I really enjoyed the premise of this, a healer with an intense attraction to a battle lord, and found this to be a pretty enjoyable read. However the middle and beginning were quite slow but the ending made up for it!

Curse of the Healer – Ashley York



I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in order to provide an honest review.



Ashley York is an award-winning author that writes a lot of historical romance and intrigue stories. She other works include “The Warrior King” series and “The Norma Conquest” series.



Aednat is a healer and an outcast. Ever since the death of her parents, she had been cast into exile by her own grandfather, all because of her deformity – her foot. Hiding out in a cave she had learnt all she could of the healing arts until the day came that her cousin, Sean, took her away and out of exile and into his care. But thanks to her foot and her abilities she was always treated as an outsider and not of marriageable quality. The years pass and Aednat is content with her lot.

Now it is that time where her cousin has called a gathering of the clans and has invited the mysterious Diarmuid, often called Diarmuid the Despicable. He is a great bulk of man with dark hair and a seemingly dark temperament about him.

Then a wild rumour starts spreading about a great healer and the man who is the first to lay with her will be imbued with her powers. This rumour has caught the attention of a bad and evil man – Black Oengus.

So, for her protection and safety Sean hurriedly weds Aenad to Diarmuid, hoping that the rumour of her having a husband will stop Oengus in his hunt for her. Alas, Black Oengus would not be swayed so easily and manages to take her while Diarmuid leaves to attend to the whereabouts of his missing men.

Now it is a race against time to protect his wife, a wife he barely knows, but one he has fallen madly in love with and would do anything to get back and safely in his arms.



“Curse of the Healer” is a fast paced romantic, historical novel. A young beautiful maiden who does not realise the power she has but possesses a deep fiery will, a young and strong, brooding warrior who has closed off his heart and all emotions to everyone. Though it may have been predictable, I loved how the author brought these two characters together and how they forced situation slowly blossomed into the love that they shared at the end of the story. A short guilty pleasure read.

An engrossing story that brings forth the times and superstitions of 1074 Eire'. Ashley York has a gift for grabbing the reader from the first page and not letting go until the end. But even as the last page has been turned I am still thinking about this engaging story. The legend is if a man is the first to sleep with a great healer, he will take all of her powers and be very strong. Aednat was touted to be such a healer but tried to stay in the shadows due to her disability, a club foot, and having been tossed aside when she was young. Rescued by her cousin she was able to have a good life and delve into her passion of healing, although never feeling confident about herself as a woman.
But then she meets Diarmuid, a great warrior and King of his tribe. Sparks start to fly and it is wonderful to see them match wits! Finding out he was really brought to Aednat's home with the hope by her guardian that he would wed her, he tries to resist until her life becomes endangered. Escaping with her to his home and safety, there were so many times I had to hold my breath as the scenes unfolded.
The adjectives describing this book are endless.. Heartwarming, adventurous, intriguing, humorous at times, very emotional and well written. I was so engaged in this story and the wonderful characters that I felt part of that time in history. A spellbinding tale that will leave you wanting more and lucky for us there are more in this series!!! 10****

The story of Diarmuid and Aednat was OK but I found it boring at times. It was better towards the end
Ashley York tells a good story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A lovely read set in Ireland in the time of the vikings. Just as the clans meet to deal with the threats from overseas they discover the real threat is closer to home. In a time of superstition and ancient tales one clan king believes despoiling the great healer will give him the power over them all. This tale follows that healer already rejected once by her family now being forced to marry to save herself from a horrible fate. This mixes a historical romance with a sassy woman, a strong warrior and a tale of love. The first in a trilogy I look forward to reading the rest.

Overall, this book was a wonderful read and I enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters. Aednat is a headstrong woman who was shunned form her family due to having a clubfoot, but she is considered a Great Healer. In order to keep her powers, she has to remain chaste, but that changes when she meets Diarmuid. So Aednat is in conflict with her desire for him and her special abilities. One of the positives of the storyline is the relationship between Aednat and Diarmuid. It was very obvious in the beginning their is a budding romance in the beginning of the story, even though Aednat is in denial of her desire for Diarmuid. The next positive of the story is the authenticity of the time era in the book. Details such as the language, the description of the architecture, and the mentality of the characters really made the story stand out. The only negative I have is there were moments in the story it lost cohesiveness. There were many events that happened in the story that sometimes they were rushed, and I wished there was more details with some of the events. Overall it was a solid read.

This was an interesting historical romance that I wasn’t expecting but I enjoyed and am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The writing wasn’t terrible but there were plot points that were rushed and not thoroughly thought out. The romance aspect left much to desire. Besides the on-going sexual tension between Aednat and Diarmuid that was on point, I didn't see much of a connection. More so, the side characters were a bit of an annoyance, and unless I missed something by skimming the dull and boring scenes, why didn’t Diarmuid reprimanded his own mother for setting up Aednat kidnapping and nearly having her rape? Who brushes that aside? Nonetheless, I wish I could say this wowed me. It was not terrible but would say it was mediocre at best.