#slewfoot: a tale of bewitchery
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Books to Read if You want to Look/Feel like a Literary Snob
AKA dark academia and literary novels that’ll make you look smart but are also enjoyable (in my option).
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Edited by Carmen Maria Machado
This is the OG vampire novel and also the OG toxic queer romance novel. Published in 1872, this book predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years. The story follows Carmilla and her increasingly possessive relationship with the protanganist, Laura, following a carraige incedent. So, yes, this is a classic, and I know these arn’t always the easiest to read. But is it less than 150 pages, it is queer, and Carmen Maria Machado’s commentary is hilarious and also helps with the reading process.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
I feel like everyone knows this book, and it is for sure popular—and for that reason alone, I debated not adding it to this list—but I’m not sure if I would consider it overrated. It is one of the prettiest books I have ever read and it is objectivly good. It is a retelling of the Trojan War told from Patroclus’ point-of-veiw and focuses on his relationship with Achilles. And for sure, if you get one of the pretty editions, you will look like a snob.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
This is the most pretenious novel I have ever read. It has its issues, don’t get me wrong, and its preteniouness is one of them. Regardless, it is quite the compelling novel with an interesting cast of characters and a solid twist at the end. TAS is about a group of six young adults who are in the process of becoming part of a secret society that protects the suposidly burned contents of the library of Alexandria. Their intiation process consists of eleminating one of the chosen six.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
This 600+ page book is not nearly as prentious as it appears, but I imagine if you’re just wanting to look like you’re into literary horror, this is the book for you. It follows two different timelines and is a bit trippy to think about. It is a book about a book that is in the process of being made into a movie based on real-life events. It is mildly creepy, very well written, and gloriously feminist and queer.
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
I havn’t read many feminist books written by men, but this one does a solid job, and I’m kind of mad about it. This wonderfully atmostspheric tale takes place in 1666 Conneticuit. It is full of magic, witchcraft, demons, and staight white bible-thumpers getting what they deserve. Also, yes, we are all into the goat man. It’s okay.
These Violent delights by Micah Nemerever
Listen, it's bleak, but in a way that's fascinating and intriguing, and you don't want to put it down. It's about two boys who are the smartest people in the room—one alienated, grieving, and awkward, the other popular, personable, and easy-going. Their friendship turns towards an intense relationship where their toxic sensibilities take a turn for the violent. The question: can they get away with it?
These are not peak snob, but they are the ones I have read/listened to that I would recommend if you're in the mood for something a bit pretentious.
#carmilla#j sheridan le fanu#carmen maria machado#the song of achilles#soa#madeline miller#the atlas six#olivie blake#plain bad heroines#emily m danforth#slewfoot#slewfoot: a tale of bewitchery#brom#these violent delights#micah nemerever#books#queer books
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“I am not Abitha. Abitha was murdered. I am the witch, and the witch cares not for your tears.”
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So I’m halfway through Slewfoot by BROM and all I can say is that I hope Samson and Abitha lose sight and engage in a consensual workplace relationship… 👀
#booklr#slewfoot: a tale of bewitchery#brom#witches#spooky#why am i attracted to this#he’s a goat#mental illness innit#slewfoot
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my spoiler free review/journal entry of slewfoot!! first time doing this in a hot minute but shhhh
#jupiter.txt#bookblr#slewfoot: a tale of bewitchery#slewfoot#brom#folk horror#book review#book reccs#book reccomendation#i gave this a 4.8/5 but honestly this is an objective 5/5#journaling
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books read in 2023: slewfoot: a tale of bewitchery by brom
✧✧✧✧
-between my mother's pagan teachings and my father's conflicted views on christianity, i often find myself unsure who god even is.
-why do you limit yourself to only one?
-how many gods do you think there are?
-not as many as there used to be.
#slewfoot#slewfoot a tale of bewitchery#brom#pagan#wicca#hellenism#witch trials#salem#books read in 2023
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just finished Slewfoot and good god it was good. samson is life and death, only killing denies his nature and destroys him, abitha is dead and the witch knows nothing of mercy, punishment and retribution and vengeance in blood. how abitha needs revenge, needs the blood of those who have wronged her more than she needs to be human and she gets to have it, gets to kill them all and it isn’t the wrong choice it is just a choice.
also the art is top tier i want to eat it i want to hang it up on my ceiling and stare at it all the time i want to live in it
#slewfoot#slewfoot a tale of bewitchery#brom#on todays episode of i read a book and now need to wordvomit about it#witch books#i guess
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Nobody does immersive storytelling quite like BROM.
#books#booksbooksbooks#book review#horror books#brom#gerald brom#slewfoot#witchcraft#netgalley#folk horror#samson#abitha#a tale of bewitchery#horror
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Faerie Book Recommendations🧚✨📚
So reading Sarah J Maas and her very, very shitty interpretation and (under)utilization of fae lore is inspiring me to create a personal list of books I've read that I feel like have like... ACTUAL faeries and folklore in them (not the normal-looking-hot-folks-with-pointy-ears-and-MAYBE-wings brand of faerie SJM popularized), and are actually worth your time
And if you've any books, stories, comics, etc. that you'd want to add to this list, feel free to add them in the comments, reblogs, tags, or my DMs!!
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Very eerie fairytale vibes that center on the aftermath of the disappearance, and even more mysterious return, of three sisters when one of them goes missing again almost 10 years later. And also the writing is legit just B E A U T I F U L!!!
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
This is chock-full of classical faeries and folklore, and almost reads like a textbook about them since this is about a woman, the titular Emily Wilde, traveling to a Scandinavian country to complete her own encyclopedia about the fair-folk. It also features some lowkey cottagecore vibes and an academic rivals-to-lovers romance!
Gilded (Gilded #1) by Marissa Meyer
A retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that reads like its own dark Grimm's fairytale, and it's as eerie and grim as a YA fantasy novel can get. It also centers on themes of telling stories and folktales since the main character, Serilda, is infamous for spinning wild tales - which is what leads to her encounter with the famed, and feared, Earlking (who, as a villain, is so sinister and creepy - and utterly FAE!). Personally, this book wasn't really my cup of tea and I'm unsure if I'll read the sequel, Cursed, however it still has some classic fae vibes that SJM's work lacks, so it deserves a place on this list!
The Changeling by Victor LaValle
I'm using the term 'faerie' very loosely here, as the idea of changelings (and trolls), for me, is more of a narrative device to help us look into grief in fatherhood. But there is still a very strange, vaguely Pans Labyrinth-esque urban fantasy vibe playing in the background throughout!
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
Not necessarily FAERIES but more of mischievous and distrustful woodland folk - and also forest gods. Very heavily steeped in early colonial America era folk horror vibes... if you love media like Robert Eggers' The VVitch then you will ADORE this book! Also Brom's accompanying artwork is so, so beautiful! This is honestly such a perfect fall-time read once Halloween season rolls around.
Legendborn Cycle series by Tracy Deonn
Ok no faeries but... mixes classic Arthurian legends with southern Black beliefs while also telling an epic urban fantasy story centering on themes of grief, trauma, and prejudice. So no fae, but LOTS of great urban fantasy vibes (which I mean... if you're looking for more series to put on your shelf instead of Harry Potter......) Just... Please... just... this series... it's so GOOD!! IDK what else to add that hasn't been said about this series!
Direwood by Catherine Yu
Once again, not necessarily faeries in this book but instead vampires that have a very fae-like quality about them! (as well as blood-hungry butterflies and caterpillars hee-hee) The story as a whole feels like a whimsical fever dream that is STEEPED in tasty Gothic vibes! It sort of has the feeling of being in a late '90s/early '00s Goth music video.
Like Falling Stars by Avalon Roselin (@roselin-books-official)
A story about a girl who's forgotten her past and comes to develop a sweet friendship with a brooding ice faerie prince, and is brimming with so many cozy fantasy vibes!! Also all the fae characters in this novel are so colorful and lively, and they're all very heavily tied to elements and the seasons. Also ALSO!! The main relationship focuses primarily on platonic love as opposed to romantic, and is just as endearing! A perfect cozy winter/fall-time read.
Netvor: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by @rosesnwater
Both a completed novel and an in-progress webcomic available to read on Tapas and Webtoons. Again, another story where major themes center on storytelling and fairytales, but also recovering from trauma and grief! There are so, so many classic faerie vibes, and even featuring pinnacle figures from classic fae lore like the Goblin Market, and it manages to feel equal parts nostalgic and unique in its use of faerie lore!
Dandies in Danger podcast by @dandiesindanger
A table-top RPG podcast instead of a novel! It features four queer men that are dragged into a world of fae and horror, all while set against the backdrop of Regency era London. It starts as a VERY eerie fae mystery (featuring figures like Titania and Oberon), but it slowly becomes a dark, horror historical-fantasy, and it's great! Also art by the podcast's creators is so good!
So these are the recs I have to offer for now!! As always, feel free to add more recommendations!!!💛
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I saw you're reading legends and lattes which I haven't read yet, but I'd like too! So seeing as you seem like a big reader do you have any recommendations for Halloween reads? Traditional books or if?
I am a pretty big reader. But, even more than that, I'm a library associate so knowing a lot about books and providing recommendations is a core aspect of my job (a job that I adore) 😊
I have been recommending and will continue to recommend Legends and Lattes as a cozy, sweet, delightfully queer read. Definitely give it a go if you've been considering it.
I haven't been able to read much IF recently (so, honestly, I'd be very interested in any recommendations you all might have for good Halloween IF reads) but here are some traditional books (and graphic novels) that I'm happy to pass on. If you have a more specific genre you're interested in, let me know (like I said, this is what I do and I adore it). Many of these don't directly relate to Halloween, but for whatever reason, I think they fit the spooky season. I tried to present a wide range of titles and these are in no order whatsoever. Please enjoy.
Some Spooky Season Recommendations
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree [cw]
(adult fiction, high fantasy, queer romance, sapphic slow-burn, cozy, for dnd fans)
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas [cw]
(young adult, queer fiction, spirits and brujería, paranormal romance, first in a duology)
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas [cw]
(adult fiction, gothic, vampires, slow-burn romance, historical fiction)
The House Witch by Delemhach [cw]
(adult fiction, high fantasy, witchcraft, romance, cozy mystery, comedy, first in a series)
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle [cw]
(adult fiction, horror, queer fiction, genuinely horrifying camp)
(and yes, that Chuck Tingle)
The Skull by Jon Klassen [cw]
(juvenile fiction, illustrated, folktale, short, gently spooky)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman [cw]
(juvenile fiction, horror, ghosts, graveyards, macabre, coming of age tale)
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson [cw]
(adult fiction, horror, gothic, haunted house, mystery)
Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones [cw]
(adult fiction, werewolves, horror, coming of age tale)
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa (in particular, the audiobook narrated by Vico Ortiz) [cw]
(teen fiction, historical fantasy, queer fiction, trans mc, pirates, magic powers, deals with devils)
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna [cw]
(adult fiction, cozy mystery, romance, urban fantasy, witchcraft)
The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag [cw]
(juvenile fiction, graphic novel, queer fiction, magic and witches, first in a series)
Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, edited by Lee Murray [cw]
(adult fiction, horror anthology, short stories)
Hollow by Shannon Watters [cw]
(teen fiction, graphic novel, queer fiction, sleepy hollow retelling)
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [cw]
(adult fiction, urban fantasy, horror, vampires)
A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley [cw]
(adult fiction, romantic comedy, urban fantasy, witchcraft, demons, first in a series)
Fledgling by Octavia Butler [cw]
(adult fiction, horror, science fiction, vampires)
The Clackity by Lora Senf [cw]
(juvenile fiction, horror, mystery, paranormal investigators, ghosts, first in a series)
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir [cw]
(adult fiction, horror, queer fiction, necromancy, haunted space castle, first in a series)
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom [cw]
(adult fiction, dark fantasy, historical setting, witchcraft, devils, revenge, illustrations)
The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson [cw]
(adult fiction, horror, mystery, ghosts, coming of age tale)
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow [cw]
(adult fiction, gothic horror, romance, mystery, haunted house, curses, nightmares)
Nimbus by Jan Eldredge [couldn't find any cws]
(juvenile fiction, fantasy, mc is a magic cat, witchcraft, goblins, for the Warrior Cat kids)
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A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.
Enter Slewfoot, a powerful spirit of antiquity newly woken ... and trying to find his own role in the world. Healer or destroyer? Protector or predator? But as the shadows walk and villagers start dying, a new rumor is whispered: Witch.
Both Abitha and Slewfoot must swiftly decide who they are, and what they must do to survive in a world intent on hanging any who meddle in the dark arts.
Complete with 8 pages of Brom’s mesmerizing full-color artwork and chapter illustrations throughout, his latest book is sure to delight.
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IDK what this is, but it's about books.
Look, this year I wanted to broaden my horizon by reading different genres other than romantic fantasy. God knows your girl is not strong enough to say no to a good fantasy book and it's way too easy to reject what you don't know. So to outsmart myself I simply stopped thinking about what any given book is about and I allowed myself only as little information as I needed to make a superficial decision of whether this might be interesting or not. The second any given synopsis piques my interest I stop reading it (the synopsis) and I pick up the book. Like legit, for this one, I only read one or two sentences of it and I was like "Good enough" and that's how I stumbled upon "Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery" which apparently, according to GoodReads, is a horror fantasy/historical fiction book? Look I'm not mad at it at all, in fact, I think it's super interesting thus far (I am 28% in) and I am rooting for the protagonist. However, for the most part, I am just so confused LMAO. Look, I'm not a native speaker and I swear I have stumbled upon like a hundred words that I have never heard of (but grateful to have widened my vocabulary lmao). I just need to know how to categorize this book I guess? I honestly have no idea why I am making this post or what the point of it all is. But I guess we all have to deal with the fact now that this post exists lmao. I wish you all a great weekend. I am sure I'll have a blast finishing this book. If you have read the book, please let me know your thoughts.
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“It was love, not pain, that broke her.”
-Slewfoot , a tale of bewitchery by Gerald Brom
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Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.
Connecticut, 1666: An ancient spirit awakens in a dark wood. The wildfolk call him Father, slayer, protector.
The colonists call him Slewfoot, demon, devil.
To Abitha, a recently widowed outcast, alone and vulnerable in her pious village, he is the only one she can turn to for help.
Together, they ignite a battle between pagan and Puritan – one that threatens to destroy the entire village, leaving nothing but ashes and bloodshed in their wake.
This terrifying tale of bewitchery features more than two dozen of Brom’s haunting full-color paintings and brilliant endpapers, fully immersing readers in this wild and unforgiving world.
https://amzn.to/3ZqCX4K
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So I finally finished my book and it is now 1 am and I have work in the morning but this must be said.
The goat man was too sexy. Why was I kicking my feet and giggling at a goat creature?!?
The book was a 10/10 btw but I just had to get that out. Go read it!
#slewfoot: a tale of bewitchery#slewfoot#witches#witch trials#he’s a goat#sexy goat man#he’s so nice#but he’s a goat#i’m going crazy#monster fucker
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Also praise/side note-
you have just in general with the HP christmas recs so many great recs! Ive been reading them daily and each one of them IS GREAT.
But it also impressed me on the breathe of HP knowledge u have! Ur so knowledgable!
Do you read dramione works nightly? Am I right its assuming your roman empire? or favourite fantasy fandom?
Do you also read normal novels? Gosh i would love ur fav normal recs as well if so!
ILY <3
thank you, i'm happy people are enjoying the daily recs because i am having so much fun doing these posts.
dramione is probably my roman empire lol. but i've really cut back on reading any of it lately. just haven't had the time/energy and when i do read fic, im going for drarry these days. dramione will always be my otp though, they're my first fic love. and i am also trying to read more traditionally published works. here are a few i've enjoyed this past year:
Sea of Tranquility by emily st. john mandel
In Memoriam by alice winn
Nettle and Bone by @tkingfisher
The Hollow Places by t. kingfisher (actually, you could pick up anything written by them, i'm so obsessed with their work lately)
The Salt Grows Heavy by cassandra khaw
Bad Cree by jessica johns
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by brom
The Cruel Prince by holly black (the entire Folk of the Air series was a lot of fun)
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Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
Abitha has taken part in a pre-arranged marriage and has come across the ocean to the New World. When her new husband, Edward, passes suddenly she's left alone in a puritan village that is suspicious of her ways and hostile to her.
Going much beyond that synopsis would start to get into spoilery territory and really I just want to provide the initial hook. I liked it. It didn't blow me away, but it didn't really go into any territory I wasn't expecting either. I think the mythology that the story sets off is just kind of there for me, I didn't love or hate that aspect, so that's probably what is holding me back from more than just liking the book.
One thing I appreciate about the movie The VVitch in comparison to Slewfoot is how committed to the time period The VVitch goes. Sometimes in Slewfoot I found the dialog very modern. Not really a critique, just a comment. The art in the story is fantastic and I'm definitely interested in reading more from Brom.
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