Revenge and Retribution
(The Graham Saga #6)
By Anna Belfrage
Life in the Colony of
Maryland is no sinecure - as Alex and Matthew Graham well know. But nothing in
their previous life has prepared them for the mayhem that is about to be
unleashed upon them. Being labelled a witch is not a good thing in 1684, so it
is no wonder Alex Graham is aghast at having such insinuations thrown at her.
Even worse, it's Matthew's brother-in-law, Simon Melville, who points finger at
her. Not that the ensuing hearing is her main concern, because nowadays Alex's
entire life is tainted by the fear of what Philip Burley will do to them once
he gets hold of them. On a sunny May afternoon, Philip finally achieves his aim
and over the course of the coming days Alex sees her whole life unravelling,
leaving her family permanently maimed. As if all this wasn't enough, Alex also
has to cope with the loss of one of her sons. Forcibly adopted by the former
Susquehannock, Samuel is dragged from Alex's arms to begin a new life in the
wilderness. How is Alex to survive all this? And will she be able to put her
damaged family back together?
"Go
and ask her, ask Alex Graham where those witch things come from..."
Matthew
Graham had not expected his brother-in-law to accuse his wife, Alex, of
witchcraft. After everything they had been through together, it was nigh on
impossible to comprehend such a betrayal. But words, when spoken, cannot be
taken back. Alex is forced to come face to face with her past with devastating
consequences.
But an
accusation of witchcraft is not the only thing the Grahams have to worry
about. Philip Burley has been plotting his revenge against Matthew for many
years. He is determined to be judge, torturer and executioner. Matthew would
know suffering, and he would know pain — the likes of which he had never felt
before, and this time there would be no one who would come to his rescue, for
Burley, and his gang would make sure of it.
For
Matthew and Alex, the year 1684 would leave both physical and mental scars.
1684 would be the year that their lives were changed forever.
Revenge
and Retribution (The Graham Saga #6) by Anna Belfrage is utterly enchanting
from start to finish. It is a book that will haunt me for a very long time and
one that will be impossible for me to forget.
Oh,
this book and these characters... I have never read a series that has ensnared my heart like The Graham Saga. It is an elegantly narrated story that captured
my imagination from the very beginning, and with each book, there comes a
deeper understanding of the lives of this family in an utterly captivating era.
This series deserves the highest of acclaim, not only for its historical
accuracy and unforgettable characters but also for Belfrage's ability to keep
the momentum going. There isn't a dull moment in this series, and there
certainly isn't one in this book. Revenge and Retribution has everything a
lover of sweeping family sagas set in a bygone era could possibly wish for. It
is, in all ways, triumphant.
As with
the previous books, Revenge and Retribution follow the lives of Matthew and
Alex Graham. The more I read about these two characters the more I grow to
love them. Their trials and heartaches are softened by their undeniable and
unstoppable love for each other. Of all the books in this series, this one was
without a doubt, the more heart-rendering and shocking. As the title states,
this book is about revenge and retribution. It is, at times, incredibly dark,
but at the same time, it is also a story of hope and healing. I have never read a
book like it. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Kudos, Ms Belfrage. Kudos,
indeed.
We are
once again reunited with the beastly Burley brothers. These men are worse than
vermin. They are parasites, and a constant threat. They are disgusting and vile
and truly terrible. There are not enough adjectives to describe how much I
loathe these characters. These despicable antagonists, however, made this book
unputdownable. There is one thing you can say about Belfrage — she knows how to
cast good villains, which leads me onto another, one that at first glance is
the essence of innocence. Lucy Jones was born deaf. Her life is one of silence.
And yet, she married well and has three adorable children, but, it isn't enough
for her.
Lucy
wants her husband to love her and treat her with as much praise and care as her
father does. But Henry's womanising ways and his inexplicable fear of his young
wife means that he stays away from her bedchamber more often than he should.
But Lucy isn't the type of woman who will sit back and allow him to do whatever
he wants. She means to make him hers and hers alone. Lucy has a weapon that
will ensure that she will be the only woman in his life. This weapon is a
painting. This painting is a portal through time. Lucy was a character that
made me feel terribly conflicted. I could sympathise with her plight and her
frustrations, but at the same time, there is a cruelty to Lucy's personality
that made me somewhat fearful of her and for anyone who upset her in any way.
She was almost without mercy. Lucy reminded me very much of a very spoilt
child, and although she is in a terribly unhappy marriage, and she feels
stilted by her disability, I found it very hard to like her. I can understand
why her husband is somewhat fearful of her. She is this silent, menacing force
of nature — at times, Lucy truly terrified me. I never expected to have such a strong adverse
reaction to Lucy — this is a character who was born and grew up within the pages
of this series, and I wasn't expecting her to turn out quite the way she did. I
thought Belfrage did a marvellous job in her portrayal of Lucy. This was a
seemingly innocent secondary character that suddenly has within her grasp the
power to destroy the lives of the Grahams inadvertently — as if the Grahams did
not have enough to deal with! I thought Lucy was magnificently portrayed and
she certainly helped to drive this story forward.
Belfrage
has captured not only the essence of this era, but also the wildness, and the
inherent beauty of the Colony of Maryland during this time in American history.
There is a richness to the storytelling, an understanding of this era in the
elegant prose and vivacious narrative. Revenge and Retribution is the sort of book
that, like a magical portal, takes the reader back in time, and you see
everything in vivid technicolour. The Graham Saga is in all ways a masterpiece,
but this book transcends everything that came before it. I don't think I have
ever read a book that has affected me quite so much as Revenge and Retribution.
This story is not for the faint-hearted, some of the things that happen are
absolutely brutal, and the fact that these terrible, terrible things are
happening to characters that over of the course of this series I come to adore
made it all the more heartbreakingly tragic.
The
Graham Saga is undoubtedly one of the best series I have ever read. Fans of
Diana Gabaldon's Outlander will fall in love with this series and cherish this book.
I
Highly Recommend.
Review
by Mary Anne Yarde.
The
Coffee Pot Book Club.
Pick up your copy of
Revenge and Retribution
Anna Belfrage
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d
have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial
professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has
authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century
Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The
King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century
England. She has recently released the first in a new series, The
Wanderer. This time, she steps out of her normal historical context and A Torch
in His Heart is with a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense with
paranormal and time-slip ingredients.
Find out more
about Anna by visiting her website, or herAmazon
page.
*sniff* what a lovely review! Thank you.
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