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bibliokyra's reviews
1111 reviews
The Familiars by Stacey Halls
4.0
Set in 1612 during the Pendle witch trials, this story follows 17-year-old Fleetwood Shuttleworth, wife of a noble house, who is on her fourth pregnancy and desperate to give her anxious husband an heir after miscarrying three times before. Fleetwood is heartbroken after discovering a hidden letter from a physician predicting that she will not live through the birth of her child.
Young Fleetwood is uninterested in ladylike pursuits and has a knack for adventure and riding in the woods. This is where she chances upon the mysterious Alice Grey who happens to be a successful midwife. Fleetwood hires Alice after she promises to do everything she can to bring her baby to term and the pair become unlikely friends. Alice uses unconventional methods involving medicinal herbs but manages to bring Fleetwood’s pregnancy further along than she’s been before.
Unfortunately, this was a cruel time in European history and the tale takes a dark turn when Alice is accused of murder and practicing witchcraft along with several others. Fleetwood must do everything in her power to prove Alice’s innocence and free the only true friend she’s ever had—Fleetwood and her unborn child depend on it. Weaving together fiction and historical truth, this is a beautiful story about the injustice against women, witchcraft, female connection and survival.
Young Fleetwood is uninterested in ladylike pursuits and has a knack for adventure and riding in the woods. This is where she chances upon the mysterious Alice Grey who happens to be a successful midwife. Fleetwood hires Alice after she promises to do everything she can to bring her baby to term and the pair become unlikely friends. Alice uses unconventional methods involving medicinal herbs but manages to bring Fleetwood’s pregnancy further along than she’s been before.
Unfortunately, this was a cruel time in European history and the tale takes a dark turn when Alice is accused of murder and practicing witchcraft along with several others. Fleetwood must do everything in her power to prove Alice’s innocence and free the only true friend she’s ever had—Fleetwood and her unborn child depend on it. Weaving together fiction and historical truth, this is a beautiful story about the injustice against women, witchcraft, female connection and survival.
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
5.0
Loved it. No, it wasn’t totally necessary but it gave me a sense of closure and I enjoyed the storytelling from different perspectives.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
5.0
American Dirt is a book that I’ll be recommending to everyone. This is a fictional novel but it is without a doubt someone’s true story. This harrowing novel is an important reminder about the universal human experience. This is a story about love, parenthood, survival, and the humanity behind the headlines.
Lydia Quixano Perez owns a bookstore in the Mexican city of Acapulco, she is happily married to her husband, Sebastián, and together they have a bright, eight-year-old son, Luca. They live a fairly comfortable life despite the rising crime surrounding them. Sebastián is an esteemed narco journalist and is writing a tell-all profile exposing the jefe of the Los Jardineros drug cartel that has savagely taken over their city.
A charming man, Javier, comes into the bookshop and buys two of Lydia’s all-time favorite books which the two bond over and develop a unique friendship. Unbeknownst to Lydia, Javier is the jefe that her husband is about to expose and once his piece his published, her family’s life is completely upended. The rest of the story follows Lydia and Luca as they flee for their lives to the US border.
Thank you so much for gifting me this book, Flatiron Books.
Lydia Quixano Perez owns a bookstore in the Mexican city of Acapulco, she is happily married to her husband, Sebastián, and together they have a bright, eight-year-old son, Luca. They live a fairly comfortable life despite the rising crime surrounding them. Sebastián is an esteemed narco journalist and is writing a tell-all profile exposing the jefe of the Los Jardineros drug cartel that has savagely taken over their city.
A charming man, Javier, comes into the bookshop and buys two of Lydia’s all-time favorite books which the two bond over and develop a unique friendship. Unbeknownst to Lydia, Javier is the jefe that her husband is about to expose and once his piece his published, her family’s life is completely upended. The rest of the story follows Lydia and Luca as they flee for their lives to the US border.
Thank you so much for gifting me this book, Flatiron Books.