I had not heard of this book until I received a message from a member of the authors street team. I received a review copy of this book from the author. These are my honest thoughts of the book.

The story is told mainly by Honoria. She is a present day teen. Two others, the witch and Albertine also narrate. They are from earlier times. I am not the biggest fan of multiple narrators. I feel that the story can get convoluted with so many voices. However, the author made it work with this story. Perhaps it was because the author chose to have one main narrator with the other two providing back story narrative. Maybe it was because their stories are entwined. I don't know but it worked for me. The characters and their individual stories were interesting. Some of the characters we didn't really get the back story on. While I think they could have been better developed, it really didn't bother me that they weren't. As the story unfolded I was given enough information on them. I really enjoyed the plot line. I also liked that themes of love, grief, loyalty, friendship were mashed together and addressed. I'm not too certain that in real life, Honoria would have been so bonded to Harley so quickly though. I felt like the triangle there was a bit off. I was able to reconcile that by shifting how I looked at it.

I would call this story a haunting. One character refers to herself, and is referred to, as a witch. The characters trapped in the hollow are not necessarily dead and therefore not ghosts, but are also not necessarily alive and therefore...a haunting. I know that is really confusing. When I was a child I would listen to tales of haints. This book is exactly one of those. I was transported back in the time of my youth, sitting by the fireplace or laying in bed, listening to tales that raised the tiny hairs on my arms. It was the best of times in that southeastern Kentucky holler. I plan to read this book again near Halloween.

For those who wish to know...swearing and sexual activity are absent from this book. There is some violence though not graphic. I feel it is appropriate for preteen and up.


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Note: I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I liked this book. As a 47 y/o man, I am probably not a good representative of the target demographic. I actually read quite a bit of YA, but that's usually IN SPITE of the romance angle. The author seemed to want to try to take this into the teen romance direction a few times, but luckily, that part never really got off the ground.
This was a fun book, a little predictable, but that's not always a negative. I thought that the ending seemed to come out of left field (so, therefore, I didn't predict it :D ) - almost seemed to be a rushed job to end the book.
One other thing that I can't help but point out - this book could really use a good copyeditor to look it over. There were multiple instances of the wrong word in place (e.g. "as lease" instead of "at least"), showing that a spell check incorrectly fixed something. Other instances where a word was missing (little ones, like "of" or "to"), which, while not affecting the meaning of a phrase, did distract from the readability.
I think that this book shows that the author has real talent in coming up with an interesting plot, and I look forward to more from her. ( )

Escape from Witchwood Hollow is a Young Adult fantasy book centering around Honoria, a fifteen-year-old girl who lost her parents in the 9/11 attacks. She finds herself in Arnn, NY, in a new school, living with her aunt and uncle. Honoria experiences all the problems that the new kid, who is a bit different, would experience. She is also introduced to Witchwood Hollow where local legends tell of a witch who traps people in the woods. Honoria shares the story with Lady Elizabeth Clifford from the seventeenth century and Albertine from the mid-nineteenth century.

I never had a "young adult" reading period in my life, so I generally veer away from the genre. In fourth grade, I read Solzhenitsyn and was introduced to Philip Larkin. A year later I was reading Stephen King, Gary Brandner, J.G. Ballard, The Omen, and The Exorcist. So as a middle-aged adult when I was offered Witchwood Hollow from the author, I thought it over for a while and hesitantly accepted.

Any hesitation I felt quickly passed after the first few pages. The descriptions seemed a little much when I started, and I played it off as the younger folk needing more descriptions to keep their attention. This feeling quickly passed after a few pages, and I found myself involved in a really interesting story. The hollow itself is very well thought out place, and although it is written as fantasy, it does not seem too far of a stretch from quantum theory. Yes, it is a stretch but easily within the reader's willing suspension of disbelief. It is the hollow that ties everything together for the three main characters and their time periods. Very well done and original thinking.

The characters are well done, and the reader will care about their well-being throughout the book. Their stories intertwine nicely bringing everything together. The time periods are well described without any noticeable anachronisms. The main characters are interesting and contribute useful information to the reader. Their stories are detailed enough to stand on their own but are not overbearing. The three women share the limelight equally. The supporting characters are well developed and act as expected in their roles. The dialog is excellent and lacks the forced conversations and over explanations seen in many newer books from smaller publishers. I was pleasantly surprised by the entire book and read it in a single sitting. Mierek writes a class act book. Watch for her in the near future. With her displayed style, insight, and skill, she will be making her mark in the fantasy genre. Five stars for Young Adult Fantasy writing. ( )

I was asked to read this book in place of an honest review. I agreed to read this book, because when it was presented to me, the description caught my attention.

Well my attention remained caught when I picked this up and started reading it. Though at first it was slightly confusing because each chapter was for a different character. But as I continued reading and got further into the storyline it all pieced itself together.

I'm not big on stand alone books, as I am more of a series kind of girl. But this book, this book was in all honesty pretty dang good.

It was a kind of book that continued to pull at your heart strings. At points wanted to make you cry, but feel warm inside as well.

It is definitely a 5 star book in my opinion. I definitely recommend reading this book, when you get the chance. ( )

I was offered an ebook copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you for sharing the story with me, I enjoyed it. This book description wouldn't have caught my attention because it's not one of my go to favorite genres, so it's a good reminder to branch out into other genres and find something new and unique.

This book alternated three main characters and timelines.
There is Lady Clifford, the witch.
In the 1850's there is Albertine.
Finally, in 2001 there is Honoria.

Honoria lost her parents on 9/11, her and her brother move in with her aunt and uncle and they move from the city to a small, country town.

On her first day of school she learns the legend of Witchwood Hollow. Tales are told of people who wandered into the woods and were never seen again. People talk of a witch who lives there and is supposedly eating them.

I'm not one for a scary story and thankfully this wasn't scary.
It told a very interesting story of the three characters Honoria, Albertine and Lady Clifford who were all young women dealing with great loss in their lives.

The parts of the story in Witchwood Hollow were the most interesting. I don't want to spoil anything but I'm just going to say that it reminded me of Neverland.

I kept thinking how this would make a movie I would have loved as a teenager. When I read the author's note at the end, she mentioned that making it a movie is a dream of hers. I can definitely picture that.

Enjoyable story and unexpected ending. ( )