The Healer’s Daughter
Myriana Merkovic
Independently Published (2025)
ISBN: 979-8298342681
Reviewed by Ashley Hooker for Reader Views (01/2026)
Vivid prose, emotional turmoil, and strong perseverance are just some of the adjectives to describe The Healer’s Daughter: A 17th-century tale of fear, love, loss, and magic by Myriana Merkovic.
Naida is a young woman on the run with her mother, Zephyr. She has witnessed the burning of her grandmother, Vesta, due to charges of witchcraft. Her mother is scared and knows that to save her and Naida, they must go somewhere else. Zephyr has heard of a place called Charles Town, where women who are healers are safe from the shackles of witchcraft. Along the way, Naida discovers the possibility of love and what sacrifices it will take to make sure she is not the last of the Galene women.
Merkovic’s prose is the highlight of The Healer’s Daughter. She does not shy away from imagery that may be less than appealing. In the first words of her story, she writes, “Carried by the breeze, the stench ripples around me – acrid, coppery, so thick I can taste it. You’d know it was burning flesh if you smelled it.” She describes the beauty Naida sees with words, “When I wake up, the horizon is burnt orange and purple, and the silky sea has turned to silver.” Naida’s keen awareness of the pain people feel is shared with these words, “Every part of her face bespeaks her suffering, but especially her eyes; they’re brutal to look at.” The poetic and vivid words the author uses are impeccable.
The Healer’s Daughter is wonderfully written and enlightening. The author is prudent in her theme of women’s rights. Throughout history, women have had to choose family or freedom. There was no room for both. Naida must make a choice to either experience love or sacrifice those feelings to fulfill a duty to her family. The ongoing struggle for women to achieve it all is echoed throughout Naida’s story.
Merkovic also enlightens readers to the idea that if we don’t understand something, then it is wrong. Naida was healing people with unconventional methods. Though she was not an educated doctor, she was still knowledgeable and successful in her own right. The idea that we can achieve the same thing by taking different paths was new in colonial America, and Merkovic makes us aware that 21st-century America still feels this way on certain issues.
The Healer’s Daughter is a story both entertaining and thought-provoking. The characters are relatable, the writing is impeccable, and the message is deep. Readers who enjoy historical fiction or magic are recommended to open the cover of The Healer’s Daughter.
At a Glance: A historical fantasy set in the 17th century, this novel follows a young healer fleeing persecution after her family is accused of witchcraft. Blending magical elements with historical realities, it explores survival, sacrifice, women’s autonomy, and forbidden love.
Best for Readers Who Enjoy: historical fantasy, witch trials, women healers, colonial America, magical realism, strong female protagonists, family legacy, forbidden love, women’s rights, atmospheric historical fiction