feel sort of guilty I took so long to read this book, as I received an advance copy for review, but I didn't finish before the publication date, May 1st.
I was continuously reading it between other books, but the subject matter and the writing style was not conducive for a fast read.
The book is set pre Salem, and apparently this is going to be a series that does get to the witch trials.
The reason I had difficulty with the book is that the Native Americans in the story were so wonderfully portrayed, but I kept waiting for something terrible to happen. Also, the characters who I believe will eventually be denounced as witches were very compelling and I was waiting for the denunciations to occur.
I presume this will happen in the next book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the EARC. For readers who like reading about early America , witches and even Native Americans, this book will definitely fulfill those interests.
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This novel is an interesting prequel to the Salem Witch Trials. Deep historical research and supernatural elements are blended together in beautiful prose that helps the reader understand how a community might reach a point where they are accusing each other of witchcraft.

Courtesy of The Book Whisperer and Netgalley, I received the ARC of The Devil's Glove by Lucretia Grindle. This historical novel details the early New England settlers, focusing on Indian folklore and herbal remedies, and the women gifted with healer's knowledge. This well researched poetic and descriptive story covers secrets, alliances, fears, suspicions, lies, families, and friendship. Predating the era of the Salem witch trials and hinting at witchcraft finger pointing, I was mesmerized by this tale and it's foreshadowing. Highly recommend!

Inspired by the Salem Witchcraft Trials!

Resolve lives in New England with her mother who helps the community as a midwife because she's very good at healing. Abigail loses her mother to poison during childbirth and some of the villagers blame Abigail, saying that she poisoned her mother and baby because of jealousy just like she killed her sibling twins. The community thrives on gossip, backtalking, and drama and Resolve, her mother, and Abigail are different, therefore problematic. A few good people help protect Resolve and her mother, and in turn, Resolve helps Abigail.
The ominous feel of the story drew me in and I enjoyed the Native Americans involvement and the mystery and foreboding intensity.

I really wanted to love this book. For as long as I can remember, I've always been fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials. When I read the blurb for this, I thought it was about that.

Unfortunately, this was more of a prequel to the Salem Witch Trials. There's no witchcraft whatsoever, and while I can appreciate that a lot of research was put into this book, this book felt more like a nonfiction about all of the research collected than an actual book that was supposed to have had a plot.

Along with the excessive research, there was an excessive use of figurative language. At first I found it endearing in a way. Who doesn't love a good metaphor occasionally? However, it was overdone. A lot of the book could have simply been left out as it was just descriptive or figurative.
Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

The Devil's Glove is a story that predates the famous Salem Witch Trials, a story about a mother and daughter's relationship, a town's way of trying to make sense of what they don't understand, and even their unfair relationship with the Savages (Indians and French alike). Lucretia has done well in bringing characters to life that are under the offensive labels of Savages and Changeling/Witches that are very real, very human, and very much just like anyone we know, and has crafted a story that, while most of us know of the Salem Witch Trials, most probably don't really know the stories and/or events that helped lead up to the trials. She has done an excellent job of creating a narrative that drops you into the late 1600's and pulls you into that world very quickly to get a feel for how life was during that time, how people interacted with each other, almost to the point of how you could see yourself being right there with them. The next part of the book takes you on a journey with Resolve as she starts to learn things that change the way she looks at her world, her friends, her loved ones, and even herself. The ending isn't what I thought it would be, but I could see how that pulls you into wanting to dive into the next book, which I will end up doing. Intriguing and informative without being boring.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

The Devil's Glove by Lucretia Grindle is set in the late 1600s in what is now Maine when our country was new and untamed. Resolve and her mother, Deliverance, are faced with a suspicious death in their village. Deliverance is the local healer using herbs and flowers to treat various ailments. The Puritans in the area do. not always believe in her healing powers and believe there is more to her. Resolve's father is away as a trader so she and her mother are alone in their home. As the story progresses, more and more secrets come out. People aren't always who Resolve thinks they are. The village faces much turbulence between the native American tribes and the settlers. Grindle is a master in her craft, weaving a story that keeps the reader engaged and immersed in the life prior to the Salem witch trials.

Thank you to NetGalley, Casa Croce Press and The Book Whisperer for the opportunity to read the ARC of The Devil's Glove.

Wow is the only word I can use for The Devil’s Glove by Lucretia Grindle. This novel lays the groundwork for the Salem witch trials to follow. Focusing on Deliverance Hammond and her daughter, Resolve, we learn that they lived for a time with the Indians. While there they learned the healing arts of the Indians along with their customs and traditions. Returning to 1688 Massachusetts, both women try to help the sick and hurt of their community. The healing powers of Deliverance is looked upon as some type of witchcraft. The book is full of many interesting characters, Abigail, Judah, John Alden and more. We learn their story against the background of suspicion, death, witchcraft, and the possibility of war with the Indians. I have a tough time putting this book down and the last few chapters had me holding my breath. A very good read. I highly recommend it.

Very enjoyable. I felt the emotions and reacted. When I get angry, sad and happy all in one book then the author has really done one check of a good job. I would recommend this book to anyone.

With her father away in England Resolve Hammond and her mother struggle to thrive in a coastal New England village in 1688. When he first went away her father left them in the care of the local Indians who taught them herbal healing and other wildcraft which they now use to aid their neighbors. Despite their help the villagers eye them with suspicion and there are murmurs of witchcraft from some. With tensions on the rise with the local "savages" their lives become even more precarious. When a local woman is poisoned and hostilities erupt with the Indians Resolve discovers some dark secrets and hidden truths. This well researched and authentic feeling narrative relates the back story of the people and events that preceded the Salem witch trials that would ensue a few years hence. The characters , included John Alden, are well developed although I found the pace to be somewhat slow. I have long had an interest in the Salem witch trials and this is presented as a the first entry in a trilogy relating to the subject. There was little indication of witchcraft in this novel and I feel that this epistle set up the scene for what was to follow. I did learn that "evil is the devil's glove" as I had been curious about the title. I look forward to learning in more detail in book two of the build up to the infamous Salem witch trials. A solid read for any fan of early day Colonial history.

An amazing story set in early colonial New England incorporating witches, Indian lore and tribes, the unrest in the area and historical figures like the son of John Alden and Priscilla. I couldn’t but this down, reading #thedevilsglove late into the night, or rather, the early hours of the morning. I enjoyed getting to know Resolve and her mother and would like to read more of her story that happens after this. I’m sure @lucretiagrindle would write a wonderful story that would draw you in. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher, #casacrocepress for this arc to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Grindle’s prose and descriptive ability is lovely. She does a wonderful job of creating a sense of atmosphere, place and time. The premise of the story intrigued me, but it took a little too long to really get going and I found myself getting frustrated. But when it finally did pick up I was fully invested and entertained. The novel covers the years leading up to the Salem witch trials and while it interested me I wanted it to get there faster. The characters were well drawn and dimensional and I came to really care about them. This is book one in an upcoming series and Grindle was clearly setting the stage for the sequel, but I sometimes wished she would have combined the books into one comprehensive story of the trials. This almost seemed like an overly long prologue. Or perhaps what she did was genius because I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel. All in all a fun witchy read.

The Devil’s Glove by Lucretia Grindle was given to me through Book Whisper, Net Galley, and Shaun Loftus for an honest review. This review is mine and mine alone.
The Devil’s Glove is the first book that I have read by Lucretia Grindle and love the story. This insightful, mysterious, and unique story had me from the first page. One of the reasons why I like this story is the main character’s names: the daughter Resolve Hammond and Deliverance Hammond, her mother. Another reason why The Devil’s Glove kept me hooked was the way Lucretia Grindle works this story. Descriptive without being overbearing, and just the way she wrote.
Deliverance is known throughout their village as a healer. One night, she and her daughter are summoned to a home of a very ill and pregnant woman by the local minister. As Deliverance and Resolve finds out what has happened, it is not all that it seems to be.
As The Devil’s Glove continues, Resolve fears of what might be coming to their small isolated town. Rumors of war are coming their way, that there are more secrets hidden within Resolve’s town, that the people may be at risk, and Resolve’s and her own mother’s life may be in trouble.

A story of early life leading to the Salem Witch Trials. It is an interesting possibility. The narrow minded backstabbing villagers foretell the mindset of Salem. Sadly those traits are still in our world today. The story is at times a bit slow but not a bad book.

Thank you, NetGalley and to the authors for this ARC.

Now Deliverance and Resolve, who used to be Rachel and Susanna. In order to fit in, their names change when they have to move on. The story takes place just prior to the insanity of the witch trials. There's some talk of witches, but the leaders in the town know that if they let the townspeople get excited, it'll end up bringing some men from Boston. But are there witches here?

The story was a little slow at first, but didn't take long to pick up and grab my interest. Once starting, I couldn't put this book down. I care about the characters and feel that the author did a pretty good job of letting the reader get to know them.

It seems like it's set up for a sequel, but still works as a standalone. That ending though. It wasn't expected. I wasn't sure what to expect and I couldn't have guessed. I hope that there's a sequel because I have so many questions.

Great story overall.

A fine work of historical fiction set in New England in the time just before the Salem witch trials. A story of a mother and daughter and how their knowledge of local lore and healing learned from the natives makes them suspicious in this fraught and dangerous time. Very well researched and constructed it was a compelling and engaging read. Very much recommend for anyone interested in American historical fiction especially this dark period.

Resolve Hammond and her Mother are locally known as healers but the villagers suspect them of witchcraft.
They are summoned to tend to a woman who has been poisoned.
As the rumours of war persist, Resolve uncovers a dark secret forcing her to choose between her native friends or her community.
I requested this book as the synopsis really piqued my interest. I love a good book about witches and the Salem witch trials so I was super excited to read this one.
However I am not a lover of books that are overly descriptive and unfortunately this book was that.
I would find myself skipping parts of it just so I could get to the story.
There was also a lot of backstory throughout this book and it really did not add to the story.
And I didn't understand the random story from another character half way through it just left me confused as to why it was there.
For me this was a book about what life was like in America before the witch trials started and there were some interesting information about plants and herbs that were used for healing and the day to day life for these people.
I am really disappointed that I did not love this more.

The Devil's Glove is an immersive historical novel that will transport you back in time. A time where the foundation of the witch trials was starting to emerge. There are so many layers to this story. It is also a story of love and betrayal. Historical fiction lovers will devour this one.

First off, this book is expertly crafted and beautifully written. But it's long. So long. I don't think it needs to be more than one book, and so much of the contents could have been boiled down into more poignant points. (3.5 rounded up to 4)

The Devil's Glove had a couple chilling parts in the beginning which set it up as a really good, chilling read that would be perfect for recommending in October, but then it mellowed out. It still kept me hooked though.

The time and places were easy to imagine so I felt like I was a part of every scene. I liked that the writing style changed when it was a character's story being told, it made the transition smoother and less confusing. I wish we had a little more backstory to see more of their previous lives. I hope there will be a sequel. The ending didn't quite feel final and I would like to see what's in Resolve's future.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Devil's Glove and recommend it to historical fiction readers. Thank you to Book Whisperer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.