The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells by Rachel Greenlaw

Book Description

There is an old tale woven through the mountain town of Woodsmoke about a stranger who appears as the first snow falls in winter, who will disappear without a trace as the frost thaws in spring, leaving a broken heart behind.

Carrie Morgan ran from Woodsmoke ten years ago, and the decision has haunted her ever since. When Carrie’s grandmother dies and leaves behind her dilapidated cottage, she returns to renovate—certain she will only be there for one winter. She meets Matthieu as the temperature dips, a newcomer who offers to help refurbish the cottage. Before long, and despite warnings from her great-aunt Cora of the old stories, Carrie finds herself falling for the charming stranger. But when the frost thaws in spring, Matthieu goes missing.

Carrie is convinced he’s real, and he’s in danger. As she fights her way across the mountains to find him, she must confront all the reasons why she left Woodsmoke and decide whether the place she’s spent the last decade running from is the home she’s been searching for.

Review

There’s something special about stories that tug at your heart while wrapping you in misty folklore and the hush of snow-covered trees. Rachel Greenlaw’s The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells is one of those reads. It’s atmospheric, tender, and quietly magical. It’s the kind of book that feels like coming home to a place you almost forgot you loved.

Set in the remote mountain town of Woodsmoke, the novel follows Carrie Morgan, who returns after ten years to renovate her grandmother’s cottage. But the town hasn’t forgotten her and neither have the whispers of old magic. With the first snow comes Matthieu, a mysterious traveler whose presence echoes the town’s strange and haunting legends. Just as winter reshapes the landscape, his arrival begins to reshape Carrie’s understanding of herself and her family’s legacy.

Told through the voices of Carrie, her great-aunt Cora, and her estranged childhood friend Jess, this story weaves together past and present, grief and healing. Each woman’s narrative reveals the complexities of what it means to belong. Not just to a place, but to themselves and each other, too.

A Beautiful Story

Greenlaw’s prose is lyrical and immersive. She doesn’t just describe the town of Woodsmoke; she evokes it. You smell the wood smoke curling from chimneys and hear the crunch of snow underfoot.

While fantasy, the magical elements of The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells are subtle. It’s not a tale of epic quests or flashy charms. Instead, it asks us to consider the stories we carry, the ones we inherit, and what it takes to reclaim them.

The novel whispers with its quiet kind of magic. But this magic is not to be taken lightly. It has a cost, and the effects of using the magic linger, enriching the emotional depth of each character’s journey.

If you loved Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries but longed for something a touch warmer and more intimate, The Woodsmoke Women’s Book of Spells will hit just the right note. And if you’re in the mood for something introspective, a little wistful, and wholly enchanting, pour yourself a mug of something warm and settle into this lovely read.

Content Warning

Abandonment, Blood, Death, Disappearances, Estrangement, Family Strife, Grief, Infertility, Injury, Loss, Miscarriage, Pregnancy

The header photo is a composite image. Base image by Anastasiia Malai on Unsplash