Olivia Atwater

A Victorian governess matches wits with Witchwood Manor's sinister faerie butler in this darkly whimsical faerie tale, set in the world of Atwater's Half a Soul. A gothic fantasy romance with an enemies-to-lovers twist.

The Witchwood Knot

Victorian governess Winifred Hall knows a con when she sees one. When her bratty young charge transforms overnight into a perfectly behaved block of wood, she soon realises that the real boy has been abducted by the Fair Folk. Unfortunately, the lord of Witchwood Manor is the only man in England who doesn’t believe in faeries—which leaves Winnie in the unenviable position of rescuing the young lord-to-be all by herself. 
 
Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, however, and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious faerie butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot through wit and cleverness… but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust? 

Atwater has really stepped up her game on this one. The writing is lovely as ever, the premise is incredibly crafted, and the horror themes that have been added really elevate the story. I loved every page of this, and I cannot wait to read the next book. 

Floofyflower

Olivia Atwater returns to the world of Half a Soul with a “sharp and beautiful gothic romance” (Alix E. Harrow). Dive into The Witchwood Knot, and enjoy a dark faerie tale set in a magical version of Victorian England. The faeries of Witchwood Manor have stolen its young lord. His governess intends to steal him back. Victorian governess Winifred Hall knows a con when she sees one. When her bratty young charge transforms overnight into a perfectly behaved block of wood, she soon realises that the real boy has been abducted by the Fair Folk. Unfortunately, the lord of Witchwood Manor is the only man in England who doesn’t believe in faeries—which leaves Winnie in the unenviable position of rescuing the young lord-to-be all by herself. Witchwood Manor is bigger than its inhabitants realise, however, and full of otherworldly dangers. As Winnie delves deeper into the other side of the house, she enlists the aid of its dark and dubious faerie butler, Mr Quincy, who hides several awful secrets behind his charming smile. Winnie hopes to make her way to the centre of the Witchwood Knot through wit and cleverness… but when all of her usual tricks fail, who will she dare to trust? Praise for The Witchwood Knot “The Witchwood Knot is the gothic fantasy romance of my dreams. There aren't enough superlatives for me to convey how much I loved its uniquely elegant prose, eerie setting, clever heroine, gorgeously dangerous faerie butler, and basically every single thing about the entire book. It is an immediate addition to the list of My All-Time Favourite Books, upon which Atwater's Half A Soul also resides.” —India Holton, author of The Secret Service of Tea and Treason "The Witchwood Knot is my favorite Atwater book yet—which is saying something. A sharp and beautiful gothic romance that understands exactly what I love best about both of those genres: that everyone gets what they deserve." —Alix E. Harrow, NYT-bestselling author of Starling House “The Witchwood Knot is stuffed with all the best Gothic Victorian haunted manor vibes, with unexpected love, ancient magic, and a truly bone-chilling monster. Winnie is a brave, hard-nosed, complex heroine you can't resist rooting for.” —Jacquelyn Benson, author of Empire of Shadows

*A dark and twisted Victorian fairytale with an indomitable lead character*

 is the first in a spinoff series from the 

 series. The story is about a no-nonsense woman named Winifred Hall who arrives to fill the governess post at a creepy, remote English mansion called Witchwood Manor. But she has a secret agenda to investigate the faerie happenings there. Soon Winnie is trapped in the topsy-turvy world of faerie magic, changelings, and malevolent forces.

“We are now in faerie, where one must walk a wild path. This world devours those who are too bold—but those who hide and refuse to take risks are also taken unaware by danger.”

I've enjoyed Atwater's other books, but at this point I just don't think any of them will be able to match the perfection of 

, but the first Atwater book I read set too high of a bar for all of the subsequent books.

“It was somewhat flattering, Winnie realized, to be considered as a worthy opponent, instead of as a woman.”

This could have used a bit more character development. I liked Winnie, but she was very reserved which made it hard to get to know her. I still had a lot of questions about her by the end. Nevertheless, Winnie’s strength and tenacity made me root for her the whole way. And her awesome ghost cat made up for most of my quibbles.

“‘The world would be more comfortable without us, Miss Hall,’” he said.

‘But I have never troubled myself overmuch with making other people comfortable. I would rather carry a knife.’”

Like many gothic novels, there was a dubious love interest. I had missed feeling about him, but I can’t go into much of that without spoilers. But there were some swoony moments. Also, he had a rat tail. Not the hair - a literal rat tail. The romance is only a subplot though not the focus of the story.

The writing was a great combination of lyrical description and moments of wonderful snarkiness.

“‘Well… I would be awfully embarrassed to die of silly fainting spell when I could die annoying some undying evil instead,’ she offered, suddenly cheerful once again.”

I’m not sure I would exactly label this as Gothic Horror. It is a little spooky and certainly has that gothic atmosphere. But it wasn’t particularly scary. The scariest part was the controlling, abusive men. The story dealt a lot with misogyny and women’s expected role in society and lack of control over their own lives. I’ll include content warnings for misogyny, sexual assault, pedophilia, kidnapping.

“I am still not afraid of you - I am not even afraid of being desired. I am simply afraid of what desire becomes whenever I dare to decline it.”

, I did enjoy it overall. And I look forward to the next book in the series.

Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars

Colleen

4 Stars

*A dark and twisted Victorian fairytale with an indomitable lead character*


The Witchwood Knot is the first in a spinoff series from the Regency Faerie Tales series. The story is about a no-nonsense woman named Winifred Hall who arrives to fill the governess post at a creepy, remote English mansion called Witchwood Manor. But she has a secret agenda to investigate the faerie happenings there. Soon Winnie is trapped in the topsy-turvy world of faerie magic, changelings, and malevolent forces.

“We are now in faerie, where one must walk a wild path. This world devours those who are too bold—but those who hide and refuse to take risks are also taken unaware by danger.”


I've enjoyed Atwater's other books, but at this point I just don't think any of them will be able to match the perfection of Half a Soul. Don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed The Witchwood Knot, but the first Atwater book I read set too high of a bar for all of the subsequent books.

“It was somewhat flattering, Winnie realized, to be considered as a worthy opponent, instead of as a woman.”


This could have used a bit more character development. I liked Winnie, but she was very reserved which made it hard to get to know her. I still had a lot of questions about her by the end. Nevertheless, Winnie’s strength and tenacity made me root for her the whole way. And her awesome ghost cat made up for most of my quibbles.

“‘The world would be more comfortable without us, Miss Hall,’” he said.
‘But I have never troubled myself overmuch with making other people comfortable. I would rather carry a knife.’”


Like many gothic novels, there was a dubious love interest. I had missed feeling about him, but I can’t go into much of that without spoilers. But there were some swoony moments. Also, he had a rat tail. Not the hair - a literal rat tail. The romance is only a subplot though not the focus of the story.

The writing was a great combination of lyrical description and moments of wonderful snarkiness.

“‘Well… I would be awfully embarrassed to die of silly fainting spell when I could die annoying some undying evil instead,’ she offered, suddenly cheerful once again.”


I’m not sure I would exactly label this as Gothic Horror. It is a little spooky and certainly has that gothic atmosphere. But it wasn’t particularly scary. The scariest part was the controlling, abusive men. The story dealt a lot with misogyny and women’s expected role in society and lack of control over their own lives. I’ll include content warnings for misogyny, sexual assault, pedophilia, kidnapping.

“I am still not afraid of you - I am not even afraid of being desired. I am simply afraid of what desire becomes whenever I dare to decline it.”


Though I had some nitpickings about The Witchwood Knot, I did enjoy it overall. And I look forward to the next book in the series.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

A gothic tale with great characters and excellent pacing and development. I adore Olivia’s work for her blend of light-touch romance, fascinating heroines and her way of writing faeries. Brilliant world and I wish I had more of it.

The Witchwood Knot

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