4.5-STAR REVIEW: IRON & FIRE by Kerrin Willis

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

1675 — Plymouth Colony — Verity Parker promised to look after her family.

Raised among the bookshops and turmoil of Reformation London, Verity now finds herself in Puritan New England, where she must learn to keep her head down and her mouth shut, or risk dire consequences. The only person who values her tenacity is Kit, the heretical ironworker she has been forbidden to see. When King Philip’s War breaks out, Verity must stay silent as the Puritan elders spread hateful rhetoric about the “savages” in the forest. When she witnesses a young girl die in childbirth, Verity must stand by as neighbors blame God’s vengeance. But when tragedy strikes her own home, Verity must choose between her duty to her family and her love for Kit. Will she choose to keep the peace, or will she defy the leaders of the colony for a chance at happiness?

Set against the backdrop of King Philip’s War, the bloodiest war per capita in American history, Iron & Fire explores the experience of a clever, educated woman at a time when being so often resulted in death. Perfect for fans of Amy Belding Brown’s Flight of the Sparrow, or Elizabeth George Speare’s The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Iron & Fire was written for those who read the original American Girl series as children and are now all grown up.

Iron & Fire by Kerrin Willis was a quick but engrossing read. There was a multitude of characters, but none more important than Verity, Kit, and Verity’s family. 

The story is set in the late 1600s in Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Verity is a woman strong in her beliefs, which gets her in trouble with her strict and religious stepfather. Kit loves her outspokenness and her opinions.

Kit had a troubled upbringing, and he and Verity have an unexpected attraction when they first come across each other. When she is also kind to him and a friend the next time they meet, it seals the deal for him. Their friendship and attraction grow even when her stepfather doesn’t give permission for him to court her. There are layers to each of them, and we learn more about them a little at a time.

Many stories are told, and they are woven nicely together. I like Verity’s relationship with her sister Hannah and how Hannah and her fiancé Sam try to give the two opportunities to meet. Verity and Hannah are close but approach life differently yet are always there for each other. 

There are twists and turns to the story with sadness, tears, anger, pain, harsh words, deaths, injuries, hard work, war and battles, kindnesses, animals, church and their beliefs, apologies, secrets, along with a few happily ever afters. 

There was nice closure, and I’d love to meet up with these characters again since there seem to be more stories to tell. I look forward to reading more historical romances and fiction if this is Willis’s caliber of writing.

With well-developed characters, masterful prose intertwined throughout, and a tender love story at the heart, historical romance and historical fiction readers will love Iron & Fire.Kerrin Willis lives in Southeastern Massachusetts with her two daughters and her dog, Austen. She is a high school English teacher who prides herself on being a feminist and a strong protagonist in her own story, and she would probably have been burned as a witch in colonial New England. Kerrin can usually be found pausing The Little Mermaid and subjecting her daughters to a lecture on the dangers of giving up their voices.

Kerrin has a BA in English from Stonehill College, and MA in English from Simmons College, and is currently working on her MFA in Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University.

Tuesday, April 5
Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read

Wednesday, April 6
Interview at Passages to the Past

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