Book: Of Her Blood by Rozina Hyland
Reviewed by Anonymous
Rating: 4.5/5
Many thanks to the author for the ARC!
This is an incredible debut novel, a gothic historical fiction that also manages to ask relevant questions about society today and how women are treated if they are seen to be "different". It looks at the way misogyny and suspicion affected women in the 17th century, and I liked the fact that there was no hint of actual magic use throughout the book - the accusations made against Tilda and her mother come about from their refusal to conform to societal norms rather than them being so-called "wise women".
I found Tilda to be a tragic character, her life is marked right from the beginning of the book due to the accusations against her mother, and she is unable to move on even when she thinks her life is changing. I thought the fact that she was bisexual was an interesting aspect to her character, as it would be something else that would have been scandalous during this period.
The pace did slow down slightly in the middle of the book, however the last part flew by and had me on the edge of my seat. I definitely look forward to reading more from this author in future!