i was a little dubious about slewfoot to start, because i think undertaking a book about a Puritanical colony and the Devil is something that has been exhausted extensively. it's hard to bring a fresh light to it, to say something in a way that hasn't already been said before, but Brom manages to spin an interesting web of characters, and bewitchery, and piety, that kept me reading.

abitha is a wonderful protagonist. she's crass and sometimes lewd in her thoughts, she comes from a cunning woman and dallies in simple charms and spells, and yet she's confined to being a picture of piety. this is a fate she did not ask for, it is a fate she was not born to, and yet still she must endure it. her timid and "different" (read: probably autistic) husband, edward, soothes the ache, somewhat. with his adoration, and open mind, and beautiful drawings. they make a life together that is private, and humble, and theirs alone.

but then edward dies, and abitha's foothold on the world is slipping. her options for independence are extremely limited, and she has to fight for every ounce of freedom she can get. enter samson, slewfoot, the Devil. he is a fractured and broken creature, searching for answers and agonizing over all that he does not know. together, he and abitha strengthen one another and delve into a beautiful journey of discovery and revenge.