GENRE: Gothic & Witchy Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: Yes, especially to those who enjoy gothic & witchy fantasy.

Review:
The Briar Book of the Dead is a Gothic Historical Fantasy set in a world that is filled with witches, ghosts and magic. We follow Ellie Briar, who is the first in her family to be born without any magic. This is problematic for her as her family run the town she lives in, known as Silverton. She would need the magic to manage everything in the village. Despite the lack of magic, she is trained by her great aunt to be a steward to her cousin, a powerful witch, Audra.

I honestly LOVED the pace of The Briar Book of the Dead and the way the plot thickens and continues to unravel different mysteries. I loved seeing Ellie develop as a character and continue to grow. I quite enjoyed that this book includes some history of witches and how they do their best to avoid being burned in Silverton.

Ellie is a unique character as she does not have magic, but one day, she hits her head and she can see & hear the dead all of a sudden. She is unique in this and is given a different responsibility than she expected and as she says in the book:

"I've very good at seeing the bigger picture and all its working pars. A perfect steward as long as no magic is required."

This is such a unique spin to magic & witches for me and I quite enjoyed reading it and seeing it grow. Learning that Ellie can speak to the dead and how she uses this newfound connection to learn more about what is happening around her.

We also learn that Ellie's cousins: Audra, Eira and Nia are all witches & powerful in their own way. We learn how they treat Ellie and how it shapes her to be who she is. I think one of the important themes of the book is how family, those who you share bloods with, can exclude you and hurt you in ways others cant. This is seen throughout the story and it is an important part of the plot:

"There's a moment when I consider telling them as they prepare to depart. Look! I'm different now. I'm just as strange as you! I belong. As if that could wash away years of mockery, of difference, of otherness."

Overall, the whole book is filled with background stories and information that helps us understand the characters, the world & the background stories of witches in this world. I quite enjoyed getting to know more about the characters and witches in general in Silverton.

I didnt know that this book is based in the same universe as two other books by the author and will definitely be reading those too.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.