Unfortunately this book just didn't hit like I was hoping it would. I was expecting more of a typical witchy story and expected more of a mystery type novel. It read more like a diary. If you just want to learn what life was like in the colonies, this would be a good novel for you, but if you're looking for something super witch-centric, this might not be for you.

I DNFed this book at 70%.

I found myself not being very interested in the story, which did disappoint me a little. I think the writing style was a little awkward and the plot was a little muddled.

I would still recommend this book to someone who is interested in history and specifically the Salem Witch Trials.

Title: The Devil's Glove
Author: Lucretia Grindle
Release Date: May 1st, 2023
Page Count: 360
Format: Netgalley
Start Date: April 21st, 2023
Finish Date: April 29th, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

I really wasn't in love with this book at the beginning. It really read weird to me. I kept reading though. I love historical books. I don't really read many set in the 1600s, so this was really awesome. I love the references to the Salem Witch Trials. There were things that I wish had been explained or elaborated more, but I'm thinking they may be explained later in the series. I'm really shocked that this will be a series, but I'm glad that it will be. Once I got used to the book, I really loved it. I got attached to the characters. I also love the cover. It's beautiful.

Important to Note: Historical Fiction, violence, and racist dialogue (Intended for realism of the puritan's behavior at the time.)

Absolutely captivating. A different view at the Salem witch trials. I was fascinated and could not turn the pages fast enough. Really enjoyed the writing style, the descriptions and character development. Highly recommend. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Village Whispers

A story of what happens when a village turns against someone because of jealousy, envy and hatred. what happens when one person or one event causes mass hysteria. The harm it can cause and the lives it can destroy.

The Hammonds, Resolve and her mother Deliverance live in a small New England town in the year of 1688. They have had an interesting life, spending the war with the native people to keep them safe, they now pose as English to appease the English in this small town. They try to fit it, but they really do not.

Deliverance heals with herbs which makes her suspect as a sorceress. The local midwife hates her as she is jealous that she can heal what she cannot. It is usually too late or very dire before Deliverance is called as a last resort. When she is called she goes. When she goes to treat a poisoned woman she finds out secrets of the town and she is whispered about when the woman dies.

Then comes a time when their loyalties to the town and the English or their loyalties to the natives are tested. When a human caused disaster happens, one of their own doing, Deliverance is the only person that can help, but she is foiled by someone filled with jealousy. Then the whole town turns against her.

It is a beautifully written book and written in a pose type writing which I found to be quite different but I enjoyed very much. The characters were all set well, and I thought the character of Abigail very interesting as well as the character of Resolve.

It is a story that leaves a sneak peak that could be a future book which just might feature some Salem witch trials which this appears might be a prequel to . If so I would certainly like to read the next book.

Thanks to Lucretia Grindle for writing a book in such a beautiful pose, to The Book Whisperer for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

If you are looking for different perspective about the Salem Witch Trials, then this book is for you!
Many thanks to The Book Whisperer and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Set in 1688, this historical fiction does give an excellent picture of many of the events that would eventually lead up to the Salem Witch Trials. As these two women use their knowledge and skills as healers, the suspicious in the community around them judge and pronounce them witches. A the mother and daughter resist the prevalent racial prejudice of the many, they will find their loyalty repaid in regret and betrayal.
The story is skillfully written. The characters are true to the era, you'll feel the horror when the community turns against these women who never intentionally hurt anyone and helped so many. Their story will inspire many to research more on the era of the Salem Witch Trials. Lucretia Grindle has insured her place in my library.

The Devil's Glove by Lucretia Grindle just wasn’t the book for me. Perhaps it’s in the amount of detail or in the writing style.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5518721247

Not really my cup of tea. I read it but felt it drug on a bit in places and was not the best in historical accuracy.

A good read, putting into perspective the pre-Salem witch trial era. However . I found myself skimming sections several times throughout the novel and never felt like I had missed anything crucial to the story. Perhaps tighter editing would have helped the story flow better.

The Devil’s Glove is a beautifully written book, rich with emotion and description. Our main character takes us immediately into her world and slowly but steadily reveals its depth. The pacing is wonderful, keeping the reader engrossed but not overwhelmed, and the major themes of the work come out right when they should , clearly at the 3/4 mark. Hang in there with this novel, as it is worth it on several levels.

The storyline deals with a time very little represented in historical fiction, of the New England area when the Puritans were still new to the land and the plight of the previous pioneers, the Huguenots, still fresh in their memories. The culture of the time is explored in depth through the characters’ lives and gives a new slant to what happened over the next few years in Salem. This is not a book to rehash the trials of that later time in detail, but to give the reader a sense of the culture and hardships that these settlers, for good or bad, had to go through before the frenzy in Salem exploded. It shows a direct link to the later witch-hunt, in showing some of its roots and is a valuable bit of historical fiction for that. We are so removed now from that time, that it is almost incomprehensible how such misogyny could have arisen. Thanks to Grindle’s research, we have some hypotheses. 5stars for The Devil’s Glove. Well done.

Many thanks to The Book Whisperer, Casa Croce Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary ARC of this wonderful historical novel from Lucretia Grindle and Casa Croce Press via Netgalley. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Devil's Glove of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am adding Lucretia Grindle to my favorite authors. I forget from time to time how much I enjoy our earlier days in the USA Yes. Lucretia Grindle paints a fine picture of life in the 1680s. We all forget the little nuances that separated folks back in that day - little things that today would be deemed simply an annoyance or a non-starter were deal-breakers when there were so many personal loyalties divided by the insurmountable mountains of prejudices and religion. Whereas today a witch is simply a slightly misguided annoyance, and a demon child is just misunderstood. Or so we now think.

Read this book. It's a straightforward look into the times and mores of the early days of New England. It is a fine tale, and leaves you with a grateful thanks for the times we live in.

pub date May 1, 2023

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
This is an absorbing book that from the first I found it hard to put down. Based on our historical past, the book's lyrical prose makes me highly recommend it.

This book sounded very promising to me: the start of Salem! Salem is my favorite place. I love going there any time of year, so to be transported to the start of it all sounded enticing. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The story did not captivate me and I grew tired of reading the drawn out explanations and flowery language. I lost interest completely at one point and started skimming through. I tried to love this book so hard, but it sadly just didn't live up to what I was hoping it would be.

The Devil’s Glove by Lucretia Grindle is the fictional possible prequel to what happened in Salem in the 1600s and 1700s. It is a thriller, although not the same kind we read today. The language is formal and lovely, but it gets hard to read in large bursts: best read in small helpings. It is an education in mass hysteria. The mass is smaller, but just as deadly when jealousy and hate take aim at a person for things we now consider ordinary. It makes me ask? Are we doing the same thing today? The characters were solid. The plot steeped in history. The pacing worked within the previously stated context.

It takes place in 1688 in Falmouth, not too far from Salem. It is largely told in first person by Resolve (real name Susannah-Resolve for protection) when Resolve and her mother are called to the bedside of a dying woman. It seemed obvious she had been poisoned but the earlier carers had not taken the obvious step so it was pretty much over when they arrived. The only thing that was odd was the woman’s daughter, Abigail, and she continued to be odd throughout the book. Because Resolve’s mother was friendly with the natives, that made her suspect. Because she was able to save sick folks from dying, that made her suspect. Because she committed suicide, that made her suspect along with her, her daughter, Resolve. An interesting story steeped in American history, it was an interesting read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Devil’s Glove by The Book Whisperer, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #TheBookWhisperer #LucretiaGrindle #TheDevilsGlove

I’ve always been interested in the Salem witchcraft trials so that’s why I read this book.
I found the narrative hard to flow at times since it darted back and forth and also switched voices.
I found the ending incomplete and I was puzzled by several things that happened.
It was an ok read.

Unusual story but very long drawn out. Good and bad characters and plenty of twists and turns. Not wholly believable.

"...For we are, all of us, wheels within wheels. Shells within shells."

I think this story tries to hard to be serious. It's dark. And overwhelmed with detail. I enjoy when an author paints vivid pictures, but this felt belabored. Perhaps if the reader is looking for a description of colonial American life and not necessarily a moving plot.

"...But the tide does not wait for memories, or echoes, or grief."

While the description of this novel sounded intriguing, I found it difficult to get into. The metaphorical language made it hard for me to fully comprehend whether what was happening was real or a dream. Perhaps that was intentional. While the book is from Resolve's point of view, there is a random story from another character's perspective almost halfway through the book. Because the lead up to the "main event" is so slow and takes half of the book to set up time, place, and characters, I just didn't care enough about Resolve or the plot to finish it. I was sadly disappointed that I didn't like it as much as I was hoping.

This story has its inspiration in the Salem Witch Trials, giving an account of a mother and daughter with special powers. Their abilities inspire fear in the village, endangering themselves even as they work to protect the locals.

Resolve and Deliverance Hammond have to live up to their names in order to keep vulnerable people safe while protecting themselves from harm.