Henderson’s writing is a thing of beauty. It is, at once, harrowing and seductive in ways that Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, for example, has never quite attained. Where that show chose to broadly sexualize its characters almost by force, Henderson chose to give Immanuelle agency over her sexuality and ties an inherent power to her choices. This is a fantasy that’s different than most others I’ve read in the genre. It’s definitely an adult fantasy, so keep that in mind when making comparisons, but I feel like it still had a differing tone. Much of the plot moves like historical fiction, likely based on a specific historical time period (I am bad at identifying stuff like this), even though this world is an invented one. The inhabitants of Bethel are terrified of all things magical and actively shun it. So the only time that Immanuelle is able to access magic is primarily when she ventures outside of her community. As a result, I think many of the non-magic portions of the book felt slower comparatively, which led to an uneven pacing at times. She gets her dead mother's journal from one of those witches and learns that her little town is in for a hot mess. She starts kinda poking around and realizes that she might have to be the one to save the town. I do not know if I would bother because to be honest...the town is full of turds and a crazy ass preacher man. The setting is haunting beautiful and creepy that adds a deliciously bleak and eerie feel to the story with the danger that lurks in the Darkwoods. we follow immanuelle as she tries to explore her own heritage while resisting the mysterious calls of the witches from the wood… until a deathly curse sinks its claws into bethel.

I know, bold statement. I might be tempted to revoke my claim later, but for now can we talk about how bloody PHENOMENAL and REVOLUTIONARY this terrifying wtichy culty puritanical tale is???? Yes, this book is the sh*t I want everyone to rave about.Immanuelle wished she could feel the way her grandmother did, but sitting there in the pew, all she felt was the residual warmth of the lamb's blood on her lips and the incessant drone of her heartbeat. No angels roosted at her shoulders. No spirit or god stirred in her. The imagery of this book was amazing!!! I could literally picture everything, as dark and disturbing as they were, in my head. As much as I loved it, it felt like Henderson focused more on this aspect than giving us more in the plot. The story was amazing, but I just needed MORE. I can’t explain it exactly, just know that I needed MORE.

While these arguments are certainly necessary to the plot, it felt as though there were times when Henderson was unsure how to end them. This does not hurt the story, but it does feel as though it trips over its own feet here and there. While doing so, we are exposed to the many injustices against women and just how corrupted the Prophet and his league of apostles are. There are themes of race, gender, poverty, complex family dynamics, witchcraft, and religion blended into the story. 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. Some of the insights into Immanuelle's Mom made me sad. I felt for Immanuelle. She definitely was not dealt an easy hand. Reading of her overcoming and finding her power within herself was definitely satisfying though.

Jenna Ortega Drops Out of ‘Scream VII’

Lukewarm protagonist. I never really got a solid sense of Immanuelle as a character, to be honest. A huge part of this is that I didn’t buy her transformation from a conformist good girl to a witchy rebel. She moves from passive to reactive to active with not much internal growth to match it, so it was not a compellingly or convincingly written psychological process to me. I think it would have been much for effective for her to start out the story already rebellious and chafing under Bethel’s constraints. I received The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review Growing up in the town of Bethel, where the Prophet rules, Immanuelle tries to follow the father, she tries to worship, be devoted, submissive and conform as all the women of the village do. Until one day, fate brings her into the Darkwood, a forbidden place where the spirits of dead witches live, witches who give her a journal that once belonged to her Mother....

Immanuelle Moore kept her silence for years, trying to stay head above the water, living at the outskirts with her disgraced family because her mother’s disobedience ruined their family name, suffering from poverty, obeying the rules of their community. Prophet’s each word is the law because he’s holly man even though he is the pure definition of sexual predator seduces under aged girls and having a heavenly polygamous marriage life (Prophet reminds of a mean and ruthless cult leader but as the society keeps the silence and obeys the rules nothing can go wrong!?) The blond girl, Hope, who had called to Leah, piped up first. "You two look like you're making the most of your day." If Leah was aware of Immanuelle's many transgressions, she made no mention of them. Instead, she waved her off with a flourish of the hand. "Sins can be forgiven. When the Good Father sees fit, you will bleed. And after you bleed, a man will take you up, then you will be his and he will be yours, and everything will be as it should be."This is a beautiful, powerful, important book, and I hugely recommend it." - Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of The Unkindest Tide Thrillingly brisk and bracing . . . it takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist.' A] bewitching feminist fantasy...Henderson offers a powerful portrait of patriarchal, racial, and religious abuses in Bethel society, conjuring a sense of creeping dread and maintaining the pacing throughout. This riveting work announces Henderson as an exciting new voice in dark fantasy." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Leah laughed, a loud, pretty sound that drew gazes. She had a way of doing that. "And what if a man offers his hand?" And Leah was right: It was a good day. It would have been nearly a perfect day, if not for the fact that it was one of the last of its kind, one of the last Sabbaths they would have together. Immanuelle tries to follow holy protocol and confess all her sins, however, she is lured into the forbidden Darkwood where she is gifted a diary from the woods inhabitants. This diary is written by her long deceased mother and immanuelle is fascinated but also frightful of the confessions of her mother and her consort with the witches. A haunting, unique read I couldn't put down—a story that cuts to the heart." - Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tempests and SlaughterThe Year of the Witching is Alexis Henderson’s debut novel, but you’d never know it…. The story is enchanting, enticing, enthralling, enigmatic.”–Tor.com It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “ You Like It Darker,”suggests the author is giving readers something more. Has a classic setup but updates the olde puritanical tale to deal with issues of racism and sexism."-- The Washington Post A thrillingly brisk and bracing tale of magic and power, I loved this book. It takes the best tropes of horror and witchcraft and gives them a refreshingly feminist twist.”– S.A. Chakraborty, National bestselling author of The Daevabad Trilogy