Having grown up in Cornwall, I
love the sea, cliffs, and beaches. This book is set in my home country of
Canada, along the rugged and atmospheric coast of Newfoundland.
The protagonist is an
oceanographer and deep-sea diver; what a cool career! Like many who search for
wrecks, she is obsessed with finding famous ones, and this leads her into the
trajectory of unethical and equally obsessed treasure hunters. I could
not put down this imaginative book with its clever switching of timelines and
complex layered plotting, its vivid and sensory details, cast of unusual
characters (including the sea and the cliffs), the premise of treasure
hunting/diving/wrecks and lighthouses, and the compelling mystery and danger at
its heart. I loved all of it, not least the accomplished wordsmithing.
A sweeping, emotional tale of hope and perseverance, Swan Light weaves together the stories of two people separated by a century but connected by family, purpose, and one extraordinary lighthouse.
1913. Eighty-three-year-old Silvestre Swan has dedicated his life to the care of his Newfoundland lighthouse. His petition to relocate Swan Light from its precarious cliff's edge is going unheard by town patriarch Cort Roland-that is, until a terrible storm brings an unlikely ally into Swan's life. But is it too late for the stone lighthouse?
2014. Marine archaeologist Mari Adams's attempts to fund her search for the notorious SS Californian…
I love books that give me insights into personal subjectivities and
experiences that are outside of my own. This book, with a memorable setting in
small-town Alaska, delivers! Its protagonist, Claire, had a pleasant life until
a car accident caused a traumatic brain injury that robbed her of short-term
memory.
Claire is incredibly brave and perseverant as she tries to rebuild her
life. The author has researched this type of injury and, through Claire’s POV,
brilliantly immerses readers in what Claire’s daily life feels like. This POV
took me into a place I had never imagined or experienced, and provoked empathy
for the character Claire and for real-life sufferers of this affliction.
The story is plotted like a mystery, with tantalizing clues and scenes
that build and evolve until the surprising and very happy ending is reached.
The theme might be that we all need to keep moving forward.
Melissa Payne, bestselling author of The Secrets of Lost Stones, returns with another haunting and hopeful novel about redemption, the power of memory, and a woman's will to reclaim her life.
My name is Claire. I'm thirty-six years old. It's September. I know what I'm doing and why I am here...for now.
Ten years ago, Claire Hines lost her unborn child-and her short-term memory-following a heartrending tragedy. With notebooks, calendars, to-do lists, fractured pieces of the past, and her father's support, Claire makes it through each day, hour by hour, with relative confidence. She also has a close-knit community of…
I’m a fan of historical fiction, and love novels that portray the social
norms and attitudes of other eras in all their contradictory messiness. This
novel shares the Elizabethan age in England, with its wild new ideas (alchemy)
and its rootedness in a superstitious past (a belief in witchcraft).
Alone while her husband is away, Martha’s healing skills bring her
unwanted attention. She must set out on the road to find her husband, traveling
northwards through the countryside, surviving by wit, intelligence, and
determination. Both the richness of the upper class, and the isolated poverty
of the working class, are portrayed.
The author’s wordsmithing is truly beautiful, with vivid descriptions of
complex and unusual characters, the landscape, the weather, and all that Martha
experiences as she survives her journey. I reread certain passages several
times, reveling in the prose. Reading this book was like time traveling, and I
highly recommend the trip!
'Eleanor Porter is a major new voice in historical fiction.' Tim Clayton Where will her loyalty lead her?
Once accused of witchcraft Martha Spicer is now free from the shadow of the gallows and lives a safe and happy life with her husband, Jacob. But when Jacob heads north to accompany his master, he warns Martha to keep her healing gifts a secret, to keep herself safe, to be a good wife.
Martha loves Jacob but without him there to protect her, she soon comes under the suspicious eye of the wicked Steward Boult, who's heard of her talent and…
In northern Canada in the 1830s, Amelia needs
all her skills to survive a starving moon. Alone in her canoe, she is swept
away in the fog. Then an awesome creature swims by. Is it her rescuing spirit
guide… or something that will drown her in the depths?
In a heartbeat, Amelia makes a life-changing
choice, beginning an epic journey in the company of an amazing horse.
Travelling west by water, Amelia forges friendships and discovers secrets about
a family feud. Bravely facing hardship, Amelia comes of age and finds the
promise of love on the prairies.
This novel traces the ancestry of Standardbred
horses in Canada through the imported Norfolk Trotter stallion, Fireaway, who
travelled 600 miles by river in a boat.
