Healer’s Blade takes place in medieval England in the 11th century during William the Conqueror’s time. The novel is well-researched but deviates to alternative history by adding gunpowder and a tribe that didn’t exist.
What I enjoyed about this novel was how the main characters were all interconnected in unexpected ways. I also liked that none of the main characters were all good or bad. They were all complex and had suffered great losses from the horrors of Williams’s conquest and the following revolts.
The basic story is that William the Conqueror has taken over England, but rules as a tyrant. When he is out of the country, some of the nobles rebel against him.
Aliwayn, a young healer, is caught up in the middle of the revolt. She has every reason to hate King William but she sides with him in hopes of peace for England.
Toby is a knight rebel. He and Aliwayn’s paths cross again and again. They help each other while at the same time are hostile to each other as enemies on opposing sides of the revolt.
The book is fast-paced, especially in the first two-thirds. Aliwayn and Toby go from one life-threatening situation to another. Along the way, they are drawn to each other.
If you like speculative, alternate history books with a touch of romance, you’re sure to love this one.
Here is the blurb about the story.
In a country torn by war, can a young peasant woman change the fate of England?
1075 A.D., nine years after the Norman Conquest.
Eighteen-year-old healer Aliwyn lives in solitude after a series of medical failures leave her alienated from her village. With the rebellion against William the Conqueror rumbling on the horizon, she finds solace in the tranquility of her home.
But when her beloved arrives with the orphaned daughter of a Norman knight, Aliwyn is plunged into the bloody conflict she’s done her best to avoid. One daring escape from enemy arrows entangles her with the revolt’s charismatic young leader, Tobias, and Aliwyn finds herself swept into a dangerous world of rival factions and secret alliances. Faced with mercenaries and renegade knights, she must make difficult choices about treating those she despises.
After she uncovers the fiery secret underpinning the rebellion, Aliwyn is determined to take fate into her own hands and save England from sweeping destruction. Can she find the courage to fight for what she believes? And can she resist the magnetic charms of the man she has vowed to defeat?
Step into a riveting and magic-free YA fantasy adventure with an authentic historical setting and a dash of irresistible slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance. Set in a turbulent medieval England rocked by the early introduction of gunpowder and populated by Celtic-inspired forest tribes, Healer’s Blade is a page-turning read that’s perfect for fans of alternative history.
About the Author
Hailing from the unpredictable snowstorms of Quebec, Canada, Kyrie Wang’s a medical mystery detective (fancy words for “pathologist, MD”) by day and a dreamweaver of historical fantasy by night. Pencil on paper makes her cry and laugh, and every book she writes is living another life!
She has a PASSION for crafting stories that explore the humanity common to us all. Where people find their authentic selves, goodness prevails, and the forgotten and voiceless rise as heroes.
Somewhere between sleuthing with her microscope and crafting hamster toys with her daughter, Kyrie sits down and types. You’d never catch her without (quality dark) chocolate in her bag. She would bike in Canadian January to a froyo store.
Just ask her best friend of 11 years- she was the cashier!
Here is a trailer for Healer’s Blade.
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