Title: The Witch of Willow Hall
Author: Hester Fox
Publication: 2 October 2018
Format: paperback
Something has awakened in Willow Hall. Eighteen-year-old Lydia Montrose can feel it. But she has no idea what it is.
Rocked by rumor and scandal, Lydia, her parents, and her sisters, Catherine and Emeline, fled their sparkling life in Boston for the sleepy country estate. But bone-chilling noises in the night have Lydia convinced their idyllic new home wasn’t exactly vacant when they arrived.
The Salem witch trials cast a long shadow over the Montrose family as the cloying heat of summer in Massachusetts mingles with something sinister in the air. The sprawling history of Willow Hall is no stranger to secrets, and its dark past soon calls to Lydia, igniting ancient magic she never knew she possessed. But with menacing forces unwilling to rest, threatening to tear her family apart, Lydia must learn to harness her newly discovered power or risk losing everyone she holds dear.
Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff (with a heavy emphasis on ramble-y)
This is actually my third time reading The Witch of Willow Hall. The first time was shortly after it was released and a co-worker loaned it to me when life was kicking me in all sorts of horrible places. I fell in love with it, downloaded the ebook, and ended up ordering the paperback of that and the next two Hester Fox books last October so they would be on my "forever shelves." I still have yet to read the other two (a fact that will be remedied very soon), and now there is a fourth about to be released and I already have an e-ARC thanks to the publisher and NetGalley ... and the paperback has already been pre-ordered so it can join its sisters on the shelf.
Somehow, even though this is the third read, it is the first time on The Well-Read Pirate Queen. I'm guessing that the first time I only reviewed it on the now defunct (and replaced) Goodreads account. 2018 was less than a stellar year for me and for blogging and ... just everything. The second time life was mostly splendid and I took it on vacation to read while on the bus and while waiting for my 💗 to arrive at the hotel. I probably assumed that I had oohed and aahed and teased the first time so didn't bother.
I have a pile of other books to read. Between NetGalley and the Alphabet Soup challenge and the toppling TBR (including the other books by Fox), there really isn't a good reason to be doing a re-read. Maybe The Witch of Willow Hall is my designated October book in much the same way that Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel must be read every December. We'll see what happens next year. Last night, though, I had my first "sick day" in well over two years (more likely four), and I just had the overwhelming need to revisit Willow Hall.
The third time is the charm, so they say, so to celebrate I'm not only doing the Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 (and completely disregarding what was going to be posted today and leaving it in "draft mode"), but we also get a bonus from page 156 ... because I can and it's just that good.
It's gothic and comfort. It's suspense and cozy. It's ghosts and ballrooms. It's witchcraft and faith. It's agony and hope. It's bundling up in a giant blanket with the air conditioner on full blast and the overhead fan on high because October weather in Central New York is just strange. It's bacon and peanut butter. It's all of the things that shouldn't mix well, but somehow do.
More than anything, it's wonderful. It's my designated October book.
As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.
2 comments:
It's always great to find a book that eventually becomes a comfort read. The Witch of Willow Hall seems good. I like the quotes and will add it to my Goodreads TBR. Have a great weekend!
Sounds like a great read and I love the bonus 56! Happy weekend!
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