The Dance Tree

slight spoilers for the ending and themes Historical fiction taking place in the summer of 1518 in Strasbourg, where a mysterious dance plague is occurring. It follows pregnant Lisbet who lives with her mother-in-law and husband, beekeepers whose livehood is threatened and welcoming back her sister in law who returns from penance because of a crime no one will name.  What a stunning book this was. I loved the lush emotional writing, with the use of present tense that made the story more vivid and engaging.  Lisbet was a great main character, I loved her complexity and realness, her quiet strength, her empathy towards others despite their differences, her love for her friends and family. I love how devoted she was working with the bees and her relationship to the forest. The other characters were compelling though I would have loved to see their points of view too.  The plot itself was pretty straightforward and there was no twist, although I did expect more about the dancing plague then the few chapters scattered throughout about the dancers.  The historical setting was really well rendered and I loved how various themes of religion, grief, motherhood, female agency, mental illness, patriarchy, homophobia, misogyny were entwined into the plot.  The bittersweet ending was really emotional to read. I also recommend reading the afterwords, that explains the historical context and how the author's personal experience also influenced one plot point. 
Overall an incredible book and I'm looking forward to read more of this author's work.