Wolves Among Us

Chronicles of the Scribe #3

by Ginger Garrett

This richly imagined tale takes readers to a tiny German town in the time of "the burnings," when pious and heretic alike became victims of witch-hunting zealots. When a double murder stirs up festering fears, the village priest sends for help. But the charismatic Inquisitor who answers the call brings a deadly mix of spiritual fervor and self-deceptive evil. Under his influence, village fear, guilt, and suspicion of women take a deadly turn. In the midst of this nightmare, a doubting priest and an unloved wife--a secret friend of the recently martyred William Tyndale--somehow manage to hear another Voice...and discover the power of love over fear.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Christian, Christian Fiction, 16th Century, Christian Romance

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Ginger Garrett is the author of the middle grade titles Name Tags and Other Sixth Grade Disasters (Carolrhoda Press) and The Last Monster (Delacorte Press/Random House) as well as other titles for women.

A frequent media guest and television host, Ginger has been interviewed by Fox News, 104.7 The Fish Atlanta, and many other outlets. Ginger resides in Georgia with her husband, three children and her 27th rescue dog, Watson.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has been a while since I read a Christian fiction book because I have been really struggling with the lack of 'excellence' in Christian writing (same in Christian films... but that is another rant). I can name only a few Christian writers that I enjoy.
I think that part of my frustration stems from the fact that many of these authors I started reading at age 12, when I couldn't get enough of the church library books. Since I always want to read something better (with better writing) I grew out of the fiction in the church library (this is not to say that I don't read the non-fiction... I think there is a lot of really great stuff out there that is non-fiction).

Ok...enough ranting about me. Here is what I thought of the book: *SPOILERS*
The description on the back captivated me. Germany, witch hunts, and the overriding power of Jesus Christ. Yup, sounds very interesting right...
Within the first few pages I was already annoyed with the writing style. This book is full of contradictions and lame 'weather scenes' (you know... when the author uses up as many sentences describing the weather as the characters of the book). Within the first few pages we meet the priest who is walking and sees the main character Mia getting asked to lunch by another woman of the village, Mia says no and walks away... to this the priest is like, now there is a good wife, she does not gossip.... (HU? ok... but from this sentence you are given the impression that she is a model citizen in the village) then in the next few chapters Mia goes to confession and the priest is all like "you are a bad wife, you need to work harder...etc" so now you are really confused and are filliping back through the pages because you could have sworn that he thought she was a good wife...

Another one that really had me frustrated was when the author was describing the jail cell that father Stephan was being held in. It had no place to lay his head, no place to relieve himself and no window... I took from that that it was really small. Next thing we know there is another woman in the cell with him (who was brought in while he was sleeping.... I guess he does not need a place to lay his head to have a deep sleep where he does not notice that another person is being brought into his cell) and he has had a lengthy conversation with other prisoners before even knowing that she is there... So... more flipping back through the pages to see what I missed.

Besides that, this book is filled with "and then" moments. You know, when it is like "and then suddenly a hand shot out" or "suddenly the door swung open and Bjorn stood in the door way, he had found them'. To me it just seems like cheap scare tactics. This book is full of them!

This book could have been powerful had it been written well. Had we delved into the characters lives and feelings and really gotten a good grasp on what the times were like I think that I would have really liked it. This book is just a surface look. It leaves you feeling disoriented and annoyed.

*The quotes are not actual ones from the book. I was paraphrasing as I remembered them :)

I think it will be a while before I pick up another Christian fiction again...

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! half way through the book I wasn't sure if I liked it. By the end I was blown away. The author did nothing I expected her to do. I was expecting a book on the evils of the past that left me irritated and mad no matter how good the story was. However I was left amazed that the story left me pensive as well as breathless.

There was nothing typical about this book. I expected a romance, I got none. I expected the author to point fingers at men and tell us of there evils at that day in age, but instead she pointed out ignorance and how the truth sets people free.

There is some content that was not of younger readers. However, the author gave you the horror without the details so that was nice.

I recommend this book to those who love historical fiction or fiction that is anything but typical.

[Jeni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this book after a recommendation on a blog. The author was listed among other Christian writers to state that Christian literature has come a long way. New writers are dealing with tough subjects and the genre is much more compelling than it used to be.

Sorry - this book just didn't prove the point to me. I didn't finish it. The plot seemed to drag on, the character descriptions were repetitive and never gained any depth, and I just wasn't that interested in what was happening. Just because the characters are dealing with murders and witchcraft, that doesn't make it an interesting read. There wasn't anyone in this story that I truly cared about, even the sickly child who has no real presence other than being feverish.

I read about 1/3 of this story and gave up to read something better. If it hasn't grabbed me by then, it's not worthy of my time.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This read was a little hard to get into just because it was hard to read about how women were treated in this time period. It deals with a special type of priest coming to a German village to get rid of the evil that is found there when two people end up killed on the church steps. Witchcraft was a big deal during this time period and it was interesting to see why. Witch hunts were done because they needed a scape goat for someone else. They claimed that they were betwitched and that was the reason for the sins that they committed. Another issue issue is the bible itself. How it was sinful for a bible to be read by untrained minds. It is a good book for Christians to read to see the mistakes the early church made.

[Nanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't progress fast enought.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day, it was nearly a crime to be born a woman. The superstitious people in the 1500s believed that women were inheritantly evil and must be burned for witchcraft to keep men from sinning. In one village, a double murder occurred, and the bodies dumped on the church doorstep. Alarmed, the priest, Stefan, asked for an investigator for help. He didn't expect that women from his village would be arrested to be in burnt at the stake. In the village, a woman named Mia struggled with a sick daughter and lack of friends. She tried to be a good wife to her husband, but it was a challenge. One day, both of them got hold of the Forbidden Book that William Tyndale had printed. In it, Mia learns of the One who can truly set her free. Stefan learns about following the Good Shepherd and what it means to lay his life down for his sheep.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolves Among Us is a powerful examination of a deeply troubling and unsettling chapter in church history -- the medieval witch hunts, which saw thousands of women burned alive, many of them believers, all of them targeted by virtue of their womanhood. Feared, denied, reviled, and judged by the very institution that should have offered them succor and refuge, Wolves is a searing examination of the danger and tragedy that can come when uninformed fears, prejudices, and half-truths are proclaimed as as gospel, and conversely, the freedom that comes when one dares to seek a personal relationship with the God who longs to whisper His truths into our hearts, if only we let Him in. Garrett introduces readers to a world perhaps not so different from our own, where lies are proclaimed as truths and ignorance allows them to flourish. Two vastly different characters provide the entrée to this world, where a horrific double murder brings a small German community to the crossroads of faith and fear. The first, Father Stephen, is a well-meaning but frustratingly blind priest who unwittingly unleashes a wolf among his flock. With more confidence in the human dictates of the church than in his own relationship with the God he proclaims from the pulpit, Stephan is faced with the opportunity to become a true shepherd through the fire of unfathomable persecution. Mia, the wife of the town sheriff, is lonely and unloved, a pariah among the town's women, allows her fears to define her life and her faith. When prejudice and bloodlust masquerade as justice, can two doubters find the courage to stand for life-changing truth?

Wolves was originally intended to be the third entry in Garrett's Chronicles of the Scribe series (following In the Shadow of Lions and In the Arms of Immortals). Somewhere between the publication of Immortals and Wolves, the decision was made to retain the basic plotline (16th-century witch hunts) and eliminate the modern-day framing device utilized in the Scribe novels. While the framing story was a unique and innovative way in which to show modern women experiencing the awakening of previously unknown history at pivotal moments in the Middle Ages, Wolves is just as strong -- if not stronger -- than its predecessors in the case it makes for knowing the heart-breaking, empowering sacrifices our ancestral sisters in the faith made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do today.

Garrett has a gift for illuminating the dark periods of history, for bringing times that seem, on the surface, so foreign to modern sensibilities to life with her vibrant prose. Wolves is a rare novel, one that is simultaneously engrossing, uncomfortable, enraging, and heart-breaking. This is challenging fiction that holds a mirror to its readers demanding honesty and self-examination, brutally honest in its exploration of the role of women vis-a-vis faith, both personal and corporate, and in the church. On a superficial level, it would be easy to dismiss Mia's story as a fiction, and that is both the danger and genius of a novel such as this. Garrett's carefully crafted characters are authentic and true to the time in which they lived, and Mia's repressed nature seems particularly untenable by modern standards. But at the same time their faith struggles, the questions they grapple with are timeless and still oh-so-relevant today.

William Tyndale and his "forbidden book," a translation of the scriptures from the Latin so they could be read by the average man and woman, is the thread that ties Lions and Wolves together. Taken together these novels are powerful, humbling reminders that the gift of reading the scriptures, of seeking God without the "aid" of a sanctioned intermediary -- these were gifts paid for in blood, treasures that are too often taken for granted. When darkness seems overwhelming, at its most powerful, Wolves is a call to stand for truth, a reminder of who we are in Christ and more importantly of who God is, truths found in the pages of scripture -- truths men and women died for so that you and I would have the "right" to let the book gather dust on beside tables. May it never be so taken for granted -- for there is much truth in the maxim that those who do not remember, do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Wolves is a jewel among Garrett's slim list of published works, a richly textured novel that immerses the reader in the world of 16th-century Germany. Terrifying, heart-wrenching, and challenging in its examination of lies sold as truth, this is a book that cannot help but change you -- if you let it. I particularly liked the touch Garrett weaves throughout the story of an actual wolf preying on livestock, a grim, appropriate foreshadowing of the evil challenge to come that masquerades as an angel of light. This is a powerful, challenging, extraordinarily relevant examination of how a few brave souls dared to stand on the infallible truth of God's word during one of the darkest chapters in history. Enter these pages with care, because the story within demands self-examination and change.

[Linea Winter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed. Read the finish. Very disappointing series.

[J.S. Nelson]

DNF

[Andrea Karpinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I gave it to a friend to read who reads a lot and she loved it. Highly recommended

[Rea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quite village of Dinfoil is thrown into turmoil following the double murder of one of the villagers and his wife. Father Stefan, the long-standing village priest, wants to call for an Inquisitor to give an ending to this horrible event; Bjorn, the sheriff, has his own reasons for not wanting to bring an Inquisitor to their little village. Father Stefan calls for him anyway and Bjorn soon finds the answers to all his worries in one concept: witchcraft.

Mia is struggling to be a good wife to Bjorn: she is caring for his disabled mother and their sick child, she keeps their house clean when his work keeps him away at all hours, and she defers to him in all matters. She is also trying to hide her past from the other villagers, scared that if they know about it they will shun her even more than they already do. She tries desperately to be a good Christian, to gain God's favour in the hopes that he will heal her daughter - her reason for being. Father Stefan cruelly informs her that God does not heal her child because she is guilty of the sin of pride. So Mia redoubles her efforts to be a good wife to a man who does not care about her.

Soon, the Inquisitor Bastion arrives, a caged witch in tow, and informs the villagers that their little village is overrun with witches, women who cast spells on the men to make them sin, or cast curses on the other women. Mass hysteria ensues as numerous women are accused of, and then trailed for, witchcraft.

Note: The synopsis is a little misleading. It says that they "discover the power of love over fear" but it is not romantic love, it is God's love.

At times Mia frustrated me because of her meekness, the way she'd just present herself as a doormat for the men to walk all over, but at the same time I am fully aware that this was a woman's lot in that day and age. I felt sorry for her, with all that she had to put up with. It was refreshing to have a German setting as most of the books I've read about the witch trials tend to be set in Salem. There was quite a claustrophobic feel to the story, with it never leaving the village and the story did, of course, have quite a dark feel to it, but how could it have been light considering its subject?

At various points throughout the story it is obvious that the author is a devout Christian and that she is putting her own thoughts and beliefs into the mouths of her characters. This led to some points in the story that I believe I was just supposed to take on faith. As I am not Christian and I look for a scientific explanation wherever I can, that left the story wanting at certain points. Why is Alma (the daughter) suddenly healed by a man with a glowing face who appears in Mia's dream? Why does Alma not suffer again after that? Why does God supposedly come to help Mia but he ignores all the other abused women in the village? Why does he talk to Stefan? Why does he appear before Bjorn? While some of these are just points in passing, others are not. Especially Alma's sickness. For the first half of the book she has difficulty breathing, then she seems to be on the point of dying, Mia dreams of a man whose face is so bright she cannot look upon it, and then when she wakes up Alma is suddenly better and no longer suffers from any breathing problems. There is no explanation given beyond that it was God's work. That is not an explanation that I accept. Alma had a medical problem and medical problems do not suddenly cure themselves, no matter how hard you pray.

Stefan was very possibly my favourite character. At first I didn't like him very much, but he realised that he was the one who invited disaster to their village and that he was the one who needed to fix the situation. He stepped up to the mark, overcoming fear, and did what had to be done. I admire the courage of the character for that.

The ending, or rather the post-ending, was something of a let down. Mia finds someone else, which is good for her, but that person is someone she had no contact with during the story. I would have preferred a better lead-in to that situation.

[Stacy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting more about the reformation, but ended up learning a lot about witch hunts. This was a dark read, but accurate for the times.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by Ginger Garrett, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The description of the novel was vague, so I went into the book nearly blind as to what the storyline would be. I was pleasantly surprised after I finished this engaging historical fiction. Set during the 1530s when the rumor of “witches” and their powers ran rampant among the people of Germany, Wolves Among Us takes its readers on a harrowing journey.

When humble priest Stefan sends for an Inquisitor to hunt out the truth behind the mysterious murder of two people, he never expected that the man would be apprehending witches. Once the people’s suspicions of witches in their midst, no woman is safe in Dilfoil—especially the young and beautiful.

While this outrageous belief in witches was interesting to read about, I found that the men’s regards to women extremely interesting, and even a little insulting. As I listen to the Inquisitor go on and on, I found myself wishing I could go back in time and teach them a thing or two. There were times that I seriously laughed at their superstitions and the circumstances around which the Inquisitor based his proof on.
Before reading this book I knew very little about this period, but Ginger filled her book with so much history that after I finished the book, I felt like I had just had an in-depth history lesson while on a grand adventure with the characters. How wonderful! Certainly an eye-opener for anyone who wants to learn more about history during the 1530s.

The writing style, while very descriptive and vivid, was different. It took me a little while to get used to, but didn’t ruin the book for me in any way. I did wish, however, that when characters had flashbacks, that there was some sort of way to break it up and make it more obvious. Once or twice it took me a little while to realize that my character was reliving previous days.

Mia was a very endearing character. One cannot help but sympathize with her as she struggles to love an unlovable husband and save her sickly daughter. When she discovers his shortcomings at the end, the depth of description put me right beside Mia as she felt the hurt and betrayal. Her confused and jumbled thoughts and desires were very believable and human and I easily made a connection with this character.

Ginger Garratt brought her story of Mia and Stefan to life through the pages of Wolves Among Us. I will be sure to pick up another book by Ginger in the future, sure of an adventure underneath the beautiful cover.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to read. I kept finding myself getting angry. As a teacher I know how women in history were treated. I know that the church in the 1500’s in Europe held so much power that they felt they could do whatever they wanted and people had to obey or suffer the consequences. I would not have survived long in their time period.

The book starts off in Germany during the 1500’s with the murder of a couple. The church immediately, along with the men decided that Catarina, the murdered was having an affair. They decide her husband found out and that the jealous lover killed them both. So what does Father Stefan do? He brings in an Inquisitor. When he suggested doing this to the Sheriff, the Sheriff advised against it. Once the inquisitor arrives things go from bad to worse.

I felt extremely sorry for Mia, the Sheriff’s wife who stayed home and took care of not only her sickly child, but also her aged mother-in-law. What thanks did she get? None. Her husband constantly accused her of evil thoughts. He called her such vile names and constantly put her down. Mia is alone. The only friend she had no longer talks with her. It wasn’t just the sheriff who did this. The church had the men convinced that women were the reason for all of the evil things they did. Somehow they bewitched them and this caused them to do bad things. Mia prays constantly for healing for her daughter. She even goes so far as going to confession. The priest pretty much tells her that she is the reason that this stuff is happening to her daughter. It is the evil within her, the pride that causes her daughter’s illness.

It is clear from the beginning when the story opens with the discovery that a wolf has killed two of the village’s sheep that this story is not about physical wolves. Yes they do catch and kill the wolf killing sheep. This is really about evil being all around us. During this period of time when most people were illiterate they had no way of truly knowing what the scripture said. They had to believe what the church “told” them the scriptures said. Women had it even worse. They were not allowed to read the scriptures even if they knew how to read. This is an excellent book to read to see how far we have come in church history. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book to hold your attention. I am happy that I was allowed to read this as an Inspy judge.

[Christy Trever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolves Among Us by Ginger Garrett is the rare book that will both keep you up at night from the suspense and take your breath away with the beauty of the writing. Stefan has long been the priest for the small German town of Dinfoil, in 1538 that made him one of the premier authorities within the village. When two bodies are dumped on the church steps, Stefan insists on calling in an Inquisitor for aid, despite the wishes of sheriff, Bjorn. Bjorn's wife, Mia, spends her days caring for her invalid mother-in-law and sick daughter, Alma, while also trying to keep up the house and not anger her husband. She often confesses to Stefan her failures as a wife, and he accuses her of pride for refusing to accept Alma's illness and that her shortcomings as a wife just may have caused it. Mia lives with this terrible guilt along with a secret from her past, one that has kept her separate from all the women in the village who scorn her company. Bastion, the Inquisitor, arrives with the shocking information that a witch caused the murders, and he is ready to root out any and all evil women within the village. His methods quickly have Stefan questioning why he requested his presence, but Bjorn is sure that Bastion is the answer to all his worries. Garrett has gained a reputation as an author to watch with her Chronicles of the Scribe series, and this novel will cement it. Wolves has the claustrophobic feel of Robert MacCammon's Speaks the Nightbird. A witch-hunt in a remote village where mass hysteria quickly becomes law is the perfect recipe for a novel filled with suspense, thrills, and surprisingly, in Garrett's hands, transforming faith. There is true beauty in Garrett's writing: Alma gave Mia a reason to be brave. God let women bear children so women would never give up hope. Even if here on earth women were denied everything else, God would always let them bear children. Alma hinted at His goodness. Children were promise brighter than a rainbow. Garrett shows readers that sometimes the monster is much darker than the one we fear, but often there is beauty and hope to be found in the darkest night.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could give this book 3 1/2 stars I would.
This book's setting is during a dark time in both Europe as well as the Church. Many people were uneducated and therefore easily led to believe many things. The Catholic church was trying to rid Europe of false religions and heresy (at least according to their definition). The largest part of this book depicts witch hunts in Germany and dabbles into the Reformation and those persecuted.
Thousands of women died because of these witch hunts. Women's rights were non-existent in this time. Women were believed to be the source of evil in the world, because of Eve. If there was adultery, rape, etc, it was the woman's fault not the man's. As a result women were sometimes burned as witches. In this, I became angry that people could believe this. But it did happen and so I would not have the author change this in the book. This kind of subject should not be portrayed as something it's not. Additionally, I believe Garrett (author) portrayed this well without making it disgusting or unnecessarily graphic.
My one, biggest problem with this book relates to Tyndale. It is true that Tyndale had his Bible he translated printed in Germany while he was in hiding. Perhaps I need to research more, but how can a local priest in a German village read a Bible that was translated by Tyndale in his own language? ....Tyndale translated the Bible into English. Just a thought.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not sure if I was going to like this book or not. I read one of Ginger Garrett’s books in the past and although it was a very good book, I found it too dark and depressing. I can’t remember the name of the book, but it was not a favorite of mine. Since I never like to dismiss any author after just one book, I was more than willing to read Wolves Among Us.

This book has that same kind of dark feel to it, but I found this story much more interesting. I think I must be broadening my reading horizons from where I was the last time I read one of Ginger’s books because despite the dark feeling, I did not want to put this book down. This book started out strong and gained more and more momentum and finished strong leaving quite satisfied not only by the story, but by the message.

I am very happy I decided to go ahead and read Wolves Among Us despite a less than satisfying reading experience the last time. I found this book to be very satisfying with enough historical accuracy, suspense, spiritual warfare, and love to make really any reader happy. I highly recommend Wolves Among Us. It will be a different reading experience for you. And by different, I mean good - really good.

[Michelle Griep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Ginger Garrett pounds out another breathtaking, heart-pounding story that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat until the last page. And I won’t even mention the full range of emotions her writing invokes. Oops. Did I mention that?

Wolves Among Us is a historical piece of fiction…or is it? The setting and the culture is definitely middle ages but the characters, well, let’s just say even in contemporary times the average reader will relate to the wolfish spiritual predator she depicts. In fact, if her villain, the Inquisitor Bastion, were to pop through a time-machine door, I have no doubt he’d be a TV evangelist.

While at times I was a little angry with heroine Mia for being such a doormat, I think the true source of my rage was that I saw a lot of myself in her. She was a very real kind of gal with lots of ‘how come’ questions and ‘I must’ attitudes.

Wolves Among Us is a simultaneous peek into a bygone era and present-day Anytown—a tough feat to accomplish but skillfully pulled-off by Garrett. Can’t wait to see what she does next.

[Md.zeeshan Siddiqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolves Among Us: A Novel (Chronicles of the Scribe)
by Ginger Garrett

Wolves Among Us: A Novel by Ginger Garrett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wolves Among Us: A Novel (Chronicles of the Scribe)

by Ginger Garrett





View all my reviews

[Sue Merrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn since I purchased this book for my church library and recommended it to my church book club. I had been lead to believe it was about the Tyndale Bible and how people were persecuted for reading it but that is only a tangential topic. The book is really about a witch hunt in sixteenth century Germany. The post script says 24,000 women were burned at the stake in Germany alone. It is a horrifying book. I had a hard time reading it because it made me so mad. Naturally good triumphs in the end but I would have rathered that good won through a Biblical lesson, a revelation of the word, increased understanding. As it is, the triumph is rather vague, a momentary upper hand, without much use of the potential Biblical lessons. I found the postscript more interesting than the book, wish I had read it first.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never been the best at writing reviews.
I try and write one for every book I read.
This author I would never known about If it was for a book giveaway
I won for one of her Lost Loves of the Bible books.
I won and read all of her Lost Loves of the Bible books.
I am not very religious. I never even read the Bible.
I requested this one and didn't really get into at first.
I started really getting into as she saw/heard the girl die outside.
I had a sneaking suspicious her husband was involved that proved right in the end.
Mia's love for her daughter is what really got me.
I have s 2 1/2 year old daughter who is the center of my life.
I don't really socialize with people of my town either.

[Timea Peto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book in one day which almost never happens. I enjoyed it a lot, especially because the setting was almost like how I imagine those days of history, which is probably incorrect, but still. The reason I'm giving it 3 stars it because of Mia's character. First it seems like she is very fragile, old and hurt. As the book goes on she seems more like a young undernourished mother. In fact she seemed quite strong to live through the inquisition. It's still worth reading if you're up for a nice witch hunt in a small village! I especially enjoyed the parts where they explain how women are the only reason man would ever sin. Very funny!!!

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one I couldn't put down by Garrett. This showed this ignorance and insecurity of 1528. A priest comes to reckoning of what he is actually teaching and the heroine Mia stays true to what God is telling her in her heart even though the Inquisitor Bastion comes to town as a wolf in sheeps clothing. Tyndale's relationship in a secondary, flashback element speaks to how the Word started coming into the peoples hand. Plenty of paranoia and fear come through but God's abiding love outshines all.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. This was about witch hunting in Europe at least 100 years before the Salem witch trials. I kept guessing what was going to happen and was frequently wrong--which, for me, made it suspenseful. I didn't think Ginger Garrett was an extraordinary writer, but I'm going to give her another shot with one of her other books. There were a few times where I was confused as to what was happening, but mostly I enjoyed it--if you can get over the woman bashing indicative of that time period.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover and the name of the book was what caught my attention. :)
The book was not what I expected. It was sad and not the happy ending that most stories turn out to be, which was nice since this stuff really happened.
It was good to read about different people's view on certain scriptures in the Bible too, and even learn some new things myself.
This is the first book I've read from this author and I will be looking into more books that she has published. :)

[Scarletstories · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first page of this book to the end, I could scarcely put it down. Mia's secret, combined with Stefan's doubts and Bjorn's strange behavior, all made for an intriguing read and I was hooked from start to finish. A wonderful glimpse into the historical lives of 16th century German people, combined with a beautiful look at the way faith ruled the lives of the pre-Reformational Church. I definitely recommend this book to any and all history lovers and book readers!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure what to think of this book. The subject matter is historical and interesting, but the sentences are short and choppy. The plot is predictable and seems to drag in places.

Garrett does a good job describing the plight (abuse and control) of women in the 1500's. Garrett wants the reader to be aware of the evil that still exists among us today.

[Dina Coutu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't tell if I liked this book or not..... I didn't like the main person Mia at all I wanted to slap her in the face quite often. When I started reading the book I really liked it and was hooked, but as I started reading more and more I felt like the bible was being forced down my throat at every turn of the page. I don't know.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that I am not sure how I feel about. It is easy to read and understand, however the time frame and believes was hard for me to just sit back and enjoy the book. If you like historical fiction then you might like this book. There is a lot of information about the European Witch Trials in this book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It wasn't as great as some of Garrett's other books, however it was still a very good book. The story built slowly over the first 3/4 of the book, then if finished too quickly in the last 1/4 of the book. Some loose ends were left for the reader.