What do you think?
Rate this book
Witches & Flames
Mercy was Maren Thornwood’s crime.
In the shadow of the 1692 Appalachian Mountains, Maren Thornwood, a young witch, makes a choice that will doom she saves the life of an injured hunter.
Nathaniel Crane knows the penalty for consorting with witches. Yet the woman who healed him with gentle hands has shown him a truth his Order refuses to that love can exist where hatred demands only death.
Theirs are stolen moments burning in firelight. Wooden birds carved as promises. A bond forged in defiance of every law.
But Captain O'Malley has been watching. Waiting. The execution ground is four posts arranged in ancient geometry. Four lives meant to shatter protections older than memory itself. The ritual he has planned will not end the war, it will awaken something far worse.
She should have let him die. He should have walked away. They chose mercy instead.
Witches & Flames is a Gothic historical epic where love is treason, mercy is betrayal, and ancient evil wears the mask of righteousness. This is a story of tragic love, brutal consequences, and a war that will not be kind to those who choose compassion.
Book One of the Witches & Flames series. For readers who crave atmospheric horror, doomed romance, and stories where the stakes are brutal and the choices impossible.
Warning:
This is not a happily ever after story!The magic is folklore and based on folklore material. It is grounded in herbal and blood magic.It is a alternate histcorical setting and not true to the orginal history, even that much inspiration have been taken from historical material.
In the shadow of the 1692 Appalachian Mountains, Maren Thornwood, a young witch, makes a choice that will doom she saves the life of an injured hunter.
Nathaniel Crane knows the penalty for consorting with witches. Yet the woman who healed him with gentle hands has shown him a truth his Order refuses to that love can exist where hatred demands only death.
Theirs are stolen moments burning in firelight. Wooden birds carved as promises. A bond forged in defiance of every law.
But Captain O'Malley has been watching. Waiting. The execution ground is four posts arranged in ancient geometry. Four lives meant to shatter protections older than memory itself. The ritual he has planned will not end the war, it will awaken something far worse.
She should have let him die. He should have walked away. They chose mercy instead.
Witches & Flames is a Gothic historical epic where love is treason, mercy is betrayal, and ancient evil wears the mask of righteousness. This is a story of tragic love, brutal consequences, and a war that will not be kind to those who choose compassion.
Book One of the Witches & Flames series. For readers who crave atmospheric horror, doomed romance, and stories where the stakes are brutal and the choices impossible.
Warning:
This is not a happily ever after story!The magic is folklore and based on folklore material. It is grounded in herbal and blood magic.It is a alternate histcorical setting and not true to the orginal history, even that much inspiration have been taken from historical material.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2025
About the author
C.N. Harrow
35 books8 followersAuthor of gothic horror, atmospheric dread, and whispered madness.
Living in misty Scotland
C.N. Harrow writes tales that linger in candlelit corridors and echo through haunted halls. Drawing inspiration from the shadows of Victorian England and the murmur of forgotten things, Harrow weaves psychological horror with slow-burn suspense and philosophical unease.
His stories are not about cheap thrills, but about the things we do not speak of, the darkness we inherit, and the silence that surrounds the lost.
When not writing, Harrow usually reads ancient texts, explores mist-covered landscapes, collects folklore with his dog, Tag the Labrador, or plays with his children and spends time with his partner, plotting the next descent into the unknown.
All my books are on amazon and D2D.
Living in misty Scotland
C.N. Harrow writes tales that linger in candlelit corridors and echo through haunted halls. Drawing inspiration from the shadows of Victorian England and the murmur of forgotten things, Harrow weaves psychological horror with slow-burn suspense and philosophical unease.
His stories are not about cheap thrills, but about the things we do not speak of, the darkness we inherit, and the silence that surrounds the lost.
When not writing, Harrow usually reads ancient texts, explores mist-covered landscapes, collects folklore with his dog, Tag the Labrador, or plays with his children and spends time with his partner, plotting the next descent into the unknown.
All my books are on amazon and D2D.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 2, 2026
Here Be Wilderness
WITCHES AND FLAMES
by C.N. Harrow
5 stars. The mist had always known Maren Thornwood's name. Its moisture tasted of stone and wet pine. It tasted like a portent...
Laced with something that had learned patience...
Something dark...
Since childhood, Grandmother Elspeth had warned Maren that the mist carried warnings, and she must be attuned...
It warned of old and distant storms...
Maren knew the Appalachians protected her secrets, but safety was fleeting. It might not protect her from what was ahead...
She walked through the mist, gathering herbs before dawn to cure a feverish child in the hollow...
She heard the creek in the distance. It was the sound of safety from a nightmare that stayed with her after waking that morning...
At last, she found the bitter root needed to cure the child's fever...
she also found a smooth stone...
It was marked with ancient sigils half remembered from her nightmare...
The stone felt evil, so she buried it...
Maren was a creature of the hollow. She had learned to observe and heed omens. She sensed a presence parting the forest to slip through...
The mountain held its breath...
She felt herself being watched...
The entity from the nightmare drew near...
It was ancient. Something that fed on sorrow and flames...
It blurred the lines between reality and the supernatural. The eyes of the presence saw her walking the hidden paths...
Meanwhile...
Sargent Nathaniel Crane and his regiment were following a trail. Hunting a woman accused of witchcraft...
A watcher in the woods who served neither God nor Devil...
The map the men followed ended abruptly, and in the map's boundry was a warning:
Here Be Wilderness...
This is Book One in a new series. It is highly atmospheric with prose that is almost poetic in its beauty. The story has its origins in Appalachian folklore. It was fascinating reading, and I loved the cover. IMHO, it is easily a five-star story.
I did not care for the ending, but endings are subjective, so not everyone will agree on how it should've ended. However, It was creepy, atmospheric fun getting there. I will definitely be on the lookout for Book Two.
Recommended!
Thank you, author C.N. Harrow, for providing me with a copy of your book in exchange for an honest review!
WITCHES AND FLAMES
by C.N. Harrow
5 stars. The mist had always known Maren Thornwood's name. Its moisture tasted of stone and wet pine. It tasted like a portent...
Laced with something that had learned patience...
Something dark...
Since childhood, Grandmother Elspeth had warned Maren that the mist carried warnings, and she must be attuned...
It warned of old and distant storms...
Maren knew the Appalachians protected her secrets, but safety was fleeting. It might not protect her from what was ahead...
She walked through the mist, gathering herbs before dawn to cure a feverish child in the hollow...
She heard the creek in the distance. It was the sound of safety from a nightmare that stayed with her after waking that morning...
At last, she found the bitter root needed to cure the child's fever...
she also found a smooth stone...
It was marked with ancient sigils half remembered from her nightmare...
The stone felt evil, so she buried it...
Maren was a creature of the hollow. She had learned to observe and heed omens. She sensed a presence parting the forest to slip through...
The mountain held its breath...
She felt herself being watched...
The entity from the nightmare drew near...
It was ancient. Something that fed on sorrow and flames...
It blurred the lines between reality and the supernatural. The eyes of the presence saw her walking the hidden paths...
Meanwhile...
Sargent Nathaniel Crane and his regiment were following a trail. Hunting a woman accused of witchcraft...
A watcher in the woods who served neither God nor Devil...
The map the men followed ended abruptly, and in the map's boundry was a warning:
Here Be Wilderness...
This is Book One in a new series. It is highly atmospheric with prose that is almost poetic in its beauty. The story has its origins in Appalachian folklore. It was fascinating reading, and I loved the cover. IMHO, it is easily a five-star story.
I did not care for the ending, but endings are subjective, so not everyone will agree on how it should've ended. However, It was creepy, atmospheric fun getting there. I will definitely be on the lookout for Book Two.
Recommended!
Thank you, author C.N. Harrow, for providing me with a copy of your book in exchange for an honest review!
January 5, 2026
4☆
Witches & Fires is C.N. Harrow's best piece of gothic historical fiction to date. His prose is poetic and lyrical and improves with each novel he pens.
Witches & Fires is a cross between eerie historical fiction and fantasy. I wish C.N. had not included the burning of Witches in America because it perpetuates the 300+ year falsehood that Witches were burned at the stake in America. This falsehood served a large role in the tenor needed for the flow of the story, which lead me to call it fantasy.
Some very heavy themes run throughout Witches & Flames; live, hate, evil obsession, healing. The war between the Keepers (Witches) and Hunters is a vicious cycle. Hate breeds hate while violence is met with more intense violence. It is a cautionary tale for our present times.
Thank you C.N. for providing me with ARCs of your work. It is exciting to see your progress as an author.
Favorite Quote:
"Both sides are so consumed by hatred that we poison our own future, that we curse our own children with the weight of feuds they did not choose."
Kaelen
Witches & Fires is C.N. Harrow's best piece of gothic historical fiction to date. His prose is poetic and lyrical and improves with each novel he pens.
Witches & Fires is a cross between eerie historical fiction and fantasy. I wish C.N. had not included the burning of Witches in America because it perpetuates the 300+ year falsehood that Witches were burned at the stake in America. This falsehood served a large role in the tenor needed for the flow of the story, which lead me to call it fantasy.
Some very heavy themes run throughout Witches & Flames; live, hate, evil obsession, healing. The war between the Keepers (Witches) and Hunters is a vicious cycle. Hate breeds hate while violence is met with more intense violence. It is a cautionary tale for our present times.
Thank you C.N. for providing me with ARCs of your work. It is exciting to see your progress as an author.
Favorite Quote:
"Both sides are so consumed by hatred that we poison our own future, that we curse our own children with the weight of feuds they did not choose."
Kaelen
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews