Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

This was my first Brom book and I absolutely loved it. The ambience was amazing and I liked the characters a lot. Also, the drawings are beautiful and help immerse you further in the story. Its now one of my favourite horror books!

An Englishwoman called Abitha is shipped to a Puritan colony to marry a stranger. However, she becomes suddenly widowed when her husband goes missing and presumed dead. Now that she is all alone, her brother in law is determined to reclaim the land and the farm that belonged to his brother. Abitha will question and challenge her pious and patriarchal foundations of the community and its citizens with her wild resolution and the help of Slewfoot, the powerful spirit recently awaken trying to reconcile its past and its present to find what its purpose is. Will Abitha and Slewfoot be capable of finding their place in the devout town of Sutton?Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5Historical fiction is not my genre but every now and then I find a book that reminds me that reading outside your comfort zone is very gratifying.Slewfoot is dark, mysterious, magical, fantastic and so very tragic and upsetting. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that a great deal of bad things were going to happen to Abitha because this book is about witchery and we all know what happened to witches in colonial times. However, this book still managed to rattle me.This is the first book by this author that I read and I can’t praise enough the quality of the female characters in this story. Abitha will always have a special place in my heart because despite all the challenges and all the ordeal that the men in this town threw at her she NEVER broke. Her fierce spirit and stout determination never waver and even at the very end she still fought for what she believed was right.On the other hand, Slewfoot is a beautiful character and I could talk about him for hours but we don’t have time for it.Both Abitha and Samson are the perfect example that fanaticism and blind devotion can turn people into something worse than the monster they say they fear.

9/10 ⭐️ 0/5 🌶️This book is a spiritual read with creatures, spirits, and animals taking in new roles to protect Mother Earth. I went into this read not knowing what to expect other than- puritan women gets tempted by the alleged Devil to aid her in her struggles. She is devout, but also pays homage to Mother Earth and all that she has to offer. It was a fun story with unexpected twists and turns that had me reading non-stop. PERFECT read for Halloween and All Hallows Eve.Set in Puritan America’s in the 1600s. After her mothers death in London, Abitha is sold by her drunk father to become a Puritan wife of a settler in the Americas. She is lucky to have a husband who understands her and is forward thinking in allowing her to partner with him in work and business. However, the partnership is not meant to be as a tragic end to her husband, Edward, leaves Abitha alone left to fend off her greedy brother-in-law and his attempts to take the farm back from her. Abitha is determined to do all the work and have the land to herself, at any means possible.As a new hybrid creature approaches her without malice or ill-will, she finds herself questioning who and what God is and the role he plays in everyday lives.*********************Before reading the following quotes from the book- KNOW THAT THERE COULD BE POTENTIAL SPOILERS.*************—-NOT THE “RUIN THE BOOK FOR YOUR SPOILERS” BUT none the less, may give parts away.*************—-DONT go further unless you’re ok with possible plot portions revealed.********************last chance********************Quotes & Highlights“Abitha, I could not bear it should anything happen to you, that is all I am trying to say. I cannot be alone… not again.”“It is her place to speak up in all manners to do with Edwards holdings…. And if that mean standing toe to toe with you, then it is her right.”“Be brave, Abitha. Listen to your heart. Learn to trust yourself”“The skull showed you A truth. That which the mask wanted you to see. But sometimes here are many truths.”“I am the Father of the wild folk, the guardian of Mother Earth. I am the Shepard and I am the slayer. I am life and I am death”“But you should know that I’d you take this blood… there will be more blood. Mother Earth resurrected me to protect her, and I intend to slaughter any who threaten her or her children. If you walk with the beast you become the beast. That is the choice before you.”“One by one the eyes began to shut, their light to fade, and just before the last eye closed, just before total darkness took her, Abitha had a final thought. God, I am you, and you are me.”

Beautifully told, richly researched. Satisfying ending! I love the way this story unfolds and reveals itself to the reader. Great.

I wanted to really love this book especially since it had such good reviews. The issue was that it was immensely slow. The end is what really kept me going and feverishly turning pages. It has a good story, good descriptions of the characters and the setting.

My first BROM and wow! Excellent writing, such vivid imagery! And I love the illustrations! Had the pleasure of seeing him in Savannah this year and thrilled to read my first of his. I can’t wait to read more. I love Abitha and Samson! So much hardship but the ending was perfection. Can’t wait to read more.

What a refreshing and well written tale. The outcome was delightful and now I will grab another book by this author.

That was an INTENSE read, mostly because of the realistic, historically accurate depiction of the witch trials, showing just how horrifying they were.