Witch Light

Published on 20 April 2026 at 20:12

Witch Light

🕯️🪦🧙‍♀️👻

by Zohra Nabi

★★★★

At a glance

Things I loved:

✍🏼 Author: Zohra Nabi

🎨 Cover artist: Paolo Escobar

📅 Release Date: 9th April 2026

📚 Book type: Chapter, 336 pages

🌟 Reader level: Confident, 9+

🕯️ spooky boarding school
🌫️ eerie moorland setting
👭 fierce friendship
🧙‍♀️ witches & dark magic
📜 secrets of the past
😶 rebelling against the “seen and not heard” rules

Dive Deeper

My Thoughts...

I read Witch Light by Zohra Nabi after loving the first Cassia Thorne mystery - and it did not disappoint. Of course the front cover is also absolutely gorg and could not be ignored!

The setting is one of my favourite parts of this book – bleak moorland, icy rivers, abandoned buildings, and those brilliantly spooky night-time noises that make you want to hide under your bed! Zohra Nabi creates such an eerie atmosphere that I was genuinely creeped out at points (which doesn’t happen often!). It really reminded me of the brilliant writing of Phil Hickes in the Aveline Jones series.

I also loved the friendships in this – especially how Cassia and Martha grow to trust each other and work together to uncover the truth before it’s too late. I hate how awfully both Martha and Cassia are treated (Cassia for her heritage and Indian roots, and Martha because of her desperation to be independent and stand for what she believes in) but love that they team up to tackle those who want to silence them.

🌟I’d definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy ghostly, atmospheric stories with witches and dark magic. It’s slightly more complex in places (with interesting links to the British Empire and Indian trade – great for discussion), but the main mystery is gripping and easy to follow.🌟

Blurb

Cassia Thorne uncovered a conspiracy in the deep dark underbelly of London involving a mythical beast, but has been whisked away by her uncle to Ravening Hall, a bleak boarding school on the moors of Lancashire. Far away from everything she has known, Cassia struggles to find a place amongst the girls of the school – torn between fitting in with the perfect prefects and the rebellious and wild Martha Torrent.

And something sinister happening at the school. At night there is a strange presence in Cassia’s room, growing stronger with each day. She spies older girls wandering out onto the moors at night. And the local children are terrified of a child-eating witch that haunts Pendle Hill. Suspecting another supernatural mystery, Cassia begins to investigate. Are the stories about the witches of Pendle Hill true? And what do they want with the girls of Ravening Hall?