The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater – Review

Published: November 28, 2023

Publisher: Starwatch Press

Series: Victorian Faerie Tales #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 330 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.25 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
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?

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It’s absolutely wonderful to return to Olivia Atwater’s fantastical England, filled with magic and the Fair Folk. The Witchwood Knot is set in the same world as her Regency Faerie Tales series, though set years later in the Victorian era (hence the series title, Victorian Faerie Tales).  This story follows Winifred Hall, who has just arrived at Witchwood Manor to become the governess. Winnie was hired by the dowager Lady Longfell, who was kind to Winnie as a child and knows of the magic she possesses. 

Witchwood Manor is made from the witchwood trees that originally grew on the property. You can’t just cut down trees beloved by the Fair Folk and the manor is cursed. Even the servants won’t stay, aside from a few brave folks like Cook. Winnie was called in to be not just the governess, but to hopefully break the curse and protect the dowager’s young grandson from the fae until he’s able to go off to school in the autumn. Each night those who sleep at Witchwood are pulled into a pocket realm of the fae world called the Witchwood Knot, which seems to be as much a curse to the fae who dwell there as it is to the humans residing in the manor. There are screaming faces in the walls and Mr. Quincy, the not-butler, will play cards with truthful answers as the prize.

The plot is actually quite dark, which is a change from the previous series which for the most part felt kinder and cozier. While this story does have a smidge of a romance plot it mostly focuses on unravelling the Witchwood Knot and solving what turns out to be a much graver situation than initially expected. Young Master Robert is taken by the fae while his father manages to be a thorough creep toward Winnie at every turn. She unfortunately has dealt with men who think they can own a thing merely because they lust for it before so she was on guard from the very first meeting. 

This was a very good story and I didn’t want to put it down once I finally got the chance to read it! I’m very much looking forward to the next book and hope it focuses on one of Winnie’s sisters, who each have their own skill in magic.