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Elisa McVeigh’s earliest memories were traveling as a toddler from England to Scotland to visit her husband. During Elisa’s infancy, her parents arranged her marriage to three-year-old Ian, Laird of the McVeigh Clan. Elisa’s childhood was filled with brutal abuse at the hands of her parents for the slightest infraction, real or imagined. At the tender age of seven, Elisa lost her mother and was forced to assume responsibility for managing her father’s estates and caring for her younger siblings. Traumatized by sexual abuse and determined to become self-reliant, Elisa trained in self-defense while planning her escape to her husband’s homeland.
Set in the late eleventh century, this historical romance depicts one young woman’s struggle to overcome pain and learn to trust again. After a decade of independence and bearing the weight of heavy responsibility, Elisa finds it difficult to be an obedient wife and relinquish control to her husband. But Ian’s patience and love help Elisa embark on a journey of healing. The couple’s story unfolds with a series of convoluted plot twists, love triangles, courtly intrigue, and paranormal abilities.
Although choices of style and structure somewhat weaken the overall narrative, the author’s book effectively portrays the talent and wealth of knowledge possessed by medieval women against the backdrop of misogynistic gender roles during the Middle Ages. While sensitive readers may be disturbed by the depictions of sexual violence, powerful recurring themes include faith as a source of endurance as well as female resilience in the face of trauma and adversity. The book also portrays the beauty of loving and caring for non-biological children while exploring a mother’s self-sacrifice to protect her family. McBath weaves an eclectic blend of history, Christian faith, and the supernatural into this unique work.