The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Firstly, can we just appreciate how stunningly beautiful this book is? I received it for my birthday with a handwritten message from my parents (they always write a note in book gifts) and I will be adding it to my gorgeous hardback collection!

The Mercies is set in Norway in 1617, and begins on the remote and unforgiving island of Vardø. Whilst twenty year old Maren Bergensdatter watches on helplessly from the cliffside, a maniacal storm destroys the boats fishing at sea, killing forty fishermen - practically every man on the island. The dead include her brother and father, and the women of Vardø are left to pick up the pieces on the small, craggy island they call home.

Ever self-sufficient, the women take to their newfound independence with gumption and learn to do all the jobs their men once did whilst also continuing with their own duties. Despite their contentment, less than two years later a menacing figure appears on the island - a new commissioner, Absalom Cornet, and his meek young wife Ursula.

Ursula is astounded and emboldened to see these independent, bolshy Vardø women - yet they immediately sense danger, and some are more yielding than others to Cornet's demands that the women attend kirke religiously and lead pious lives. Ursula's budding friendship with Maren ultimately proves dangerous for these two women from very different worlds.

This is a sinister tale of power, control and the danger of loving the wrong person, set against the backdrop of Scandinavian witch-trials. With Absalom's ever-growing obsession to rid this small island of what he considers true evil, the women grown more fearful that their customs and comforts will be marked as those of the recently burned witches in the neighbouring lands.

Millwood Hargrave's writing is stark, visceral and raw, yet teeming with hope and the beauty in the harsh landscape of Vardø. Her character portrayal is insightful and vibrant - I only wish that this book had been slightly longer as I felt that the ending was rushed!