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The Devil Resides in Louisiana
In 1957, Father Zion Fitzwilliam arrives in a small Louisiana town, determined to uphold his faith and guide his congregation as a young priest. But his mission takes an unsettling turn when he encounters Rosemary LaRoux-a woman shunned as a witch, trailed by whispers of corruption and a string of unsolved murders.
Zion sees it as his duty to bring her to righteousness, yet the more he tries to save her, the more she threatens to pull him astray. As an unlikely bond forms between them, the town's fear and suspicion grow. With tensions rising and a witch hunt on the horizon, Zion must decide-convert her, banish her, or risk losing himself entirely under the weight of her temptations.
Zion sees it as his duty to bring her to righteousness, yet the more he tries to save her, the more she threatens to pull him astray. As an unlikely bond forms between them, the town's fear and suspicion grow. With tensions rising and a witch hunt on the horizon, Zion must decide-convert her, banish her, or risk losing himself entirely under the weight of her temptations.
195 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2025
102 people are currently reading
2676 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
June 30, 2025
1 ⭐️
📖 purchased ebook
DNF @ 61%
Very rarely do I DNF a book I've purchased, especially one as short as this, but I physically and mentally could not carry on further.
This concept had soooo much potential, when I read the blurb I rubbed my hands together like a greedy little fly. However, I was left disappointed.
I do believe this was the authors debut novel and I feel awful for giving 1 star, but there has to be some standards especially if people are purchasing and supporting your work. Rarely would I ever say this, but this should have been a free read. I do hope that the writer will continue to work on and perfect their craft before publishing more things in the future.
The writing and story has so much potential but there were so many grammatical errors as well as formatting issues that made the read difficult to go through with. On top of that it felt like little research was done concerning the time period, modern witchcraft and paganism as well as Catholicism and religion in general (coming from a religiously traumatized person). The dialogue felt sort of theatrical and unserious? Sort of hard to explain, but it read like watching a high school play.
I really, really like the FMC, Rosemary, and found her to be the most reedeming part of the story. However we mostly follow the POV of the MMC, Zion, who I HATED. Regardless of his own religious and childhood trauma I could not empathize with his narrative and the way he spoke about Rosemary. Even when she was kind and patient and endearing to him he was still cruel, abusive, and down right mean towards her. It was hard to see this as a romance when they had so little interactions and no chemistry and he was just shit talking her for most of the book.
I don't mean to come off harsh or bitter, this just felt like when you're really excited to go a date with a guy you think is gonna be super great and then end up having a horrible time and get ghosted afterwards.
To summarize why I'm giving 1 star:
1. This felt like a rushed story that could have used a few rounds of editing before being published.
2. The MMC love interest was undesirable and unlikable and had me rolling me eyes (and not in a sexy way 😓)
3. It seemed like more research should have been done on the subject matter.
4. Paragraphs were chunky and disorganized and spelling and punctuation were all over the place. As well as tenses and character POV being inconsistent.
5. Dialogue felt unnatural and even corny at times (especially from Zion)
6. Plot felt all over the place and confusing.
I will say I hope the author keeps at it and hones in the skills they clearly have, the execution just needs some work.
📖 purchased ebook
DNF @ 61%
Very rarely do I DNF a book I've purchased, especially one as short as this, but I physically and mentally could not carry on further.
This concept had soooo much potential, when I read the blurb I rubbed my hands together like a greedy little fly. However, I was left disappointed.
I do believe this was the authors debut novel and I feel awful for giving 1 star, but there has to be some standards especially if people are purchasing and supporting your work. Rarely would I ever say this, but this should have been a free read. I do hope that the writer will continue to work on and perfect their craft before publishing more things in the future.
The writing and story has so much potential but there were so many grammatical errors as well as formatting issues that made the read difficult to go through with. On top of that it felt like little research was done concerning the time period, modern witchcraft and paganism as well as Catholicism and religion in general (coming from a religiously traumatized person). The dialogue felt sort of theatrical and unserious? Sort of hard to explain, but it read like watching a high school play.
I really, really like the FMC, Rosemary, and found her to be the most reedeming part of the story. However we mostly follow the POV of the MMC, Zion, who I HATED. Regardless of his own religious and childhood trauma I could not empathize with his narrative and the way he spoke about Rosemary. Even when she was kind and patient and endearing to him he was still cruel, abusive, and down right mean towards her. It was hard to see this as a romance when they had so little interactions and no chemistry and he was just shit talking her for most of the book.
I don't mean to come off harsh or bitter, this just felt like when you're really excited to go a date with a guy you think is gonna be super great and then end up having a horrible time and get ghosted afterwards.
To summarize why I'm giving 1 star:
1. This felt like a rushed story that could have used a few rounds of editing before being published.
2. The MMC love interest was undesirable and unlikable and had me rolling me eyes (and not in a sexy way 😓)
3. It seemed like more research should have been done on the subject matter.
4. Paragraphs were chunky and disorganized and spelling and punctuation were all over the place. As well as tenses and character POV being inconsistent.
5. Dialogue felt unnatural and even corny at times (especially from Zion)
6. Plot felt all over the place and confusing.
I will say I hope the author keeps at it and hones in the skills they clearly have, the execution just needs some work.
May 8, 2025
I love the concept , loooooove it , and what's written is great i just feel it could have been expanded more. the story could have been longer especially the climax. but I love it ❤️
June 12, 2025
I wanted to like this book. The concept was really interesting and it had the potential to be a really fun, engaging story. In reality, it was truly one of the worst books I have ever read. When I say this is a bad book, I mean it in every sense...
1: This book is riddled with grammar and spelling errors on every page. (For example, "profit" instead of "prophet" -- used repeatedly, despite the author spelling "prophecy" correctly.) The formatting is done improperly and inconsistently throughout the book. (Missing indentations, incorrect use of quotations and contextualization, etc.) There are missing words and words used incorrectly on countless pages. Past and present tense are flip-flopped between in the same paragraphs, and gendered terms like "he" and "she" were used at the wrong points to talk about the wrong characters whose genders were clearly already established. Overused and repetitive wording throughout. (The river scene, for example, uses the wording "the water" five times in the same paragraph.)
2: The religious aspects of this book -- both the Catholicism and witchcraft/paganism -- seemed solely based on stereotypes. It appeared as if the author did little to no research and went solely off of vibes and misinterpretations, and therefore wrote misrepresentations of both religious sects. The only thing Catholic about Zion is he is a priest who goes by Father Zion and claims himself to be Catholic, quoting scripture without context. In reality, he comes from a torture cult that looks nothing like Catholicism (and mind you, readers, I'm not even Catholic and I know this.) Additionally, the author uses random terms and calls it Catholic. In regards to witchcraft and paganism, there are even more stereotypes. The rituals, spells, or whatever else you would call them felt like something out of a cartoon or movie rather than based in the actual religion of witchcraft/paganism. Herbs, salt, blood, and chanting over a cauldron under moonlight is more like something out of "Hocus Pocus" rather than something a witch would do. Both the "Catholicism" and "withcraft/paganism" came off as disrespectful and insulting, and I consider myself neither of these religions. Not only this, but there was the blatantly offensive choices to have the characters sleep together in the rectory (the priest's house, referred to multiple times as God's house) and to later do a satanic ritual in the church itself (drawing a pentagram on the ground, chanting from a book of spells -- very stereotypical, is it it not?)
3: The romance was weak. Readers are expected to ship Zion (the priest) and Rosemary (the witch), yet there is no spark other than Rosemary's repeated flirting with Zion in spite of his cruelty. Zion is a controlling, horrible person. He is verbally and emotionally abusive, shoves his faith down Rosemary's throat in spite of her indifference, and he even becomes physically aggressive/abusive (holding onto her and shoving her into a doorway; grabbing her hair harshly and holding her) towards her no less than two separate times (one of which immediately follows his half-assed apology for the previous physical encounter....) Yet readers are expected to believe their romance and love without batting an eye. It felt like Claude Frollo and his obsession with Esmaralda from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" yet heavily romanticized even with the abuse and cruelty.
4: The plot was flimsy. Readers are expected to just accept that the town of Gracepoint hates Rosemary and her family for being witches because they're all "good Catholic people." Yet the substance is nonexistent, and solely based on repeatedly disproven "evidence" for her and her family being behind troubles throughout the town. It made no sense and just came across as poorly executed prejudice. It reminded me of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in the scene where the villagers are accusing a woman of witchcraft with no substance. (Even funnier is the author, intentionally or not, referenced this movie with a line about throwing Rosemary in the river to see if she floats or sinks, and if she sinks then she's a witch.) It was especially strange that Father Zion went along with it all when he arrived with no resistance. He called someone out about gossiping being a sin later in the book, yet his cruelty towards Rosemary was entirely based on gossip from the start.
5: The conversations felt unnatural and unbelievable. The first encounter between Father Zion and Rosemary is him just ragging on her for her witchcraft without even trying to get to know her, basing all of his opinions on what a couple of townspeople have claimed.
6: The timelines made zero sense and lack continuity. At one point, Zion has been in Gracepoint for a week, then it's a month, then it's a couple of weeks -- all the while, readers are told this is all happening in a single timeline, not jumping around. By the end, Zion has been more consistently explained as having been in Gracepoint for a month (so, four Sunday sermons). Yet it's written as if he has spent a tremendous amount of time with the townsfolk establishing trust and promising salvation for Rosemary (or, specifically, "the cleansing of her sinful soul"). And even just as the author says he has been in Gracepoint for a month, another character says it only took a few months for the priest to fall in love with the witch. So, which is it? A month or a few months? Because after this, it jumps back to saying a month. As for when the years jump around for flashbacks, I noticed a major error: The main storyline of Gracepoint takes place in 1957, with Rosemary being explained as 25 years old. Yet her mother met her father on 4th of July 1932. Even if her mother and father had conceived her that very night, Rosemary would not have been born until January 1933. This story takes place in the summer of 1957, meaning Rosemary would only be 24. The continuity errors added to this book being hard to stay invested in.
7: There are no trigger warnings for the abusive content, yet the content is detailed on the page. Also, Zion's abuse towards Rosemary is waved off as acceptable because he was abused, too, and he learns that it was wrong what he went through. He admits he was cruel to Rosemary, but he still continues to be mean to her while also being romantic. Make it make sense.
Now, here are the few acceptable things:
This book is so bad that it's comedic and I found myself laughing at a lot of the outlandish content.
Some of Rosemary's comebacks are genuinely funny.
The concepts are interesting enough even if the writing, characters, and execution of the story are poor.
Final points:
The author needed to do her research into the religions she poorly represented.
The author needed to research the 1930s-1950s, because she kept using modern language and modern thinking for something supposedly back in time.
The author should have hired a professional editor.
This book is not worth $5.
1: This book is riddled with grammar and spelling errors on every page. (For example, "profit" instead of "prophet" -- used repeatedly, despite the author spelling "prophecy" correctly.) The formatting is done improperly and inconsistently throughout the book. (Missing indentations, incorrect use of quotations and contextualization, etc.) There are missing words and words used incorrectly on countless pages. Past and present tense are flip-flopped between in the same paragraphs, and gendered terms like "he" and "she" were used at the wrong points to talk about the wrong characters whose genders were clearly already established. Overused and repetitive wording throughout. (The river scene, for example, uses the wording "the water" five times in the same paragraph.)
2: The religious aspects of this book -- both the Catholicism and witchcraft/paganism -- seemed solely based on stereotypes. It appeared as if the author did little to no research and went solely off of vibes and misinterpretations, and therefore wrote misrepresentations of both religious sects. The only thing Catholic about Zion is he is a priest who goes by Father Zion and claims himself to be Catholic, quoting scripture without context. In reality, he comes from a torture cult that looks nothing like Catholicism (and mind you, readers, I'm not even Catholic and I know this.) Additionally, the author uses random terms and calls it Catholic. In regards to witchcraft and paganism, there are even more stereotypes. The rituals, spells, or whatever else you would call them felt like something out of a cartoon or movie rather than based in the actual religion of witchcraft/paganism. Herbs, salt, blood, and chanting over a cauldron under moonlight is more like something out of "Hocus Pocus" rather than something a witch would do. Both the "Catholicism" and "withcraft/paganism" came off as disrespectful and insulting, and I consider myself neither of these religions. Not only this, but there was the blatantly offensive choices to have the characters sleep together in the rectory (the priest's house, referred to multiple times as God's house) and to later do a satanic ritual in the church itself (drawing a pentagram on the ground, chanting from a book of spells -- very stereotypical, is it it not?)
3: The romance was weak. Readers are expected to ship Zion (the priest) and Rosemary (the witch), yet there is no spark other than Rosemary's repeated flirting with Zion in spite of his cruelty. Zion is a controlling, horrible person. He is verbally and emotionally abusive, shoves his faith down Rosemary's throat in spite of her indifference, and he even becomes physically aggressive/abusive (holding onto her and shoving her into a doorway; grabbing her hair harshly and holding her) towards her no less than two separate times (one of which immediately follows his half-assed apology for the previous physical encounter....) Yet readers are expected to believe their romance and love without batting an eye. It felt like Claude Frollo and his obsession with Esmaralda from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" yet heavily romanticized even with the abuse and cruelty.
4: The plot was flimsy. Readers are expected to just accept that the town of Gracepoint hates Rosemary and her family for being witches because they're all "good Catholic people." Yet the substance is nonexistent, and solely based on repeatedly disproven "evidence" for her and her family being behind troubles throughout the town. It made no sense and just came across as poorly executed prejudice. It reminded me of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" in the scene where the villagers are accusing a woman of witchcraft with no substance. (Even funnier is the author, intentionally or not, referenced this movie with a line about throwing Rosemary in the river to see if she floats or sinks, and if she sinks then she's a witch.) It was especially strange that Father Zion went along with it all when he arrived with no resistance. He called someone out about gossiping being a sin later in the book, yet his cruelty towards Rosemary was entirely based on gossip from the start.
5: The conversations felt unnatural and unbelievable. The first encounter between Father Zion and Rosemary is him just ragging on her for her witchcraft without even trying to get to know her, basing all of his opinions on what a couple of townspeople have claimed.
6: The timelines made zero sense and lack continuity. At one point, Zion has been in Gracepoint for a week, then it's a month, then it's a couple of weeks -- all the while, readers are told this is all happening in a single timeline, not jumping around. By the end, Zion has been more consistently explained as having been in Gracepoint for a month (so, four Sunday sermons). Yet it's written as if he has spent a tremendous amount of time with the townsfolk establishing trust and promising salvation for Rosemary (or, specifically, "the cleansing of her sinful soul"). And even just as the author says he has been in Gracepoint for a month, another character says it only took a few months for the priest to fall in love with the witch. So, which is it? A month or a few months? Because after this, it jumps back to saying a month. As for when the years jump around for flashbacks, I noticed a major error: The main storyline of Gracepoint takes place in 1957, with Rosemary being explained as 25 years old. Yet her mother met her father on 4th of July 1932. Even if her mother and father had conceived her that very night, Rosemary would not have been born until January 1933. This story takes place in the summer of 1957, meaning Rosemary would only be 24. The continuity errors added to this book being hard to stay invested in.
7: There are no trigger warnings for the abusive content, yet the content is detailed on the page. Also, Zion's abuse towards Rosemary is waved off as acceptable because he was abused, too, and he learns that it was wrong what he went through. He admits he was cruel to Rosemary, but he still continues to be mean to her while also being romantic. Make it make sense.
Now, here are the few acceptable things:
This book is so bad that it's comedic and I found myself laughing at a lot of the outlandish content.
Some of Rosemary's comebacks are genuinely funny.
The concepts are interesting enough even if the writing, characters, and execution of the story are poor.
Final points:
The author needed to do her research into the religions she poorly represented.
The author needed to research the 1930s-1950s, because she kept using modern language and modern thinking for something supposedly back in time.
The author should have hired a professional editor.
This book is not worth $5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2025
It’s actually a 3.5 star read for me, but 4 feels too high and Goodreads doesn’t do halves.
The story premise really interested me. But there were a few things that held it back.
First being most of this story we follow Zion, the priest. We get bits and pieces that slightly follow Rosemary, the witch, but overall it’s all the Priest. I would’ve preferred more variation in that aspect.
The flashbacks, they were needed but I still feel like the story held back. There’s a lot of things that felt missing and lacking in the story, I can’t place each and everyone exactly, and I absolutely can’t without spoiling it, but the world didn’t feel fully fleshed out.
There were some errors grammar wise in the book, which I know can absolutely happen and get glanced over with indie books but they tend to frustrate me a bit when I find them.
HOWEVER, the story is good. The premise was great. It was an easy read, I read it in just a few hours. And the characters, for the most part, were likable. Rosemary more than Zion.
Edit after sleeping on it!
I forgot to add that I do believe this book should’ve had some content warnings at the start, including Child Abuse.
It also had been promoted as no spice, it has spice. It isn’t a ton but it was enough that I was frustrated after wanting a 0 spice read.
The story premise really interested me. But there were a few things that held it back.
First being most of this story we follow Zion, the priest. We get bits and pieces that slightly follow Rosemary, the witch, but overall it’s all the Priest. I would’ve preferred more variation in that aspect.
The flashbacks, they were needed but I still feel like the story held back. There’s a lot of things that felt missing and lacking in the story, I can’t place each and everyone exactly, and I absolutely can’t without spoiling it, but the world didn’t feel fully fleshed out.
There were some errors grammar wise in the book, which I know can absolutely happen and get glanced over with indie books but they tend to frustrate me a bit when I find them.
HOWEVER, the story is good. The premise was great. It was an easy read, I read it in just a few hours. And the characters, for the most part, were likable. Rosemary more than Zion.
Edit after sleeping on it!
I forgot to add that I do believe this book should’ve had some content warnings at the start, including Child Abuse.
It also had been promoted as no spice, it has spice. It isn’t a ton but it was enough that I was frustrated after wanting a 0 spice read.
September 30, 2025
3 stars 🌟
I remember seeing the cover of this book on tiktok somewhere, my initial thought was that it had an eerie spooky vibe and potentially a quick and short paranormal romance aspect to it. Just something to spice up the fall season. Boy was I wrong. In a good way though, I could say.
What I did not expect though is to read dialogue on religion brainwashing, plot flowing around how the church is opressive and have abused people into their worship, AND much less follow women's opression as well on top of it. There were hard hitting quotes I found, but there were also some part of their discussion where it felt a bit shallow. But I understand where it was trying to go and I think it did a decent job of it.
I thought initially it was a silly priest and witch type of spook short read. NO? It was not. Hell it was also closed door, but I did appreciate the connection the two of them formed, could've used some more work at times, maybe a little more writing but it was great, especially considering this is a debut as I see it.
Glad I went in blind, because it was a rollercoster of feelings, discussions and sensitive topics, but I feel they reflected close to how reality was portrayed of the time, considering this book's action is during 1950's. Not the pagan aspects though, that was a flop and felt theatrical at least. There were a few things that I'm sure were either mistakes or assumptions, "burning at the stake" for witches I believe is 18th century.
ALSO Father Zion was not redeemable for me, even with his traumas and all, man was a huge asshole to our girl, and she was an angel comparatively.
But doesn't matter, I'm looking too much into it, for what it stands, it's at least an interesting and thought provoking read for its short length.
I remember seeing the cover of this book on tiktok somewhere, my initial thought was that it had an eerie spooky vibe and potentially a quick and short paranormal romance aspect to it. Just something to spice up the fall season. Boy was I wrong. In a good way though, I could say.
What I did not expect though is to read dialogue on religion brainwashing, plot flowing around how the church is opressive and have abused people into their worship, AND much less follow women's opression as well on top of it. There were hard hitting quotes I found, but there were also some part of their discussion where it felt a bit shallow. But I understand where it was trying to go and I think it did a decent job of it.
I thought initially it was a silly priest and witch type of spook short read. NO? It was not. Hell it was also closed door, but I did appreciate the connection the two of them formed, could've used some more work at times, maybe a little more writing but it was great, especially considering this is a debut as I see it.
Glad I went in blind, because it was a rollercoster of feelings, discussions and sensitive topics, but I feel they reflected close to how reality was portrayed of the time, considering this book's action is during 1950's. Not the pagan aspects though, that was a flop and felt theatrical at least. There were a few things that I'm sure were either mistakes or assumptions, "burning at the stake" for witches I believe is 18th century.
ALSO Father Zion was not redeemable for me, even with his traumas and all, man was a huge asshole to our girl, and she was an angel comparatively.
But doesn't matter, I'm looking too much into it, for what it stands, it's at least an interesting and thought provoking read for its short length.
May 14, 2025
I loved this book so much, I wish it had been longer.. and I wish it wasn’t fade to black 💀
Father Zion was so unintentionally funny to me. I tabbed every time he complained about the heat or called Rosemary ‘Devil woman’.
The supernatural aspect was written really well, I was reading it home alone and found myself spooked.
Looking forward to whatever this author publishes next
Father Zion was so unintentionally funny to me. I tabbed every time he complained about the heat or called Rosemary ‘Devil woman’.
The supernatural aspect was written really well, I was reading it home alone and found myself spooked.
Looking forward to whatever this author publishes next
April 14, 2025
What a great story! I got it recommended through TikTok, and bought it immediately. I really loved Rosemary as a character, it’s like you could feel the warmth and genuine kindness from her. And Zion’s struggle with his faith and duty felt authentic, which made him an interesting character to me. I really hope there is going to be a second book! If there is, this was a really great start up for the series!
June 10, 2025
mind you I'm very picky, so take the two stars as a slightly below average.
well! I picked this book up from the authors amazing TikTok video titled 'priest x witch' and I gotta say it definitely delivered on that part.
Good stuff:
- I like the dynamic between Zion and Rosemary. a lot. it kept me invested and going through the book to cheer them on.
- you can for sure tell that the author will develop well over time
- the overall plot was interesting
Less good stuff
- editing; shifting between tenses, repeating words every sentence, spelling mistakes galore (some unintentional like the use of 'profit' instead of 'prophet')
- I know this is set in the fifties. how? not from the descriptions of the setting
- the first meeting between the two of them is very lackluster (mind you not because of the actual scene, but because there is no context around it). we dont know Zions stakes in making her devout so he just comes off as strangely off kilter and threatening without anything to back it up. I know he considers some more unsavory actions against her to convert her, but it's never rooted in anything until the flashbacks start.
- the flashbacks! really necessary, but kinda feels like an entire subplot that could have been explored to deepen the understanding of the motivation of Zion. it couldve been a back and forth with stakes rising in both simultaneously.
- the romance once it gets down is a tad disappointing. I feel like I'm told more than shown that they love each other which is upsetting.
- the obvious plothole of George simply being able all the while to kill Rosemary and choosing not to drove me nuts. also George and Maeve is introduced so late it feels like a cop out to have him be the big bad.
Potential:
if this book got an editor and a serious tightening and deepening of the themes within it (religious righteousness, justice, misunderstanding, love) it could seriously be GREAT. Right now it feels like it doesn't have a message. Sure Zion realises that he is still the person he was before his experience with the superiors, but that happens so fast that it kinda again just feels like it's told rather than shown? Also he thinks some truly heinous things about rosemary and considers turning her in wayyyyy past his 'love' for her growing. and not in a 'im confused' way, more so in a 'can I be arsed?' way which is inherently disingenuous and off putting.
if anyone made it to the bottom of the review, I just want to say that this book is the perfect example of why you should keep writing. it isn't perfect, but it was entertaining and for sure a great start into a writing career that I can really see take flight.
over and out
well! I picked this book up from the authors amazing TikTok video titled 'priest x witch' and I gotta say it definitely delivered on that part.
Good stuff:
- I like the dynamic between Zion and Rosemary. a lot. it kept me invested and going through the book to cheer them on.
- you can for sure tell that the author will develop well over time
- the overall plot was interesting
Less good stuff
- editing; shifting between tenses, repeating words every sentence, spelling mistakes galore (some unintentional like the use of 'profit' instead of 'prophet')
- I know this is set in the fifties. how? not from the descriptions of the setting
- the first meeting between the two of them is very lackluster (mind you not because of the actual scene, but because there is no context around it). we dont know Zions stakes in making her devout so he just comes off as strangely off kilter and threatening without anything to back it up. I know he considers some more unsavory actions against her to convert her, but it's never rooted in anything until the flashbacks start.
- the flashbacks! really necessary, but kinda feels like an entire subplot that could have been explored to deepen the understanding of the motivation of Zion. it couldve been a back and forth with stakes rising in both simultaneously.
- the romance once it gets down is a tad disappointing. I feel like I'm told more than shown that they love each other which is upsetting.
- the obvious plothole of George simply being able all the while to kill Rosemary and choosing not to drove me nuts. also George and Maeve is introduced so late it feels like a cop out to have him be the big bad.
Potential:
if this book got an editor and a serious tightening and deepening of the themes within it (religious righteousness, justice, misunderstanding, love) it could seriously be GREAT. Right now it feels like it doesn't have a message. Sure Zion realises that he is still the person he was before his experience with the superiors, but that happens so fast that it kinda again just feels like it's told rather than shown? Also he thinks some truly heinous things about rosemary and considers turning her in wayyyyy past his 'love' for her growing. and not in a 'im confused' way, more so in a 'can I be arsed?' way which is inherently disingenuous and off putting.
if anyone made it to the bottom of the review, I just want to say that this book is the perfect example of why you should keep writing. it isn't perfect, but it was entertaining and for sure a great start into a writing career that I can really see take flight.
over and out
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2025
was this book amazing? no. but did it get me out of a major reading slump & satisfied my southern gothic fantasy? yes of course. there was also so many typos & grammatical errors it made me want to scream!!
June 13, 2025
Honest review:
I wanted to post an honest review as a person who reads quite a bit, because I want this author to WRITE MORE PLEASE!
I loved the characters, the build up, and the eventual romance. It’s very very sweet and it’s enthralling enough to keep you locked in and wanting more. The characters are soooo cute even zions very mean and hateful crankiness is endearing when (like rosemary and myself) you’re a fix-him type of gal LOLL. Theres also a CRAZY twist i loved it i literally gasped hahaha
That being said- I do have a couple of critiques.
1: there are lots of grammar mistakes and misspelled words. Hey- it’s the authors first book we can cut her some slack it’s easy to miss things when you’re not a huge author with editors etc.
2: some of the dialogue felt… forced. Not sure how to convey what I mean but some of it just didn’t feel natural like this is how a real conversation would go. My advice for that (if our lovely author reads reviews) would just be to read the dialogue out loud as if you’re acting it out. Especially since the goal is to eventually get an audio version- you want the dialogue to feel like a real conversation so it’s not choppy over audio. But again- it’s homegirls first time writing and the dialogue got better throughout the book so I’m not being a hater AT ALL! I genuinely want this author to write more- I was left wanting more of rosemary and Zion!!! I literally want fan art of them asap HAHA they’re so precious and as I said my critiques are so minimal because I loved the characters and their story. I also appreciate the accuracy of both Zion and rosemary’s practices. AND ROSEMARY ATE ZION UP LIKE 700 TIMES AND IT WAS FIRE EVERY TIME HAHAHA so I love her obvi.
Over all: this is fantastic for a first time author. She has so much potential to write more and get better and better with each one. I’m looking forward to more of her work!! Currently manifesting a sequel 🙏
I wanted to post an honest review as a person who reads quite a bit, because I want this author to WRITE MORE PLEASE!
I loved the characters, the build up, and the eventual romance. It’s very very sweet and it’s enthralling enough to keep you locked in and wanting more. The characters are soooo cute even zions very mean and hateful crankiness is endearing when (like rosemary and myself) you’re a fix-him type of gal LOLL. Theres also a CRAZY twist i loved it i literally gasped hahaha
That being said- I do have a couple of critiques.
1: there are lots of grammar mistakes and misspelled words. Hey- it’s the authors first book we can cut her some slack it’s easy to miss things when you’re not a huge author with editors etc.
2: some of the dialogue felt… forced. Not sure how to convey what I mean but some of it just didn’t feel natural like this is how a real conversation would go. My advice for that (if our lovely author reads reviews) would just be to read the dialogue out loud as if you’re acting it out. Especially since the goal is to eventually get an audio version- you want the dialogue to feel like a real conversation so it’s not choppy over audio. But again- it’s homegirls first time writing and the dialogue got better throughout the book so I’m not being a hater AT ALL! I genuinely want this author to write more- I was left wanting more of rosemary and Zion!!! I literally want fan art of them asap HAHA they’re so precious and as I said my critiques are so minimal because I loved the characters and their story. I also appreciate the accuracy of both Zion and rosemary’s practices. AND ROSEMARY ATE ZION UP LIKE 700 TIMES AND IT WAS FIRE EVERY TIME HAHAHA so I love her obvi.
Over all: this is fantastic for a first time author. She has so much potential to write more and get better and better with each one. I’m looking forward to more of her work!! Currently manifesting a sequel 🙏
July 13, 2025
I would say that this book deserves 2,5/5 stars, but since Goodreads doesn’t do halves I rounded it up to 3.
The main idea and concept was interesting, but I didn’t think that the actual content lived up to the hype that was shared on social platforms. It was the same vibe as you may think of, but the story itself wasn’t what I expected at all. It was supposed to be a love story and a murder mystery, but the love story wasn’t very engaging and the mystery was barely even solved.
I personally did not enjoy reading this book because of this. It felt as though the characters’ emotions weren’t genuinely expressed. Instead, their actions were more explained simply without mixing in what they thought or felt in the moments they had which contributed to lack of engagement in trying to live the story. The grammar was also concerning in the way that it relied too heavily on the words “very” or “really” to increase the meaning of adjectives. Lastly, I also didn’t think that this was a “book” book. It was more of a simple fiction you would find on Wattpad without even searching. Even the cover is a typical Wattpad-cover, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.
I would recommend the book to people who like short books, books that are easy to read and books with a simple plot that doesn’t crave that you remember every little detail to understand the plot. If you are a person who’s into this type of reading, or a sucker for Wattpad-stories, I would definitely suggest you to read it. Otherwise, please don’t spend your time on this piece of literature. There are way better books to read instead.
The main idea and concept was interesting, but I didn’t think that the actual content lived up to the hype that was shared on social platforms. It was the same vibe as you may think of, but the story itself wasn’t what I expected at all. It was supposed to be a love story and a murder mystery, but the love story wasn’t very engaging and the mystery was barely even solved.
I personally did not enjoy reading this book because of this. It felt as though the characters’ emotions weren’t genuinely expressed. Instead, their actions were more explained simply without mixing in what they thought or felt in the moments they had which contributed to lack of engagement in trying to live the story. The grammar was also concerning in the way that it relied too heavily on the words “very” or “really” to increase the meaning of adjectives. Lastly, I also didn’t think that this was a “book” book. It was more of a simple fiction you would find on Wattpad without even searching. Even the cover is a typical Wattpad-cover, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.
I would recommend the book to people who like short books, books that are easy to read and books with a simple plot that doesn’t crave that you remember every little detail to understand the plot. If you are a person who’s into this type of reading, or a sucker for Wattpad-stories, I would definitely suggest you to read it. Otherwise, please don’t spend your time on this piece of literature. There are way better books to read instead.
June 22, 2025
Holy Grammar Mistakes
This story was lovely. I loved the character Rosemary and found I felt a personal connection to her. But my god. Did this book have an editor at all?? There were a few instances where I genuinely didn’t know what was trying to be said. And a couple of errors where one second we’re in the church and next second we’re laying down under the willow and I have no clue how we got there??
All in all with a little fine tuning, I think this could be a really good story! Just needs a few corrections.
This story was lovely. I loved the character Rosemary and found I felt a personal connection to her. But my god. Did this book have an editor at all?? There were a few instances where I genuinely didn’t know what was trying to be said. And a couple of errors where one second we’re in the church and next second we’re laying down under the willow and I have no clue how we got there??
All in all with a little fine tuning, I think this could be a really good story! Just needs a few corrections.
May 11, 2025
Oh man. This book was, in my opinion, religious fanfiction. The female lead felt like an insert of the author, the male lead was boring, the sheer amount of flashbacks were unnecessary, the spelling and grammatical mistakes were numerous, no one had believable dialogue, everything was predictable. Not great, but I’m not mad I read it. It was entertaining. Isn’t that one of the reasons we read anyway?
June 15, 2025
the concept of this book is SOOO interesting to me. i really loved the story and even with its short length it built up the backstory of both Zion and Rosemary really well. it’s certainly not my typical read but i absolutely loved it. the scene when Zion went into the church, screaming at the cross oh. my. god. i really understood and could relate to his struggles with his faith in god. i would agree with some other readers that there is definitely more that could have been expanded on and tension build up but all in all i had fun reading it soooo. i certainly wasn’t expecting that ending but i think it’s kind of a twisted happy ending for Zion and Rosemary at least. i can’t wait to see more from this author!!
quotes i loved:
-“fear doesn't inspire people to be better. It just makes them afraid of being punished."
-“You are vile and have no self-control. You are sweet and merciful. You are the most daring and beautiful creature I have ever seen on earth, and I love you deeply for that."
-“For even God could never damn someone as lovely as her.”
-“Love this pure could never be a sin. Not the way she does it.”
-“"I will throw this collar into the deepest pits of hell if it means I get to have you again."
quotes i loved:
-“fear doesn't inspire people to be better. It just makes them afraid of being punished."
-“You are vile and have no self-control. You are sweet and merciful. You are the most daring and beautiful creature I have ever seen on earth, and I love you deeply for that."
-“For even God could never damn someone as lovely as her.”
-“Love this pure could never be a sin. Not the way she does it.”
-“"I will throw this collar into the deepest pits of hell if it means I get to have you again."
July 5, 2025
Go for the unexpected, go outside your normal reading norm and explore. Be open minded and be rewarded with incredible mind movies created from a magic of words on paper (or kindle)
Zion & Rosemary will forever live in my mind rent free, and the aesthetic that was created was beautiful.
It’s giving a little True Blood and that sucked me right in!
No spoilers; but the twists and turns 🤯 the fear and anxiety was also palpable and so was longing.
I’m recommending this book to everyone I know! And I know they’ll snap it up and read it as quick as I did.
Zion & Rosemary will forever live in my mind rent free, and the aesthetic that was created was beautiful.
It’s giving a little True Blood and that sucked me right in!
No spoilers; but the twists and turns 🤯 the fear and anxiety was also palpable and so was longing.
I’m recommending this book to everyone I know! And I know they’ll snap it up and read it as quick as I did.
June 13, 2025
I liked this book a lot. I wished it would have been longer or had an epilogue. If you’re looking for something short and engaging this is it. She’s a witch and he’s a priest. Angsty, small touches with chemistry you can feel, set in the 1950s. This is a debut novel and I am looking forward to reading more from her.
June 13, 2025
4 / 5 ⭐️
Eine Hexe, die von allen gehasst wird und ein Priester, der sich seinen eigenen Dämonen gegenübersteht. Sign me tf up!
Eine Hexe, die von allen gehasst wird und ein Priester, der sich seinen eigenen Dämonen gegenübersteht. Sign me tf up!
August 15, 2025
The concept of this book is good but what a snooze fest. TikTok led me astray with this pick!
January 13, 2026
dachte irgendwie das wäre ein spicy buch NAJA
trotzdem ganz okay, kann man lesen, muss ma aber auch nicht.
viel zu kurz und nicht gut ausgeschmückt, meiner meinung nach.
trotzdem ganz okay, kann man lesen, muss ma aber auch nicht.
viel zu kurz und nicht gut ausgeschmückt, meiner meinung nach.
June 12, 2025
Amazing. Beautiful. Stunning. Loved it.
June 10, 2025
This was such a great short story!!! 🤭
June 19, 2025
glad he kept his faith in the end.
hope there'll be a sequel because I need answers and the ending made me curious
hope there'll be a sequel because I need answers and the ending made me curious
October 12, 2025
3.5 ⭐️ this filled the hot priest void that fleabag left 🙂↕️
October 29, 2025
57 erros de gramatica e formatação por capitulo but trust que catholic guilt will always do it for me
August 27, 2025
When I heard about this book, I was super excited about the idea. I saw that it was a shorter book and I was looking for a fun quick read to kick off summerween! I saw a lot of reviews where people complained about how they wished the book was longer, but everything in the book was timed out very well nothing felt rushed. This was a very enjoyable read I love the trope of a priest, falling into a forbidden romance. There’s some really fun twist in this book and some aspects I wasn’t expecting! I really enjoyed this read, and look forward to seeing what the author puts out next!
June 13, 2025
1.5 ⭐️ Interesting concept but there are sooooo many typos. Really needs a good edit. The idea is there but the execution could be improved!
June 20, 2025
that was exceptional. had me wrapped and intrigued the whole book. so much angst. I absolutely loved the southern vibes and sweet tea references
April 27, 2025
Slow Burn
Took a couple chapters but it's good would read again. I might have to I was confused at first but that cleared up.
Took a couple chapters but it's good would read again. I might have to I was confused at first but that cleared up.
April 5, 2025
I absolutely enjoyed this read! The author wasted no time getting to the plot and it hooked me in from the very beginning! I did wish for more in depth character development and wanted more from their past history simply because I loved both main characters. No spice but there was some great romance and some banter. This book has great potential for a series or prequel which i would happily buy!
November 19, 2025
TLDR; Rant.
The concept of this book had me drooling at the mouth, ready to read it. Every time I forgot about The Devil Resides in Louisiana, my brain would remind me, so I finally caved and bought the book.
As stated, the concept was fantastic, but there is not much execution. Aside from grammatical errors, this book has several other issues. The pov changes were rough and often were completely unindicated, leaving me as a reader genuinely confused about what is going on and who is speaking. I swear the characters would be in one area, and basically teleport to another, but there were also no indicators of the moving?? There were a few instances I had to go back and try to reread to figure out how the hell they got there, to no avail.
This book, through its advertising on other platforms, also indicated it was supposed to be spicy; there wasn't a sad old jalapeno in this. One small kiss scene after ALLAT? The plot was not strong enough on its own to hold together this story, and when I was excited for what I thought would be actual romance, I was so, so, so disappointed. This story needed to be much longer and more filled out for the characters' sake and the plot. there was also no genuine background for the witchcraft, either? It just felt like stereotypical witch stuff, like jars full of weird stuff and a black cat. I wish more research had been done, so this aspect of the story also would have flowed better because we were working with nothing, ladies and gents.
I wish there had been actual POV's from Rosemary's perspective. I really think that would have helped flesh a few things out. Also, why was Zion so insufferable the entire book??? Maybe this book just was not for me, and that's okay, but I was so excited for the concept. Oftentimes, the language and the general demeanor of this book DID NOT reflect the time that it's in. In no world did I genuinely feel as though this book was set in Louisiana nor that it was in 1957.
The concept of this book had me drooling at the mouth, ready to read it. Every time I forgot about The Devil Resides in Louisiana, my brain would remind me, so I finally caved and bought the book.
As stated, the concept was fantastic, but there is not much execution. Aside from grammatical errors, this book has several other issues. The pov changes were rough and often were completely unindicated, leaving me as a reader genuinely confused about what is going on and who is speaking. I swear the characters would be in one area, and basically teleport to another, but there were also no indicators of the moving?? There were a few instances I had to go back and try to reread to figure out how the hell they got there, to no avail.
This book, through its advertising on other platforms, also indicated it was supposed to be spicy; there wasn't a sad old jalapeno in this. One small kiss scene after ALLAT? The plot was not strong enough on its own to hold together this story, and when I was excited for what I thought would be actual romance, I was so, so, so disappointed. This story needed to be much longer and more filled out for the characters' sake and the plot. there was also no genuine background for the witchcraft, either? It just felt like stereotypical witch stuff, like jars full of weird stuff and a black cat. I wish more research had been done, so this aspect of the story also would have flowed better because we were working with nothing, ladies and gents.
I wish there had been actual POV's from Rosemary's perspective. I really think that would have helped flesh a few things out. Also, why was Zion so insufferable the entire book??? Maybe this book just was not for me, and that's okay, but I was so excited for the concept. Oftentimes, the language and the general demeanor of this book DID NOT reflect the time that it's in. In no world did I genuinely feel as though this book was set in Louisiana nor that it was in 1957.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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