The Witchwood Knot is an intriguing blend of gothic romance and cozy horror taking place several decades after the events of Atwater's previous series, the Regency Faerie Tales. The story follows Winnifred Hall, who has recently taken a job as governess of an unruly young nobleman but has her work cut out for her since the manor turns out to be haunted and she'll need all of her considerable skills and intellect to keep her young charge out of trouble.

I wasn't entirely sure how I'd feel about this one since I didn't love Half a Soul and had been unsure about continuing with that series. As a side note, while I think you can certainly read this without having read those, I actually regretted not finishing that series first since there are some characters/history in common. Happily, Witchwood Knot was one of those atmospheric fae stories that I knew within the first chapter that I would love.

This is considerably darker than Half a Soul and has very strong Labyrinth vibes and I was really delighted by the darker take on fae and the clear influence of Atwater's deep love of fairy tales. And while I'm not always someone who loves a strong focus on themes, I really appreciated the way that Atwater spoke about the dangerous position that someone of Winnifred's station could be in around men who could easily take advantage. And yet Winnie never felt powerless, she had to navigate a world where she had less overt power and find ways to protect herself and did so admirably. I also really loved the way that the romance was handled and the strong focus on consent and power balances.

As someone who enjoys cozy stories really only when there's an element of danger or threat that might cause others to feel like they're not cozy enough, The Witchwood Knot perfectly struck that balance. If you like T. Kingfisher's blend of dark and cozy, a heavy focus on fae and fairy tales with a bit of a very slow-burn romance, I'd definitely recommend picking this up. I feel certain already that it'll feature in my favorites of the year.