Saturday, February 18, 2023

Book review -- 'Yesterday’s Tides'

 

(No spoilers here!)

I’m not much for split time novels myself...  But this sort of multi-generational novel that doesn’t force me to spend half the book in the modern present...is much more my cup of tea! 

The newest book from Roseanna M. White, Yesterday’s Tides, is set during both WWI and WWII, so sort of split-time in that sense.  But what a great combo it is, tying together what really should be connected far more often; so many things affected one another between these two enormous world events. 


...On a side note for this one, I love the cover art; the colors, the quiet storminess in the clouds and the imagery, and a person with face not really visible so your imagination can work (my personal favorite).  Beautiful.  And real. 

Evie and Sterling are some of my new favorite characters Roseanna has introduced to us.  I love their interactions and personalities and understanding the time through their responses to what's happening in their world.  It's hard to say a lot without giving secrets away... So... I'm enjoying them.  Ahem.

The vocations of Roseanna’s characters further help highlight the atmosphere of the times she sets these people in.  While this surely takes large amounts of mental weight-lifting on her part, it really sinks her readers in the real life, everyday mindsets that help us understand the where, the who, the when, and almost the /scent/ of the places she sends us. 

This is a large part of why I never hesitate to recommend Roseanna’s books, even if I haven’t read one yet.  I know her characters will be vivid, real, and honest about the world they live in (even if they’re sometimes dishonest with themselves).  The times and places will be alive and lived-in, not a cardboard backdrop for drama.  The drama of the story will be fitting and have gravity to it that matters to the story and the people in it.  And I feel like Roseanna always is invested in the lives and eras she’s painting; and certainly if she cares, her readers feel that, and we quickly are absorbed as well. 

All that said, go find and enjoy this beautiful book about a stormy season of world history.  Let me leave you with a beautiful line from Yesterday’s Tides:

‘She was one small grain of sand squaring off against a hurricane. 

But each grain of sand played its part.  She drew her tools to her, turned her heart to prayer, and prepared to do hers.’


Disclaimer:
  I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publishers, and was not required to leave a positive review.  All views expressed are mine and mine alone.

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GET THE BOOK HERE ---->  purchase Yesterday's Tides 

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In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same--until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie's inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling's injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the man he's tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.
 
Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, but he doesn't count on falling in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper's daughter. When war breaks out in Europe, and their relationship is put in jeopardy, will their love survive?
 
As Evie and Sterling work to track down an elusive German agent, they unravel mysteries that go back a generation. The ripples from the Great War are still rocking their lives, and it seems yesterday's tides may sweep them all into danger again today.
 
Bestselling and award-winning author Roseanna M. White whisks you away to two periods fraught with peril in this sweeping and romantic dual-time tale.

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About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

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Book review -- 'Worthy of Legend'

 This is the final book in the 'Secrets of The Isles' series from the fantastic Roseanna M. White, and 'Worthy of Legend' did not disappoint! 

(There won't be any spoilers here!)

I've mentioned in past reviews that I appreciate how individual and unique Roseanna makes all her lead characters.  This one is no exception.
Bram Sinclair might admit he's... "a trifle overprotective"... But he'd like to think that's maybe the worst of him.  Well we, as the audience, haven't exactly seen him as warm or...much else in the previous books, so we're gonna take some convincing.  But Roseanna's up for the task!

By contrast, passive and rather timid Lady Emily Scofield has seemed just that as far as we've seen.  And between the two unfolding personalities, and more treasure waiting to be found that may be linked to tales of King Arthur...  A thrilling, wild island adventure certainly lies ahead!

My nerves were certainly on alert with this one; the antagonistic forces seemed fairly distant in the first one, and were certainly scaled up in the second.  Well they're ramped up quite a bit and are close and personal in this third and final book.  Yikes. (in the best possible way!)

As with all series conclusions, this one had quite a bit to tie up, while still feeling like it stands alone, too.  This one does a great job with that.  This 'Secrets of The Isles' series feels a little more episodic than many of Roseanna's, but nothing at all wrong with that.  I like both styles for a series, and can't really choose a favorite way.  But the episodic feel really fit the setting and treasure-hunting themes tying the three books together.
I felt like this showcased one of the skillful ways Roseanna chose to make the Isles of Scilly a background character on their own.  Setting is definitely a major feature, while descriptions never carry on and bog down the story.  A really lovely combination, and it really leaves a lovely feel overarching the stories all the way through till this last one.

It's awkward to try to end a non-spoiler review like this every time...  Well, this series was a wonderful one, full of peril, clashing personalities, rumors and searching for treasure, and a beautiful foggy, windswept setting.  Start yourself with 'Nature of A Lady' and 'To Treasure An Heiress', and work your way to enjoying this lovely third installment, 'Worthy of Legend'.  Happy reading!

Disclaimer:
  I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publishers, and was not required to leave a positive review.  All views expressed are mine and mine alone.

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GET THE BOOK HERE ---->  purchase Worthy of Legend 

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1906
 
After a summer of successful pirate-treasure hunting, Lady Emily Scofield and her friends are forced to hide the unprecedented discoveries they’ve made, thanks to the betrayal of her own family. Horrified by her brother who stops at nothing to prove himself to their greedy father, Emily is forced to take a stand against her family—even when it means being cut off entirely.
 
Bram Sinclair, Earl of Telford, is fascinated with tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table—an interest he’s kept mostly hidden for the last decade. But when a diary is unearthed in the islands that could lead to a secret artifact, Bram is the only one able to piece the legends together.
 
As Bram and Emily seek out the whereabouts of the hidden artifact, they must dodge her eager family and a team of archeologists. In a race against time, they must decide what makes a hero worthy of legend—is it fighting valiantly to claim the treasure . . . or sacrificing everything in the name of selfless love?
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About the Author

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.


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Book review -- 'To Treasure An Heiress'

 The 2nd in the Secrets of the Isles trilogy, I am unfortunately behind in reviewing this one... But first, wow, do I love the cover!

(No spoilers here, by the way!)

I’ve loved getting to know spunky Beth Tremayne, who wants nothing more than to do what she’s planned, and in /her/ way, thank you very much. Juxtaposed with the hilarious peeps inside Sheridan’s jolly cluttered-but-honest mind, the complimenting contrast is so much fun. Sheridan is obviously quite taken right off the bat with Beth (ahem, /Elizabeth/), and I thoroughly enjoyed his little mental score-keeping on how he guessed his standing was in Beth’s eyes at any given moment.
Ah!  A good half-step forward!
Oh, nope, that’ll be back two steps...
Really endearing. I loved seeing that he’s not really the bumbling, wealthy aristocrat with a simple mind that he originality played himself off as.

He and Beth are so similar, really; both want what they want, and initially don’t take much account for how something they do or how they respond will affect others around them. The journey to learning to look beyond their own agendas —really, both for the same thing: that lost treasure— is the driving force they both have to relent to, albeit reluctantly, and in slightly different ways. These two quickly became some of my favorites among author Roseanna M. White’s many fantastic characters. She is a master of making all her characters unique and feel individual; no cardboard stock characters here.

She’s also one rare author that I feel does dual character lead-sets well. Senara and Rory felt...different but the same in all the right ways from the secondary couple in the previous book. Similar roles and similar-but-different struggles, but while being completely their own people, and not at all slipping into becoming placeholders for a warm body to move the plot along. But then again, they and their stories never overshadow the main plot or the main leads. Really deft character waltzing on Roseanna’s part. (Love Senara’s name too, by the way.)

Maybe I say it every time, but figuring out how much to tell and when to stop so as not to give the story away is a struggle.

So I’ll just wrap up by saying that this main story thread picks up the faint one started in the first book, since the first (The Nature of A Lady) was primarily about the mixup with the two Beths, and the unraveling of what was happening there as the Libby-Elizabeth got dragged into the Beth-Elizabeth’s ancient treasure hunt. This one lets Beth’s pirate treasure and its troubles take center stage, while she and Sheridan unwittingly help and hinder each other in going after the same thing for their own reasons.

Suffice to say that if well-written characters, a vivid, wild yet quaint location, hunts for mysterious pirate treasures, searching out clues, and a lovely historical setting that the author understands well are your cup of tea... or you’ve never tried this kind of tea before, you should absolutely give ‘To Treasure An Heiress’ a read.

And enjoy its gorgeous cover, while you’re at it!


Disclaimer:
  I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publishers, and was not required to leave a positive review.  All views expressed are mine and mine alone.



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GET THE BOOK HERE ---->  purchase To Treasure An Heiress 

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1906
 
Beth Tremayne has always been drawn to adventure. During her childhood, she fed that desire by exploring every inch of the Isles of Scilly. As an adolescent, she dreamed of love in London’s ballrooms. Now, stumbling across an old map on her family’s property, she’s found more adventure than she ever dreamed in the hunt for pirate treasure. Unfortunately, Beth can’t escape the attentions of her family’s guest, Lord Sheridan.
 
Sheridan has spent years pursuing whatever archaeological interest caught his imagination. And when he discovers that Beth’s search connects with one of his favorite pirates of history, he can’t help getting involved. Plus, he finds her irresistible, even though she insists he stole a prized possession of hers.
 
As they work together following different clues and drawing closer to danger, they start to piece together a story of tragic love and piratical adventure. But the true surprise is the treasure they discover in one another.




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About the Author


Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.


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