This book is about power—who it is bestowed upon, how it is wielded, and who benefits from it or suffers at its hands. Men vs women, in groups vs out groups, rich vs poor, religious vs “profane”, battles both big and small amongst neighbors define how people lived in Plymouth Colony. This is a pretty bleak tale that doesn’t offer a lot of hope about human nature. Each character is distinctly drawn. I would recommend this to readers of Scribe by Alyson Carol Hagy.

While this book was a little too slowly paced for me, fans of historical fiction of this era will enjoy reading from different points of view. I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I read this book over my holiday "break" from work, hoping to get sucked into an evocative historical setting and mystery. Although I was not an overall fan of this book, the setting was quite immersive and definitely made me feel transported to 17th century North America. Unfortunately, I didn't really connect with the main characters or feel the urgency of the lot, which kind of soured me on the book.

If you're a fan of fiction from this time period, I'd recommend giving this book a chance, since there are not many options within the genre and you may end up connecting with the characters more than I did!

For every book, a reader...right? This one was not for this reader, I’m afraid. I tried several times to get into this story, which sounded so promising, but I could not connect with the characters or the plot.

This book was not for me, I tried countless time to pick it up but everyone I set it back down not liking it enjoying

The premise will no doubt attract many fans of historical fans. This is a historical setting and time that isn't widely explored in literature. The story of the first murder in the Plymouth colony is told from the aspect of two women who did not have public voices, nor did they leave much of a historical record behind. Alice Bradford, the respected wife of the Plymouth Governor, and Eleanor Billington, a former indentured servant and wife of the village troublemaker, come from very different backgrounds and belong in different social classes. But their similarities are striking to the reader, as is the fact that their fates are hopelessly dependent on those of their husbands. The story of the murder is slowly unraveled as the narrative switches back and forth between the two women's perspectives. I found many aspects of the women's narration to be anachronistic, but upon further reflection I believe Nesbit chose to focus less on historical accuracy and more on portraying this story through a modern day, feminist lens. Readers who enjoy immersing themselves in historical detail might do well to look elsewhere.

Beheld is interesting and well-written. My low rating is based on the fact that I failed to develop any kind of connection to either of the women. While I sympathized with the hardships they endured and the struggles they faced in their new home in an unknown land, they felt just a little too mired in present-day sensibilities for my taste. I was also disappointed in the author's note, which I felt lacked sufficient information on her research and the facts she used as a basis for her fictional portrayals of real people. I read an advanced copy, so perhaps more information will be added to the final version before publication.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Do you remember the school plays that we've put on as kids? Read different books about the Puritans the Witchcraft trials and all the other things that history never tells you?
This book will teach you differently. It will definitely open your eyes and make you see them in a different way.
Some of this book didn't sit right with me. I think that the rape scene should been at the very beginning and go from there. Not in the middle of book.
Otherwise I learned quite a bit and the author has described it so well that I could really see the Puritans in action.
I know that a lot of research has gone into this book. I could appreciate that part.
I like how the author shows us that the Puritans are human but in my opinion they were rather strict. They gossip just like everyone else. Eleanor being the main one.
There were some places that the book drove me crazy because it was too slow with too much description.
I still recommend this book. Other people may enjoy it. This book wasn't my cup of tea.
My thanks to Netgalley. NO compensations were received and all opinions are my own.

They came from England to settle in a new land with religious freedom. So as the Puritans came across on the Mayflower, they settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts striving for "perfection." Was it easy on that long voyage? Was it easy to settle in a new land, virgin territory, with different people not all the same, some who were indentured servants who had to work off their 7 years indenture. Among them these people were not as religious or "Godly" and the friction began. This book gives you feed for thought, it is a tapestry woven together with those who were the Puritan colonists and those who were indentured. All this along with a murder creating more division. Their struggles and the tensions surrounding them made for an interesting read. This is not what I learned in school so many years ago...what I learned after reading this was more fictional than this HF novel!

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

cw: graphic rape

this was a solid read, and i was very interested in the puritan lifestyle. it's told from different viewpoints (with a majority of them being from the governor's wife alice) and i feel like the author did a good job of making the voices distinct.

my only real gripe w this novel is the graphic random rape scene. it's plopped into the middle of the book, involving characters we do not know and never see again. and i just do not understand the point of it? it's between a 13 year old indentured servant and her master's adult brother. is it to show how dangerous life was for women back then? because i expect the readers already know that. is it to mirror what happens to eleanor late in the novel? idk. if someone can explain it, that'd be great. reading those scenes may not bother some readers but it very much bothers me and i'm sure plenty of others. i respect the author's goal to give a voice to the voiceless (and an indentured servant girl in the 1600s would certainly fit that) but it did affect my enjoyment. and it felt shoehorned in.

but fair is fair, and i did enjoy the rest of the novel. i find that time period fascinating.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
"Beheld" is the story of the creation of the first colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts and the first murder that occurred there. Told mostly from the point of view of women, Nesbit has tapped a previously untouched area in our country's history. Much of the Plymouth Pilgrim story that we have been told is false. I grew up within an hour's drive from Plimoth Plantation, and was a frequent visitor, but was never aware of the inaccuracies until now. This is an extremely well-researched book, interesting and informative. I read it in a day because I was unable to put it down. Highly recommended.

DNF @ 68%. This book seems to be very well researched and it's very well written. The settler's vernacular is written in a way that you are well aware of the time period but you never stumble over any awkward diction. It's also an interesting view point of those times as it is mostly told from the female POV. It was so much fun to listen to their true thoughts that aren't necessarily in keeping with what we believe was the demeanor of their faith. And the character Eleanor - whew - was she snarky, in the best possible way that I wanted to be her friend :)

I was also so struck with the fact that the settlers braved the new world to escape religious persecution but then got here and persecuted those they saw as 'other' in the exact same way. Religion certainly can be a double-edged sword and that's made very clear in this book.

So, after all this praise, why my DNF? I began reading and was immediately drawn into the characters and the story but from about 30% to almost 70% the plot slowed to an almost standstill and I was struggling to keep reading. This is a story about the first murder in Plymouth and that didn't happen until 68% and then it was what had expected to happen all along. It was just too slow to keep my interest.

But I know there are tons of readers who enjoy that slow, deep dive into characters and to whom the plot is secondary - and I think you will love this book. It's smart and edgy and an incredibly interesting look at the founders that gives you an entirely new female perspective.

Because of, you know, life, I had to put Beheld down several times while I was reading and then return a few days or a week later. With many books, this would lessen the enjoyment, but with Beheld the effect was the opposite. Beheld stayed with me through each of those breaks. I kept turning characters and events over in my head, considering what I knew about the historical period (it's set in Plymouth Colony) and Nesbit's thoughtful, multi-angled examination of it.

Nesbit is the author of Wives of Los Alamos, in which the narrator is a collective "we" made up of women whose husbands are working at Los Alamos while the atomic bomb is being invented. This time around, Nesbit explores the first recorded murder in Plymouth Colony, and does so through multiple narrators—various colonists, Dorothy Bradford (who drowned in the harbor where pilgrims were about to disembark and enter the "new world"), and Nature herself. The relationships among these characters are complex, so Nesbit isn't just telling us a single story from multiple perspectives. Instead, we come to understand the complicated tapestry holding all these lives together in a variety of ways in the vulnerable, tension-riddled colony.

One key source of tension in Plymouth is the different status and faiths of the various colonists. In school, Plymouth is depicted as homogenous: a group with a shared religion and values committed to a single cause. In fact, the colony was founded not just by Puritans, but also by a number of individuals of other Christian demominations who came as indentured servants and were promised "membership" in the colony after they'd served their seven years' indenture. Tensions roil below the surface between the Puritans who see themselves as the "real" colonists and the formerly indentured who feel marginalized and ill-treated.

This mix of lives and tension makes for fascinating reading. Beheld is a book you'll want to read—and share with friends so you can mull over its many aspects together.

The description might lead you to believe that this is an action-packed, densely plotted murder mystery. It's something better: a thoughtful, beautifully written look at the Puritans and Plymouth quite unlike what you learned in school. The plot takes a backseat, yet the book is still quickly paced (I finished it in two days). And the descriptions are both evocative and concise. My only criticism is that I didn't connect with the characters and book on an emotional level—this was more of a cerebral experience for me—but that's a purely subjective point.

Thank you, Bloomsbury and NetGalley, for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

You will never look at the Pilgrims and the Plymouth colony the same way again. Beheld is eye-opening!

"We thought ourselves a murderless colony. In God's good favor, we created a place on a hill, overlooking the sea, in the direction from which we came." Ten years later, in 1630, the community of Plymouth, Massachusetts experienced its first murder.

A contingent of Puritans had left England to reside in Leiden, Holland. The Dutch allowed them to "worship without hindrance", however, worshipers were embracing a "Dutchness", learning the Dutch language and customs. In addition, there was fear that the Spanish might attack Holland. A ship called "Speedwell" was commissioned to transport these Puritans to Southampton, England to meet up with other Puritans sailing from England aboard the Mayflower. "Speedwell" had frequent leaks and was deemed unsuitable for a long sea voyage. The Mayflower was required to transport the "Speedwell" travelers as well. A miserable journey ensued. The Mayflower was overcrowded and food was in short supply.

Who were the passengers? Although Puritans intended to create a community of believers and "purify" practices of the Church of England, the voyagers included Anglican indentured servants. Told from a woman's perspective, the unrest, resentment, and hypocrisy between Puritan elders and indentured servants is revealed. Strained relations intensified aboard the Mayflower. The Puritans were forced to accept non-religious passengers to help fund the voyage. John Billington, an indentured servant and wife Eleanor, were sitting in a central location on the ship. When affluent William Bradford boarded the overcrowded Mayflower, he demanded that Billington move his family from the ship's center. During a storm, water was likely to cascade over the side. Billington's response to Bradford was, "Perhaps you should go back to Holland. Perhaps God does not want you to see the New World." Ten years have passed. It is now 1630.

According to Alice Bradford, "of all the regrets William had about negotiations with the investors, at the top of his list was that John Billington was allowed to sign up as an indentured servant, bring his family, and board the Mayflower...[Governor Bradford] considered Billington to be...the elder of the most profane family..." "Since I became the governor's wife the women told me less. 'I was the earpiece to authority.' "

Eleanor Billington reported, "we agreed to seven years of labor with respectable, ordinary British people. We agreed to seven years of servitude in Virginia, not Plymouth...my kind, my common kind, we are never given what we are promised...It made our men sour..." "Plymouth was the England that John Billington tried to escape...Instead of King James, there was Governor Bradford and his hired soldier, Myles Standish." Billington composed a letter and sent it to the colony investors complaining of ill treatment. Alice stated, "Quick to see threat and quick to act upon it. I did not doubt my husband was godly...[but] when a man betrayed him, he did not forget...".

"Beheld" by TaraShea Nesbit is a well researched, captivating work of historical fiction, a window into the lives of the women as well as the men who settled Plymouth colony. Plymouth was advertised as "fertile and abundant" land. The colony touted its years of experience. New settlers arrived seeking freedom from repression, escape from criminal convictions, inexpensive land or exciting new adventure. Plymouth and the surrounding colonies started to become more open to "strangers". Author Nesbit's novel is an awesome read that I highly recommend.

Thank you Bloomsbury Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Beheld".

Personally, this book was a dud for me. I was really excited about a historical murder mystery type book, as the description alluded too. Unfortunately, the first 3rd of the book was long, drawn out, and not much happened. I know that we were building character background, but I felt like 2-3 things happened in 35% of the book. However, the writing of the book and the historical setting was well done. If you are someone who enjoys a slower paced book, this book would most likely be an enjoyable read!

This historical novel transcends time with it's gripping prose. Beheld follows the citizens of Plymouth as they come to terms with a terrible murder that has gripped the colony and the classism that has separates them. With haunting world building and sympathetic characters, Beheld is a novel that will stick with the reader long after they've put it down!

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit is a great historical fiction novel that takes place during the Plymouth settlement (1620-onward) after the Mayflower voyage. This is a gripping, fascinating look at human behavior as well as a great insight into what it was truly like living in then.

The author shows us that humans will revert to similar themes and behaviors no matter the location, the generation, the “religion”, or the self-beliefs. It was fascinating to see the created thought processes from people that actually existed during this time, especially giving a voice to the women. Most documents reflecting this time center on the comings and goings (well alleged) and the male voice. It was so refreshing (and quite sad in some parts) to see from another angle the trials and tribulations that took place.

This was a great, and unique, read that transported the reader to another time and place, and for me, was over far too soon.

Excellent. 5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this to my GR account immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Bookbub, and B&N accounts upon publication.