Book Review: A Light of Her Own by Carrie Callaghan

Author: Carrie Callaghan
Title: A Light of Her Own
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 300
Published: November 13th 2018
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)



In Holland 1633, a woman’s ambition has no place. 

Judith is a painter, dodging the law and whispers of murder to become the first woman admitted to the prestigious Haarlem artist’s guild. Maria is a Catholic in a country where the faith is banned, hoping to absolve her sins by recovering a lost saint’s relic. 

Both women’s destinies will be shaped by their ambitions, running counter to the city’s most powerful men, whose own plans spell disaster. A vivid portrait of a remarkable artist, A Light of Her Own is a richly-woven story of grit against the backdrop of Rembrandts and repressive religious rule.

I was drawn in by the cover and by the summary. I couldn't wait to read this. 

The story follows Judith who is a painter. She is dodging the law and the whispers of murder. She meets Maria who is a Catholic in a country where it is banned. Judith will become one of the first women to be admitted into the Haarlem's artist's guild. I didn't know of Judith, but I knew of her work. I have seen the portraits and paintings, but I never knew who the artist was. So you can imagine how pleasantly surprised when I connected the dots while reading this and looking at the cover. 

It took me a while to really get into the book. The beginning was slow and I didn't connect with the characters right away but after a while, I finally felt invested and moved forward. I was worried it wouldn't pick up, but when it finally did I ran through this and got this done in a couple of sittings. 

I liked Judith even though she was pretty selfish from time-to-time. Maria was okay. I enjoyed watching these two strong women battle this world. Men owned everything and ruled over everything, so it was SO hard for ambitious women to succeed. Men sucked big time back then. I felt so bad for Judith and Maria. 

The story was slow-paced but it was fun to read all cuddled up. Learned a lot about Judith and the Haarlem's artist's guild. Lots of darn politics for a guild of painters. You would think it wouldn't be but like everything politics and money talk.  

Overall, I enjoyed this. It took a while for me to get into the story and it was slow-paced, but it was fun. Poor Judith and Maria. They had a rough time for sure in this man's world. I recommend it if you like a good people story or a good historical fiction. I'll give this 3 stars.