Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Witchwood Knot

I really enjoyed this book! The Gothic vibes are absolutely fantastic. It gives Brönte vibes so well, but somehow still has Atwater's coziness similar to her other books. How she does it with such a dark Gothic atmosphere is beyond me.

I really loved the characters. Winnie is such a great character! She is so strong in herself and acts for the best of others despite her fears. I would have loved even more of her character. Mr. Quincy is also a fantastic character - I loved the mystery around him, and learning more about him. Of course, Robert grows on you as his character grows, and everyone should love Cook - such a badass! The true hero and stealer of the scenes though has to be Oliver!

This book deals with such dark material, but I loved the way that it was done. The discussions of fears, the music and the piano playing a role in the reveals, and of course the faerie tales used to slowly reveal pieces of the story and the character's pasts. I also love that we got to see some familiar characters. I haven't read all of Atwater's books, only Half a Soul - which I absolutely adored - so I'm not sure if other characters show up. I think one is mentioned. I am hoping we get more stories in this world, especially as I want to learn more about Clarimonde and Bellamira!

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kwthor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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saltycoffee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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porcupine_girl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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ceruleanshelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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

gothic fantasy romance fairy tale? say less.

atwater never fails to write engaging and driving stories with its victorian charm and aesthetic - and this one has the addition of an eery, spooky vibe. i loved winnifred as a scheming, clever magician who's quickly learned how to carefully manipulate her way around faeries - and the real world.

there are mentions of and connections to characters from the regency faerie tales, so while i rec reading them it's not necessary.

“Innocence is so offensive, isn't it?" he asked her finally. "It is never content in its existence. It must force itself upon the rest of the world, insisting that true horror is a fiction.”

i can't wait for the next book. if you want a summerween or spooky season read, add this to your list!

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rhall19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ceebee86's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

A really solid book.
I found that I did not give it a perfect 5 because some parts in the first half felt like such a slog.
But this thing is really Victorian gothic to the core.

I really do appreciate the theme of SA survival. I could feel the familiar nausea in Winnie as she was experiencing it herself in the story.

Winnie as a whole was pleasant to read actually. Her cleverness and humanity shine through. Not all authors can write a clever character.

I also really liked the “telling a fairy tale” format that was used for expositional moments. It made it feel like the vibe wasn't abruptly halted to explain something.

What brought this rating way up was the love interest. The development he went through and the way his character evolves as he comes to love Winnie was absolutely perfect to my tastes.

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lifewithloopy's review against another edition

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3.75

I enjoyed this book quite a bit and wanted to give it 4 stars. My reason for knocking off the quarter star is that there are some repetitive descriptions of one of the main supporting characters. That detail can get a little tedious.

Otherwise, this is a fun read with an alternative take on the Gothic Romance genre. To be honest, I was over half way through the book before anything overtly romantic happened. The romance is pretty restrained, closer to something thing in Victorian-era novels, which I really appreciated.

If you saw 'faeries' and 'romance' and thought of ACOTAR, you're going to be disappointed. This book is not that. I think if you liked Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, you might like this book.

I'm interested to see where this world goes and will be reading Rosemary & Thyme when it comes out.

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