The premise of THE VILLAGER HEALER'S BOOK OF CURES by Jennifer Sherman Roberts is promising: a young widowed herbalist is persecuted for her remedies in 1600s England by an unscrupulous witch hunter. However, the delivery leaves something major lacking: a strong plot and well-developed characters. For me, the story was enough to keep me going, but the anachronisms killed it, the Americanisms and present-day ways of speaking and thinking ruined what could have been a decent story. So, while the elements were there, the ultimate delivery leaves much to be desired. I wish there had been a powerful and unique voice, a genuine presence of the history of persecuting those we envy or fear felt rather than a flat voiced narrative. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

The Village Healer’s Book of Cures follows Mary Fawcett, an herbalist living in a small village in 17th century England. Although respected by the other members of the village, the arrival of a self-proclaimed with hunter and the mysterious death of one of the village’s wealthiest inhabitants cause the tides to turn against Mary and her younger brother. This forces Mary to turn to new and unlikely friends in order to prove her innocence and uncover the truth behind the murder.

There were several elements of this novel that I really liked. For one, while Mary does have a kind of unnatural capacity to sense and treat emotion and pain, this is not so much a book about magic as it is about an intuitively feminine sense of power and knowledge. The knowledge that is most central to Mary’s life is passed down from generation to generation, inevitably arousing suspicion and jealousy from powerful men. We also get a more feminist perspective of the 17th century than some authors may lead you to believe would have been possible. Women have always been intelligent, and have always had to look out for each other, and Mary’s character really exemplifies this point. Her herbal cures and remedies don’t feel like the uninformed recipes of a backwards society, but rather are the best possible solutions to common medical issues that were available at the time.

I also really appreciate the role that grief plays in this novel. Many of the characters are touched by loss or death, and this often provides a more interesting or even sympathetic motive to the villains than their just being evil for the sake of being evil.

I did not, however, find that the presence of romance in this novel was particularly compelling or necessary. It felt contrived at times, and I was also never particularly convinced that there was any chemistry or romantic tension between the characters. The main love interest, Sudbury, is an alchemist, and I found that his involvement in the romantic subplot detracted somewhat from what could have been a really interesting interplay between alchemy and herbalism.

While I overall enjoyed the writing style, finding it easy to read and engaging without being overly simplistic, I did find that certain scenes had a kind of difficult to follow or improbably choreography, especially during conflict. For example, in the big climax scene, where the twist of the novel is revealed, it sometimes felt like the characters would be frozen in place in order to have these kind of plot-revealing conversations. It kept taking me out of the story to find myself asking in what world everyone just stops mid-fight in order to have a drawn out conversation, before jumping back into conflict. Fortunately these kind of clunky scenes were few and far between.

I enjoyed but didn’t necessarily love this novel, but would definitely recommend to readers interested in 17th-century historical fiction with a focus on women’s lives and medicine. Everything felt well-researched and well-written, and it was fun to read.

Solid 4 out of 5. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This story toes the line of realism and fantasy in a balanced way. A story many are familiar with: the local medicine woman is targeted by authorities and accused of witchcraft. Though here there are two of these medicine women and also an alchemist thrown into the mix and lots of misdirection and crossing storylines. Fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book with no obligation to review.

I liked the sound of this book and thought, being about a cunning woman and witchfinding, that it would be something different and the setting was indeed a bit different. Unfortunately I felt there was something lacking, there is not much of a story really and what there is, is more of the unlikely romance genre between our heroine and a mysterious stranger with a scar - you know the sort of thing.

Mary is not only a herbalist, she also has a gift of understanding everything about people just by touching them. I think this could have been further explored but it wasn't.

Some of the plot elements sound promising but in the end they are not - there is a mysterious coin and some tattoos and a twist at the end but, having found the story to be slow and lacking in oomph, I started skimming from just over halfway so I might have missed something. The anachronisms and Americanisms were a bit jarring but it dont think they would bother you much if you were enjoying the story.

Also, apart from maybe the first one or two for novelty value, I was not at all interested in the "eye of newt and toe of frog" cures which start every chapter and, in fact, it was the details and frequency of Mary's "cooking" that made me start to skim the book.

It's not a bad book as it goes but it doesn not live up to the blurb.

“Witches aren’t discovered, but rather created in the minds of the people. Even in the best of people and the best of places. We’re only one step from the animals when we’re weak or afraid.”

This is the classic story of a woman being accused of witchcraft. It's been done a million times before, and this, unfortunately, brought little new things to the table. This was an enjoyable read, but it was not amazing or unique.

A well researched novel about healers and witch hunters in 17th century England. The main character, Mary Fawcett, inherits healing recipes from her ancestors and is able to empathize with the sick. She has to go up against a "witch finder" (Matthew Hopkins, a character you love to hate) to save herself and her young brother. More of a thriller with mystical elements than I was expecting. The historical recipes at the beginning of each chapter were a great touch. I enjoyed reading the author's note - where she found her inspiration and which parts of the story/characters were based in fact. Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the digital copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

In this exciting debut, I discovered a character who is now one of my favorite heroines. Mary Fawcett is a compassionate and loyal young widow living in a 17th-century English village who possesses a rare gift for healing, aided by a book of cures passed down by generations of women. But when a "witchfinder" arrives, Mary's talent becomes a potential danger to her and those whom she loves. This is a suspenseful read with characters to root for, an intriguing mystery to solve, and well rendered historical atmosphere to savor.

This was a great read. Mary’s character was complex, and the story had some dark twists. It is the perfect book to read in the autumn - witchcraft, mysterious characters, and a touch of romance.

The Village Healer's Book of Cures (Nov 2023) by Jennifer Sherman Roberts offers an interesting and somewhat unsettling look into 1640s England, a time when superstitions and fear of the unknown often led to allegations of witchcraft and persecution of innocents.

Protagonist Mary Fawcett is from a family of female healers. She uses generations-old recipes or remedies to help her fellow villagers who are sick or wounded. A widow, she lives with her eight-year-old brother Tom, who seems to be on the spectrum to me. And there's a friendly crow that keeps popping by. Hmmm.. a familiar?

Sister and brother get along fine with their neighbours, until a witchfinder Matthew Hopkins appears in their village. That's when the havoc starts.

Then someone's husband is found murdered with his body carved with strange symbols. Soon after, another female healer and Mary's good friend is accused of the dark arts, and Mary isn't safe from the rumours either. Along the way, a love interest pops up in the form of an enigmatic alchemist who happens to know the murder victim. And then there's the so-called twist, dropped in a rather sudden manner.

It's an entertaining debut novel, but I find some core characters rather shallow although that generally doesn't interfere with the overall direction of the story. What really tickles me is how each chapter begins with a bizarre recipe of traditional medicine or remedy, which the author had taken from something called 'A Book of Such Medicines as Have Been Approved by the Speciall Practize of Mrs Corlyon'. Some of these stuff are truly hilarious. Roberts even had the full text and sources of the recipes listed at the end of the book so that's another source of entertainment right after the story ends. 😆

I got this book on Net Galley (I haven't logged in for years!) so much thanks to the publisher Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read it.

Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.

I was transported to the seventeenth century by the author. The protagnist is a natural healer who has talent that helps her fellow villagers. She is well respected and leading a quiet life tending her herbs and healing people. When a witch hunter comes he threatens her existant and that of all single women who are talented healers. The plot is fast paced, the characters richly drawn to the story and I loved the strong women the author writes of and their magical gifts. A very enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer Sherman Roberts, and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read a copy of The Village Healer's Book of Cures in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great historical fiction novel that really transports the reader to the specific time period this book is set in. All of the characters were interesting in their own way. The plot moved along at the perfect pace. There was a true villain and a true protagonist to root for. All in all, I would recommend this one.

A very enjoyable read! This is the story I of a young woman, Mary Fawcett, who is a healer. She lives in seventeenth century England. Her parents have passed away and she is raising her younger brother, Tom.
A man, Mr. Hopkins, comes to her small town. He is a witch finder and soon has his eyes set on Mary and her mentor, Agnes. Mary becomes involved in trying to solve a mysterious death and protecting herself and Tom from Mr. Hopkins.
I enjoyed the story and thought it was well written. I found the characters interesting. If you enjoy historical fiction, pull up a chair, get a cup of tea and enjoy reading this book. Happy reading!

The Village Healer's Book of Cures is an immersive and captivating novel. Jennifer Sherman Roberts masterfully brings 1640s England to life - a time of superstition and suspicion. This story is packed with complex characters who are forced to navigate a treacherous landscape. Highly recommend!

The story is frightening considering the power that men held over women in most parts of the world during this period.

Seventeenth century Agnes is a healer but she incurs the wrath of a Witchfinder who is determined to weed out so called witches from England. Mary is by association in the same category and it is very easy to play on the superstitions of people who have nothing to guide them and become a flaming mob. Agnes was found guilty and sentenced to death. She died before the sentence could be carried out, enraging the Witchfinder who then turned on Mary. The death of a husband of one of Mary’s friends is found murdered with strange markings on his body and this was the final blow to Mary. She turned to a stranger for protection and assistance to get to the bottom of the mystery markings.

The story of alchemy and its vast influence in Europe is touched upon in this story along with Mary’s role in solving this mystery in this small village in England. She was one of the lucky ones.

Interesting reading for those whose knowledge on the subject of witches and the harassment they underwent whether justified or not.

This book was definitely not for me. The one word that comes to mind to describe this book is weak, from the main character to the plot to the romance. To start with the main character Mary, she was great at the beginning, kind and clever and caring. However, she lacked any significant character development as the story continued, and made choices that I deeply disagreed with. By the end of the book I found myself disappointed in her. As for the plot, I found the pacing off, and the big twist relied on breaking a writing convention in a way that felt sloppy and a bit like cheating. The villain, Hopkins, was just too awful, and I was uncomfortable with the sexual assault/harassment aspect. Lastly, I felt the romance lacked any deep emotional chemistry and I struggled with how many secrets they kept from each other. All that aside, there was something in this book that I loved, and it was Mary’s little brother, Tom, and her relationship with him. But overall, this book is not one I enjoyed or that I will be recommending.

First and foremost thank you to NetGalley for the book.
Mary is a healer with a special gift. During those times healers were in danger of being accused of witchcraft. That warning comes from the stranger who showed up in town practicing alchemy. When a Head Witch hunter comes into her town to stir up trouble, she finds herself racing to figure out who is behind strange murders and happenings in her town. She must save her brother and herself from the gallows.
This book was so interesting to me healing witchcraft and Alchemy all in one. I really enjoyed the story. It really endeared me to the women who sought out Mary’ for help. I loved how her power helped her FEEL the ailments and guide her to find a sort of cure or relief. Sometimes Mary was a bit immature and dull but overall I truly
Enjoyed the setting and story

I really enjoyed this book.

I think Jennifer really captured the times with how neighbours would turn on each other over the pettiest of things.

It really did give a feel for how awful it must have been to be a woman at the time that didn’t conform to society standards.

I also feel that a the Witch General Hopkins was a perfect villain in the story.

I will be looking out for more books by Jennifer Sherman Roberts in the future.

I loved this book. Hard to believe it’s a debut novel!
If you enjoyed The Witchfinders Sister you will love this book. Once again Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins raises his evil head. Mary and Agnes are cunning women who heal with herbs and plants. Their lives are changed by the arrival of Hopkins into their small town. People are frightened, especially Mary, of being accused of witchcraft. I loved Mary and felt her fear. Times were dangerous for women and neighbours became suspicious of each other., and all too willing to point the finger if it meant they were left alone.
This book was a really great read and I would recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and share this book.

If you begin The Village Healer's Book of Cures thinking it's an historical cozy mystery with a possible witch hunt as a side plot, you will love this. It does start to veer off into the weird a wee bit just passed the halfway mark but I personally loved that it did so. I totally didn't see the twist coming and I love it when that happens! Also, how can you dislike a book that has a crow named Greedyguts as a character?

The Village Healer's Book of Cures is a witchy original about the power of knowledge to both hurt and heal.

Set in seventeenth century England, the story centres around Mary Fawcett, a village healer who spends her days making medicinal recipes for the locals who have come to trust her healing abilities. Not only is Mary a gifted healer, but she has a strong empathic ability, being able to feel and intuit a person's pain. Life in the village is calm and quaint until a ritualistic style murder of a wealthy local, entangles Mary in a dangerous web. The situation only worsens when a sadistic witchfinder visits the village, igniting suspicion, fear, and hysteria amongst the villagers, with Mary and her mentor Agnes becoming targets of their malicious accusations. Mary will need to find a way to cure the village of the evil that has poisoned the life she once knew.

What I most enjoyed about this story was that it wasn't a typical book about the witch hunt, but a murder mystery with an occult plot. Mary and her book of cures were both fascinating aspects of this story whose recipes were in fact , based off of real "cures" from the era. The tension and shadowy setting of the village pulled me into the story as did the intriguing whodunnit which had a major twist at the end. The arcane elements bewitched the plot which explored themes of grief, revenge, and the abuse of power.

I look forward to reading more books by the author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.