love with her even more. We definitely don't have enough masculine women, who are still noble and respected, in literature.
The supporting cast was a very vibrant one and I really liked every single one. I even wished we could have read more about the Vampires.
The magic system was pretty interesting and complex and I sometimes lost track a little bit, but nevertheless was the magic very present in the story and very different from other fantasy novels I read so far.
The overall vibes were also perfect and I can't wait to read another novel from Netherford. If you enjoy witches, magic, a nice historical setting á la Bridgerton or Pride and Prejudice and casual queerness then this is the perfect read for you!
This book enchanted me and definitely deserves the highest rating!

If you like Pride-and-Prejudice, witches, and sapphic stories, this is a great book for you, this book follows Poppy, a normal girl in a world of magic with a special connection to an ancient house, Netherford Hall, and Edith, a witch who recently lost most of his family to a fire in London. I really enjoyed this book, the relationship between the protagonist evolves really organically, and doesn't feel rushed, the magic system implemented in here is kinda fresh to any other i read recently, is weird and cryptic, but also kinda understandable, so i have great hope for the future books, the plot was interesting overall, and i didn't find myself bored, i read it in long sessions because sometimes i couldn't put it down, one of my fave reads of the year so far

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest rating.

Not quite Austen with witches

Billing this as 'Pride and Prejudice and witches' set up my huge expectations for a mash-up of one of my most favourite novels with one of my most favourite genres. Sadly, however, it's the set-up of P&P that opens the book, and then any trace of Austen is abandoned thereafter. I can safely say that it's a very good novel of the fantasy/romantasy genre, but as a piece of pseudo Austenalia, I don't think anyone could be convinced.

I was more reminded of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, His Dark Materials, Wrede's Cecelia and Kate Novels, or India Holton's League of Gentlewomen Witches: of alternate Regency or Victorian worlds where magic reigns supreme, and this series opener does well in comparison to those. I just don't feel comparing it to Austen and also failing to foreshadow any other Austen novels lives up to the high concept precis.

And the plot is good, the magic system slightly under-developed (but that goes along with the exploratory (minor) Chosen One plot), and the characters are interesting enough, although not a patch on Lizzie and Darcy. I will definitely be following this series with interest.

Three stars.

This seemed like a perfect book for me because I love sapphic regency romance and anything witchy. Alas, it wasn’t. I was hoping for witty banter and politely delivered passive aggression. Though there may be some of that later on in the book, I couldn’t get past the abundance of descriptions.

I don’t visualize imagery when I read, so the detailed rundowns of exactly what every item of clothing looked like distracted me from the story for me rather than enhancing it. I suspect this wouldn’t be a problem for most readers, but other readers with aphantasia may struggle similarly.

I also never felt like I got a clear sense of any of the characters’ personalities, and had a hard time telling them apart.

Ultimately, I DNF at 18% because my kindle warned me that Chapter 5 was very long and—given that it was about a ball that attendees would no doubt be dressing up for—I wasn’t willing to wade through even more outfit descriptions.

This would be a better fit for readers who enjoy vivid imagery or are fascinated by regency era fashion. I suspect the story itself is cute and charming, I just wasn’t the right reader for it.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

4/5 Stars

This as an amazing read! Netherfield Hall is now definitely one of my favourite Jane Austen retellings. It was unique and imaginative, while still including some familiar features that made Pride and Prejudice a classic. As soon as I heard this was a queer Pride and Prejudice retelling with witches I knew I was sold. This completely lived up to my expectations and I’m fully expecting it to become a fave for queer fans this August.

This is a delightfully witchy sapphic romance that is at the same time cozy and high stakes. We have witches, we have vampires, we have fae lurking in the background lore, and it's a whole lot of fun! I love the symbolism of the flora in the story, the celebration of handy crafts and "women's work" and architecture, and wow that reveal was not at all expected but really well done!

Poppy is such a charming, headstrong, stick to her guns character. I love how she has her values, and sticks with them the whole book regardless of where her heart is pulling her. Edith, well is Edith! She definitely grew on me after I started to understand her and her motivations better. The cast of secondary characters is fleshed out and lovable and really pulls at your heartstrings!

I did have a few moments where I was almost screaming "not the time!" at the main characters, but you know, when you're going to wear maybe that is the time. Overall, I found the plot well paced and the book a very enjoyable read. At first I found the magic system confusing, but the book gives you world building a piece at a time, like a spider spinning a web, and towards the end I really appreciated not being spoonfed information. It made the payoff more valuable.

The ending sets up perfectly for a book 2, and let's just say, I'm intrigued!

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Netherford Hall by Natania Barron is a third person multi-POV Sapphic Regency fantasy romance. Poppy and her sister Viola are out in society and under pressure to look for a potential spouse when the head of the Rockwood family comes to town. Gentlewitch Edith has recently been made the head of her family and is struggling with the new attention she is receiving.

Auden was probably my favorite character. As Edith’s uncle, you would think he’d be the head of the family or would be all too happy to be her counsel and assist her. Nope. He wants zero responsibility and gets a headache every time he’s asked to do anything, even by his former vampire lover. He’s hilarious and really subverts a lot of tropes of the uncle with the gentle guiding hand or is secretly planning things behind his niece’s back; Auden has no plans. He just wants to be a happy guy.

As a big fan of Pride and Prejudice, I loved all the references to the book without being a pure adaptation. Poppy and Viola are somewhat like Elizabeth and Jane, respectively, but there are some key differences in how their relationships develop and in how their family dynamics work. Edith is a Darcy-esque character whose closest approximation to Mr. Bingley is her uncle, but he’s not interested in Viola at all. The dance scenes and Edith having many young women being thrown at her also helped sell the Darcy aspects, but it gets twisted when she requests for Poppy to work in her house, which ramps up the tension in their relationship.

The magic system is very genetic and seems to be mostly limited to the gentry. There are also vampires and werewolves walking around and a world of faerie in the very Regency-coded setting. The vampire families are powerful and wheeling and dealing like you would expect, but are also kind of on the fringes of society due to their bad blood with witches.

I would recommend this to fans of Pride and Prejudice looking for a fantasy Regency romance, readers looking for a Sapphic historical fantasy, and those looking for a multi-POV Regency fantasy.

Netherford Hall offers a delightful homage to Pride and Prejudice while carving out its own unique path. It’s a story about self-discovery and finding one's place, enriched with diverse characters, a sapphic romance, and a theme of found family. I absolutely adored the book, though I couldn't quite give it 5 stars. My main quibble was the tendency for POV shifts within the same chapter—a pet peeve of mine—and the somewhat lengthy chapters. Despite these minor issues, I highly recommend Netherford Hall to fans of Pride and Prejudice and anyone who enjoys queer fantasy.

This book has a style and magical world I have not come across before in the regency set fantasy books I’ve read recently. There is family, yes. There is the period set whimsical standing in society, yes. There is financial difficulty, yes. But so much more. There is a mix of horror and sapphic romance. Gentlewitches, hedge witches, vampires and demons. And there is a Manor House. Yes!!!! Read and you will come to understand. With more from Poppy and Edith promised to us by the author, yes. The future holds promise. My suggestion, start at the beginning and read this book now. Thank you to Rebellion and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

In Regency London, Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood and her family are forced to move to their ancestral home, Netherford Hall, after a mysterious fire. Facing financial difficulties and an uncertain future, Edith must consider marriage to secure her standing. However, she becomes increasingly drawn to her tenant, the lively Poppy Brightwell. As secrets from their pasts emerge and various rivals, suitors, and enemies close in, Edith and Poppy must navigate their feelings for each other while fighting for love, family, and their true identities.

We begin Netherford Hall with what feels like a leisurely walk through the countryside as Natania Barron immediately immerses us in Netherford with strategic pacing and worldbuilding that make me feel like I had gently melded into the environment. It has all the makings of a cozy supernatural mystery. Beautifully descriptive prose paints lovely imagery of the town, homes, and clothing from a bygone Regency era. The character interactions are intentional and revealing. The main characters and supporting actors are all fascinating and important. I enjoyed the magic system blended with government in this diverse queernormative world where humans coexist with a number of preternatural beings. The history and lore are so well thought out and presented in a way that the complex concepts are easily grasped. Netherford Hall is its own character. It is the living, breathing, heartbeat that flows throughout the story linking everything. I really liked the Brightwell siblings. It was lovely to see how they cared and supported one another. I also enjoyed the secondary relationships that were building on the sidelines. I believe they will be explored in future novels.
As much as I loved the interactions between Edith and Poppy, and I understand their connection was intertwined with something deeper, I would have liked to see them spend a bit more time just getting to know one another. Overall, it works, and novel length may have been a consideration, as there is already so much going on.
The climax was satisfying, and the ending wrapped up nicely. I cannot say enough about how much I loved the pacing. It was perfect and I was engaged throughout. It was a quick, entertaining read.
I didn't love the author's choice for Viola.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to the follow-ups. I am giving it 4.5 stars, rounded up.
#regency #fantasy #witches #vampires #queernormative #smalltown #Kent #England #butch/femme #magic #oppositesattract #HEA #cozy

I loved this book. The world building was great. loved the magical elements and well developed characters. The romance was sweet and charming. I felt like i could really connect to the characters in their own way. it was a very entertaining read

4.5 stars