I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was such a nice surprise. A historical fiction with touch of magical realism. We follow family of female healers via two points of view: one during WWII in France, the other nowadays in Virginia. It kept my attention and I needed to know what happens next and how each generation deals with their gift.

The Moonlight Healers was a delightful intergenerational novel exploring themes of healing, love, loss, and repair. The two point of views helped to move the story forward in a creative way, and the dynamics between characters were so heartwarming.

I found myself a bit lost in the pacing at times and the ending felt a bit rushed. I think an epilogue would have really benefitted the book and provided readers with closure.

Thanks to @NetGalley for my digital copy of The Moonlight Healer!

What a beautiful tribute to nurses, legacy, and the unseen threads of time.

I didn’t expect this story to unfold the way it did, but what a gift it was. I went in blind, and I was pleasantly surprised! Having encountered a few amazing nurses myself—nurses I will forever remember and be grateful for—this book felt like a whispered blessing passed down through generations. It is a hymn to nurses—the quiet sorcerers of healing, the keepers of comfort, the steady hands in life’s most fragile moments, the unsung heroes…

Told in a dance of past and present, the novel follows a lineage of women bound by an inheritance not measured in gold, but in something far more sacred—a gift, a calling, a thread that stitches them to one another across time. Helene’s journey gripped me, each moment of heartbreak and triumph resonating like an echo in my chest. And Louise—her great-granddaughter—wandering through the tangled paths of love and identity, searching for herself in the reflections of those who came before her, was just as mesmerizing. Their stories entwine like roots beneath the soil, unseen yet vital, shaping and steadying one another.

But what lingers most is the novel’s meditation on life and death—the way it turns them over like stones in a river, revealing their quiet beauty, their inevitable flow. It reminds us that we are all connected, that even in parting, something of us remains.

This book is more than a story—it is a song of resilience, a love letter to those who heal, a gentle reminder of the magic we so often overlook. It lingers like a soft refrain, long after the last note fades.

3.5

This was an emotional book about multiple generations of women carrying the gift to heal. It's a beautiful exploration of the challenges that health care workers, especially nurses, face when caring for patients. I really appreciated the commentary around allowing people peaceful, respectful passings. Dignity in death is something that's important to me, and this story definitely emphasized it's importance.

However, I never really found myself fully connecting with the characters. I'm not exactly sure why, but I finished the story and just felt like it was missing something. I do think that someone who really loves historical fiction would enjoy this more than I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and Greydon House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received both an ALC and an eARC from the publisher of this story, and I’m absolutely enthralled. The audiobook is beautiful, the narrators did an excellent job, in fact the audiobook adds an extra touch with the accents for dialogue that truly magnifies the story.

The moonlight healers is a beautifully written, haunting, and powerful story that will tug heartstrings, and feel like a blanket of understanding to nurses, doctors, and healers everywhere.

As a medical professional I found this story to be a powerful testament to the work of nurses and healers, a look into the beauty and grief that comes with the profession. When sometimes the hardest thing is the right thing, and also the power of letting someone go, for their dignity rather than trying to cheat death for our own selfish desires. The complexity of mother and daughter dynamics, the way we want to shelter our children from the world, especially in the medical field where we see so much pain that we may cling to the pureness of children staying little. And how sheltering them isn’t always protecting them, but rather we need to prepare them to face the darkness of the world by giving them tools along the way.

Absolutely brilliant.

This was a strong dual timeline debut about a family of women with the ability to heal people but their gift comes at a price. The opening grabbed me from the start where a car crash almost kill's a girls friend but in her panic she's able to save his life only for it to having long-lasting repercussions. In the past we get to know more about her grandmother and her time serving as a nurse during WWII and helping heal soldiers. Great on audio narrated by Cassandra Campbell and Bailey Carr (two favs), this was an enjoyable listen and perfect for fans of books like Emma Donoghue's The pull of the stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I would like to start off this review by thanking Harlequin Trade Publishing| Graydon House and Elizabeth Becker for allowing me to read this novel, The Moonlight Healers, via #netgalley. All opinions following are my own.

This book is a beautiful tribute to all those that have the power to heal those around them: nurses, doctors, midwives, caregivers, therapists, and the list goes on. This story specifically talks about a family legacy of healing.

For generations as far back as she knows, the women in Louise Winston's family have had the power to be healers. She finds this out herself when she is in a horrific car accident with her best friend, Peter, that leaves him dead. Not knowing her family secret, she performs CPR on his lifeless, broken body. Minutes later, he is alive again and doesn't have a scratch on him. After being discharged from the hospital, she rushes home to her mother for answers.

Resigned, her mother says that they need to go visit Louise's grandmother for answers. There, Louise remembers a childhood with her great-grandmother Helene, and readers are then given her story as a healer in German-occuppied France during World War II.

Spanning four generations of women, healers, and nurses, readers are gifted a beautiful story of love, resilience, and the balance of the universe.

If it's not obvious by my synopsis, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. As a debut author, Elizabeth Becker is able to cue into people's emotions and the human experience in a way that is breathtaking. This was an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. When it comes out on Tuesday, February 11, I implore everyone to read it.

#BrenBreathesBooks #brenreviewsbooks #5starreads #ElizabethBecker #Fantasy #DebutAuthor #ARCReader #ARC #comingsoon #februaryreads #booksofinstagram #bookworm #bookish #reader #ReaderLife #booknerd #bookstagramcommunity #bookcommunity

what a beautiful novel. let’s just start there because I am truly so moved by the story of louise, camilla, helene— these incredible women with the gift of healing touch. an actual tear ran down my cheek as I read the final sentences. the tribute to the magic of women, to their work, to nurses, to healing, family legacy— elizabeth becker took these themes and tenderly interwove a vivid and ripe story as we jumped through the past and present. i will say, i did guess the plot twist early on but that did not take away from the emotional impact of the story because the storytelling was that good and everything we learn about the lives of each of these women captivates you. i was fortunate enough to be provided an arc copy via netgalley for an honest review, but I will be at the bookstore on release day picking up a physical copy because this is a book I want to put my hands on & relive again while eagerly flipping through the pages. i think this novel will be on quite a few lists this year & maybe more. thank you for this masterful & magical story, elizabeth becker.

The Moonlight Healers by Elizabeth Becker gives us the story of Louise who discovers she has inherited the gift of healing after she brings her friend back to life after a horrific car accident. Her mother takes her to her grandmother’s house in Virginia to learn the stories of her family’s history including her great grandmother who was a nurse during World War II. Louise finds what she is truly capable of while discovering the secrets of her family. It’s a beautiful story about survival, love, and the bonds between mothers and daughters.

I recommend this book for magical realism and historical fiction readers. The book alternates between Louise’s story in 2019 and Helene in 1942, each of the women are struggling to come to grips with their healing gift. The stories converge in present time to show how the women in their family have healed others throughout history and how they heal one another.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

The Moonlight Healers is a book of magical realism and fantasy drama. Being pulled into the pages and transported to a different world is always a joy for a reader.... Absolutely recommend to fantasy lovers!

Set in both 1940’s France and current day Virginia. Helene is a 17 year old with a special gift to heal. Her gift allows her to ease the dying soldiers final moments. She is able to honor their souls with peace in the battlefield as they transition. She can also revive a soul. She learns that any revived soul is now on borrowed time and one can’t escape death when it comes for us. Choices have to be made to restore that balance. Jump forward to current day and Helene’s great granddaughter Louise, is in a horrible car accident. Her best friend dies on impact and Louise brings him back. The decisions these healers have to make is heartbreaking. How far are we willing to go and how much are we willing to give up for those we love. “It’s not the end you think it is. There’s peace here. They’re safe. Their pain is gone. And the living are the ones who carry it now.”

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ebook copy of The Moonlight Healers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was definitely a heartfelt novel that pays homage to the work of nurses, while also incorporating some mystical elements that rounded out this great book! One of my favorite reads of the new year. It was written beautifully, the setting was dreamy and the relationships between generations of women with these gifts of healing was a balm to my reading soul. I was so happy to read such a satisfying novel, and thank you again for the opportunity to read this

This wasn't a book I would normally pick up, but I am so glad I did. This was such a wonderful story! 
With my grandmother being a nurse, this felt so close to home, seeing the love and compassion for nurses/healers. I absolutely loved watching generations of women in the same family discovering their passion and hard work it is to be a nurse. 
I loved the writing style and was so connected to the characters.

This story was beautiful in its simplicity.

Louise comes from a long line of healing women, but she was unaware she had these capabilities until she brings her best friend back from the dead after a car accident.

Helene, her great-grandmother, learned everything about the power, and the cost, of her healing touch working as a nurse on the frontlines in France during World War II.

While the story of their family legacy is told primarily through these two POVs more than 60 years apart, it also shows how five generations of women have dealt with their abilities and the personal costs of using them.

Poignant and powerful, short but incredibly well-written!

A thoughtful, tender story about a family of women with the gift of healing.

This is a leisurely, character-driven story somewhat in the vein of The Unmaking of June Farrow (though I do feel like this leaned fairly YA).

Thanks to Harlequin for providing an advanced digital copy through NetGalley for me to review!

The Moonlight Healers
By: Elizabeth Becker

5 Stars

Being a healer is a true form of magic. In this story, you follow Helene and Louise as they find out about an amazing ability they possess. Healers just by touch. Some even bring others back from the brink of death, but with a cost. This story is one of war and tragedy. Beauty and sacrifice. It follows a timeline of war and timeline a little more modern, but both tell of women with hearts of gold. Women with the healing touch. Women with magic.

This story was beautiful. It was well written and descriptive. It was full of heart and soul. It made me smile, and it made me cry. It was an emotionally gripping read that captivates from start to finish. I know I was captivated by the scenery, characters, and story. I just wish I had more tissues.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

This book is told in alternate timelines.

I have never read something by this author before but this really does suck you in from the get go. I will be seeking outt other books for this author.

I’ll be updating my review shortly!!

Reviewer Jessica B, gave such a perfect review for this book.

I found this an enjoyable read—fantastic plot with strong characters. The switch between timelines was smooth and easy to follow who was doing what and where. The characters had similar traits which made the family connection real. The ending was a bit abrupt but then again, we know what is going to happen so why drag it out. This is a great story that I highly recommend. I can't wait to check out more by this author, they have amazing talent.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

If this is ever made into a movie, there won't be a dry eye at the end.

Told in alternating timelines.

Louise has just graduated. Her long-time friend, Peter, has confessed his love to her, but she laughs it off as a post-graduation, emotion-induced reaction. The next day, when Peter is driving Louise, he is not wearing a seatbelt, they are arguing. Then Louise is waking up and Peter is in the road, neck at an unnatural angle. Louise, in her devastation, starts compressions, even though she knows he is gone.

But then...the impossible. When the paramedics take him, she sees him sit up and talk to them.

When her mother finds out, she immediately sends Louise to her estranged grandmother's home on a peach orchard.

During WWII in Nazi-occupied France, Helene is sent to a convent by her mother to help her cousin with medical and healing procedures, but warns her not to let her book of healing information be found, and not to let anyone but her cousin know that she is a healer. Her cousin, however, has changed. She no longer uses her healing powers, and considers them to be blasphemous. But when the Allies land and are immediately overtaken, she has a temporary change of heart.

As the two time lines come together, we have heartwrenching tales of mother-daughter relationships, of friendships, whispers of romance. Very well written and well-researched (from what I can tell), this was a deeply moving story. You really get a feel for the warring feelings and emotions that each of the characters - Helene, her daughter Camille, Camille's daughter Bobbie, and finally, Bobbie's daughter, Louise - experience when their healing isn't enough, and when death is not a tragedy.

Louise discovers she has the ability to heal with the touch of her hands by accident when her best friend is thrown from the windshield of his car.  This leads her to find answers, and she discovers that the women in her family have passed down the gift of healing for generations, but it comes with limitations. 

Thoughts 💭
Since their gift is passed down through the women in their family, I really enjoyed the dual points of view from Louise in the current day and her great-grandmother, who was a nurse during WWII. It gives a unique perspective of two women coming into their own with these gifts.  You would think that having a unique family secret would unite the family even more, but it seems to just draw them further apart.  This added a lot of tension and mystery to the story.  The ending was bitter sweet but satisfying. The family dynamics, setting, and heartwarming tale come together to create a beautiful story.  I also recommend checking out the author's note at the end!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.