I received a copy free from the publishers via netgalley in exchange for an honest review

content warnings: death, disease, violence, child death

rep: lesbian m/c, lesbian li

I remember reading Burial Rites nearly a decade ago and it's still one of my most memorable reads and I had a strong feeling Devotion would be just as emotional and impactful.

'Thea, there is no line in your palm I have not traced, no knuckle cracked unheard, and the blue of your eyes in the coffin-lining of the world. I would they sing psalms to your and the down upon your thighs, and the eyelashes that have fallen to the fields you have worked. I would they lay boughs upon knees bent to the soil-hum of any place you have rested upon. Thea, if love were a thing, it would be the sinew of a hand stretched in anticipation of grasping. See, my hands, they reach for you. My heart is a hand reaching'.

In Devotion we follow a community of Old Lutherans as they make the long and dangerous journey to Australia in order to practice their faith freely. At the center of this story is the achingly beautiful and equally bittersweet love story between Hanne and her dear companion Thea. Throughout this novel, the characters face tragedy, suffering, death,and grief and yet their love is treated with care - it is tender and tempestuous. This novel is pure poetry, the visuals and landscapes and characters are written so strongly that it leaves such a deep impression.

A novel that wriggled its way into my heart and will not let go.