The Bride

Joy Margetts has an incredible gift for storytelling and The Bride is arguably her best book yet. It is beautifully written, with wonderful descriptions of the medieval Welsh landscape that forms the backdrop to the tale. I found myself gripped as I journeyed with each of the characters into a deep and profound understanding and experience of love – love for themselves, love for others and God's love for them. I recommend The Bride if you want to be encouraged, inspired and filled with faith.

A delightful and exquisite read. Joy tenderly transports us back to medieval Wales and with a gentle gallop we find ourselves in the abbey with the Cistercian monks in their white robes. You can almost hear their chanting and the stillness of the air as Joy takes you deeper into the story and deeper into God’s heart. Here is Efa. She is mistreated and her dreams shattered and yet her faith and her love shine out as she chooses to forgive. In her pain and in her search for God’s heart we are drawn to reflect on our own journey.

Joy somehow manages to weave her beautifully written poignant tale into our hearts, where it stays and lingers long after the last line is read. It is a tale of forgiveness, of loving ourselves and of loving others in the same way despite the hurtful ways in which they treat us. Will she once again find love? You will have to read it to find out.

Having enjoyed both The Healing and The Pilgrim, I was thrilled to be offered the chance to read an advance copy of The Bride. It was fascinating to learn more about Efa, who had been mentioned only briefly in The Healing but had a huge impact on the main character, Philip de Braose. Here we learn what happened to Efa after they were forcibly separated, and watch her respond to suddenly being put in charge of a household she had not chosen and having to care for children from her husband’s previous marriage. She grows in confidence, and learns how to forgive and find joy in the everyday, particularly as she comes to accept God’s loving hand in her life. While the story is set many centuries ago, I found Efa’s growing spirituality and gentle responses to those around her challenging, and was rivetted to the story – desperate to find out what would happen to her. I won’t spoil the ending, but rather would encourage people to read the book for themselves! It is a delight.

In The Bride, Joy Margetts has once again created an immersive and evocative story of love, power and faith set in thirteenth-century Wales. A parallel tale to her first two books, The Healing and The Pilgrim, we journey with Efa, ripped from the man she loves to be married for men's own political ends. Efa’s story is one of not only of lost love but also of new purpose and the impact of encountering a God who loves her. The Bride is a page turner, but it’s also a place to rest for a while and soak in beautifully written words that will remind you of your own true value. I warmly recommend it.

Joy Margetts’ The Bride pulls the reader into medieval Wales and into the life of a remarkable woman. We come to know Efa – her thoughts, her feelings, her world; and to experience all levels of society – the aristocracy, the peasantry and the Church. We sympathise with her as she makes hard choices, and cheer for her as she faces difficult situations with calm dignity. Through it all she grows and, eventually, triumphs.

In The Bride, Joy Margetts has tackled one of the deepest desires in the human heart – the need to be loved. In her uniquely gentle style, Joy takes us on the journey of Efa, who endures betrayal, rejection and a life without choices. Is she still able to find and extend love, when she has been deprived of it herself?

The Bride doesn’t shy away from asking the difficult questions, but it also offers hope and reveals deep eternal truths which are as powerful and real today as they were for Efa.

This story will resonate with anyone who ever had their heart broken, and all who ask the question, 'Am I loveable?'

As in her previous books, Joy Margetts has drawn on her own deeply personal journey and woven godly lessons throughout this captivating story. I wholeheartedly endorse this book.