*SPOILERS AHEAD*
A spirited young Englishwoman, Abitha, arrives at a Puritan colony betrothed to a stranger – only to become quickly widowed when her husband dies under mysterious circumstances. All alone in this pious and patriarchal society, Abitha fights for what little freedom she can grasp onto, while trying to stay true to herself and her past.
I just absolutely loved Abitha’s character. She’s really had to already overcome so much in her life living with an abusive father after her mother died and then being sold and shipped off to a new country to marry a man she’s never met and still trying to make the best of her situation. I liked Edward as well, he really did take Abitha’s word into consideration despite growing up in this kind of society. I felt like he was more progressive thinking and would of came around had he not died. Abitha was just trying to be independent and free of all of these rules that are placed upon her by the church and all these men.
Samson’s storyline was a tad confusing to be honest. I wasn’t as interested in finding out who he really was, it was kind of obvious he was some kind of god of the wilderness so it wasn’t a huge surprise when he did get his memories back. It was a little chaotic and hard to envision exactly what was happening around him and what was real and what wasn’t. I thought his friendship with Abitha was quite pure and almost innocent in a way. All he wanted was to help her and in turn try and find out who he was.
Puritanical society is so frustrating to read from. Having all these men in charge spouting rubbish and creating their own rules and saying it’s God’s will just makes me angry. I would never of been able to survive in this kind of world and I can fully relate to Abitha and her quest for freedom from this oppressive way of life. I think that version of society is the real horror in this book and everything that Abitha done for revenge was justified. They treated her and Sarah horrifically and when she became the witch they wanted her to be it was satisfying to see her give those men their dues.
⭐️4/5 stars horrifying, gory and such great read!
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