THE PLOT: ‘Devotion’ by Hannah Kent is a literary historical novel about Lutheran immigrants from Prussia colonising Australia in the late 1800’s. Hanne is a young girl from a village persecuted for their religious beliefs. Their minister has recently fled and her father, an elder, is trying to keep the community together. Hanne has never fit in. She prefers nature to keeping house. Until Thea’s family join their church and they become best friends. When the minister arranges passage on a ship to Australia so they can start a new community of Lutherans near Adelaide, they all sail to the new world, and Hanne and Thea’s friendship blossoms into love.

RATING:  Wow, this book blew me away. The writing is so beautiful and poetic. My review cannot do it justice! Hanne and Thea are such loveable characters. The world building is so atmospheric; the contrast between the forests of Prussia, the salt spray of the ship and the furious desert of Australia will stay with me forever. This is a book that you have to read yourself to understand the lyricism of the writing and also there are huge twists in the plot, which I’m scared of revealing. Just know, I’m giving it five stars, so pick this up if you think we have similar taste…

GOOD BITS:  This is a love story for the ages. Truly, the title says it all. Devotion. This is not just an average romance. The relationship between Hanne and Thea is so expertly written; it is a fierce, timeless love that leaps off the page. But it’s more than just a beautiful writing style and loveable characters. There is a strong plot and clear structure that stops this from being an ‘all vibes’ or predictable story. In particular, there is a huge twist at the midpoint that I did not see coming at all!

NOT SO GOOD BITS:  The pacing felt a tad slow in the third act. I don’t want to give any spoilers but the nature of the story means there is a lot of descriptive language and less action from the main character. Perhaps it’s because I was so drawn into seeing them build community in Heilingendorf, I just wanted even more of the village politics.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘The Mercies’ by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell.  

Thank you to Sabs for recommending this book and my beautiful edition is from Goldsboro Books in Cecil Court. The paperback has recently been released and you can buy it with a discount here.