Review: The Bitterwine Oath by Hannah West

The Bitterwine Oath

by Hannah West

December 1, 2020
320 pages

Goodreads Summary:

Every fifty years, a cult claims twelve men to murder in a small Texas town. Can one girl end the cycle of violence - and save the boy who broke her heart?

"A richly woven tale of magic and murder and vengeance. This book kept me up all night! One of the best stories I've read all year." - Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep

San Solano, Texas, is a quaint town known for its charm, hospitality, and history of murder. Twice now, twelve men have been brutally killed, and no one knows who did it. A shadowy witch? A copycat killer? Or a man-hating murderess?

Eighteen-year-old Natalie Colter is sure that the rumors about her great-great-grandmother's cult of wronged women are just gossip, but that doesn't stop the true-crime writers and dark tourism bloggers from capitalizing on the town's reputation. It's an urban legend that's hard to ignore, and it gets harder when Nat learns that the sisterhood is real. And magical. And they want her to join.

The more Nat learns of the Wardens' supernatural history, the more she wonders about the real culprits behind the town's ritualistic murders. Are the Wardens protecting San Solano from even darker forces? There are shadows in the woods, bones on the outskirts of town, and questions Nat needs answered.

But everything becomes more urgent when people start getting "marked" as new victims--including Levi Langford, the boy whose kiss haunted Nat for a year. With Levi in danger, doing nothing would be harder than fighting back.

Nat knows that no one is safe. Can she and the sisterhood stop the true evil from claiming their town?

Review

The Bitterwine Oath sounded so different from Hannah West's debut fantasy series, the Nissera Chronicles, I knew I had to give it a try. It did not let me down. The Bitterwine Oath is a paranormal gem of a story.

Going into The Bitterwine Oath, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Yet, the plot wholly captured me as soon as I started reading. The book had the most pulse-pounding, creepy and tense atmosphere. Everything made me nervous but like Natalie, I was determined to find out the truths.

I was very intrigued by the mystery in The Bitterwine Oath. As soon as a piece of information was revealed, I'd be analyzing it in my head. My mind was constantly forming one theory after another. In the vein of the plot, the supernatural element of the story made sense. I love that it was easy to understand and had a realistic backstory. It kept me reading.

I'm a complete sucker for romances that have the main characters torn- exactly what Natalie and Levi's relationship was like. The more they danced around each other, the closer they unknowingly became. Levi and Natalie's interactions were intense and always had an air of forbiddance. I savoured their sometimes sweet and sometimes painful romance.

With mysterious and magical elements, The Bitterwine Oath is a story that came full circle. If more paranormal novels were like it, I'd for sure read them all.

*I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not affected in any way. Any quotes included in my review were taken from the ARC I received.