If you enjoy historical fantasy, timeslip fiction, witch trial stories, folklore, and atmospheric supernatural mysteries, The Snow Witch by Kirsty Ferry is a book that deserves a place on your reading list. Moving between seventeenth-century England and the present day, this haunting story combines historical injustice with ancient legends and a mystery that refuses to stay buried.
About The Snow Witch
In 1650, as witch trials sweep across the north of England, Meg Noble—a healer and midwife known as the “Snow Witch”—becomes entangled in dark rumors surrounding Coventina’s Well. When tragedy awakens something ancient beneath the sacred site, a forgotten legend begins to take on a terrifying life of its own.
Centuries later, historian Violet Marsh arrives at Hadrian’s Wall to investigate the story of the Snow Witch. But strange visions and echoes of the past soon make her question where history ends and something much darker begins. As Violet digs deeper, she discovers that some secrets were never meant to stay buried.
A beautifully atmospheric historical fantasy
The first thing that struck me about The Snow Witch was its atmosphere.
This book somehow manages to feel like both a beautiful winter wonderland and a cold, unforgiving, deeply unwelcoming land. The snow-covered landscapes, ancient ruins, sacred well, and surrounding countryside create an incredibly evocative setting, and Kirsty Ferry makes the landscape feel like a character in its own right.
There is always something slightly unsettling beneath the beauty.
Even when the setting feels enchanting, there is a sense that something is lurking underneath it all. That combination of beauty and unease worked exceptionally well for me, particularly because it complements the book’s themes of folklore, history, and supernatural mystery.
Once I started reading, I genuinely didn’t want to stop. I am fairly certain I would have finished this book in one sitting if I hadn’t passed out and later discovered my Kindle tangled somewhere in my blanket.
So yes, I was invested.
Witch trials, historical injustice, and the women who were persecuted
At the heart of The Snow Witch is the injustice of the witch trials of the seventeenth century, and this was one of the most powerful aspects of the story for me.
The book highlights the horrifying reality of what could happen to women who were healers, midwives, knowledgeable, independent, or simply unlucky enough to become the subject of suspicion.
The idea of wise and well-educated women helping their communities only to be labeled as witches is heartbreaking. Even more disturbing is the fact that their supposed “trials” could ultimately determine whether they lived or died.
Ferry doesn’t treat this history merely as an interesting backdrop for a supernatural story. Instead, the persecution of these women becomes an important emotional foundation for everything that follows.
The supernatural elements and the historical events feel intertwined, which gives the story considerably more emotional weight.
A compelling timeslip between past and present
Structurally, The Snow Witch is very similar to The Witch’s Stone. Readers may also find similarities between Ferry’s 2012 title The Memory of Snow, as this book is a rework of it. Once again, Ferry uses a time-slip narrative, moving between different centuries and gradually revealing the connections between the characters and events.
However, I found the stakes—and the emotional impact—much greater this time around.
The horrors faced by the characters feel more immediate, while the consequences of events from centuries ago continue to echo into the present.
I particularly enjoyed the way the present-day characters mirror those from the seventeenth century. Rather than simply giving us two disconnected timelines, Ferry creates a fascinating sense of repetition and unfinished business.
It almost feels as though Meg, Emory, and Charles are being given another opportunity to change the outcome of their story in another lifetime.
And honestly? That idea broke my heart a little.
Folklore and ancient legends
The folkloric elements were another major highlight for me.
I have a particular soft spot for books that take old legends, sacred places, local folklore, and historical events and weave them into something new. The Snow Witch does this beautifully.
Coventina’s Well gives the story a particularly mysterious focal point. There is something ancient and almost dreamlike about the folklore surrounding the location, but Ferry never allows that enchantment to become entirely comfortable.
There is always a darker edge lurking beneath it.
This balance between folklore and supernatural horror helped make the book feel distinctive. Rather than simply adding supernatural elements for atmosphere, the folklore feels connected to the history and emotional wounds at the center of the story.
The research behind the story
One of the things I particularly appreciated about The Snow Witch was the amount of historical research that clearly went into it.
Historical fiction can sometimes feel like a history lesson with fictional characters placed on top of it, but that isn’t the case here. Ferry takes the historical material and transforms it into an immersive story.
The research provides the foundation, while the folklore, supernatural elements, and timeslip structure turn that history into something mysterious and emotionally engaging.
You can feel the historical grounding behind the story without feeling as though you’re being lectured.
An emotional story about the past trying to surface in the present
Although the supernatural elements and the atmosphere initially drew me in, it was the emotional core of the story that stayed with me.
There is something particularly tragic about watching people suffer because of fear, prejudice, and the need to find someone to blame. When those wounds are carried across centuries, the story becomes even more poignant.
The past isn’t simply something that happened and ended.
Its consequences continue to affect the present.
That idea gives The Snow Witch an emotional depth that goes beyond its mystery and supernatural elements. The story asks us to consider what happens when injustice is never truly resolved—and whether the passage of time is enough to make those wounds disappear.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Snow Witch was an atmospheric, haunting, and deeply emotional historical fantasy.
I loved the combination of witch trial history, folklore, supernatural mystery, and timeslip fiction, and I thought the parallels between the two timelines added a particularly compelling dimension to the story.
Kirsty Ferry has created a novel that feels simultaneously enchanting and unsettling—a book filled with snow-covered landscapes, ancient legends, historical injustice, and secrets that refuse to stay buried.
It is the kind of story where the atmosphere gets under your skin, while the emotional threads continue to linger after you’ve turned the final page.
I highly recommend The Snow Witch to readers who enjoy historical fantasy, timeslip novels, folklore, supernatural mysteries, and emotionally rich stories. If you love being transported between centuries while slowly uncovering the connections between past and present, this is definitely one to add to your TBR.
Recommended for readers who enjoy:
- Historical fantasy
- Timeslip fiction
- Witch trial stories
- Historical mysteries
- Folklore and ancient legends
- Supernatural fiction
- Atmospheric settings
- Emotional historical fiction
- Stories connecting past and present
Big thanks to Boldwood Books, Kirsty Ferry, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Jojo’s verdict: SHELF IT!
From Jojo’s bookshelves to yours, with love!
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