As a love affair comes to an end, and with it her dreams for her future, artist Selena needs a retreat. The picture-postcard Sloe Cottage in the Somerset village of Ashcombe promises to be the perfect place to forget her problems, and Selena settles into her new home as spring arrives. But it isn't long before Selena hears the past whispering to her. Sloe Cottage is keeping secrets which refuse to stay hidden.
Grace Cotter longs for nothing more than a husband and family of her own. Content enough with her work on the farm, looking after her father, and learning the secrets of her grandmother Bett's healing hands, nevertheless Grace still hopes for love. But these are dangerous times for dreamers, and rumours and gossip can be deadly. One mismove and Grace's fate looks set...
Separated by three hundred years, two women are drawn together by a home bathed in blood and magic. Grace Cotter's spirit needs to rest, and only Selena can help her now.
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Firefly sparks swirl up the chimney as logs hiss and smoulder in the grate, the blackened twigs twisted like charred bones.- PROLOGUE
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(@BoldwoodBooks, 17 May 2022, e-book, 366 pages, borrowed from @AmazonKindle via #PrimeReading)
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I really liked The Witch's Tree. I love timeslip books that move between two eras so this ticked all the boxes for me. I enjoyed the stories of both women but found Grace's more compelling due to when it's set and what happens to her as a result of jealousy and gossip. She loses a lot more than Serena. There are a few chapters which move between both years and I enjoyed these a lot as this gradually help both Serena and Grace's stories come together. This is well-written and engaging.
