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The Winter Sea Susanna Kearsley 9780749080976 Books

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The Winter Sea Susanna Kearsley 9780749080976 Books

The description of this book is accurate but doesn't come close to describing the rich characters, Scottish history and atmosphere that Susanna Kearsley brings to her readers. This was my second time reading The Winter Sea. The first time was many years ago, and while I didn't recall the plot I always had images in my mind from reading the book the first time around. The sign of a good book.

Kearsley's writing is rich in detail creating a vivid atmosphere for her story to unfold. The story is told via two narratives - Carrie in modern day and Sophia in the early 1700's during a lesser known Jacobite rebellion. Their stories intertwine, with a little help from a fantastical element, and while they were both compelling I admit to preferring Sophia's story line more. There are some twists thrown into the plot and the characters, generally speaking, are easy to root for making it easy to see why this book is a fan favourite.

For readers looking for a bodice-ripper type read this is not it. While there are some intimate moments they are only hinted at leaving the ensuing passion to the readers' imaginations. Instead more focus was on their relationships, the beautiful setting and the Jacobites attempt to return James to England's throne to replace his half-sister, Queen Anne.

For people, such as myself, who only have a basic knowledge of Scottish history do not fear. Kearsley explains some of the Jacobite history without a huge info dump while still keeping in line with her story. Readers will enjoy reading the appendix at the end of the book where Kearsley explains which characters and events within her book are based on historical fact.

The only criticisms I have for the book is that the ending is wrapped up a little too neatly. Sure, it's a nice way to end the story but a little too easy. I know that some readers weren't fond of one of Sophia's decisions in the book (I wasn't happy reading it either) but, in the end, that was probably a more realistic decision based on how things were in the 18th century.

Overall, I'm happy I could delve back into this book. This time around I got to read my personalized, signed copy and that made it even more special. For fans of well-researched Historical Fiction with a solid nod to genealogy, who like a good love story (or two) set in the beauty that is Scotland then this is a book for you.


Tags : The Winter Sea [Susanna Kearsley] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now,Susanna Kearsley,The Winter Sea,Allison & Busby,0749080973,VI-0749080973,Fiction,General,Modern fiction

The Winter Sea Susanna Kearsley 9780749080976 Books Reviews

Carrie, the storyteller and main character, whom writes historical/fiction novels is working towards the final stages of her current story, which takes place in northern Scotland. Being a person that always digs herself into the community where her stories take place; she’s found herself traveling north to stay with a relative for a few days in order to do some research. On her way she sees a sign for the shore route and loving to take local roads, especially by the sea, she felt compelled and turns to the right down the road. Along the way, she comes across the ruins of an old castle, called Slains (shown below are those ruins today). Something about the place seems to call her and therefore she pulls into the parking lot to take a quick look.

What follows is the story of Carrie staying in the small Scottish town of Cruden Bay and becoming intimately involved with its local residents, who provide her with vast information that lends to the research for her book. All is good, until, she starts receiving visions of a past time taking place at Slains, which seem to be coming from within her subconscious mind while she sleeps or types, which causes her to start feeling as if her writing, is somehow being guided. The problem seems to be that as her research continues, her prior visions begin to be validated by her research.

I found this book to be an easy read and good story, with its jumping back and forth between the mid-1700s and current day. The author (Susanna Kearsley) does a wonderful job of melding, what seems to be the same characters, but are in-fact different individuals from the two periods in time. Sort of the author (Susan) writing a story about a writer (Carrie) who is receiving subconscious messages or stories from Sophie (the character in the early 1700s).
So here I find myself, with a type of novel I have held no particular interest in for quite some time, a romance, that is saved by its historical context, and a touch of magic, or science, depending on how you look at it. And though I have no particular urge to go on a romance read-a-thon, it was a very welcome reading-slump-buster.

This is really two stories in one. The first is that of Carrie, a historical fiction writer, who wants to tell the story of James Stewart, whose throne was stolen from him and his Jacobite supporters, especially Nathaniel Hooke. She’s been attempting to write in France at the palace of St Germain where Stewart lived in exile, but finds no inspiration there. On a chance visit to her agent in Scotland, she stumbles upon Slains Castle, and hears the voices of her characters finally come to life. As she writes, she discovers many details are history, with not a shred of fiction.

We are also given access to the story she is writing, and the chapters frequently alter between past and present. The story she writes is of Sophia, who finds herself in the household of the Countess of Errol, a staunch Jacobite. This is the story that really stole the show though I hadn’t expected it to. Sophia is not an active player in the Jacobite uprisings, merely a passive observer for the most part, but her story is both joyful and tragic, enchanting and haunting. I ripped through these pages as I cannot recall having done in months.

The romance is told beautifully. There are no sex scenes (they merely fade to black) and I think perhaps that is the most appealing aspect of the entire novel. It allowed the romance itself to take center stage and truly be felt by the reader. Though I could not tell you much about the truth of these events as the author has written them, I was impressed by the afterword (which I always read!) and it seemed to me that she had done very thorough research and perhaps even included a couple of the locals of Cruden Bay in Carrie’s story.

The writing was superb, even if the Doric speech was almost untranslatable to my eyes. But it is Scotland and it lent the story a great deal of authenticity.

I will definitely be checking out Kearsley’s other works in the future (I’ve been eyeing The Firebird for awhile) and would heartily recommend this to fans of historical romance and certainly to fans of Outlander and Diana Gabaldon.
The description of this book is accurate but doesn't come close to describing the rich characters, Scottish history and atmosphere that Susanna Kearsley brings to her readers. This was my second time reading The Winter Sea. The first time was many years ago, and while I didn't recall the plot I always had images in my mind from reading the book the first time around. The sign of a good book.

Kearsley's writing is rich in detail creating a vivid atmosphere for her story to unfold. The story is told via two narratives - Carrie in modern day and Sophia in the early 1700's during a lesser known Jacobite rebellion. Their stories intertwine, with a little help from a fantastical element, and while they were both compelling I admit to preferring Sophia's story line more. There are some twists thrown into the plot and the characters, generally speaking, are easy to root for making it easy to see why this book is a fan favourite.

For readers looking for a bodice-ripper type read this is not it. While there are some intimate moments they are only hinted at leaving the ensuing passion to the readers' imaginations. Instead more focus was on their relationships, the beautiful setting and the Jacobites attempt to return James to England's throne to replace his half-sister, Queen Anne.

For people, such as myself, who only have a basic knowledge of Scottish history do not fear. Kearsley explains some of the Jacobite history without a huge info dump while still keeping in line with her story. Readers will enjoy reading the appendix at the end of the book where Kearsley explains which characters and events within her book are based on historical fact.

The only criticisms I have for the book is that the ending is wrapped up a little too neatly. Sure, it's a nice way to end the story but a little too easy. I know that some readers weren't fond of one of Sophia's decisions in the book (I wasn't happy reading it either) but, in the end, that was probably a more realistic decision based on how things were in the 18th century.

Overall, I'm happy I could delve back into this book. This time around I got to read my personalized, signed copy and that made it even more special. For fans of well-researched Historical Fiction with a solid nod to genealogy, who like a good love story (or two) set in the beauty that is Scotland then this is a book for you.