DNF'd. I'm not into anti-witch books. Sorry for the delay in posting reviews, I'm attempting to catch up my netgalley backlog.

I love this story and how it is inMedieval times. I could put this books down it had me hooked from the first chapter! Plus the cover who wouldn’t to read it!

This is the first book I read of this author, and from what I gathered its that I like it a lot.
I have many problems with books and their pacings so this one while not on my usual pace and I'm a otherwordly fantasy kinda girl, was a really nice change of pace. I really enjoyed it!

The romance was light, and the characters have cool charactherizations.

Margaret is laying on the ground. There is nothing to come home to. I didn't care for the dialogue.i loved the cover.

I didn't realise before requesting this that the publisher is a Mormon publisher, and the book is a chaste romance; this is not my preferred kind of romance, but that is my fault.

However I struggled to connect to the heroine, as she doesn't seem to have much depth beyond her will for revenge, and I found that the story sat awkwardly between romance and fantasy, with not enough fantastical elements to make it interesting. I DNFed at 27% due to the inaccuracies about witch burnings (the book is set earlier than the law that made witchcraft a capital crime).

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

It’s super depressing that I didn’t get the chance to download this book in time to read it 😭😭 but for some reason it wanted me to write a review.

Thank you Netgalley for this opportunity, sadly because of me I didn’t get to read this!

Revenge, Scottish knight, weird superpower. Who wouldn’t love this.

I haven't read many books from this time period or location. I was listening on audiobook, but would easily get distracted and would need to backtrack. While i loved the themes, it came off a bit too... easy... for the heroine. Always convenient rescues just in time, and the end was a little abrupt.

The main character of this book, Margaret, is one of the strong females that I seem drawn to in stories. She is strong and independent, but insanely stubborn and a bit foolish. She takes unnecessary risks and doesn't trust anyone.
If you're looking for a book where a strong, stubborn female falls in love with a chivalrous rogue, seemingly against her will, this is the book for you.
I, myself, enjoy a shameless romance once in a while, and I enjoyed reading From Ash and Stone.

From Ash and Stone is the second novel I've read (well, I actually listened to the audio of the other one) by Julie Daines and its quite different from her Regencies.

The reivers: raiders who operated along border between England and Scotland between the 15th to the 17th century are a very unusual subject for a novel in this genre. Most people have not even heard of them.
Overall this was an interesting adventure story, with hints of romance. The supernatural elements with Margaret's 'curse' which allowed her to see a person's thoughts added an interesting edge to the story. Although at times, it seemed inconsistent: like she touched some people and nothing happened, almost as if she forgot.

There were a few things that grated: and some that did not make sense. One was Margaret's pigheadedness. I understand that she felt she could not be near anyone because of her curse, but at times she was simply foolish. In fact more than at times. The women did not seem to have any capacity to plan: anything let alone survive independently, and her moral scruples about the Reivers seemed to contradict some of the details about her life. Like, the Reivers were bad for stealing, but how else would she have survived on the streets of London for 6 years? Or was it only stealing from certain people that she held to be wrong?

Angus Robson was sweet: perhaps to the point of being too sweet and perfect. His timely interventions were sort of too convenient. Though his love and example is genuine, the way Margaret treats him was frustrating. Despite her obvious reasons.
I also felt that a lot of the actions of the characters, especially the evil characters lacked motivation. So they came over as sort of cartoonish.

Also why did Margaret flee to London? All the way from Northumberland. That's like 500 miles. Somewhere in the range of a two week journey on foot in the 16th century. There are any number of large towns and cities she could have gone to which were much closer. York or Newcastle or Durham.
Maybe I'm over-analyzing things, and London was chosen because its the only city that the mostly American audience will be familiar with.

Whilst some of the general details were well researched, there were a few minor historical details which niggled. Mostly, the miniature or 'half sized' crossbow: apparently small enough to be hidden underneath a dress (without causing an obstruction to the person, you know, trying to walk).
Its doubtful whether such things ever existed: miniature crossbows seem to be more of a sort of convenient trope that authors use as an alternative to guns in any novel set before 1700. Crossbows could be just as cumbersome, and take a long time to load and operate effectively: a pistol would make just as much sense and seem more plausible.

Also, women were never hanged, drawn and quartered as a rule. It just wasn't done. I do have a bit if an issue with how in a lot of novels any old authority figure seems to be able to just summarily order people to be burned as witches for so much as sneezing. That's also totally inaccurate: only a Church court could try and convict a person for witchcraft, because it was a religious offense.

I did appreciate the use of the landscape in this story and the descriptions of how the troubled situation shaped that landscape. Pele towers in which people could take refuge alongside families and livestock and still be found in the Northern Counties of England to this day.

So, From Ash and Stone was an interesting story about the mental and emotional walls that people put up to protect themselves from being hurt, but by doing so, can hurt others. Its enjoyable for fans of Historical Fantasy, even if it didn't always seem the fantasy elements were necessary.

I purchased this title and the audiobook of my own volition after I forgot to download the Netgalley version. I was not required to write a review and all opinions expressed are my own.

This book was different than I expected. Along with the romance, there was talk of curses, witches, omens... All of which was definitely unique. Overall, I enjoyed the very imperfect hero and heroine and their journey towards a happy ending. Definitely worth a read!

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed are my own.**

There were things I liked and didn't like about this book.

I enjoyed the setting along the English-Scottish border during the reign of Henry VIII. I've never read a book set in that area and the small historical tidbits were fascinating. Julie Daines writing style was easy to read and kept me coming back.

However, I did not enjoy the plot where the whole book was was driven by Meg's motivation for revenge. It got old. It did not give me much to like about the character. Plus, it made the ending not less satisfying. Meg's heart was so set on revenge that it was hard to believe the softening that came at the end.

I finally finished the book and it was okay- I was a bit disappointed with the overall theme how Margaret is so bent on revenge it left little room for character development. I love anything from King Henry VIII's time and have devoured books in that time period. This book takes place at the borders which was interesting since not many books focus on that location nor far away from King Henry VIII's court which it gives a bit more of a perception how people live outside the court.

I had many issues with this story, apart from the heroine's pigheadedness! The author claims that our heroine lived in the gutter of London alone, from the age of 10 till she was 16, having no means to support herself except robbing unsuspecting passerbys. And still she managed to escape them unscathed and to retain her good looks, her fair skin and rosy complexion to pass as a noblewoman upon her return to the highlands. I don't know why that little detail bothered me so much but it did. Besides, having gained such an experience, she appears to be too naive and impetuous in her beliefs and actions.
The paranormal element of the story was just meh...

I enjoyed every book I have ead by Julie Daines and From Ash and Stone does not disappoint. I loved it! Five stars.

I love that Margaret had a goal of revenge but was able to find peace and love instead. The supporting cast was well written. I was worried that the supernatural twist would take away from the story, but it added an additional layer of complexity. The love story was well done & I enjoyed how the love helped solve her problem.

The story sets place in the 16th century on the borderlands of England and Scotland. Lady Margaret lost her family during childhood and vowes revenge.
The book is well written and I enjoyed the story well enough, anything about England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales and you always have my attention. I love medieval times and the grit and grimy feel of it. However, I did feel unconnected to the MC. She was so obsessed with her revenge that she lost her head a lot of times. I would think having been planning your revenge for so long you would develop a more street smart attitude. I did find the supporting cast very interesting and entertaining. I would recommend this book if you are in the mood for a satisfying HEA revenge story about forgiveness, with a bit of the paranormal...

I received a free copy via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

I picked this book because the title and the plot sounded intriguing.
I made a wright choice to do so.
If a book grabs me from the begging, and at least few first chapters I am bought ....
This was such a case here.
The plot takes place in 16th century. There is a woman who is very bitter and surrounded with the curse. Of course add a little mystery in it - and you have a hit!
I won't spoil too much, but the plot is fast paced, characters interesting and you learn a few things from a historical point of view is also and asset.
Again, new author from me, but she won't be forgotten!

Lady Margaret Grey is the daughter of Sir Godric Grey and her mother Margery. She and her brother and parents lived in a three story pele tower, called Hartfell. She kept remembering when the Rievers raided her home, they had burned everything that would including her family and her father died when he was fighting and trying to protect his family. She is the only one who survived. She had come back to find the rievers who killed her family. She met Angus Robson lived close by and he and his brother Gillis had rescued her when some unsavor characters tried to steal from her and hurt her. She had let her heart turned to stone.There are a few twists in this tale of Riever's, Marcher's, and a fly, that is what she called Angus because he wanted to help.
I loved this book of a girl who fights and wants justice for her family. But she wants to kill the head riever even if she dies. I also enjoyed where she is always trying to get rid of him and he kept showing back up. He even left his dog to stay so she would have some protection. It is well written, flows smoothly and is easy to read. The characters were were engaging and had depth. I highly recommend the author, Julie Daines.
I received the ARC from net Galley and voluntarily wrote the review.

This book was filled with a unique look into the border marches of the 16th century. I’m still wrapping my head around the reality of people’s lives back then, and am pretty sure I would not have made the cut.

Margaret, the protagonist, was a victim long ago and has since vowed revenge for herself and her family. She is on a mission to exact revenge, at any cost to herself. She is strong, independent, determined, and stubborn. This gets her into trouble more than once. There are other elements involved, including a curse, that make her life difficult.

Enter Angus, a Scot from across the border who continually looks after Margaret and helps her time and time again. He was a wonderful hero and one of my absolute favorite parts of the book!

I have to say I really have no great love for Margaret. She is obsessed, and takes no thought for anyone else or the consequences of her actions. She is rude, unfriendly, and callous to Angus over and over, and then some. I couldn’t figure out why he liked her so much, or why he kept coming back to save/help her.

And the way she dealt with her curse in the end felt very contrived. I would think she would have already tried that method, verses suddenly coming up with it. I kept reading, loving the supporting characters and the idea of the story, and hoping Margaret would change or improve with time, but it was not meant to be.

There was a nice HEA ending, for which I was glad, and Angus almost made the sweet clean romance believable for me, as Margaret couldn’t.

Still a very well written story detailing some of the realities of that time period, even if the protagonist was a bit frustrating.