The Witch of Willow Hall

The Witch of Willow Hall is not what I expected. I wanted a mysterious story with witches using their magic and ghosts creeping about the place. Instead, it turned out to be more of a strange romance novel. Catherine is a mean spirited and selfish woman who seems slightly off balance. She does not care how her actions reflect on her family or what must be done to clean up her messes (of which there are many). If her sister, Lydia has something, then Catherine will take it away. As they grow up, it becomes suitors. Catherine does not want Lydia to have any joy in her life and goes out of her way to make her miserable. Lydia and John Barrett’s relationship was frustrating. Lydia is awkward with him which leads to miscommunication, misunderstandings and outright rudeness. The unlikeable characters lacked development and the dialogue did not suit the era. I enjoyed the authors descriptions that helped me to visualize the story. However, the pacing was slow and then it becomes sluggish. The story is vague in the beginning with details slowly being revealed (if you stick with it that long). It all comes together in the end when disturbing information is revealed. I did find the last quarter of The Witch of Willow Hall to be the best. The story wraps up quickly at the end and some issues were left unresolved. The Witch of Willow Hall had potential. I wish the author had focused on the paranormal elements. If they had been developed, it could have made for an intriguing tale. As you can tell, The Witch of Willow Hall was not a pleasant reading experience for me.

This book starts with a bit of darkness that hints at more darkness to come. On that scale, it did deliver. The story gets plenty dark as secrets are revealed, but not in the form I expected. In all honesty, I had a hard time deciphering exactly what this book is about. Once Lydia and family reach Willow Hall, it has a Gothic feel, complete with some creepy ghosts and even a few cryptic warnings for Lydia. Lydia's magic is mentioned, but we only actually see it three or four times, and it all happens very quickly. Between those instances, there's a load of sibling rivalry with Lydia's oldest sister, Catherine, a sinister death, a broken engagement, a new love interest, and threats to reveal the family's secrets. Granted, there are several compelling scenes throughout the book and this is not your typical family, but on the whole, the story tends to ramble through different plot lines and the day to day life of the family. Everything does eventually come together, but it certainly takes a long and twisting path to get there. The descriptions of Willow Hall and surrounding areas are vivid, but the dialogue often seems more akin to modern day than of the early 19th century setting. In the end, I did finish the book, but found it a bit frustrating to get through at times.

Forced to leave Boston for their country estate of Willow Hall, Lydia Montrose and her family are in crisis. The scandals that ran them out of Boston society didn’t stay in Boston as perhaps some hoped, but followed them to the country. Of course, changing location never really changes people who have no intention of it – and Lydia sees that quite clearly as her sister Catherine is even more tied to her selfishness, her mother is more invested in ‘how we do things’ for public consumption than ever, and Lydia, the peacemaker and in the constant line of fire to mediate family tensions is slowly and surely starting to bend under the weight of her family dysfunction. There is a legend that surrounds Willow Hall, and things that go bump in the night, and when Lydia comes to see a long-buried connection to the now-famed witch trials, her own dormant and unknown talents are stirred. This is not a story about a witch casting her spell, but one of scandal that then pushes all of the skeletons out of the family closet. It is a story of relationships and characters, some developing, some stagnating in their old patterns that worked so well for them in the past. The real growth here comes from Lydia and her recognition of just how dysfunctional her family actually is, and what she has done, and continues to do, to hold the family ‘together’ in one form or another. With the addition of a romantic interest for her, and her sister Catherine’s ongoing need to ‘win’ in every situation, the brooding yet kind John Barrett actually notices Lydia, long the unnoticed one in the family, and their interactions stir and strengthen her own sense of value and ability. An interesting connection that plays on his secrets, Lydia’s uncovering of family secrets, her own new awareness of something “other’ within her and the gradual fracturing of the ties that bind this family together as more is revealed, the story is a slow-to-develop yet always intriguing series of moments as light is shown into corners and the secrets that hide like shadows come to light. I’ve seen comparisons to Wuthering Heights and others in that same gothic vein, but for me, this was ultimately a truly tragic tale of a family being attacked by its own secrets, as it clutches desperately to appearances and trying, unsuccessfully, to push the jam back into the jar. Outstanding for the deft characterization of Lydia, who spends most of the time trying to play middleman and soother for the family, and her realization that she is so much more, and needs not be defined by the boxes in which her family has placed her. Gothic in feel and tone, characters that feel real and plausible, and a solid nod to the history of New England and its often troubled relationship with witchcraft and the spectre of the trials from the 1600’s, this is a debut that is both intriguing and well-crafted, and while not overloaded with supernatural or witchcraft elements, the layers and threads all tie together in a lovely package. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.