I'm not sure "fun" is the right word to use to describe the time I had while reading this, but it's the closest I can get.

Learning about real life Alice Kyteler felt like looking into my past, present, future self; felt like learning about my ancestors, and the ancestors of others. It was sad, terrifying, joyful, and insistent.

Molly's writing took a little getting used to, but it felt reminiscent to how I felt reading Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell and Weyward by Emilia Hart.

I'll probably think about this book for the rest of my life!

*I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now this is the type of feminism I can read all day. After finishing the book, I did look up more information about Alice. The things she and her servants were accused of were insane. Molly Aitken's thorough research shines through and she did a great job giving a voice to a woman who was lost to history.

Thank you to Netgalley as well as Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for this arc

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken is based on the story of the first recorded woman in Ireland to be condemned as a witch. Alice Kyteler is bright and brave and refuses to submit to a patriarchal society. She carves her own path and pays the price.

Bright I Burn is emotional and eye-opening. Alice is just the first in many similar stories throughout history. I found her to be an unapologetically strong character, determined to make her own happiness no matter what others thought.

Thank you, NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, for early access to read Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken in exchange for an honest review.