Book: Priestess by Kara Reynolds
Reviewed by Micca
Rating: 5/5
This book captures so much about friendship, bravery, how trauma lingers, and how fighting against being vulnerable can rob us of precious moments. I loved Edie immediately. Getting to know her more and what she has gone through only made me love her more. This book touches on topics that I identify with, even if not in the same contexts as Edie has. Infertility and religious trauma. Also, Edie is in her 40’s, not described as a rail thin goddess with a perfect body, but with a real body. I appreciated these aspects so much.
Edie has to make a split second decision in the middle of an invasion to try and save herself, her friends, and other women from the ending that could be dealt by the invading soldiers. While it may seem as though lives could be spared, are they really? Taken as captives, only knowing that Tintar is known as blood thirsty and ruthless, what fate has she sentenced these women to? She is forced to marry one of her captors, which feels cruel when you know what she has escaped.
Through all of this, she is also told that she has magic in her. She has never been aware of this, and it is frustrating to try ans believe in something she has never believed in before. Especially when her previous religion brought nothing but shame, pain, and no answers.
As the story unfolds, I cannot explain to you the awe I had at how Edie always advocated for her friends, had grace for those that were her captors, and opened her heart to things she never thought she would face. It is a raw and beautiful story. It isn’t a perfect one, it is not without grief and sacrifice, and it isn’t one without loss. That just might be what makes it filled with so much love.
Kara Reynolds does a beautiful job at addressing the pain that religious trauma causes. She also weaves in LGBTQIA+ characters that show their love, fear, struggles, and the discrimination they faced throughout the various parts of the story. I cannot stress enough how much this book touched me. Please read the content warnings before starting. That is always important. Don’t skip the author’s thoughts at the end of the book. Kara’s words were healing, honest, and as impactful as the entire book itself.