The Witch of Willow Hall
3 Stars

To escape the gossip and rumor surrounding them, the Montrose family is forced to leave Boston and take up residence in their summer home of Willow Hall in rural New Oldbury. The three sisters, Catherine, Lydia and Emmaline, must each adjust in their own way to the changes, but ominous threats, dark secrets and horrific tragedy soon threaten the fragile peace they have found.

This book has tremendous potential. Unfortunately, the foreshadowing is too heavy-handed, which makes the plot twists obvious and the heroine is in dire need of a backbone.

***Minor Spoilers Ahead***

The story is presented from the perspective of Lydia Montrose, the middle sister, who seems to possess some mysterious abilities that can be traced back to an ancestor executed during the Salem Witch Trials. That said, the magic and witchcraft hinted at in the title are completely underdeveloped and Lydia's powers take too long to manifest. Just as her abilities begin to get interesting, the story ends.

The secondary cast is well-developed although Lydia's sister, Catherine, is one of the most selfish, narcissistic and sociopathic women one can possibly imagine. Lydia's inability to stand up to her sister's manipulative behavior undermines her character and the book as a whole.

The romance is both the strength and the weakness of the book. Its strength lies in the interactions and obvious chemistry between Lydia and her father's young business. partner, John Barrett. Nevertheless, the intensity of their connection fails to fully materialize mainly due to lack of communication and annoying misunderstandings.

Overall, the gothic elements, romance and mystery have incredible potential, but ultimately fizzle.

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The Montrose family, including sisters Catherine, Lydia and Emmaline, are leaving their Boston home in 1821 and moving to the small town of New Oldbury due to a scandal. Their father is already at Willow Hall, meant to be the family's summer home, beginning a milling business. Lydia is sad to leave her home, but after some strange events in her life, she is eager to start afresh in New Oldbury. Lydia finds solace in being able to tend to her own herb garden and spends time with their neighbor, John Barrett. However, there seems to be spirits lurking in Willow Hall that call to Lydia and her younger sister Emmaline. While Catherine is busy trying to find a husband, Lydia's power is growing and the spirit of an ancestor hung at the Salem Witch is trying to help her. After a series of tragedies rocks the Montrose family, Lydia must decide to use her powers to pull everyone back together or seek revenge and risk another scandal.

The Witch of Willow Hall is an atmospheric historic gothic story of a young woman finding herself. From the start when Lydia shares a memory of a boy next door, I wanted to figure out the mystery of her abilities. The writing creates a mysterious air around all of New Oldbury and Willow Hall itself. It's clear that something has happened there and that spirits still remain. While most of the story focuses on Catherine and Lydia's strained relationship, it gives a basis for Lydia's emotions and intent when she learns to harness her power. I found Catherine's character to be really interesting and wanted to know more about what drove her actions and decisions. It was really interesting to see what decisions the family made. Lydia's abilities didn't seem like they were the main focus of the story amidst all of the family drama; however everything seemed to come together in the end.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

What an intriguing read! When the Montrose family was forced by scandal to uproot their lives and flee the city, I at first thought to myself that surely it could not have been that severe, after all what was not considered scandalous in those days? The scandal itself is a bit of a mystery, and there are hints that it may have been caused by Lydia or by Catherine, but either way I could not wait to find out what it was. Once settled in their new home it seems that gossip has followed them, and sadly a tragedy is not far behind. The relationship between the sisters held me spellbound. For having been raised by the same parents in the same home, they could not have wound up more different from each other. This was a captivating work of historical fiction with a gothic ghost story feel, complete with heroes to cheer for and villains that I took delight in hating.

I received an advance copy for review. ( )

Spooky, atmospheric, and romantic- just the way I like it! ( )

It’s not a story filled with witches...witchcraft...spell casting...or broomstick riding hags... and not a black cat in sight. Almost from the very first it is filled with quiet, unsettling terror. I actually found myself holding my breath at times....and very few things in books or movies scare me anymore. If your horror includes authors like Simone St. James and Kate Morton, and early Stephen King...when child eating clowns lived in the sewers...you might be adding Hester Fox to that list when you finish this one. It’s a gothic mystery mixed with a bit of romance and horror. A tragedy with lies...loss... and love... but most importantly...it’s one woman’s tale of discovering that there’s more to herself than she could ever have known. I just wished that Lynda had learned sooner that you can’t save them all. ( )