In the 16th century, nun Katharina von Bora’s fate fell no further than the Abbey. Until she read the writings of Martin Luther.
His sweeping Catholic church reformation—condemning a cloistered life and promoting the goodness of marriage—awakened her desire for everything she’d been forbidden. Including Martin Luther himself.
Despite the fact that the attraction and tension between them is undeniable, Luther holds fast to his convictions and remains isolated, refusing to risk anyone’s life but his own. And Katharina longs for love, but is strong-willed. She clings proudly to her class distinction, pining for nobility over the heart of a reformer. They couldn’t be more different.
But as the world comes tumbling down around them, and with Luther’s threatened life a constant strain, these unlikely allies forge an unexpected bond of understanding, support and love.
Jody Hedlund weaves a fascinating and compelling story of the relationship between Luther and Katharina in this novel. The plot line moves at a slow but still interesting pace, and it includes moments of danger, suspense, romance, and heartbreak. The story is told in third person, but it alternates between Luther and Katharina's perspective so that the reader has an idea of how each is feeling during the changing circumstances. The characters of this novel were fairly well developed. Luther and Katharina spend most of the novel at odds with one another even as they deny the attraction they feel in exchange for cutting words and angry tones. I thought that it seemed a little drawn out and unrealistic at times, and the other minor characters did not add that much to the story. However, I enjoyed watching both Katharina and Luther grow as individuals and as a team. They both learned how to yield and to respect one another. Overall, I enjoyed this book even though its style is very different than many of Jody Hedlund's other novels.
I received this novel from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
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