Quick Synopsis – Magdalena Overmorrow has been called a scholar, a healer, a harlot. She carves out some measure of freedom for the women of Astoleyn, risking capture and death by caring for them and performing forbidden abortions. When she’s betrayed by a close confidante, she faces banishment to the realm’s desolate northernmost city as an accused witch. There, she must await her trial and possible doom under the watchful aegis of the Lord Proctor of Cair Gramora, a man so pious and humorless it is rumored that he has never once laughed in his life.

When she arrives, though, Magda is surprised to find that the Lord Proctor isn’t the grizzled old priest she expected but a man barely older than she is. As cold and mysterious and beautiful as the mountains at the cair’s northern border, he holds her life in his hands. One word from him could send her to the stake or worse, but she can’t help her fascination with a man and fellow scholar who is more than he appears to be, and the dangerous secrets he is clearly keeping. As her trial draws closer and the intrigue of the isolated cair threatens them both, she and the Lord Proctor must form an uneasy alliance that could either save her life or lead her to martyrdom and ruin.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Labor by Paris Paloma

Publication Date – Nov. 10, 2026

Bookshop Link – The Trial of Magdalena Overmorrow by Caitriona Moran
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Content Notes – There are a lot of heavy themes in this book including burning women at the stake (graphic scene), torture, suicide, suicidal ideation, abortion, blood, sexism, misogyny, and homophobia. There is also an incest subplot, but the incest occurs off page. There is also open-door romance scenes.

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐out of 5

Review – Let me just say this book packs a punch. I will say that the subject matter is delicate, but I feel like the author did so much to treat abortion in a way that was realistic and respectful. When people say reading is political this is the kind of book that they’re talking about. Magdelana Overmorrow is a woman with power in a world where that is a threat. She is a healer, a woman with her own wealth, and an accused apostate. While awaiting trial she is sent to the frigid North where the rumors are that the Lord Proctor has never smiled. When she reaches the North she finds more than she expects.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a good reflection on a lot of the trials women face today. Magdelana could be burned at the stake for providing healthcare to women. It doesn’t matter what the circumstance the women came to her; the care she provides is punishable by being burned at the stake. Even though she’s advised laying low while awaiting trial, she cannot help herself. She is very caring about the people around her. She also constantly puts herself at risk so that other people are safe. I absolutely loved that she meets this really stuck-up priest, and he completely sees her for who she is.

The one thing that I didn’t love is that I felt like the magic system wasn’t well explained. I got that there were symbols, spells, and it seemed like anyone could do magic with education, but education was the barrier. The limits of magic and how the system worked was really confusing to me. It was truly the one thing I couldn’t get behind. I also expected the Iscarat was going to be a bigger deal as a God then he was. I think this book is supposed to be one in a duology, I hope that’s better explored in the second book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.