Books › Year of the Witching
Year of the Witching
368 pages
A claustrophobic, blood-soaked descent into a dark wood where female rage blooms into terrifying power.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like walking into a dense, shadowy forest where the air is thick with unspoken threats. It wraps you in a suffocating atmosphere of religious dread and patriarchal control, making you feel the protagonist's claustrophobia in your own chest. The prose is visceral and gothic, painting a world of blood, dirt, and bone that is as beautiful as it is horrifying. As the story unfolds, the initial simmering tension ignites into a blazing, cathartic exploration of female rage and generational trauma. It is a deeply satisfying, dark read for anyone who loves watching a righteous fire burn down a corrupt, hypocritical system. You will leave it feeling both chilled and fiercely empowered.
- Mood
- claustrophobic
- dread-soaked
- eerie
- atmospheric
- Tone
- ominous
- righteous
- unflinching
- feminist
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- religious hypocrisy · female rage · generational trauma · dismantling oppressive systems · reclaiming power
- The writing
- Lush, visceral, and steeped in gothic imagery that makes the blood, dirt, and bone feel tangible.
- The arc
- Moves from suffocating subjugation and quiet fear to a terrifying, righteous reclamation of power.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave dark, atmospheric tales of female vengeance and the dismantling of patriarchal cults.
Content notes
- religious abuse
- misogyny
- gore
- animal death
- racism
About the book
A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.
In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.
But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.
Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.
Description from Open Library.
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