Thank you to Kathleen Carter Communications, Park Row Books, #partner, for an advanced copy of The Stone Witch of Florence in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Park Row Books
Published: October 8, 2024
Summary:
Ancient sorcery. Magic gemstones. Only one woman can save a city in ruins…
1348. As the Black Plague ravages Italy, Ginevra di Gasparo is summoned to Florence after nearly a decade of lonely exile. Ginevra has a gift—harnessing the hidden powers of gemstones, she can heal the sick. But when word spread of her unusual abilities, she was condemned as a witch and banished. Now the same men who expelled Ginevra are begging for her return. Ginevra obliges, assuming the city’s leaders are finally ready to accept her unorthodox cures amid a pandemic. But upon arrival, she is tasked with a much different she must use her collection of jewels to track down a ruthless thief who is ransacking Florence’s churches for priceless relics—the city’s only hope for protection. If she succeeds, she’ll be a recognized physician and never accused of witchcraft again. But as her investigation progresses, Ginevra discovers she’s merely a pawn in a much larger scheme than the one she’s been hired to solve. And the dangerous men behind this conspiracy won’t think twice about killing a stone witch to get what they want…
My thoughts:
I’m so glad this showed up in my mailbox because it had not been on my radar and I would have missed it if publicist extraordinaire Kathleen Carter didn’t hook me up! This was the perfect book for this spooky season, especially if you don’t like really scary books or just need a change of pace from the really dark ones!
I’m not sure I’ve read many books set in the 1300s, and I was originally worried about the time period yet I should not have given it a second thought. I was totally swept up in this story from the outset and loved every minute I spent reading this one. I became completely invested in Ginerva’s life. I loved seeing how she came to know about the powers of the gemstones. This was such an intriguing aspect of magic I’ve not seen used before and I loved that. And having it all set against the backdrop of the Black Plague gave it a somber tone, though still deeply atmospheric.
This book was a pleasant surprise and as a debut, I’m quite impressed. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next…I’ll certainly be eager to read it, that’s for sure!
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