by Julie Berry
First published 2017
Dolssa flees through medieval France with the Church hunting her for heresy. The wealthy city girl possesses strange gifts and loved someone she shouldn't have. A friar already burned her mother alive and now wants Dolssa dead too. She collapses near the coastal town of Bajas, where Botille finds her dying. Botille runs a tavern with her sisters and works as a matchmaker. She knows the dangers of sheltering a fugitive, but she can't abandon the girl. Botille hides Dolssa in their tavern and nurses her back to health. Her sisters help, along with Symo, their gruff neighbor who proves loyal when it matters. Botille spins lies to protect their secret and uses every trick she knows. But the Church's power reaches everywhere. When religious authorities arrive in Bajas hunting for the heretic, Botille's cleverness may not be enough. The safety of everyone she loves hangs in the balance, and Dolssa's forbidden passion threatens to destroy the entire village.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, fugitive
Setting: Bajas, France
Period: Medieval
512 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books
Content warnings: abuse, violence