I read this book in audio format and I think that contributed to my utter enjoyment of it. The story starts out with Elizabeth, she looks like a woman in her late 50s but truly she's 384 years old and she is a witch. Elizabeth begins recounting her life in the 1600s and how she became what she is today. Brackston has a way of describing plants and natural healing that is nearly hypnotic. 
 This story focuses on 4 stages of Elizabeth's life: her youth in the 1600s, her adulthood in the 1880s, her love story during WWI and then current era when she finally meets Tegan who becomes her new protege. I highly recommend picking this up, this is not a love story though Elizabeth does find love despite it being fleeting, this is a journey of her becoming powerful enough to finally confront the man who has haunted her since the 1600s. 
 The character of Gideon Master is such a complex and haunting one, he's evil to the core yet charismatic and obsessed with her to the point that he travels through time to have her because his intent is not truly to kill her but to have her be his bridge and partner. 
 Great read if you want to get into adult paranormal/fantasy. Brackston will be releasing the continuation tomorrow in "The Return of the Witch" and I look forward to seeing what she does with this. Note: this book does not read like a series, you can truly read it as a stand-along if you wish.