I adored this book! I fell in love with the characters and the story line from the very first sentence! Well worth the read!

Megge of Bury Down by Rebecca Kightlinter was billed as historical, sci-fi, and fantasy but really it was a novel of the Middle Ages when people saw the world differently and believed more in the occult than we do now. It is a story of Megge who is one of a long line of "wise women," who are healers and are gifted with the "sight." These women are often blamed for a variety of misdeeds and burned at the stake, which was the goal for these women as well. Fortunately the Earl that was their overlord took a little broader view of the world.

It was a little tough to get into in the beginning but as it moved along it became more accessible and made more sense. The characters were two daughters, of sisters, and their two great aunts. All were involved in the legend and heritage that revolved around two books which had been left them from ages past. Although the reputation was that they were imbued with magic, the reality was that they were diaries, of a sort, with knowledge collected along the way, added to be each successive owner. The most striking thing was the prejudice of the time, the way it could be manipulated, and the fact that karma existed even then, to a great extent. It was an interesting read, the time period being on of my favorites. I recommend it if you love the Middle Ages.

I was invited to read a free ARC of Megge of Bury Down by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #meggeofburydown

Megge was a really enjoyable and real character, I enjoyed reading this and getting to know the people in this world. I look forward to more in the series

Pacing Off; Complex World Confusing

I both listened to and read this book at the same time, which I think helped me to understand some of the complexity of this story—and its multigenerational cast of characters—better. The book stars a Cornish, Dark Ages little girl called Megge who was born into a family of healers and seers, and she is supposed to follow in her mother's healing path. She resists this strongly, not wanting to read from the book that has been passed down through the generations. I felt like the pacing was off in this book. The first part felt very slow and repetitious, as it seemed like similar things kept happening, like Megge’s mother helping heal someone when Megge happens to be there to help out—sometimes willingly, sometimes resisting. The pace does get faster, but the two different parts of the book—the first part more about Megge’s family and then the Blackfriars' part—felt too different and were a little disjointed. After all that went before, the ending felt abrupt. I mostly like the narrator of the audiobook, though some of her tones, especially for the moments when Megge’s mother was perhaps whispering (unsure) or talking quickly (??), sounded a little harsh for the words. All in all, I feel ambivalent about this book. I wish the pacing had been more even, and that certain things had been explained better—like the large number of characters and the deep family history. The author has woven a complex world, but it was certainly confusing at times.

*received audiobook for free from netgalley for honest review* Really liked this book, didnt care much for the ending though! it wasnt bad i just dont care much for such open ended, endings i suppose lol, really liked the characters tho

*Many thanks to Rebecca Kightlinger, Rowan Moon and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
I was looking forward to reading this first in a series book, however, I did not find it truly captivating. The background is well presented, however, the number of characters was confusing for me and the writing style was hard to follow for me. A book about healers in the Middle Ages sounds terrific, but this one did not deliver as far as I am concerned.

Megge is of a long line of seers in Cornwall, and is to become apprenticed to her mother, the healer of Bury Down. She doesn't want the responsibility, especially when it also includes taking care of the Book of Seasons, which her ancestor created centuries ago. The book feels alive, and she can't take the vow to protect it. When a Blackfriar abbot intent on rooting out heretics imprisons her mother for not handing over a "demon book," Megge has to decide if she will take the vow after all.

This is the first book of the Bury Down Chronicles, and takes place in the thirteenth century. This is a time when religion and the Church carried a lot of power, and being branded a heretic was practically a death sentence. As with any witch trial, jealousy, greed and lies permeate the testimony given. Megge is innocent of a lot of that intent, as the book begins when she is six years old, and her own family wrestled with how much to tell her about her legacy. I'm never a fan of keeping characters intentionally in the dark and then blaming them for it, so the fact that Megge doesn't know anything and irritates others with her questions bother me. Life in a Medieval Cornwall village is interesting, and seems very similar in some ways to life in small towns even now.

The book starts off fairly slowly in the first half, going from when Megge is six years old to a fully grown adult. Even so, she is a young woman living with her mother, cousin and aunt; her father and uncle had died before she was six, so there are no men to provide physical labor on the farm or to protect them when the abbot comes to the village. Even the married women in the town can't help; the only one able to countermand the abbot is the earl. When even he is too late to do anything to reverse the abbot's witch hunt, you know something is very off about them. The second half has more intrigue to it, and it soon becomes clear why the abbot was as scary as he was. I really felt for Megge, who was caught up in something bigger than herself, and pushed in all directions. There is so much heartbreak for her to endure, and she sometimes blames herself for it even though it was not her fault. When she makes her decision at the end of the novel, it's only the start of a lifetime of work to guard the books and her family.

This book probably has a 3.5 rating. First book in a series. It was a very slow start, and a bit hard to get into. As the story unfolds and we learn more about 12th century Cornwall, and why Megge's mother went about her healing as she did. There are many references to an earlier time and why the books that Mother and the aunt had in their possession were so very important. A lot of this did not come together until the very end. Part of the story plodded on, then the end was rushed.

Unless one is up on Cornish history, there will be places in the story that make little sense. Many of us have heard of the Black Friars and their persecution of healers. One needs a sense of mythology to make heads or tails of the books which were so prized by Megge's family.

I love the start of this new series. I was captivated by this magical story and look forward to the next installment. Beautiful writing!
Many thanks to Rowan Moon and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really loved this book, I honestly think this could become my new favorite series, and definitely in my top 5 favorite series. It actually reminded me a lot a book I read when I was younger that I loved, called Witch Child. This didn't have the same story or format, but I enjoyed the magic behind the more common story of women healers being accused of witchcraft. There were a lot of things that I would wonder and want to know more about, but the pace of the book, and the timing of things being revealed was perfect. I cannot wait for the second book in the series to come out. I went and followed the author on Goodreads before I even finished the book.

Megge is a young girl, a member of a family who hold powers beyond mortals. All have second sight, all have some capacity as healers. The books that hold and convey power for them are being sought by another, one who has pursued the knowledge because of the power it can bring. The plot is fascinating; the characters are vivid and life like. This novel is so very well done that I found myself wanting to take more time with the book, simply because it was so very good. I sincerely hope that this is the beginning of a series.

This book title and cover immediately drew me in! You see I have a wee Megge of my own with those endearing green eyes and Gallic heritage! She too was a little imp of a character growing up! Initially I found the old Welsh names of the characters and some of the vocabulary had me struggling a bit in the beginning. I sometimes think in books such as this a glossary with the names of the characters and a pronunciation of their names and relationships to each other would help to smooth this out a bit. I was frequently turning back in the story to remember who the characters were and what roles they were playing. Soon I was able to keep up and became enamored with this magical story in a mystical. It was an enjoyable read and I will be interested to read about the further adventures of Megge and her family..

Ok. That was a good story and I can appreciate how full the author’s brain must be with these rich characters and their intriguing history and mysterious lore. However, I’m going to have to read the first two chapters again to see if it makes better sense having finished the rest of the book. I was totally lost the first few pages, but I hung on. I’m glad I did. This is a story of powerful yet modest women and their ancestors and descendants who guard and guide two books that see them through life and death.
Megge is drawn into this on her 6th birthday and fights the path she’s inherited from a past life. Her mother, aunts, cousin, and neighbors are key players in helping her reluctantly seek the truth. The way past and current lives intersect can get wordy and a bit confusing, but the characters are vivid and strong and the story plays out in a very readable way.

I read an ARC for my honest review. Honestly, I will seek out the next book in the chronicles of Megge and follow along to see what the fates have in store for her.

"Megge of Bury Down" is one of those books that invites you in and cradles you. I had an astonishing sense of familiarity with the characters and places (I've never been to Cornwall and I've obviously never met any of the fictional characters - sadly!) which, along with the warmth of the writing, gave the whole book a comforting feel. The plot is brilliant, with just enough of everything to never have a dull moment. I loved it!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Megge of Bury Down is a coming of age story set in medieval Cornwall. Megge, the protagonist, is six years old at the onset of the book. She’s a bit of an odd duck in her family and feels distant from her mother and other relatives. The beginning of the book is slow, but things do speed up a tad as you read along. The pace throughout—particularly through the prologue—was slow, even during moments where exciting things happened. There’s a lot of repetition of Megge’s family history over 900 years and the writing at time seems rambling, yet the ending seems precipitous.

The plot is complicated with a lot going on. Megge’s family, the seers and healers of Bury Down, have their own secrets—they seem unsure of what to tell or not tell her about them. Tossed into the mix are the superstitions of the locals, the healers’ interactions with Jenifer Pennick and her mother, the odd hatred of Jenifer Pennick and her mother. All this is seen through Megge’s naive eyes. She willfully refuses to assume the destiny her family wishes of her and views the books her family has sworn to protect with fear and ignorance.

The local Black Friars carry out the church’s persecution of witches and burn innocent girls. Other sins the book deals with are false testimony, greed and jealousy, all of which have dire consequences.

If you like slow-build classic fantasy, this is for you. If you’re a swashbuckling-type fantasy lover, this is probably not the book for you

I found this book a bit difficult to follow at times, and had to retrace my reading and still had some issues. I feel that the main character's reluctance and stubborn nature was interesting and consistent but the familial relationships were lacking for me, it made it hard to connect. But with that said, it was an enjoyable read and had interesting characters and situations throughout. I would read more from this Author and I'm grateful for the opportunity to read an advance copy. Thank you.

Really great job world and story building. Some stories, the protagonist turns out to be some really important character that could *just do* all these amazing things without the benefit of any training or learning that we get to see. While sometimes I found Megge annoyingly slow, the author definitely put the work in of building her abilities and her character arc before a big reveal about her at the end. Good story telling skills and a dramatic, sometimes woe filled tale.

When I started reading this book, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it or not. I don’t normally like to read books that start off from a child’s perspective throughout that child’s life. I was surprised by this book. Even though the story started out being told by a child and her life, it did not seem like a child was telling the story. This book cot and held my interest throughout the book. I liked the history of the way women healers were viewed as wise women by their community and often viewed as witches by Christians. I liked all the main female characters in this book, but the names were a little hard to keep track of. I liked that the author put together a character list at the end of the book. It helped me keep track of who was who, who’s children belonged to which parents, and so on. I thought this book was much better than the description led me to believe. I am looking forward to reading the next book.

Even if I sometimes confused the names and found hard to keep track of the characters this is an interesting and entertaining read, well researched and well written.
I liked the vivid descriptions of the historical background, the storytelling and the character development.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.