1652, the English Civil War has ripped over the land and torn apart families. Iain Johnstone and his Scottish soldiers have been captured and are being held captive by the English, barely alive. They are eventually put on a ship in order to be sold into servitude in Barbados. Mairead O'Conneil is supposed to be kept safe at her family farm in Ireland, but when the English descend on the farm, they kill the men and capture the woman to be sold into slavery as well. After surviving the voyage Iain and Mairead are both bought by the Mount Vale plantation. While enduring hard labor, humiliation, and heartbreak Mairead and Iain find comfort in one another and Iain hatches a plan to escape the island.

Suspenseful, romantic and emotional, Severed Knot reeled me in with amazing characters and intriguing plot. Iain is incredibly, strong, reliable and caring but packaged in a hard exterior. Mairead is confident, compassionate and has a powerful constitution wrapped in a small frame. Both Mairead and Iain suffer insurmountable losses and hardships through their life and on the plantation. Their love develops slowly and carefully in the harsh landscape. Through the writing as well as Iain and Mairead's experiences, the cruel reality of the Barbados sugar trade is brought to life as the entire island is forced to realign itself for sugar. Hope and love continually surface as traits to help people survive. As the conditions worsen, escape becomes the only option. Suspense increases as plans are hatched, executed and interfered with for a satisfying ending.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )