The Ravenswood Witch - Jenni Keer - ★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Jenni Keer
GENRE: Historical Fantasy
PUBLICATION DATE: September 30, 2024
RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A historical Gothic mystery with paranormal shades. Jane Eyre vibes, but with added eeriness. Great atmosphere, good plot and twist, decent characters, slowburn. Could have worked even better with more depth to the characters and more detailing of some plot points.

Plot Preview:
1885. When a young woman, trying to escape from the police, bumps into a stranger and breaks her ankle, little does she know that life as she knew it will change forever. To her surprise, the man, Marcus Greybourne, convinces the policeman that she is his reclusive wife. He takes her back to his home, the crumbling Ravenswood Hall, and tells her that he will keep her safe if she agrees to the charade and pretends to be his wife Luna, who seems to be nowhere around. The new “Luna” has no choice but to agree. But she soon realises that the woman she is impersonating is known locally as the Ravenswood Witch, and is despised as an immoral and mad woman who dabbled in the dark arts. The home, with its myriad scratches and marks, also bears signs of her. What has “Luna” gotten herself into? Did she escape one fate to jump into a more dire one?  
The story comes to us from two timelines in the third-person perspectives of “Luna”.


In my review of ‘No. 23 Burlington Square’, the only other book I’ve read of this author, I wrote the following line: “Imaginative in concept, somewhat slow in progress, interesting in plot development, okay in character development.” The exact same feedback is applicable even this time around. 


Bookish Yays:
✨ The two timelines are equally gripping. Each has enough drama to contribute to the story.

✨ The connection between the two narratives is great, with one outstanding twist. I won't go into details for fear of spoilers, but will just say that this redeemed the book in my eyes to a great extent.

✨ The atmosphere is excellent. This is a Gothic mystery with a Gothic house and spooky woods around it, and the author makes great use of both these locations. 

✨ The book straddles multiple genres: historical, dark fantasy, mystery, romance. Thankfully, it has its priorities in the right order, with the dark magic and the mystery dominating over the historical and the romance.

✨ There are plenty of intriguing characters in the book who aren’t ‘good’ but ‘grey’.  Whether major character or minor, it is tricky to guess whom to trust or root for. Those who prefer likeable characters might not enjoy the book, but complex and conniving characters work better for me. 

✨ Not everyone gets their due by the end, no matter what horrible deed they committed. If you prefer neat endings with justice for all, this might irk you. I liked the more realistic approach towards the depiction of how justice works in real life.

✨ Though the lead pair is in a romantic situation, romance isn't at the forefront of the story, and the spice content is at the minimal level. 

✨ Bran the raven – always love it when animals are used well in the plot.


Bookish Mixed Bags:
🔮 “Luna” is intriguing as a character. All the issues in her arc get clarified after the link between the two narratives is established. But her dedication to being called ‘Luna” felt like it went too far, especially at the start. 

🔮 Marcus being out of the scene for a great chunk of the first half doesn’t help us to see the connection form between him and “Luna”. But the chemistry between them feels fairly convincing in the second half, even though the foundation of the relationship is weird.

🔮 The writing is quite character-driven, which is both a pro and a con. The proceedings are more focussed on introspection than action for much of the story. As such, we get to know “Luna” decently thanks to her third-person perspective. But some of the other characters’ motivations and past actions could have been detailed out better.

🔮 Guessing the antagonist’s identity is easy, but it is not so easy to guess the mystery in its entirety.

🔮 The pacing is slow, which is somewhat expected in a character-oriented narrative. But the middle section is too repetitive, and hence feels dragged. 

🔮 The witchcraft and dark magic adds just enough of intrigue and mystery to the plot. However, I wasn’t convinced by how the fake Luna knew so much about the witchy symbols and objects used in dark magic. 

🔮 I am not so comfortable with the mental illness rep in the story, though it does align with the beliefs of the time period.

🔮 There is much animal brutality, though I do acknowledge that a story with elements of dark magic often resorts to this content. 


Bookish Nays:
💥 The original Luna’s character had so much potential but the writing leaves her quite vague and shallow. Adding more depth to her character would have enhanced this novel. 

💥 The ending is too smooth and rushed, and has many convenient explanations to tie the pending arcs neatly. Though the main points are explained well, I needed more answers. Some of the creepier events are left unexplained. 

💥 Something in the dialogues makes the lines feel anachronistic, though I can’t put my finger on the exact reason. I remember saying the same thing in my review of ‘No. 23 Burlington Square’. 

All in all, this is a good read for the spooky season, as long as you can suspend disbelief and go with the flow. The slow pace and the questionable character decisions at the start weren’t appealing, but once the timelines connected, the twist saved the book for me. The facts that it was less of a romance and more focussed on the Gothic mystery components also worked in my favour.

Recommended to readers who like complex characters, atmospheric storytelling, and don’t mind slowburn stories and characters getting away with bad behaviour. 

My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for a complimentary copy of 'The Ravenswood Witch' via NetGalley, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

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Blurb:

‘There are a lot of shadows at Ravenswood, so you will need to be strong…’

The year is 1885 and a young woman is on the run, knowing if she’s caught, she’ll be hanged for murder. Moments from a safe haven, she collides with a gruff stranger, falling and breaking her ankle.

To her surprise, the man – Marcus Greybourne – convinces the local constable that she is his reclusive wife of ten years, Luna. He carries her back to the neglected and crumbling Ravenswood Hall, promising if she agrees to maintain this charade, he will keep her safe until her injuries have healed.

But the house is haunted by shadows and secrets. What’s more, the real Luna Greybourne is missing, without trace. Scratches and marks made by her around the house suggest witchcraft; and indeed Luna is known locally as the Ravenswood Witch; her reputation in tatters, like the wallpapers of the padlocked rooms she’d destroyed.

As strange happenings in the house continue, outside the screech of a raven echoes across oppressive woods that seem alive with dark magic. And the woman who is now pretending to be Luna can’t help but fear she’s escaped the noose for a far more terrible fate…

A completely compelling and unforgettable historical bookclub read – fans of Jane Eyre, Weyward and The Binding will be utterly spellbound.

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Author Jenni Keer:

Jenni Keer is the well-reviewed author of historical romances, often with a mystery at their heart. Most recently published by Headline and shortlisted for the 2023 RNA Historical Romantic Novel of the Year.

Connect with her on:



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This has been a stop on the #TheRavenswoodWitch blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!


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