Book Reviews: The Healing & The Beloved By Joy Margetts

 As I write this, it's pouring rain outside and a white van towing a small digger stays parked outside, while builders change the gas pipes on the other side of my house. Thankfully the worst of the blaring sounds from the van have quietened down a little earlier, at least for now, so I have a bit of peace and quiet for the time being. But before I begin this review, I'm going to mention one major change with my book reviews in particular - and that is I'll be ditching the Goodreads form of star ratings and having it be more in line with the likes of Letterboxd.
Mainly because the latter has a better rating system that works with having half stars as well as ones, rather than the former which doesn't share that option. So keep that mind as I start with these new reviews moving forward. And now, for a double book review:

Book 1: The Healing
Synopsis: Driven to despair by heart-breaking betrayal, nobleman Philip de Braose has lost faith in God and man. Working as a soldier for hire, he recklessly seeks death and is brutally injured, only for rescue to come in the unlikely form of a Cistercian monk. This joy-filled, kind and compassionate man walks alongside Philip as his body slowly recovers and he is forced to confront the more painful wounds within. As they travel from France to an Abbey deep in his Welsh homeland, Philip disguises himself as a Cistercian and begins to rediscover the man God always intended him to be. But when his past invades the present, his newly awakened faith is challenged by long-buried dreams and he must decide if he can live a life devoted to God outside the Abbey’s walls.
​
Earlier last night I finished my read of The Healing, upon first hearing about it months before, on a local Facebook group I follow where the author promoted her recent novel and its novella The Beloved. And with its premise of a seemingly dead soldier disguised as a monk set in 13th Century Wales and France, it naturally piqued my interest.

I'll start off with the few positives, such as the researched details of the time period that are mentioned which definitely hold some weight and depth. The descriptions of these and the locations are the main highlights that I mostly enjoyed. Philip and Hywel had some good scenes as the main characters, with their scenes  of the latter mentoring the other being fairly enjoyable. However, as I reflect on it, the word that constantly comes to my mind about is potential. Overall, the setup for an interesting historical drama with religious themes is all there, but the execution is very much hit and miss.

I confess to be pretty conflicted over it, as I somewhat liked the beginning chapters even when the story's main flaws started to appear. But when certain third act twists and revelations occur but in a very rushed manner, made me only wish there'd have been more focus on those moments much earlier on than compared to what I got. Especially with much of the scenes being on Hywel discussing the matters of religious conversion, which aren't entirely out of place for a story about monks, do often repeat its statements and slows down the pace of the story a bit too much. A lot is told to us about the Cistercians and their way of life that's certainly fascinating, but never shown further beyond a few brief mentions here and there.
It reminded me a lot of Big Men's Boots by Emily Barroso in that regard, which was another novel set in Wales I'd read a few years ago but based during the Welsh Revivals, rather than the medieval era. I do commend Margetts for the effort put in with sharing this time and characters of Welsh history for a debut story, which are concepts I want to see more of living in Wales myself. But in terms of Christian historical fiction, it's not really my cup of tea.

Rating: 2.5/5

​Amazon Link                                                

Book 2: The Beloved
Synopsis: When love whispers, will the heart respond?
A young woman unsure of herself and not ready to open her heart. A young man sure of his feelings but clumsy in his approach. Both have a lot to learn about the true nature of love. This story takes them on a journey of discovery, which causes them both to come to a place of understanding, that will ultimately alter the direction of their lives. It isn’t only an understanding of human love that needs to touch their souls, but the realisation of the unconditional love that God offers them. 

There isn't much to say about this novella, other than that it's both a bit better and also more of the same.  It's a fine enough story as a sequel but like its predecessor, is quite preachy and again, more telling than showing.  A light read but not a lot more about it to really discuss.                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Rating: 2/5

​Amazon Link                                               
​
And there ends my book reviews - a bit shorter than others I've done, but it'll do for today.
If you have read The Healing or The Beloved, share your thoughts down below in the comments!