Healer

What an exhausting day! I am so glad to be home, in my room with the air conditioning turned way up. I have a huge stack of Library Journals and Publishers Weeklies to read while relaxing tonight. Tomorrow is going to be an emotionally exhausting day, and I'm not looking forward to it. But for tonight, I can relax in a cool room, with great reading material, and hopefully a terrific supper.


Make sure to check out my post from Monday to read more about this book as well as the first chapter!

Healer by Linda Windsor is the first book in the Brides of Alba series. Brenna of Gowrys has become a symbol for two clans in ancient Scotland. The O'Byrnes consider her their fearsome enemy who will bring about the destruction of their family and believe that she is a shape-changing witch. The Gowrys believe her their only hope after the destruction of their clan leader by Tarlach O'Byrne after Brenna's mother, Joanna, spurned him for his best friend Llas Gowrys. His revenge killed both of her parents and sentenced the clan to living in the hills and raiding area farms for food. When Tarlach's eldest son, Ronan, is struck down by a mysterious would-be-assassin, Brenna's pet wolf, Faol, rescues him, and Brenna brings him to her cave refuge where she hides from the world to heal his wounds. Neither knows the other's identity until both have fallen too deeply in love to allow the past to tear them apart. When Ronan tries to bring her into his family, it brings about a tragic death, and more tragedy is on the way. Brenna is a delightful character who has been sheltered from the world, that when she is finally allowed to interact with others, she showers them with unconditional love, even those who should be her enemy. Windsor has created a fascinating look at Christianity in 6th century Scotland in the days of Arthur and Merlin when the old gods were worshiped alongside Christ, and a woman could be thought to change into a wolf. It's a beautiful and mysterious world filled with larger than life characters and epic stories. I'm so glad that Windsor is making this a series, because the characters are too good to say good-bye to after just one book!