A review by booksalacarte
The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Witchwood Knot- 4⭐️ 1.75🌶️

Fantasy

Victorian eta

Gothic Setting

Fae

Slow Burn

Clean Romance

Magic 

This was a charmingly gothic-light tale! I found myself enjoying the dark house with a dark secret, but wishing for a little more. With the FMC called to the house to play hero and governess, I was immediately invested in her story. From what I understand, it is the same world as another series by Olivia Atwater, just a different time period. I wish a little more of the time period was evident in some way. But, I enjoyed this so much, and it read nicely as a stand alone. I will be going to read the other series.  

The World-building was interesting in that it was done by having story within a story chapters. I find that it was an info dump, but it worked fairly well in bringing the past into play, as well as explaining some of the more tactile parts of the magic system. The dream/reality line was seamless and a great way to bring more whimsey into the story. I wish more of the FMC’s magic was explained. It wasn’t used more than 3 times, and I was still not sure how often it was used outside of dealing cards. 

I liked the main characters and found them to be compelling in their journey to overcome their trauma. The FMC had such strength and grit. And the MMC was a complete softie with a hard exterior. I enjoyed the brutal truths and how the romance developed, in spite of the main characters. The side characters, while few, helped moved the plot along well. I’m hoping future books will get to know them better.

Yay for cat familiars!!!! 

Thank you NetGalley and Starwatch Press for an Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.