The Village Healer's Book of Cures

The Village Healer’s Book of Cures is a historical fiction / thriller / romance book written by Jennifer Sherman Roberts. This book was her debut novel and was published in November 2023 by Lake Union. The ebook version has a total of 277 pages, but the story ends on page 256. The remaining 21 pages include the author's acknowledgments, a note from the author, and a full list of sources and recipes that were used during the story.The book takes place in seventeenth-century England and tells us the story of a small village's healer, Mary Fawcett. When a witch finder comes to town, Mary becomes suspicious after one of her patient's husbands dies - covered in mysterious markings.Before I go any further, I want to warn you of some spoilers. I will remain as vague as possible, but some certain points of the story will be brought up as I discuss my thoughts on the book.I also want to mention that overall, this was a pretty decent first novel for an author. I have read way worse material from experienced novelists, so I have hope for Ms. Roberts and her next works.With that out of the way…The first part of the book was very interesting. It was written well, had no major grammatical or editorial flaws, and was easy to read. About halfway through the book, the pacing and writing felt different - as if someone else had written it (or heavily edited it and it lost the author's original tone). This is about the time when the story began pushing romance between Mary and the love interests. The last part of the book recovered some of the awkward sounding writing but never reached the same quality as the beginning had.During the story, Mary has two love interests - Robert Sudbury and Simon Martin. Despite being rude and shoving away ALL romantic advances from Simon, Mary allows him to kiss her and even implies she wanted the affection. This interaction between the two felt forced and unnatural. It was even explained to the readers (through Mary’s thoughts) that ‘she was cold and tired and wanted connection and passion’. Personally, if you have to hold the reader’s hand and justify why a character is doing something, then it is too out of character, and they probably shouldn't be doing it.Robert Sudbury ends up being Mary’s romantic choice for the story (despite her allowing Simon to kiss her - even after she began to have feelings for Robert). The interactions between these two, in an attempt to further their relationship, were actually some of the most irritating parts of the story to read. Mary became wishy-washy and out of character. She would do things that felt extremely unlike her. One moment, Mary is being soft and caring, then another, Mary is pleased to see Robert heavily injured. This part was extremely jarring, as it went WAY against her personality and felt sadistic.In terms of actual writing and errors:In chapter 10, the word "greasy” is echoed and used three times way too close to each other - sometimes even just a few sentences away.Page 123 included some actions and speech between Simon, Robert, and the witch finder. The first half of the page is difficult to decipher who is doing what and took me a few re-reads. This same thing happens again later in the book, causing confusion and a need to re-read to fully understand.At one point, Mary is speaking to her friend, and they have just discussed the next plot point. Then, all of a sudden, her friend asks Mary to look at her breasts and give her an exam. The timing of this interaction was incredibly awkward. We had just moved the story and then all of a sudden had to take a big step back. It gave off a,“I forgot to mention this earlier, so I am just going to throw it in here” sort of vibe. Placement should have been before the announcement of Mary leaving to go to London.The ending of the book did wrap up everything nicely so the reader is given a sense of closure. However, it did feel rushed and a little too dramatic.Despite some weird parts that jostled me out of immersion, I did enjoy this book, and I think it is worth a shot for historical fantasy fans. A solid 4 / 5!

Mary is a herbalist, a healer, a wise woman. When witchfinder Matthew Hopkins arrives in her village, she begins to fear for her safety. When a local man is found poisoned, his body carved with symbols, the village begins to panic. Mary teams up with an alchemist to find a solution and save her life.This book was hard to put down. The characters were dynamic and interesting. The storyline moved quickly as mysteries unraveled. I liked the interplay between witchcraft and alchemy, this isn’t something I’ve read before. Overall, highly recommended.

The story is about a woman healer residing in the 17th century village and accused of being a witch by the traveling witch hunter. The characters and plot are interesting and the ending puts this story apart from many similar books on the same subject.However, I did no get engrossed in the story. The plot was lacking fluidity that usually makes me turning the pages in the happy anticipation of the next event. The ending, although unexpected, seemed to be forced and , in my opinion , did not put all loose threads together. Maybe because they were just too many threads/plots. I would also like a little more of real historical background.Despite of the above, I think it is a very good debut book that will provide nice entertainment to many readers. However, be prepared for some disgusting and cruel scenes.

I read this book in one sitting. It was so much more interesting than I expected. Mary is a wonderful character and, in general, the character development throughout the book is excellent. Frankly, the book was far better than I anticipated. I would recommend it. The “recipes “ are fascinating.

This book was an enjoyable read. It was somewhat predictable. When the witchfinder showed up, you knew women would be wrongly accused of witchcraft, but there were also enough surprises to keep it interesting.

It was an interesting, well-written book but I didn't find it that enthralling. The recipes and concoctions were very interesting.

This was a story with many twists and turns. It is aligned with the reality that talk and falsehoods can bring chaos and harm. The inclusion of history on healing is interesting.

Amazon Prime First Reads - did not request this, just showed up on my Kindle but I will certainly enjoy it! Thank you, Lake Union, and author Jennifer Sherman Roberts for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Village Healer's Book of Cures of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Jennifer Sherman Roberts to friends and family. I thoroughly enjoyed this work, and think you will, as well. There is a twist here that I never did see coming. Maybe you will?We are in the late 17th century, Mary Fawcett is the latest in a long line of Healers, using the generations of passed-down recipes and the techniques learned from her mother and grandmother to help her fellow citizens in sickness, injury, or despair. Mary is a widow, losing her baby daughter and her husband much too soon. Now the sole surviving family of her 8-year-old brother Tom, she and her neighbors get along just fine year after year in their isolated neighborhood in Bicknacre, taking care of each other through thick and thin - until Witchfinder Matthew Hopkins enters their small village with a grudge and a bad attitude. Mary is not concerned until the death of one of her neighbors - and fellow healer and friend Agnes is immediately imprisoned, accused of using the dark arts to murder wealthy Mr. Chamberlen. We are with Mary through thick and thin, trying to keep her little brother safe, clear her friend's name, and stay herself out of the crosshairs of the Witchfinder. She will find help in the oddest places. And the recipes that begin each chapter are occasionally a hoot, and sometimes gross, but it was the 1600s and medicine was not yet a fine art... and nor of course was police investigating and crime fighting.

The beginning of the novel strikes intrigue and pulls you into the story as you slowly start to understand the world that is unfolding on each page. By the time the plot arrives to difficulties for the protagonist(s) you are invested in the outcome and start to hungrily devour pages.The mystery and ominous vibe to the story becomes rather thrilling. The story leads to an ending that felt slightly convoluted and rushed, in comparison to the slow and detailed build up of the story/world to that point. Additionally it was not too difficult for the reader to foresee a pivotal plot twist.Although not a romance novel, the instances in which romance is alluded to, left the reader disappointed to not see it further explored. Overall an engaging read that was enjoyable, and definitely satisfying for a mystery.

Overall a good book, I enjoyed the fast pace and constant twists and turns. it is an easy and quick read in my opinion. And I learned something about a time and about topics (alchemy, witch-hunts) I didn't know so much about. The story was clearly well researched and used helpful anecdotes. How an animal could be put on trial for example, and how healthcare worked in a society without the knowledge we have today. Yet the fast pace also meant the characters and story in places didn't develop in a lot of depth. The story somehow deserved a bit more in my opinion.

If you like to FEEL something while reading a book, this one will do it. I liked the twists and turns and the ongoing underlying psychology.

I have read the Kindle version courtesy of Amazon First Reads for the month of October 2023.When I first started this book, I didn't know how I was going to finish it. Dr. Roberts' writing style was very appropriate for the time period the story is set in, but I found it hard to engage with. I made a conscious effort to stick with it. By the 3rd chapter I was engaged in the heroine's, Mrs. Mary Fawcett, struggles. The pros and cons of a healer in the era of the witch hunts. I felt compassion for Robert Sudbury, and wanted to know more about his past. Mary's teacher and friend, Mrs. Agnes Shepherd, had me wanting to learn her skills and avoid her at the same time. Bridget Jenkins was easy to dislike, Heaven knows Mary thought there was reason to hate her.There were the wonderfully kind, compassionate, Woods family, offset by the misguided Simon Martin; the terrified and abused Verity Martin; and their cruel and unfeeling bully of a father, John Martin. The village was rounded out by the gossip mongers, those consumed by jealousy, envy, greed, and a need to make themselves feel better by choosing the tyrannical side rather than think for themselves with compassion and empathy for their neighbours.In short, this book takes you into the heart of a remote medieval English village when saying the wrong thing was as likely to get you imprisoned as doing the right thing in front of the wrong people.I was sorry to see this book end. That it took years to write, I have no doubt. Reading it, time goes by very quickly. If you are curious about the recipes for various curatives, potions, creams, etc., Dr. Roberts has included those she refers to in the book at the end of the tale, with references to where they can be found.While this book could be the beginning of a series, the story is excellent as a stand-alone. I highly recommend this book, with the caveat that you exercise patience -- Mary will sneak up on you and lead you to want to know more (so many secrets, so little time!).

I liked the integration of fact and fiction. The author did their research well and accessed a group who collect these old 'remedies/recipes' and keep them together as a collection.For the readers interest, several of these recipes are listed at the end of the book, and whilst many make me cringe, it's amazing how people managed to discover that plants could heal particular ailnents.And in some ways, you can appreciate why they were sometimes thought of as witches because of some of the very strange recipes they used, and also back in the 17th century, many thought it was God's will whether you were sick or not and classed healers as interfering with that will.The author manages to describe the villagers fear of the witch-finder and how friends and relatives can easily turn against one another, if they thought it would keep the attention away from themselves.The author also manages to capture the way these cruel 'witch-finders' got their results/confessions of witch craft from their victims. It's no wonder they got a reputation of being successful, and making a good living at the expense of others!It was a good, easy read, and a book that will stick in my mind because of the fictionalised account of what happened in that era to many innocent women throughout the world, and occasionally a few men were also accused, too.Well worth a read if you like historical novels, with a touch of romance thrown in for good measure.