Sarah MaineRezensionen
Autor von The House Between Tides
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I enjoyed the historical mystery aspect of this book, but I didn't realize how prominent the modern-day romance plot (I'm not sure I can even call it a subplot) was going to be. This would probably have annoyed me a bit but not stopped me from finishing it, except that I really disliked the love interest, Rodri. At this point in my life, when I see a male character who's an asshole (and a little bit sexist), I just cannot care about his hidden soft side, his dead wife, or the reasons why he's secretly sad and it's actually completely understandable that he's kind of an asshole (and sexist).
Again, in hardly a new plot line, Hetty Deveraux, a Londoner, has lost her parents and thus inherited a crumbling estate in Scotland, which once belonged to a distant relative, renowned painter, Theo Blake. In the process of surveying to see what can be done with rebuilding the house, bones are found on the premises-- old bones buried under flooring, an obvious indication of murder. That Sarah Maine makes this feel like a fresh storyline is another almost miraculous achievement.
There are handsome, brooding men and women who are trying to establish their independence; and there is a very nice subplot regarding the responsibilities of people to the land and natural preservation. This is done without being heavy-handed and fits itself with perfection into both time frames. The atmosphere is haunting, as the house is set on an island that can be accessed across the strand only at low tides, and Maine is skilled in her descriptions and mood creation. She is able to make the setting both an ideal and gloomily isolated, so that the house and its surroundings seem to take on and reflect the characters moods and feelings.
It was serendipity that I happened to be reading this book right now. It wasn’t what I intended, but the electricity failed, making the ebooks I had planned inaccessible, and this was the top book on a stack of “real” books I hadn’t gotten to yet. I am happy the power had its glitch. I enjoyed this break and having the freedom to just sink into a story and get lost for a few hours of pure enjoyment.
The House Between Tides title, description, and cover captured my imagination. The discovery of a hidden body that's been buried for decades is not the start Hetty had counted on when she arrives at the old house she has inherited. And, her restoration plan seems to fall to pieces too. However, she can't help being fascinated by whom the body could be and bit by bit will she discover deep dark buried secrets...
The book's story takes place both during 1910 and 2010 and I found both timelines fascinating to read about. Sarah Maine has written a captivating tale about forbidden love, regrets and how memories can consume one's life. Some secrets are perhaps not that surprising, but all and all was this book quite intriguing. The only drawback was that now and then did I feel a bit impatient with the story, not bored, I just wanted the characters to get some things to grip, like Hetty telling Giles off or Beatrice realizing why Theo was so obsessed with Cameron (which was pretty obvious why). I loved the scenery of the book. I could really picture the island and its wildlife.
But, the ending was perfect, tragic, but at the same time uplifting and I'm looking forward to reading more from Sarah Maine in the future.
I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review.
To be able to effortlessly write a book with three different storylines without confusing or making any of the storylines less interesting than the others is a gift and I think that Sarah Maine has this gift. I'm so used to dual storylines that getting one with three storylines feels like an oddity, in a good way.
READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!
This is truly one of the best books I have read this year.
It has everything you need for a great story; suspense, great location, fabulous characters and a mystery that kept me guessing right up to the end of the book. If you enjoy the books of Susanna Kearsley or Kate Morton, you will enjoy this one
A definite "could not put this one down" read. 5 stars all the way.
This book is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the beginning of the book based around the gold rush shanty towns and the life there but as the photography theme crept in the realism seemed to fade. By the time the action moved to Australia I was less armoured and the final chapters in Scotland I found underplayed. That's not to say that Maine isn't a good writer and certainly has a feel for a stunning start to a book.
This book is so beautifully descriptive and emotional! I loved the story, the characters and the setting. I don't normally like books that alternate characters and different time lines, but for this story it worked perfectly. We get to share the story of all three women and learn how it all weaves together. Just a lovely story! The mystery and the legend are very engaging. The story kept my attention from beginning to end, with some interesting twists and surprises. Very well written!
Sarah Maine has written two other books including The House Between Tides and Beyond the Wild River. I'm definitely going to read her other books!
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Atria Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
In the present, Hetty Deveraux is finally ready to make a decision about what to do with the ancestral home she inherited from her grandmother. Her boyfriend, Giles, is pushing her to renovate the dilapidated mansion and open a posh hotel, and while the idea has merit, she is still mulling over her options. Upon her arrival, she is stunned to discover the home is literally falling down and possibly beyond repair. Even more shocking, human bones have recently been discovered and it is quickly determined that foul play is the cause of death. Hetty's curiosity is immediately piqued and she begins looking into her family's history in order identify the remains and hopefully unmask the killer.
Hetty has endured several losses in a short span and she has been content to hand over the reins to Giles as she tries to come to terms with her grief. Unbeknownst to Hetty, he has set things in motion to move forward with turning her ancestral home into a lavish hotel. Dismayed by this discovery, she is enchanted by the desolate yet beautiful island and she is enthralled by the family mansion.Hoping the reports that it would literally cost millions to renovate the house are wrong, Hetty is becoming more and more certain she wants to preserve her inheritance instead of turning it into a hotel. Unfortunately, she cannot seem to stand up to Giles and the overly pushy developers whom he hired for the project. While Hetty is a likable and sympathetic protagonist, she is frustratingly passive and unable to stand up for herself for almost the entire novel.
In 1910, Hetty's distant relative and renowned artist Theo Blake relocates to his home on Muirlan Island along with his bride Beatrice. With very few modern comforts, Beatrice is soon entranced with the stark beauty of the island but she is soon dismayed her husband's increasingly fractious relationship with Cameron Forbes, the son of his factor. Beatrice is also frustrated as Theo begins to spend more and more time holed up in his study and less and less time with her. With his mood darkening with each passing day, their fragile marriage begins to crumble and Theo eventually turns into a recluse with the reputation of being a little mad.
Of the two story arcs, Beatrice and Theo's is the most compelling. Beatrice's marriage to the twenty years older artist is typical of the time period, but she is definitely not a shrinking violet who passively lets life happen around her. She comes into her own after their arrival on Muirlan Island and while at first she defers to Theo, she quickly begins to form her own opinions about her husband's treatment of the locals and his unpalatable hobby of killing rare birds for his collection. Beatrice is quite observant as she witnesses Theo's puzzling reaction to Cameron and she draws her own conclusion about the reasons for the growing discord between them. Her attempts to keep the peace are soon marred by her growing dissatisfaction with her marriage, Theo's stubborn refusal to take better care of his tenants and the increasingly volatile arguments between Theo and Cameron.
The House Between Tides is a wonderfully atmospheric novel that is fast-paced and impossible to put down. The characters are richly drawn with realistic strengths and weaknesses. The mystery surrounding the newly discovered bones is fascinating and as the story progresses, the victim list is essentially narrowed down to two people. Sarah Maine does a wonderful job keeping readers guessing right up until the big reveal who was murdered and why. Although the final resolution of the various story arcs is a little convoluted, readers will be satisfied with the novel's conclusion. All in all, an absolutely wonderful debut that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.
Three different women, three different time periods, connected by one remote part of the Scottish coastline. The idea that place connects people through time is an intriguing one, and exploring the deep connections one has to place was a good idea (modern day Libby connected by tales from her grandmother, 19th century Ellen connected by love of legend and a home she eventually has to leave, and 9th century Ulla connected by being abandoned there, and making a life there).
Each of these women had a different story to tell, each was influenced in different ways by the men in their lives, for better or ill, and from Ulla down through history there was an impact from one life to another.
But despite the promising premise, unfortunately the characters were underdeveloped (particularly Ulla (and Odrhan)), with no deep exploration of motivation which left each story ultimately dissatisfying. Ulla’s story did not get as much attention as it deserved, Ellen’s story was somewhat predictable, and Libby’s story was a combination romance and thriller, with a bit of archaeology thrown in (I still wanted to know what happened, though!).
I liked this book, I sort of liked the characters (despite them being a bit one-dimensional), but that’s about as enthusiastic as I could get for it. I bought it (and recommended it for our book club) because it was Waterstone’s Scottish Book of the Year, but, for me, it sadly wasn’t book of the year material.
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Julie_JKG | 12 weitere Rezensionen | May 1, 2019 |
Julie_JKG | 12 weitere Rezensionen | May 1, 2019 | The vivid descriptions of time and place were beautifully scripted. The story, especially the time period in the 1900's was fascinating. There was an interesting bit of Downton Abbey style conflict between the master of the house and all of the workers on the estate. And there was also a running theme of nature conservation at the expense of the fun adventures of the rich and famous.
If you're looking for good historic fiction, then this book was a fun adventure about life at the turn of the century in the Scottish Hebrides. But if you want a page turning mystery, then this was a bit slow. And although the setting descriptions were amazing, the characters were a little flat. Overall, enjoyable!
“Perhaps that’s what a legend is, a memory preserved over many generations”
What a fascinating and thought- provoking Scottish tale spanning centuries and generations, examining legends, the truth behind them, and the way history tends to repeat itself.
Libby and her university team have arrived on Ullanessm Island for the summer to work on an excavation project. For Libby, the trip is just as personal as it is professional. Her great- great grandmother once lived on Sturrock estate, as a service worker.
The past timelines, beginning in the 9th century, reveal adultery, scandal, trials of faith, forbidden love, and the makings of legends. Those legends, passed down through the years, has an enormous impact on Ellen, a servant girl in the 19th century. Once more a love triangle emerges, and a man of God questions his faith, while more doubt is cast on lineage and heritage, and eventually leads the reader to Libby. As Libby works closely with the Sturrock family, she finds herself embroiled in their unconventional family dramas, where once more, scandal, lies, and greed brings the legends and myths of old, full circle, while adding and creating their own contemporary legends, sure to be pondered on and investigated by future generations.
While the pacing of the story slowly connects the three timelines, it is seamless and easy to follow, and so full of drama, angst, and tension it was hard to put the book aside for any length of time. The vivid Scottish scenery helps to create the rich atmosphere of the novel, combining historical details in with present day analogies.
I love legends, myths, folklore, and stories that are passed down from generation to generation. As is demonstrated here, the stories don’t always represent the whole truth, but, they allow us a portal to the past, and has a way of connecting families. But, one must wonder at the validity of the legends, how much truth is blended with embellishments, or if the legends were censured or exaggerated to conceal a scandal, or to protect someone, thus adding a quality of mystery and intrigue to be guessed at and debated for many generations to come.
4 stars
Libby Snow, the main character, has always felt pulled in the direction of Ullaness. In fact, her great-great grandmother Ellen was obsessed with the legend of Ulla, a viking woman who came to the shores trying to escape her husband. Libby comes to Ullaness to work on an excavation site where Ulla is said to be buried. However, instead of finding Ulla, Libby finds a body buried in the dunes from the Victorian era, a body that was murdered.
Women of the Dunes holds three different time periods: Ulla in 800 A.D., Ellen in 1890s, and Libby in 2012. Each story different but parallel to the others. Three women generations apart, yet destined to repeat the same mistakes. It was incredibly fascinating to see how Sarah Maine wove the threads of this story together. The women have faith, courage, and perseverance.
I don't dare say too much about the story line because half the fun was listening as it unfolded and connecting the dots. I loved going back and forth in time and learning about each woman and their unique challenges. Women of the Dunes is a beautiful story that will appeal to fans of historical fiction. This book will stay with you long after the story ends.
I recommend this book on audio. Ruth Urquhart's voice transports you away to another time and another place. And it's heavenly.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes only. This has in no way influenced my opinion.
Read more at http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2018/08/audiobook-review-women-of-dunes.html#Ju...
Libby Snow is a archaeologist's assistant and lands the dig of her dreams. She’s always had a pull and desire to see the area in Scotland where her ancestor Ellen McDonald lived, a place called Ullaness near the Scottish seaside. There is myth, legend, murder, and secrecy about the area. Now Libby has a chance to search through the old ruins where her ancestor lived and the ancient monk's cell where Ulla lived as well.
Ulla was an 8th century Norsewoman who arrived on Scottish shore with her wounded lover Harald. A monk tended to Harald, all the while disapproving of Ulla’s views on spirituality. Quite lively discussions there. Her grandmother shared stories with Libby about Ellen and her obsession with Ulla & the myth surrounding her life and death.
The bones uncovered at first aren't as ancient as expected. They belong to a man from the 1900's era. So now we have a possible murder victim which complicates matters. The police are brought in and the archaeological dig may be in jeopardy.
The main focus of the book is present time with Libby Snow and the Sturrock family, but we do drift into Ellen’s time and see her side of things back in the 1890’s. That's quite an eye opener and solves a few mysteries for the reader, but alas, not for Libby Snow or the Sturrock family who own the land. There are sporadic chapters for Ulla’s story and thus, the characters of Ellen, Libby and Ulla intertwine.
Told in dual time lines I found the book to be very engaging. The scenery descriptions are wonderful and make me want to visit Scotland. It’s been on the bucket list for many a year but to bring this beautiful scenery alive with such vivid description – perfect. There is a rustic house, an inheritance, a mystery and a sprinkle of romantic attraction here – what’s not to love.
This put me in mind of Mary Stewart novels and I very much enjoyed the book. I’d like to read more by Sarah Maines.
This was a foodie book for sure. An eclectic team of folks make up a catering business that doesn’t have a main part or focus in the book but the food is mentioned quite a bit.
To name a few: Fish and chips, lots of tea, scones
Quiche, smoked cheeses, smoked fish, jams and fancies, bread, pickles
Brown bread and smoked salmon and Sancerre
Casserole and apple pie, fishcakes & fresh peas
I wanted fish and chips so badly when I read this so, we improvised and used Panko with our fish strips. So. Good. I did have oven roasted potatoes one night but went with my favorite roasted sweet potato another evening.
Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book. My opinions are mine, nice and not so nice, and I was not compensated for my review.
Ullaness, Scotland, an island on the western coast, is named for the legend of Ulla, a woman who escaped her cruel husband with her lover and remained there with a monk until she died in childbirth. The question still remains, who was the father ─ Ulla’s husband, lover, or the monk?
Libby Snow, archaeologist, has arrived in Ullaness to excavate near the Sturrock estate, hoping to find clues to the legend of Ulla. An unexpected discovery of a body in the dunes dating to the 19th century raises more questions, and deepens the mysterious connection between Libby, her ancestor Ellen who lived in Ullaness in the 1800s, and the legend of Ulla.
This novel is a tangled story of lovers and daring escapes. There is passion, betrayal, and sacrifice. It was a fascinating puzzle that pieces together with Libby’s discoveries and her relationship to the present-day owners of the Sturrock estate.
A very enjoyable read that I tore through in a few days. Many thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the copy in exchange for my review.
We follow Libby as she and her university team have gotten permission to excavate the estate of Hector Sturrock and an estate where Libby's great grandmother worked as a servant.
Libby's grandmother told her of the legend of Ulla that was part of the estate and the town of Ullaness. Libby had always enjoyed the legend and liked to hear it every time she visited her grandmother.
When Libby joined the team for the excavation, she had to decide if she would tell what her grandmother had told her and what her great grandmother had kept from the estate.
The legend began with a ship coming into a harbor where a monk named Odrhan lived. Ulla was pregnant with her husband’s brother’s child, but when the husband found out about the baby, he badly hurt his brother, Harald, so Ulla sailed away with the injured Harald and sailed to Odrhan for help.
As generations continued so did the legend and its people. The most interesting aspect was that Libby was the current generation of the women involved, and there were many secrets kept by them all.
WOMEN OF THE DUNES was captivating simply because of the lifestyle of the original family as well as those who lived in the Sturrock estate today.
The women of all generations had stories to tell, the estate’s castle-like home still kept its charm, and the legend made WOMEN OF THE DUNES enticing.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of the land and the house. Going back in time and hearing a story re-created is something I always love to read about.
The two stories - present and past - connected, came full circle, and brilliantly meshed together as mirrored stories.
Any reader who enjoys castles, secrets, looking for clues in old documents, and re-tracing the steps of characters that lived long ago will want to read WOMEN OF THE DUNES.
WOMEN OF THE DUNES is going to be a favorite. 5/5
This book was given to be as an ARC by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
The story centers around Libby Snow, a young archaeologist who becomes involved in an excavation on a Scottish island that also has a connection to her own family history.
The story is told in the form of three different time periods, slowly weaving the ancient legend together and revealing the truth about the past.
I looked forward to reading this each day and it is definitely one of my favorite reads this year. It had everything to offer that I love about historical fiction. Mystery and history lovers will enjoy this as well.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give an honest review.
Sarah Maine has constructed an engaging story about an ancestral home and the uncovering of family secrets. Told in two timelines a hundred years apart, the book pieces together the story of an island, a family, and a literal skeleton in the closet (or, to be more precise, under the floorboards).
With a well-developed cast of characters, the book not only examines the family mystery at hand but also delves into issues of love, loyalty, and class divides.
And, of course, the setting is gorgeous. Maine does a beautiful job with evocative descriptions of the house and also the greater setting of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. It's atmospheric, rugged, moody, and the perfect complement to the plot.
If you're looking for a well-written, carefully-crafted puzzle of a book, then I highly recommend The House Between Tides!
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The book is well written and the plots (dual time lines) were well constructed. The story just didn’t do it for me. My cockles weren’t warmed and my attention wasn’t hooked. The present day POV kept me reading far longer than I should have, while the past POV had me bored and the trope had me rolling my eyes.
Just really not my jam.
I would, however, totally live somewhere that’s only accessible during low tides.