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🌑 ARC Review – Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards
📅 Release date: 2nd December 2025
⭐️ 5/5 stars
Pre-order from Amazon (Hardcover)
Pre-order from Amazon (Kindle Edition)

Synopsis

Set in thirteenth-century Bruges, this debut novel follows a young woman’s explorations of faith, agency, and love among a community of fiercely independent women.

Aleys is sixteen years old and serious, stubborn, prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret—but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, he abandons her for the monastery. When her family falls on hard financial times, her father promises her in marriage to the unctuous head of the weavers’ guild, and in desperation she runs away from home, eventually finding shelter within a community of religious women who do not answer to the church.
Among the hardworking and strong-willed Beguines, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of a life of song, friendship, and time spent in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are afoot. Illegal translations of scripture, the women’s independence, and a sudden rash of miracles all draw the attention of an ambitious bishop—and bring Aleys and those around her into ever-increasing danger, a danger that will push Aleys to a new understanding of love and sacrifice.
Introducing a spirited, indelible heroine and a major new talent, Canticle is a luminous work of historical fiction, vividly evoking a world on the verge of transformation.

What I thought

Although I’m not religious myself, I’ve always been interested in how people experience belief; What it means to them, how it shapes their lives, and Canticle explores that theme in a way that feels both accessible and deeply human.

Set in 13th-century Bruges, the novel follows Aleys, a determined, intelligent young woman whose visions and strong will set her apart. When she’s promised in marriage to a man she doesn’t love, she runs. Finding refuge with the beguines, a community of independent women who live religious lives outside the authority of the Church.

What I connected with most wasn’t the religious content, but the strength, friendship, and quiet defiance of the women Aleys meets. Their world is one of market stalls, songs, shared work, and moments of real joy. The psalter Aleys reads, full of vibrant, colourful illustrations, becomes a beautiful symbol of both her spiritual questioning and the creative expression that flows beneath the surface of this otherwise constrained society.

The writing is lyrical without being overdone, and the historical detail brings medieval Bruges vividly to life. I found myself caring deeply about the beguine community and the ways they carved out space for themselves in a world that left women with so few options.

By the end, I felt both moved and inspired by the book. The author’s acknowledgments and the story itself left me itching to book a flight to Bruges. Especially to walk through the Begijnhof, absorb the history and imagine the lives of the women who once lived there.

It might just be my next city break!

This is an absorbing, beautifully written story about finding strength, belonging, and purpose.
It deserved 5 stars from me, and whilst not naturally a book I would reach for, I’m so glad I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early.