so so so so sooooo good ! I loved reading this so much. the characters were so well written and i was basically entranced by the book

The atmosphere and potential had me reading this until the very end, but the writing itself could've done with another edit.

There were a lot of great aspects to this - a haunting premise, complex characters and some good imagery.

Sadly, these were somewhat let down by slow pacing, clunky writing and the occasional typo.

I did enjoy this, but I would've enjoyed it more and rated it higher had it been tidied up.

Overall, a great story but I found the execution to be lacking.

Thank you to Netgalley and Solaris for the ARC.

Scottish sapphic Gothic horror? Wow - such a niche genre; one I was so excited for, and thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for the review copy. Honestly? - I hadn't even thought of this combination of genre and place and character, so I didn't know it was lacking in my life until I read it!

Norah Mackenzie needs to escape her life (and mistakes) in Glasgow, and her best option seems to be to escape to the Highlands and marry a man who her alcoholic father owed money to, she's never met, decided to waive the money owed, started a sort of courtship, then almost went back on it with some cryptic warnings... okay, Norah is feeling desperate. But hopeful too, in spite of everything. This could be the making of her - Alexander wants her. She isn't wanted in Glasgow.

Further North, the world Norah discovers is beyond anything she could have dreamed of... Her betrothed is, somehow, less than she expected. He barely speaks, and this woman, the housekeeper Gunn, seems to run the entire estate. Who is Gunn really, and what is her connection to Barlow? Is Norah truly forgetting portions of time, or is the embarrassing amount of wine she drinks to blame? And what are the mutterings of curses, witchery, visions of dark trees and festering smells...?

It's an incredibly atmospheric book, but - for me - the pacing was off. The first 30% or so was almost painfully slow and when it sped up, the story arc wasn't consistent. After reading the acknowledgments, I can see that M.K. Hardy (two Scottish women) had a real job of pulling this together when their previous editor/agent was no longer available, and it became a real team effort of friends, colleagues etc to get this past the deadline date. I admire their tenacity, but I think it would have felt cleaner, an easier read, with a single editor - a single clearer thread running through the book, pushing forward in the right places, and pulling back at others.

I wanted to like this very much - Scottish lesbian Gothic! - and it fell slightly short of the mark. What would be ideal would be for an editor to get hold of this, tighten it up, and print a second run that just eases out all the creases... I want this to be a success for M.K Hardy, as it deserves to be, but I'm not sure whether in its current somewhat unwieldy state some readers will sadly give up prematurely...

M.K. Hardy describe it as 'giving a voice to those exploited and overlooked in this tumultuous period of history – including the land itself' - this is a brilliant description of the novel (although there's plenty of Sapphic fun as well 😉) and I hope that people beyond Scotland will also be entranced and moved to discover more about the region and the history, because it is certainly overlooked.

Difficult to review - there's SO much potential here, but it needs those finishing touches to become the bestseller it deserves to be.

Thank you to NetGalley M K Hardy and Solaris for this digital ARC.

I absolutely LOVED this book. The Needfire was eerie, romantic, and completely absorbing - so much so, I finished it in less than two days. Also, the cover is *chefs kiss*

Set in 1890s Scotland, it follows Norah Mackenzie who flees scandal in Glasgow and enters a marriage of convenience, only to arrive at her new husband’s isolated, windswept estate to realise something isn’t quite right. The house is full of strange silences, twisted roots, and a growing sense that something dark is lurking just beneath the surface.

There’s a beautiful, slow-building connection between Norah and another woman in the house that I adored. It felt timeless, aching, and olde worlde in the best way and thanks to a vivid imagination, was transported to another time and place the deeper I to the pages I went. The gothic atmosphere is spot on and I honestly couldn’t get enough of the descriptions: the clothes, the house, the sea mist rolling in…it all felt so vivid.

Yes, I did clock a few of the twists, but they were so satisfying that I didn’t mind one bit. I was still slack-jawed when everything came together.

Short, sweet, and unsettling, this was such a rewarding read and one I’ll be recommending to everyone looking for…

- Sapphic historical fiction
- Gothic horror vibes
- A house full of secrets
- Queer romance done right

3.5 stars

THE NEEDFIRE is a gothic novel with great tension but takes a while to bring any of the more fantastic elements in.

This is such an atmospheric book. It is Gothic with a capital G, playing brilliantly off the bleak beauty of the Highlands (and also the fact that Scotland has such long, dark, dreary winters thanks to its latitude.) It is slow and full of creeping tension. You know something is deeply, desperately wrong and that Norah is going to be caught up in it, unable to get away when she needs to.

I also liked how mercurial a figure Gunn was. Even at the end of the book, it's hard to tell how much I liked her. She's such a morally grey character and her motivations lead her to some actions that are decidedly cruel. And yet she is the force trying to keep everyone else (somewhat) sane.

For most of this book, it simply feels like a highly atmospheric historical, gothic in vibes and setting. There are the wild, barren landscape and a big gloomy manor house. It is mostly the niggling oddness of the husband and the fact the publisher is a SFF imprint that hints that there might be a bit more to the story. The sections in second person also help imply there is some sort of sentience in the land at play.

However, these elements only really come in right in the last 20%. There's a massive change of pace as it goes from slow to frenetic. I liked that the subtle promise came true but I would have liked it to be around much earlier so I didn't keep waiting for something to happen.

I will admit that a previous book about Sapphic love, did nothing for me and so I was a bit sceptical about reading this story.......I should have had no fears ! Possibly because it is also a gothic tale set up in the very bleak north of Scotland that caught my attention but the story that starts as a slow burner, builds and builds . There is spookiness and sadness but also hope and love. I felt that there were undertones of Jane Eyre at times ( which is no bad thing as it's my favourite book ). Well written with t he authors making you feel as though you are there with the characters. Atmospheric and addictive.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review

When we talk about the gothic novel we are often talking about a sense of atmosphere and a particular place. People caught into an unusual situation they can’t escape. The strange and unusual is no stranger to it so it’s often been a perfect place to blend with fantasy or horror. Now in MK Hardy’s very impressive gothic fantasy The Needfire we have a deliciously engrossing reading experience where the format of the traditional gothic also has some interesting spins.

In 1890 Norah makes a long arduous journey from Glasgow up to the very north of Scotland. A remote place where the land and people are tough with a culture more based on Norse than Celtic tradition. She arrives at Corrain House and in hours is married to the land’s baron Lord Alexander Barland a man she has never met nor spoken to before. It’s more of a chance for Norah to start again and free herself of complications that developed back home. The house sits on a cliff over the sea, Alexander is not the same man as she was writing to for the past year and shows very little interest in her, the house had a strange dynamic with the enigmatic housekeeper Gunn who seems to have an unequal relationship in the household and Norah finds herself magnetically pulled towards. Strange dreams begin to plague Norah, Alexander acts even stranger and Norah picks up the villagers are wary of Corrain House and now she may need to be too.

This is a storytelling feast I was hugely impressed by. Very much dropping us in a compelling first chapter into a very strange situation. Why would someone marry a complete stranger, why is the house so dark and ominous, what is Gunn’s role. Hardy paints these pictures with dark imagery and what comes for me across the story is a world out of balance. Here the Lord is not in charge, the housekeeper appears to be and Norah too starts acting in strange ways this is a compelling key set of mysteries that get picked into.

Norah is a fascinating lead character as we find out she is not at all the pure innocent the gothic had tended to like. She is fleeing a family scandal of bankruptcy but also a romantic relationship not possible to be public. This story has a sapphic focus that is explicit more than the gothic’s tendency for subtext. She knows Alexander does not love her she was just looking for respite and a chance to own her own life. So while he seems not to ignore her unlike the letters we regularly get shown its for her the mystery of why is he so different to the field he seemed to have become.

The other key character is Gunn and I was impressed how Hardy makes this figure enigmatic on her purpose for so long. Initially very much in the background she seems a mix of ally and potential enemy y that makes her take over the page. A sense of power but also with a shadow of humour. The relationship built between Norah and Gunn really simmers with attraction and a sense that neither can resist the other for long. This is where we get a 21st century gothic tale where the power imbalances are ignored as two people finally get to reveal themselves to one another. The key question throughout though is Norah too trusting?

The central mystery uses Scottish history and myth really well. The way landowners took their prizes and cleared estates even in the the 19th century for their own profit is subtly explored and explained. The house escalates with strange events from images on the sea to the more traditional sleepwalking and strange dreams. A very interesting second person narration becomes increasingly ominous and malevolent before the finale leads to revelations, death and traditional disasters. It knows when to be creepy, when to be passionate, intimate and the story is kept tight. It turns at a very good place bar my only issue being I think the characters bare kept from asking a key question as to their purpose for perhaps a few too many months when I think most people would have let curiosity get the better of them. That though was a very minor issue with a story I just hugely enjoyed reading.

The Needfire treads the gothic line beautifully between fantasy and horror well but never too frightening and also embraced its queer characters who get to take centre stage and own their lives themselves which is hugely refreshing. In Hardy a storytelling talent to look out for has entered the scene. Highly recommended!

I got curious about this book as it was described as a gothic tale with mysteries, romance and horror, compared to a literary classic Rebecca, settled in Scotland around 1890´s.

Norah Mackenzie is a young woman in Glasgow, writing a letter trying to ask for understanding about debts her father has left for their burden. The corresponcence continuing leads her to situation, she soon finds herself travelling to north to move in Corrain House as the newlywed Lady Barland.

But nothing there feels quite right, even still her husband had warned her in his letters, being a quiet and melancholic man and how she might feel lonely there. Norah had hoped for a fresh start for her life, but gloomy, dim house, crumbling from its foundations in middle of nowhere seems depressing. Along her distand husband there are only a young groundskeeper and housekeeper Agnes Gunn, which seems to rule the house by herself and makes Norah feel wary.

Norah misses company, and feels longing to something she hardly can name, while wandering in the long, dark corridors and staircases of her new home. It´s threatening, oppressive atmosphere fills her with scary thoughts. She has her secrets, but so have others...

The storytelling was captivating, I loved how everything was described. I felt like being there and looking around the lonely, harsh scenery along confused Norah in her new home. I loved the haunting atmosphere in the beautifully written book. Such an enjoyable read.

Thank you for the gifted eARC, NetGalley and Solaris books!

Creepy plants are certainly a big theme for this year's horror and I'm not complaining.

The Needfire is an engrossing gothic novel in it's best form, as it comes with sapphic yearning. We follow Norah, who moves to an estate in North of Scotland to marry her husband who she's only exchanged letters with. The man she meets is not exactly what she expected but she's quickly distracted by the mysterious housekeeper, Agnes.

The mystery threaded throughout this story is honestly brilliant, the book gives you enough to figure certain things for yourself while keeping other reveals until the end. Agnes is a brilliant character, you never know how much you can trust her but her chemistry with Norah is so palpable that it's easy to come under Agnes' spell.

The Scottish Highlands give this book a gorgeous and at the same time unsettling backdrop. If you've ever experienced Scottish haar you know there's something about it that absolutely makes you feel like you're in a gothic novel.

This book is a great read if you're looking for a satisfying gothic novel but it's also brilliant if you want to feel yourself lost in Scottish scenery.

The Needfire by MK Hardy is a darkly atmospheric Gothic read that I could see as being perfect to curl up with on a dark winter's evening next to an open fire while the wind howls outside.
The book follows Norah as she embarks on a marriage of convenience that takes her to a remote part of Scotland in the 1890s and it very quickly becomes apparent that all is not as it seems. Her husband is remote and standoffish, the villagers seem to regard her with distrust or even fear and there is something about Corrain House itself that she finds disturbing. The only person who welcomes her arrival is the housekeeper Agnes, and even then her moods are mercurial and she is definitely keeping secrets of her own.
One of the standout features of this book was how well the authors did with creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere that constantly had me on the edge of my seat, this book is chilling in the best possible way, and as the story unfolded I found myself holding my breath as the hairs rose on the back of my neck. On a side note, if I had not read the author notes at the end of the book I would never have known that M.K. Hardy is in fact a writing team of two authors, the writing style is seamless. I also appreciated the complexity of the characters and really enjoyed the slow build of the connection between Norah and Agnes, seeing their relationship develop was another highlight in a book with so many of them. If you enjoy gothic horror or are looking for a book with immaculate spooky vibes this book needs to be on your radar, but it is more than just the vibes, you also have really descriptive writing and a well crafted plot that combined with the compelling characters really kept me turning those pages.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

So atmospheric and gothic! The sapphic slow-burn was so gripping and I love a spooky prophetic dream. At times, a little slow, but definitely one for the chilly autumn months.

The Needfire opens with an intensely gothic setting and an intriguing set up. Norah Mackenzie arrives in a remote part of Scotland on a dreary, dark and foggy evening. She abruptly marries a man she barely knows and begins a new life as mistress of an eerie house with only the taciturn housekeeper for company. This was a very atmospheric, slow-burn read with supernatural elements and I liked the way that the novel was imbued with mystery. However, I didn’t find the narrative especially gripping and I predicted a key plot twist early in the story. I chose to read this because it was marketed for fans of Rebecca. While I can see how comparisons have been drawn between the two works, I didn't enjoy The Needfire as much as Rebecca.

Thank you to the publishers – Rebellion | Solaris – and NetGalley for sharing this eARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

A solid sapphic gothic with its usual trappings. I loved the environmental angle and the land's "fuck around, find out" message. The romance was nicely developed in the constraints of the genre, I would say. Lots of yearing and hunger. The house was creepy and the ending, although partially expected, still held some surprise for me.
What I didn't like - and yes, I recognise that it is a part of the gothic but it really could use retirement - is the constant "i need to discuss this life and death situation with you but I will be led astray by basically anything and I will let you get away with not answering any questions."

Overall, a really enjoyable, atmospheric read which I recommend to all fans of the genre.

This is perfect for fans of gothic books set in big houses with lonely wives, which absolutely needs its own genre! This had elements of Rebecca and The Hacienda, both of which I loved. I found it a bit slow to get going - the first third was a lot of stage setting - but once it picked up, it was really absorbing. The oppressive, lonely atmosphere of the house really pervaded the page, and I couldn’t wait to see where it was going.

I couldn't put it down! I am a big fan of gothic books, and this was IT!
The descriptions were amazing, felt like I could see everything, like I was there. 5 stars

An unfortunate dnf

I had such high hopes for this book but ultimately I was bored.
I didn't really care about the characters and the setting, which I expected to be full of spookiness and atmospheric- was lacking. the authors brushed over each moment where they could have enhanced the spookiness of the house, but instead glossed over it and left me feeling cheated. this wasn't the book I went into expecting. it's a shame, as I really wanted to like this book, and while if I'd pushed through this it could have landed at a 2.5/3 I couldn't bring myself to pick it back up again

I really do hate that I disliked book as I really really wanted to love it 😥

This book offers an amazing sense of place - as befits the genre of gothic horror/suspense, but given that I've read other books that failed the task successfully, I'm delighted today the Needfire did a stellar job there. The misty, gloomy setting worked both on the level of Scotland as a setting as well as the house, and the tension created around Norah and her choices slowly builds - I want to even say creeps - beautifully against this backdrop. The sapphic angle was a delight for me - definitely a bonus; and I join the choir of other readers who compare this to Rebecca (but make it gayer!).

A delightful debut, and definitely an author I'd like to see more from. An easy recommendation from me.

I do love a nice bit of Gothic fiction and this was an outstanding example of the genre. Deeply creepy with distinct Rebecca vibes. Beautifully written with deep feeling. I loved it.

Norah Mackenzie is 32 years old and is travelling to the top north of Scotland to meet her husband to be, Lord Alexander Borland. Their engagement and romance has been conducted through the medium of loving correspondence. His family home is Corrain House, set high up on a cliff edge, it has a very dark and foreboding atmosphere. The wedding is performed with no special service or sense of occasion.
Norah is taken aback by Alexander, his letters were so warm and witty, but now she is faced with a taciturn and withdrawn man, who hardly acknowledges her presence or shares the marital bed.
Agnes Gunn is the only servant at Corrain House, not a great talker, but there is something about her that intrigues and warms Norah, a certain excitement when they are talking together, however, this is an unequal relationship, more like subservient mistress and domineering servant.
Gunn seems to hold sway over Alexander and Corrain House, the mystery is why?
The Sutherland landscape is harsh and brutal, scabby soil, only fit for sheep, this comment was the reason that led to the Highland Clearances, which removed so many Crofting families from the land. It seems that both the land and Agnes are in a conspiracy together, but to what end, is part of the plot in this novel.
I found this novel to be more sinister than Gothic. It is full of uncanny events, superstitions, and some just plain weirdness. There are secrets, lies and some almost unbelievable happenings that make the reader wonder what they have stumbled into. I found the characters to have no real depths, and Norah seemed to have a back story that could have been investigated more.
I found this novel to be an unsettling read, but I found that too many questions went unanswered, it was quite unsatisfying, I wanted to know more.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, Rebellion / Solaris for my advance copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review.
I have given a three star read. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

Thanks NetGalley for the Arc!

2.5 probably... sadly I haven't been able to connect with this one. I wouldn't say is a bad book but definetly it wasn't for me.
I found the pace too slow, I think that this was to create tension and focus on the ambient but it didn't work for me.
I didn't connect with the characters, maybe that's because the main character was quite lost and that make not enjoy the romance as much as I wanted to enjoy it.