My only complaint is that this wasn't longer. :) I'd love to read a full novel in this historical setting with steampunk magic, with these beautiful characters. No one does trans romance like Austin Chant. Caroline's Heart may not have touched me the way Peter Darling once did (and I didn't really expect it too; that book was one of a kind for me, hitting all the right tropes in all the right ways), but it was nonetheless an incredibly enjoyable read that really made me feel for the characters.  Roy and Cecile are both so interesting and real, and they have a wonderful dynamic together; the ending put a big smile on my face. The writing really pulled me in, making me feel like I visited all the places there: the ranch, Cecile's house with its attic, the little port town. The magic system is intriguing and well-developed despite the word count constraints of a novella. Overall, this is something I'd love to reread sometime, once the details of the story are less clear in my memory.

This is the kind of fun, thoughtful #ownvoices romance I really wanted to  give full 5 stars too, especially since, while remaining a hopeful romantic journey at its core, the novella touches on plenty of important subjects, such as what it means to be autistic, fat, kinky,  trans, polyamorous, demiromantic, and more. Unfortunately, the problem for me was that the book often got kind of preachy on all these subjects. Time and time again I felt like the characters stopped going about their lives and started lecturing me. The other small thing that makes me lower my mark is that I wish the book told me more about Gideon, the person who initially brought the MC, Ernest, and his LI Nora together as metamours. I really wish I was shown more of him and his dynamic with both central characters to understand them better.

Even with all that, however, I really enjoyed the book! It was a wonderful quick read with plenty of representation, a super diverse cast, and a great development between the leads as well as a great take at polyamory. So often when two metamours develop an attraction toward each other in romance like this, they end up in a closed triad, but here Ernest and Nora build something of their own while each keeping a separate relationship with Gideon. (Come to think of it, maybe that's why the author chose to keep Gideon largely out of the plot—to reinforce the subversion of the trope?). This is not a rare development in real life, and it deserves to be covered in romance.

I also adored Ernest as a character very much. He is such a loveable person, and a lot of his struggles were so relatable for me. Actually, I loved everyone I got to meet in this book. The found family aspect was spot-on and reminded me of life in my own house and my own relationships with friends. My favorite thing was the way everyone took steps to communicate as clearly and safely as possible—that was so beautiful to read. In the afterword, the author promises more books with these characters—I can't wait to read them!

There are a lot of creepy things in this book: beasts of the wood, witch queens, water turning to blood, mysterious plagues. But the true horrors here are man-made, as the quote above suggests. Sometimes, the designated external threat is just a cover—or an excuse—for the inside crimes.

The Year of the Witching has a powerful message that is woven in every part of the narrative. The character development here is a definite strength: the lead character's journey is logical and thoughtfully shown, and every other character we meet is interesting and complex, with their own set of truths and lies they live by. I loved the atmosphere of the mysterious Darkwood forest and the claustrophobic feel of the cult-like Puritanic community the story mostly takes place in. 

The pacing felt a little rushed at a few key points, and I had a few small qualms with the prose: it's very good overall, but sometimes it seemed like the author found a great turn of phrase that worked beautifully the first time around, then kept using it again and again. Those are pretty minor flaws, though, and they didn't stand in the way of greatly enjoying the story.