4.5 Stars to this deep dive into culture, community, Catholicism, slavery in the Carolinas from one of the most revolutionary historical periods known in the 19th century!

Historical Fiction readers this is a must read for you!! ( )

There are a lot of things going on in this book: forbidden love, secrets and drama. The book is beautifully written and well researched. The plot is complex and the descriptions are vivid making the time period really come to life. The pace moves perfectly with the story! I had no problem getting lost in this book! There are some events some may find shocking and hard to read at times but it is a fantastic story. The characters are real and flawed! Such a great start to a new historical fiction series I can't wait to see what the next book brings us! Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours and Elizabeth Bell for sharing this wonderful book with me! ( )

I already ordered the other three in the series, this one was so good! It has been a while since I have found a good historical fiction series that I could not put down. I am so glad the other three are already out and published! This novel touches on everything; romance, love, right and wrong, morale, ethics, church, interpreting the Bible, sinning, women, disability, slavery, medicine and overall family. Those who loved Outlander, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Promised Land, Touched by an Angel… these books are for you!

This story is told through the main character Joseph- we get some background on his parents and grandparents – what happened to them, as well as watch Joseph grow into the Catholic priest he had always dreamed of becoming. He was often reminded of how honest and good he was, a lot of people really thought Joseph could do no wrong. But as Joseph comes into adulthood and becomes the main priest, he sees the different side of life.

Joseph is quick to have an answer from the Bible for most things he comes across, but the one thing he cannot find an answer for is the one thing that priests are supposed to be held to high standard on- not taking a wife, or mistress -but to sustain celibacy to remain pure. He cannot have a woman; for they make you lose focus, they will tempt you- look what Eve did to Adam in the Bible! And yet, it seems everyone around him is telling him that the Bible is not always correct. Maybe he is interpreting things differently than what it is meant.

Although to everyone, Joseph appears pure and perfect he is also hiding a deep family secret that could tear things apart if anyone ever found out the truth. How could his father have kept this secret, and how is his mother understanding of it all? Joseph has a lot of growing up to do, even though he was raised to be mature through the church – he has his own burdens to bear on top of the other burdens he bears for those who ask for his help.

This novel was so good! There are so many other connecting storylines that I cannot wait to read the others to find out more about the other characters and generations. Also, book one was left with a bit of a cliffhanger with Joseph. We want to know what decision he makes! Thank you to HFVBT for the invite, this is definitely a series to go next to Outlander. Thank you to the author for gifting me an ebook, although I just had to buy it to have a physical copy! ( )