#BookReview The Boundary Stone (The Sockbridge Series #1) by Gail Avery Halverson @gailhalv #TheBoundaryStone Title: The Boundary Stone

Author: Gail Avery Halverson

Series: Stockbridge #1

Published by: Knight Wenstrom Publishers on Nov. 16, 2015

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 328

Format: Paperback

Source: Gail Avery Halverson

Book Rating: 9/10

Bound since childhood to an arranged marriage with the restless and irresponsible heir of Houghton Hall, Viscount Miles Houghton; Lady Catherine Abbott, now grown, finds herself torn between duty to her family and her smoldering ambitions. Possessed of a nimble, curious mind, a love of science and the natural world, and a singular talent for illustration, Catherine desperately longs to accomplish something before she resigns herself to a loveless marriage and the idle, aristocratic whirl of parties and social gatherings within the confines of the palatial Houghton Hall.

Banished before his final year of medical training for pushing harder on the boundaries of scientific knowledge than any student at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, the mysterious and driven Simon McKensie has blurred the lines between research and criminality and must now choose between exile to the rural country village of Wells, or the hangman’s noose.

When the terrifying Great Plague of 1665 spreads from London to Wells, the town’s very existence is threatened and Catherine must confront her fears, her place in the world – and the burning passions she has long held inside.


Review:

Informative, fascinating, and incredibly absorbing!

The Boundary Stone is an immersive, compelling tale set in England during 1665 when social status was everything, arranged marriages were commonplace, science was just starting to win the battle against age-old religious theories, and the bubonic plague would once again sweep through and ravage the residents of its cities, towns, and villages.

The prose is expressive and rich. The characters are strong, intelligent, independent, and brave. And the engaging, well-paced plot is a captivating tale of familial drama, heartbreak, loss, love, courage, self-discovery, hope, death, romance, as well as the struggles and limitations of early medicine.

Overall, The Boundary Stone is an atmospheric, intriguing, well-written tale by Halverson that does a beautiful job of highlighting her impressive research and considerable knowledge into seventeenth-century Britain and the natural disasters that plagued it.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                

 

 

Thank you to Gail Avery Halverson for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Gail Avery Halverson

Award-winning writer, Gail Avery Halverson, is the author of The Boundary Stone, and its sequel, The Skeptical Physick, a historical romance novel set in 1666 England at the time of the Great Fire and the Scientific Revolution. The Boundary Stone is a Chaucer Award Finalist (historical fiction), a Cygnus Award Finalist (speculative fiction), and a Chatelaine Award Winner (historical romantic fiction). The Skeptical Physick is currently long-listed for both the Chatelaine and the Chaucer Awards. Ms. Halverson is also the writer/producer for “Take it From The Top,” (sitcom pilot, Twin One Productions, Inc.), as well as the playwright and composer of musical plays that have been performed for nearly 300,000 children since 2004. Writing for both theater and television, she holds a B.A. in English Literature/Communications from the University of California, Davis, and is currently at work on the third novel in the Stockbridge Series. She lives in Northern California with her husband and son.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.