Ten years had passed since they had joined hands in the ruins of the old abbey church. Standing before the high altar, they were handfasted in the Celtic custom, engaged to be married. A rose bush had bloomed beside the ruined altar. Stephen had reached out to caress one of the flowers.
“I’ll find you,” he had said. “In ten years, when we have finished school, when we are able to marry, I’ll find you. Until then, whenever you see a yellow rose, remember me. Remember I love you.”
In those ten years, Katherine had finished college, completed med school, and become a doctor. In those ten years, they had not seen each other, had not spoken, and had not written.
It was what they had agreed.
For a decade, she had been waiting, hoping, praying.
Today ─ her birthday─ she finds a vase of yellow roses when she reaches home.
Stephen, though, is not Katherine’s only suitor. Bill Wilson has known her since they were in high school. He has long planned to wed her, and he finally decides to stake his claim.
Although the action occurs primarily in New York City, psychologically, the story is set in a small town in Virginia. The change came slowly to the rural South in the nineteen-seventies, and attitudes toward women were most resistant to change. Women were expected to be subservient to men, to have children, to keep the house. A woman was to be above reproach, and any hint of scandal was met with censure, with ostracism, with shame. These attitudes threaten to destroy Katherine and the life of which she dreams.
The Handfasting is a story of love renewed, a suitor spurned, a vicious attack, a struggle for healing. It is a story of love that survives.
MY REVIEW:
Filled with a mix of emotions, The Handfasting is a book that will keep your attention, for sure! I feel that David Burnett did a great job of bringing me into the era and really made me understand and feel for Katherine and all that she and Steven went through. There were a few times I had to put the book down and come back to it later on – that is how evoking some of the situations were; very realistic. I would recommend this – I felt it was a smooth read and worth the “aggravation” LOL. I received a copy of this ebook for reviewing purposes from the author for Beck Valley Books. The opinions are 100% my own!
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David lives in Columbia South Carolina, with his wife and their blue-eyed cat, Bonnie. The Reunion, his first novel, is set in nearby Charleston. The Handfasting, his second book will be published this month. He enjoys traveling, photography, baking bread, and the Carolina beaches. David has photographed subjects as varied as prehistoric ruins on the islands of Scotland, star trails, seagulls, and a Native American powwow. He and his wife have traveled widely in the United States and the United Kingdom. During one trip to Scotland, they visited Crathes Castle, the ancestral home of the Burnett family near Aberdeen. In The Reunion, Michael’s journey through England and Scotland allows him to sketch many places they have visited. David spent years in school(!), and he has graduate degrees in psychology and education. He and his wife have two daughters.
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I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
sharon martin says
I really enjoyed this and totally know what you mean when you say ‘smooth read’. xx