A Mist Falls Over the Castle

by Livia T. Hatch

When the plague of 1680 decimates Prague, Ilona’s comfortable life as a wealthy merchant’s daughter is thrown into chaos. Her best chance of survival is a hastily arranged marriage to Lord Josef of Ivštejn, a decaying castle hidden deep within the forests of Bohemia. But when he tragically dies before their wedding, and is replaced by his abhorrent Uncle Wilhelm, Ilona knows that whatever evil angels decided her fate must have condemned her to a life spent in suffering.

Then, one midwinter night, she encounters the ghost of Josef—and he is clearly a more perfect match for her than she could have dreamed. As the two fall in love, Ilona must draw on whatever power she can conjure to bind Josef to her and escape her doomed marriage to Wilhelm.

But as Ilona pieces together the nature of Josef's existence, it becomes clear that his soul is tied to a darker history than he has led her to believe. When she realizes that she may have already fallen too far into the infernal underworld that Josef has opened to her, Ilona must decide: should she retreat into a life of quiet misery? Or honor true love at the cost of her soul?

Genres: Horror, Gothic

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication November 10, 2026

Reviews

[bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

the gothic vibes were well done and it was spooky, great for this time of year. however that was its only good feature that i found. i found it very easy to read and get through, but i was incredibly bored and removed from the story and characters. it just lacked anything to keep my interest and felt it went on for way too long, and the book isn’t even that long. but it sure felt like it. also i found myself sometimes questioning the dialogue? i’m not history nerd so i can’t speak for correct words being used in certain time periods but it really didn’t seem appropriate.

thank you netgalley for the chance to read and review this arc copy.

[Teabag.jpg ♡ · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this prior to its release.. I am truly grateful 🫶🏻

As soon as I saw this book being spoken of by the Author, I knew it would be right up my street and boy was I on the money - I thought this was absolutely beautiful.

This dark, gothic, historical fiction with elements of both horror and fantasy really scratched an itch that I didn’t know I had.

Beautiful prose, emotive relationships (being familial, found family and a love that could never fully blossom), and a reluctant yet unavoidable deal with… well I won’t spoil it for anybody but… 😮‍💨

[Annamaria Totagiancaspro · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY RATING: 3.75

Hello there strangers and welcome back for another review by the Library of Babel.

First of all, I would like to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC copy of this novel and the trust in me.

A Mist Falls Over the Castle is a spooky novel with a romance nuance.
The whole story revolves around Miss Ilona and her tragical and long life.
After the death of her parents from the plague, she leaves Prague ready to marry a certain Josef Baron of Castle Ivstejn thanks to the arrangements of her uncle.
Once she reaches the Castle, Ilona immediately falls in love with the place and so did I! I mean, how can you not love a spooky castle in the middle of a forest.
Unfortunately, the wedding between Ilona and Josef never happens as Josef dies the exact same day and from there…well, let’s say Ilona will have some ghostly visits.

The story develops around this old and not really well maintained castle which is haunted. Since the beginning the whole stuff shares ghost stories with Ilona. How the dungeon is haunted. How they’ve seen dark figures around the place and the dark story of the castle doesn’t help.
I loved this part and how the author managed to introduce ghosts straight away and how they are actually a key part of the story. That should have been a wake up call for Ilona, but instead of being scared she was fascinated by it.

Now, regarding the story development, I found that it was a bit too slow at the start and then too fast towards the end. I understand the need to introduce characters and environment at start but maybe everything could have been a bit better distributed.


Regarding the characters, I really liked Ilona’s stubbornness but I found her a bit spoiled sometimes. I could see her character develop during the story and I’m sure she’ll keep growing!

The ending made me a bit sad, even though I kinda had the idea of what could have happened, thanks to a tiny detail that author hid around the first chapters!

My favourite parts were the ones tied to the castles itself, the ghost appearances and this whole spooky atmosphere which made me longing for autumn even more.
However, I don’t believe it’s a too spooky reading and there’s a good bit of romance which I’m sure would be appreciated by readers that might be approaching the genre.

In conclusion, I enjoyed reading this novel and I’m looking forward to knowing what’s gonna happen in the future to Ilona.

Little request to the author, give me more of Castle Ivstejn!

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Mist Falls Over the Castle is a genre blending debut novel from Indie author Livia T. Hatch. Set in Prague and the surrounding Bohemian area during the late 1660s, the story falls Llona, a young woman who lost her family to the plague. She is shipped off by her uncle to her arranged marriage in a decrepit castle, only to have her fiancé die on their wedding day. All alone in the castle she becomes engaged to her fiancé’s uncle who a massive d***. Just as Llona is feeling all is lost she meets the ghost of her fiancé and starts a spicy love affair. But it isn’t that easy. This guy comes with some major strings attached leading her to a very difficult decision. Should she follow love? Or risk her soul?

This book was a quick read for me. It was fast paced with intriguing characters and major spooky vibes. This book is perfect for those wanting to continue spooky season into the incoming cold weather with the dreariness of the castle and the desolation of loneliness. A fantastic first novel for this author and a book I would recommend to horror or dark romantasy fans. If you like both genres this is a match made in heaven.

What I liked:

In my opinion, the main character was the best thing about this book. She says weird things and is sassy. There are times she made me laugh out loud. But she is also thoughtful and kind. I was instantly invested in her story line which pushed the story on. The pacing was fast and there wasn’t the warm up period I sometimes experience where I’m not sure if this book is for me or not.

Who I would recommend this book to

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book with supernatural elements. It isn’t 100% horror nor 100% romantasy so unless you deeply dislike one of the two genres I think you will enjoy this book.

Who I would advise to take a pass on this book

There is spice which is a deal breaker for some. Some may not like the dialogue style. While the more modern, straight forward language worked for me, it might take some people out of the setting. For me, part of what made this book such a quick read was that it didn’t contain super flowery language.

Final Thoughts:

This was a review I didn’t have to struggle to write. It was a vibe match for me and a book I was sad to finish. I look forward to seeing more books from this author.

[Eilís · Rating 3 out of 5]

My very first ARC review - thanks to the publisher/author/Netgalley for the opportunity!

‘A Mist Falls Over The Castle’ lured me in by the title and cover alone; both effectively hinted at the intriguing and atmospheric Gothic narrative to come. Set against the backdrop of an unforgiving plague ravaging 1680s Prague, protagonist Ilona is spirited away by her cold uncle to become bride to a baron who lives deep in the forest. Gothic hijinks, of course, ensue…

🌟What I liked:
- Hatch is very genre savvy and I got a whole heap of delicious Gothic genre conventions to enjoy.
- The heroine, Ilona. Although she did at times seem to have overly modern characterisation compared to the 1680 setting, I’m also no historian or expert (and I appreciate a feisty woman, so I didn’t mind that she put the men around her as much as possible).

👌What stood out:
- The oppressive and moody atmosphere was strong, especially in the first act. A certain gentleman we meet in the forest was delightfully strange.
- Hatch uses some evocative figurative language and descriptions, especially of the setting. Great similes in particular and a lovely lunar motif running throughout (can you tell I’m an English teacher?).

❗️What didn’t work for me:
- The pacing. A slow start combined with a breakneck final half (character introduction after big plot reveal after erotic twist, then do it all over again) sometimes made engaging with the overarching narrative a struggle.
- Anachronistic speech. Again, some of the characters’ turns of phrase felt jarringly contemporary for the setting.
- The direction the narrative takes in the second half of the novel just wasn’t for me. I don’t want to spoil, but the supernatural element wasn’t to my taste overall, although I did like how it affected Ilona’s final decisions.
- The exposition. There are some CHUNKY discussions in this novel, especially as it continues, and they end up being lore dumps. Which is fine, but it makes the narrative and Ilona’s discoveries much less engaging or active, and there’s so much information to process in quite a few long conversations.

‘A Mist Falls…’ will definitely satiate those who like their Gothic heroines fierce, those looking for some spice, and those who don’t mind thinking ‘yep, I’ll just go with it and see.’

[HonestlybookedJulie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was exactly the sort of gothic, eerie read I was in the mood for, with this constant feeling of unease running through it. There was something slightly fantastical about it, but in a crooked, Grimm fairy tale sort of way, which I really loved. It actually gave me a little bit of Susanna Clarke at times, which is very much a compliment.

I really liked Ilona as a main character too. She was interesting and compelling, and I particularly loved her character development. Without getting into spoilers, I loved that when she finally made her decision, she didn’t spend the rest of the book apologising for it or feeling sorry for herself. She basically went, yep, I’ve made my decision and I’m doing it, and I absolutely loved that about her.

I also love a book where everyone is stuck in one setting and you slowly start questioning what the hell is actually going on. The castle was such a good setting for this, especially with that whole sense of, are you actually seeing something? Is it real? Are you going mad? What is happening? It created this really unsettling atmosphere that worked so well.

The pacing and plotting were really good too. There was always something else to get to, so it never felt like the story was dragging its feet. Even the side characters were well written. You got enough of them to understand who they were and for them to add something to the story, without taking attention away from Ilona and the main storyline.

Overall, this was just a cracking read. Really gothic, eerie and slightly strange in exactly the right way, with a great setting, a compelling main character and plenty of that creeping sense of unease. It would be a great one to pick up around autumn or Halloween when you want something with that misty, spooky castle atmosphere.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy.

[Zi Ou Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Mist Falls Over The Castle
Livia T Hatch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

First of all, I would like to thank Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op and Livia T Hatch for providing me with an ARC for review!

A Mist Falls Over The Castle has probably been my favourite read of the year so far! The first thing I adored was the atmosphere of the book, the world building and history surrounding Castle Ivštejn were very well done and added a lot of depth to the setting. The stories behind some of the hauntings at Ivštejn were very unsettling, and the whole story has an eerie and uneasy feeling. I also liked seeing how Ilona interacted with the staff day to day, it added wonderful contrast with the creepiness of the night and it added more dimension to all the characters.
Speaking of characters, that was another thing I loved about this book. Ilona is a really well written character and I loved reading the story from her point of view. She is very clever, sharp and determined to get what she wants. It was really interesting being in her head, especially towards the end of the book where things are revealed and she must decide how to deal with them on her own, or risk sounding mad. Josef’s character is where things get even more interesting- the nature of his existence is ambiguous at first and he is definitely not what he seems, I definitely started getting an uneasy feeling the more he appeared. I don’t want to spoil anything in this review, but there are so many twists- at one point i had to put the book down to process what I’d just read.
Overall, A Mist Falls Over The Castle was an enthralling, haunting read with lots of twists and turns! I would definitely recommend this for fans of gothic atmospheres, haunted castles and witty female leads!

[Liberty Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another unfortunate case of a five star read losing steam halfway through and dropping to maybe three stars, leaving me wondering how to feel about it. A Mist Falls Over the Castle starts off with excellent gothic atmosphere, a setting with a ton of potential, and builds tension at a slow but steady pace. I was having a great time, and I was surprised by how well the romance elements were handled as it didn't take anything away from the creepiness of it all. There's a great cast of side characters, and I really enjoyed Ilona's character development and resourcefulness. There were a lot of interesting plot threads involving this familial estate and I was excited to see where it was going to go with all the supernatural elements.

However once we pass the halfway point and we get some twists and reveals, I felt like all the momentum that had built up was kinda lost. This kind of story depends on a good balance of showing and not telling, and it think it told too much too fast. If this is the start of a series I think some things could've been saved for later or just more evenly paced in this one. I was bummed that the last few reveals felt more disappointing than surprising, and I kept waiting for more twists because I felt like there had to be more to it than what we were given. The setup was just so good that I thought it deserved more payoff.

All that said I think I'd rate this 4 stars to split the difference? Honestly I would continue to read this series if there's a possibility of feeling how I felt at the beginning of this book. The author certainly has the talent so I really hope my issues with this are just the price of setting up the series. It's not an excuse, but I'd still give this another shot.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

[Tye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and author for providing a copy for review

A Mist Falls Over the Castle has the bones to be a great gothic horror. Unfortunately, it did fall flat for me.

While the prologue did throw me off and feel a bit out of place (the story does eventually circle back), the beginning of the story had a lot of promise. The premise intrigued me and I love an eerie castle setting. I was interested enough to ignore the tone of the book that read very contemporary for the time period.

What made it fall apart for me was the romance that I feel fell very hard into the insta-love category. I think the FMC and the love interest spoke a total of twice before the word "love" was starting to be thrown around. I do appreciate and even liked the twists and turns this particular aspect of the story took. I just wish the book took more time to develop these relationships.

I also really could not stand Ilona as a main character. I think that the anachronistic speech did not help, but she often came across as whiny, entitled, and a little dumb. I love female rage and it's silly to think that women in history didn't have feminist mindsets, but most of the time she came across less as progressive and more just extremely childish.

I do think the atmosphere here was nicely done. Especially after the book takes a turn around the 70% mark, the sense of dread ramped up a few notches and I found myself enjoying it a lot more.

This book has a lot of potential and I definitely think there is an audience for it. I'll likely pick up the sequel when it's released.

[emily ⏾⋆.˚ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel pretty ambivalent about this one. Sure, it's readable and I think it will appeal to a lot of people. But for my tastes, it just didn't work for me. I was really excited by the premise. An alchemy-tinged gothic set in 17th century Czechia really seemed super up my alley. However, stylistically, it was not my cup of tea for a historical novel. If it had been straight fantasy, I might have been willing to concede a bit more. But it is distinctly set in 1680, but nothing about the novel at all from the descriptions to the worldbuilding to the dialogue felt rooted or reflective of 1680 at all. I prefer my historical fiction (even when it's speculative) to feel a little more evocative of the period. The dialogue, in particular felt really anachronistic. I'm not expecting full adherence to 17th century speech patterns, but I'd prefer a book to not have the same vibes as a tiktok vertical series. Which, this kind of did in a lot of ways. Like, I didn't buy or care for the romance in any capacity. It was way too quick and with no development. I found Maladax to be a very corny villain. And I found the pacing to be too disjointed. Also it refers to the Malleus Maleficarum as a book of witchcraft… which is quite literally the opposite like damn, that was really a big UHH for me.

I will say, I could feel some definite influences of early Gothic writers -- particularly Ann Radcliffe -- in some of the writing which I appreciated. But overall, this unfortunately underwhelmed me. Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for an ARC in exchange for honest review.

[xan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The story follows Ilona, whose life is turned upside down after losing her parents to the 1680 plague and being left alone to navigate a life on her own. her betrothed dies before she even gets the chance to meet him.

This book was one twist after another, and I was constantly on my toes trying to figure out what was coming next! The gothic, eerie atmosphere was absolutely perfect for a fall read, and the descriptions of Castle Ivštejn and the surrounding forest made the setting feel hauntingly beautiful

my favorite parts of the setting is a Dark forests, a mysterious castle, strange magic, secrets, and an increasingly unsettling sense of isolation.
There was this constant feeling that something wasn't quite right, which made the book so difficult to put down.

I will say the end of the book felt as if it was a bit rushed I still have sooo many questions and hope to see a second book!

This is definitely a book for readers who love gothic settings, eerie mysteries, dark magic, romance and stories that keep you guessing until the very end. 🖤🏰🌲

[Ashley Whitehurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC of this book!

This book has everything I love: a gothic setting, a smart female protagonist, stunning imagery, and a dash of some romance to boot! Livia T. Hatch created an immersive world that I could get lost in ; ability to create an atmosphere was so impressive. And this book kept me guessing until the last page!!!!! I did not see the first twist coming, then I thought I knew what was going to happen, then the rug was pulled out from under me (in the best way.) I finished this and immediately wanted to re-read it! If you love horror, un conventional romance, or just plain good books, pick this up! Pub Date: Nov 10 2026

[Joan Blendowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is of an ARC from NetGalley.

I was looking for horror and not expecting Romantacy (not usually my Genre) overall I enjoyed this, I might consider the other books in the series. I felt the first chapter was a little disconnected from the rest of the book, and it wasnt until the end that it re-connected. I wished for more of that as a subplot. I also felt for a setting in 1680 there were times that the dialogues were a bit too modern. The character development was really good, and there was a nice flow! I enjoyed Ilona as the MC, watching her strong will and personality and confidence grow! Im curious what might happen in other books of this series. If Castles and Romance and a touch of horror are your thing, I recommend this!

[Maddi Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ This was such a fun and spooky read. I wish I would have seen it was book one of a series before I read it though. The beginning was a little slow, but I thought that worked as they set up the setting and the ghosts in the castle. But then the last 10% of the book was so speedy fast moving through plot. But, I did have a lot of fun reading this and will definitely be interested in a sequel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Maranda Weathermon]

first thank you Netgally for the ARC opportunity

I enjoyed this book. the setting was interesting and not something that you often see even in historical friction set in the same time period. the FMC was interesting and I enjoyed her internal monologue and thinking. The pacing felt a little off but not anything that would put me off. This was a rather quick read with relatable characters, good twists and enough intrigue to keep me reading