Release Date: October 2nd 2018
Publisher: HQ
Pages: 384
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I bought a copy of this from a local bookshop
Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis

Years after the Salem witch trials one witch remains. She just doesn’t know it… yet.

Growing up, Lydia Montrose knew she was descended from the legendary witches of Salem but was warned to never show the world what she could do and so slowly forgot her legacy. But Willow Hall has awoken something inside her…

1821: Having fled family scandal in Boston Willow Hall seems an idyllic refuge from the world, especially when Lydia meets the previous owner of the house, John Barrett.

But a subtle menace haunts the grounds of Willow Hall, with strange voices and ghostly apparitions in the night, calling to Lydia’s secret inheritance and leading to a greater tragedy than she could ever imagine.

Can Lydia confront her inner witch and harness her powers or is it too late to save herself and her family from the deadly fate of Willow Hall?

Review

The Witch of Willow Hall is the beautifully told tale of the Montrose family, who move to the countryside following a family scandal in Boston. The family take up residence at Willow Hall but as the family attempt to build their lives back up there are some strange sightings and a sense of dread that lingers in the house. When Lydia meets the previous owner John Barrett, she begins to suspect the house has a dark past, but will she be able to uncover the truth and confront the secrets of her own past before it’s too late?

The Witch of Willow Hall is an atmospheric tale, full of beautiful writing and captivating characters. I picked this one up on a whim and I’m so glad that I did – I ended up completely devouring this book. The mystery kept me hooked right from the very beginning and it was well-paced, keeping me intrigued right to the very end. There are some spooky, eerie moments in the book that definitely added to that tense, uneasy atmosphere. The Witch of Willow Hall is an impressive debut and I’m incredibly excited to read more from Hester Fox.

Lydia has a really strong narrative voice and I really liked her as a protagonist. The sibling relationships were really interesting – with Lydia having a really close almost motherly relationship with Emmeline and a strained relationship with Catherine. Fox does an excellent job with the characters and I loved the mixture of historical fiction, mystery, and a dash of magic. The Witch of Willow Hall is the perfect read for a dark winter night and you won’t want to put it down.