A Necessary Blessing is about a woman who settles in a village. She has power to see through time. It is also about how the community is torn apart and brought together.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. What an interesting story. I highly recommend for people who like time travel type of book.

After reading The Midlife Magical series by KF Breeke, I knew I had to pick this one up as well. I so enjoyed the storyline and the characters involved, most of all Ruth.
With a similar situation of working from home I related to this on more than one level and found it to be truly engaging and delightful.

This was a wonderful read, i like to go back in time and how she did it was remarkable. The here and now and the past become one towards the end. I am an historical fiction fan and this came into my genre, it did not disappoint... All i am going to say with this book is "read it" five stars from me .

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.
Always been a fan of romantic fiction. And this book delivers without disappointing. Dive into this amazing book for an exciting story.

What a magical book this was. A Necessary Blessing follows Ruth Turner an introverted and lonely woman whose entire world falls apart, but she finds that she has more than she thought she did in the people in her village. I loved the folklore and ghostly portions of the book. This was such a feel good book about a woman finding herself and not needing a man to do it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick and magical read to take you out of yourself for a few hours.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Head and the Publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

Unemployed and husbandless, Ruth Turner finds herself isolated in her own house, set in the rolling hills of the rural English countryside. After a disastrous walk, she finds comfort and solace with the local villagers, who rally to help her. Encouraged by her somewhat reluctant freedom, Ruth discovers more about the history of the town, it’s spiritual origins, the former inhabitants, and – most importantly – her own abilities.

I did enjoy this read, though I must admit that I wasn’t entirely convinced by the first couple of chapters. The prose was a little bumpy and at times the plot felt scrambled and difficult to follow. Similarly, the choice to begin the novel in medias res was a little confusing; I would have preferred more narrative on Ruth, her background and existing relationships, so our emotional investment in her story was heightened, and so we could better understand the impact of her husband’s adultery.

I did, however, find the premise of the story really interesting and liked the idea that it wasn’t a simply time-travel trope. Head, moreover, does not fall back on the well-established trend of allowing romance to push her central character’s development. Ruth’s strange abilities mean that she undergoes a much more personal transformation, and that itself was a refreshing change from other literature in this genre. Once you get past the complexities of the first couple of chapters, the plot unfolds nicely, and Ruth’s journey of rural history and self-discovery can be polished off within a few hours of reading. I’m looking forward to the next book in the Roeslwick Chronicles.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me with an ARC for this novel.

I enjoyed this. The book ties together elements of folklore, witchcraft and religion in a small village setting, in a way that feels natural. An original and intriguing story of growth, heritage, and community. I did initially feel the main character was a little too flighty, but she had her reasons and finds strength as the story progresses.

I got the book as an ARC through NetGalley.

The story is set in a small rural town in England, centering on Ruth. Her husband just left her, and she realizes she can see through time (see ghosts etc).
I have read quite a lot of fantasy and thought Sarah did an interesting job of marrying a devout Christian rural town with so much spirituality.
A former ghost haunts and taunts the town and Ruth while naturally a loner, comes into the fold of the town.
In the back of the back of the book there is a glossary of all the characters, which would have been handy to have throughout (I did not scour the chapter names). Between alive people, animals (with human names), ghost animals and people it was hard to keep track of all the names. And sometimes if she was with the alive or dead people. Nevertheless you get sucked into the story very quickly.
I did enjoy the book, although as a city-person I had to look up a lot of the rural vocab.
Would def be interested to read the next parts of this series.

Ruth Turner has a unique ability. She can walk through time, seeing the village, religious community and inhabitants as they used to be. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I absolutely loved reading this book. I highly recommend reading it.

This is the story of a woman who discovers that her husband has been unfaithful and is leaving her. She is living alone in a house that they had purchased in a village with connections to her family, but where she had never really made personal relationships with the other residents in the village.

As she begins to untangle the deceptions of her husband, she starts meeting her neighbors, and learning more about the traditions and beliefs of the villagers. She finds that she has deeper and more unexpected roots within the village, which help her to defend herself against the nastiness of her ex-husband’s treatment.

The book was a pleasant read, but I did not find the magical reality elements or the horror elements particularly interesting or unexpected.

Thanks to Heresy Publishing for providing me with an advanced reading copy via NetGalley.

Normally the supernatural, the paranormal and unexplained happenings are not my scene. I've just realized that with the pandemic and enforced isolation, I am picking up lots of books which are uncommon, intriguing and opening my eyes to another universe.

Ruth is a strange bird. She can walk through time, see people from generations past, hear what they have to say, even understand a language which she does not know. Abandoned by a horrible controlling husband Ruth has not learnt to stand up for herself. She has to now learn to do this on her own and realize her self worth for what it is. Befriended by the villagers in this small hamlet she comes across an alternative lifestyle governed by the agricultural community she now belongs to and to the time and seasons which govern a farmers life.

All this was well and good but then came the actual evil part of the supernatural in the form of a former rector of the village - Isaac Graves who has not passed over, who is not willing to go unless he takes revenge for what he thinks is past humiliation and wrongs done to him. Ruth has to maneuvre happenings both violent and strange for the benefit of the entire community at all, not just herself.

A very different read which was unputdownable!

I really enjoyed the premise of this story about Ruth, a woman who is drawn to a cottage and orchard in the country only to be told later that she has deep family roots there. It’s almost as if this village lives in the past, not only because they still follow the Druid customs, but everything seemed out of the ordinary, if that makes sense. Everything seemed to center around the church and the Druid customs which made for a very interesting back drop. Ruth soon discovers that she can see and communicate with spirits, which doesn’t seem to freak her out at all, but seems perfectly normal-she didn’t even question it. Oh look, there are some 15th century monks speaking to me in a language I can’t understand, I think I’ll follow them. Just not the reaction I would expect.

There are a lot of characters. A lot. I couldn’t keep track of them. After finishing the ebook, I found the character guide in the back, so just know it’s there if you need it. These characters all have long and intertwined histories that are important to the story.

This is the first in a series, and I’m excited to read the next one. The story is good, it’s just keeping track of the characters that was tough for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Necessary Blessing is the story of a woman named Ruth who can walk through time,. She can see people from the past alongside the present. Once she figures out how to use her abilities, it really helps her and the town. The story is wrapped in magic and a bit of mystery. The main group of characters are very well written. Ruth really grows as a character which was wonderful. The townsfolk like Anvil, Granny, and Peter, were great. I loved the history and witchcraft aspects. By the ending, I can tell there will be a sequel. I can't wait!

I’ll be honest for a good portion of this novel I was very confused. The life and world of the village is thrust upon our main character Ruth, and the reader. Ruth very often doesn’t question the customs and just flows with it. So as the reader you must do the same. I did enjoy the story despite that. I will say that I feel as though the digital format I was reading wasn’t the best way to experience the book. The whole time I just wanted a character map because I couldn’t keep track of the villagers. Only to discover that there is one at the back of the book! I find if difficult to flip around to reference guides in eBooks but that’s at no fault of the author or the story. There were times where I felt like more than one character was built up in a certain way only to start acting very different for one or two chapters then flip back to how they were. That’s something that often takes me out of a story but overall it didn’t effect my enjoyment over all.

#' A Necessary Blessing' by author # Sarah Head is #1 in the Roeslwick Chronicles.This debut novel has family secrets, ancient magic and healing. This is a ghost story full of surprise's.
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # Sarah Head, and # BooksGoSocial for the advanced copy

A Necessary Blessing by Sarah Head is an interesting story about a woman who has become very secluded from the world. Her world revolves around her husband, her work, and a long-distance relationship with a son. In one day her whole world is turned upside down. She finds herself in the midst of a major mid-life crisis. All that she had lived for... has escaped her grasp.

The story is quite interesting... I thought it was going to be more of a time-travel story... but, it's more of about a woman who can see past events. And, finds herself under the protection of "ghost dogs" who protect her whenever she's in danger. A rather fascinating story that is difficult to explain without spoilers. I'd highly recommend reading the story if you are in your mid-fifties and finding that you have lost contact with most of your family and friends from your childhood. The book will awaken within you that change is needed. And, it's needed NOW. Make that change now... before fate steps in and does it for you.

Every person has a purpose... sometimes we grow up knowing and learning what our purpose is for ourselves. Some, have it thrust upon them. I really enjoyed the intricate mysteries of the village and the inhabitants. My favorite character by far was "Granny"!! She is a formidable force and can make the world right... just from years of experience and a definite inner strength that others can only hope to find within themselves.

Thank you to Sarah Head, Books Go Social and Netgalley for the ARC of A NECESSARY BLESSING.
I wanted to love this and it started really well, but then, for me, it began to go off at tangents and I couldn't keep track of what I considered to be too many characters. It seemed to lose it's way suddenly descending into the utterly surreal. I think this novel will be very popular but it wasn't for me.

I loved the overall idea of this book, but the storyline and characters were difficult to follow. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

The first book in the Roelswick Chronicles and set in the heart of the Cotswolds.
This is the story of Ruth living in a small rural village where both modern and ancient practices work side by side.
The village feels timeless and real and the characters have a depth that makes the reader care about them.
A story deep in folklore, gently told and beautiful to read.
Cannot wait for book 2 and 3!
Thank you @netgalley for my copy to read and review