Review: the sea, the sea... the romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 7, 2013
I don't normally go for romance novels per se, but this one is a wonderful read. It entwines two love stories three hundred years apart, with events which seem to reflect each other as the narrative switches between stories and time periods. In both, the characters are well drawn - not stereotypical romantic heroes and heroines who are boringly bland, but flawed human beings with strong feelings and life histories. Many reviews I've read here use images of tapestries, jewels, weaving, and this feeling of something crafted and rich in texture is present throughout the book. One of the top selling points for me with any book is a sense of place, and the Scots island of Garve and the sea that surrounds it not only shape the narratives and the characters' lives, but are characters in the novel as well as a setting. The whole book is saturated with the dry salty scent of a tideline with its found treasures of shells, bones, and secrets washed ashore.