I tend to be wary of historical fiction because when something feels anachronistic or weird, it takes me out of it. This book feels really consistent and was clearly written with strong attention to detail. The book is slow, but not predictable, or not entirely predictable (I think what is predictable helps the narrative) and everything fits together neatly by the end, which makes it a satisfying end to a puzzle.

This isn’t the type of book I would usually choose, and I didn’t love it, but I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I did become attached to and feel strongly towards the protagonist, Mary. I also learned about Puritan life, a lot of really interesting stuff, and information I can trust because it is clear the author did his history homework. I appreciate that he committed to having the characters perceptions be motivated by Puritan religious ideas and beliefs. Mary’s faith journey was a really interesting part of this book. 

This is a solid book I would recommend it to anyone interested in historical fiction or Puritan society. There are certainly some interesting conversations about gender and class to be had around this book as well.