Book Review: Salem Witch Haunt by Theresa Sneed- Nov 2017
I finished reading The Crucible and was craving more tales from the time of the Salem Witch Trials, and luckily for me, this book came recommended for free in an email! It was a real treat.
The book only has 21 current reviews, which for me is a HUGE banner of invitation to read and review. I love supporting lesser-known authors and have found some real gems this way, this one included.
Though intended to be a stand alone, Theresa decided to make it into a duology (my favorite type of series) and I plan to read it, too. Theresa's great (great, great, etc.) grandmother was one of those tried and hung for witchcraft, and she used her grandmother as a character in the book, which I found super neat. I love historical fiction woven with truths.
Now, to the book!
Elizabeth "Bess" Martin goes fishing with her best friend, Trent, and her little brother, Seth. A storm comes and she finds herself time-traveling back to 1692. What follows is a crazy adventure! She experiences first-hand the perils of late 17th century life. Indian raids, false accusations of witchcraft, and even the lack of modern technology are things she must deal with. But nothing prepares her for Hezekiah...a (great, great, you know how this works) relative of Trent. Their relationship (which grows from hatred to fondness) combined with her desire to both save her grandmother from hanging and return to her own time give her a lot of emotional conflict. Messing with history can lead to disaster, and she has a rough go at it.
I love how the time-traveling is said to be made possible because of creation groaning and ripping in twain due to the crucifixion of Christ. There are Christian references throughout the book, but not so many as to call this Christian fiction as much as it is Historical fiction with Christian characters. I love how there are no profanity or sex scenes, but the relationships are well developed and the emotionally-charged scenes aren't lacking at all.
I would let me 14 year old read this, as well as recommend it to my 30-something-year-old friends. Aside from the slightly heavy subject matter (innocents hanging and all) it is an easy read.
Available on Amazon. $4.99 Kindle (334 pages), $12.08 paperback (332 pages)
Content:
Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None, just kissing and warm fuzzy feelings
Violence: A good bit of that. Folks getting whipped, abducted, shot with arrows and bullets, hung for no good reason, etc. Nothing so gory that it was overwhelming.
I give this book 5 stars.
Comments
Post a Comment