Book Synopsis:
England, 1673. Still a world of witches, witch trials and witchfinders.
When a new vicar arrives to take over the parish of Mutton Clog, the village finds itself in the grip of puritan fever, and suspicious eyes are turned on Rose Driver.
Rose’s mother, brother and grandmother were all put to death by the fanatical witchfinder, John Sharpe.
Almost quarter of a century after the Newcastle witch trials, Sharpe is no longer a threat. Rose should be safe in her quiet village, but is history about to repeat itself?
Find out in Solstice, the powerful conclusion to The Widdershins Trilogy, which tells the story of one woman’s struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world.
The Widdershins Trilogy was inspired by the little-known Newcastle witch trials, where fifteen women and one man were hanged for witchcraft on a single day in August 1650.
My Review:
Solstice is a dark, emotional and gripping read which is a fitting ending to this fabulous trilogy.
Firstly I absolutely loved the main character Rose and enjoyed following her throughout the book. She was such a kind, lovely lady that I instantly felt sorry for and often wished I could climb into the book and protect her myself. Patience on the other hand was just pure evil and a character I loved to hate. She’s a very devout Christian almost obsessively so and I hated the way she treated poor Rose. I found that I had to keep reading to see if she got the ending I felt she deserved.
The author does a great job of setting the scene so that I felt like I was actually there experiencing everything alongside the characters. It was an incredibly sad time in our history and it made me so angry that people actually thought like this. The fear that Rose experiences is almost palpable at times and it made me feel physically sick to realise that the events depicted in this book had actually happened.
I thought this book has a great pace to it and I soon found myself absorbed into the story. I felt very protective of Rose and had to keep reading to find out what happened to her. The ending was beautiful and it made me smile. I’m very sad this fantastic series has ended but I look forward to reading more from this author in future.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Helen Steadman’s first novel, Widdershins and its sequel, Sunwise were inspired by the 1650 Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf is about a group of master swordmakers who defected from Germany to England in 1687. Helen’s fourth novel, God of Fire, is a Greek myth retelling as seen through the eyes of Hephaestus, perhaps the least well known of all the Olympians. God of Fire is published on 13 September 2022.
Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries.
The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who left Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
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