A Spirited Panda Blog

Hello everyone!

I am so excited to post my first book review for 2025. I did not post on my blog in a few years, and I have to admit I lost all motivation. I continued to read, though. Reading always brought me so much joy, and with work being so busy, I just had to let life run its course. I am back now, and I have so many books I want to speak about.

The book I will be reviewing tonight is Slew Foot by Brom. The first time I saw the cover, I was scrolling through Pinterest, and many of the comments stated that it was a great book. I chose to listen to the book on Audible, which took me a week to finish, so here are my thoughts.

Slewfoot is about a woman named Abitha, recently widowed, outcast, and alone in a pious village. She moves to Sutton, Connecticut, not knowing the ways of the people residing there, and once she’s alone, she has to prove to everyone around her that she can maintain her own life without help from a man.

Abitha then has to do what it takes to hold on to everything she holds dear, but then she catches the attention of Samson. He is an ancient spirit. The Wildfold calls him father, slayer, and protector. The villagers, though, call him “The Devil.” This book is Historical Horror, which I love.

Samson then asks Abitha to help him recapture his lost memories in exchange he helps her with keeping her home. Along the way, she meets the many other spirits and creatures that live in the woods. He gives her magic, and Abitha uses her newfound powers to improve her land. But as she succeeds in maintaining everything with the help of Slewfoot and the magic she is given, she is happier than she’s ever been. She is proud that she can outwhit all who doubted her.

Even though Abitha loses her husband, she and Samson forms a bond of friendship and partnership. Slewfoot is also on his own journey to find out who he is and what his purpose in the world is. She then catches the eyes of people who looked down on her before, and they do what they can to take all she worked hard for. She is then accused of being a witch, and she is betrayed by all who have known her. Vengence is the only thing on her mind. She swears to make all who have wronged her pay with death and ruin. In the end, she fully accepts who she truly is. Abitha and Slewfoot change her community together, igniting a war between Paganism and Puritanism. In this books, the woman saves herself and Abitha does indeed stands on business. Shes the ultimate weapon.

I loved Abitha as the main character. The ending of this book had me cheering her on, and Brom wrote the perfect ending. The physical copy of the book comes withbeautiful and enchanting illustrations, and Brom draws each character perfectly. This book is vivid and full of dark folklore. I gave this book 5/5 stars. This book is the perfect Halloween book, but if you’re a horror fan, then you can read this book any time of the year. I do recommend the audiobook. This book is the first book by Brom I’ve read, and my next read by him is Lost Gods, which I’m excited to start.

If you have read this book, please let me know how you liked it and leave a comment. Thank you for reading!