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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Yet another disappointment from one of the recent lists in the Times. The setting and story could have been compelling, but it was a missed opportunity with stilted writing and a complete lack of plot for 2/3 of the book. At times, I liked I the setting and one or two of the characters, but that’s about it.
The end got boring at the time so I had switched to another book, now my kindle subscription has expired
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Right off the bat, I can say that this is a unique and beautifully written historical fiction. The chapters are short, it has multiple POVs, and the prose is poetic in nature. I was immediately sucked in with these aspects that I do not normally see in HF novels. It also was not the typical WW2 setting that I am drawn to.
Bea is sent to live in America with a new family to avoid the perils of war. She becomes close to her temporary family, especially one of the brothers. Suddenly, she needs to return back to London and she needs to navigate all the emotions and trials this brings up. As we follow along her journey, we see the point of view of all those involved and feel like we become family with these people. We see their flaws and struggles on full display, which reminded me so much about the real relationships we have in real life.
Rather than focusing on the war, this book focuses more on the drama and lives of ordinary people changed by the arrival and departure of a young girl. We see themes of destiny, love, heartache, pain, and loss. I did not appreciate the repeated adultery, but I found this book to be totally engrossing. I was longing to find out what happened to each character in the book. I shed tears throughout, desperate alongside Bea, Nancy, and William. What a strange yet fascinating read! One reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I liked Part 1 vastly more than the others. I found that the change in writing style in Part 2 caught me off guard and the introduction of Rose in Part 3 was not very interesting. Thank you to Celadon for my advanced copy for review.
Content Warnings: Adultery, language, war time themes, sexual content (mostly fade to black, vulgar language)
Bea is sent to live in America with a new family to avoid the perils of war. She becomes close to her temporary family, especially one of the brothers. Suddenly, she needs to return back to London and she needs to navigate all the emotions and trials this brings up. As we follow along her journey, we see the point of view of all those involved and feel like we become family with these people. We see their flaws and struggles on full display, which reminded me so much about the real relationships we have in real life.
Rather than focusing on the war, this book focuses more on the drama and lives of ordinary people changed by the arrival and departure of a young girl. We see themes of destiny, love, heartache, pain, and loss. I did not appreciate the repeated adultery, but I found this book to be totally engrossing. I was longing to find out what happened to each character in the book. I shed tears throughout, desperate alongside Bea, Nancy, and William. What a strange yet fascinating read! One reason I did not give it 5 stars was because I liked Part 1 vastly more than the others. I found that the change in writing style in Part 2 caught me off guard and the introduction of Rose in Part 3 was not very interesting. Thank you to Celadon for my advanced copy for review.
Content Warnings: Adultery, language, war time themes, sexual content (mostly fade to black, vulgar language)
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I started this book and was immediately drawn in and excited and thought I would finish this book in a few days, but it turns out that was the peak of the book, and it just slowly dragged on and on. I almost gave up multiple times but decided to persevere though based on my initial impressions and the high ratings, but it never really paid off.
4.5 Stars, Rounded Up.
Beyond That, The Sea is a debut novel by Laura Spence-Ash. While this is historical fiction and WWII adjacent, it doesn’t feature any brutal details of war or throw facts at you like a Wikipedia page. Rather Beyond That, The Sea was character driven and I was swept up in a story of two families, forever connected.
The book tells of 11-year-old Beatrix Thompson who has been sent to America to escape the threat of war and bombs in London. Bea is taken in by the Gregory family and the first part of the novel tells the story of her five years in America spent at the family’s home in Boston and their picturesque summer home in Maine. Bea is sandwiched between Nancy and Ethan Gregory’s two children, William and Gerald. Parts two and three take place when Bea returns to the UK and follows the three children, and their families, as they grow into adulthood.
A few things I loved about this novel:
- Short Chapters: the chapters are often only a few pages, sometimes only a few paragraphs, and this kept me going, especially when the book felt slow at the start.
- The different perspectives: throughout the novel, you get the perspective of all three Thompsons and all adult members of the Gregory family.
- The time jumps: I loved how, especially in parts two and three, the novel seemed to move quicker - very much how time as an adult does - compared to the slower pace of the characters’ childhood.
- The found-family dynamic. I was enthralled with Bea’s relationship with the Gregory’s and my heart ached when they were parted.
- The beautiful descriptions of New England. I felt like I could smell Mrs. G’s Maine Wild Blueberry Muffins and fresh sea air as I read the story. I was swept up in the setting and it made me long for my own New England childhood.
A few things I didn’t love:
- Some problematic content is never explored or glossed over. Nancy and Rose both do some questionable things that are never explained, explored, and seem out of line with their character.
- While the relationships in parts one and two seem very well developed, I thought the ending of the book and the pivotal relationship in part three felt rushed. I wanted more and felt so invested in that story but then kind of let down by how quickly it wrapped up and jumped into the future with the epilogue.
- Most of the chapters have dialogue that is italicized and does not use quotation marks. While that’s not the end of the world, I found it difficult to follow who was saying what at certain points and found myself re-reading paragraphs repeatedly to figure out who said what when. I also listened to a few chapters on audio and would recommend the audio experience because this doesn’t come into play there!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, Celadon Audio and Laura Spence-Ash for an Advanced Reader Copy of Beyond That, The Sea.
Beyond That, The Sea is a debut novel by Laura Spence-Ash. While this is historical fiction and WWII adjacent, it doesn’t feature any brutal details of war or throw facts at you like a Wikipedia page. Rather Beyond That, The Sea was character driven and I was swept up in a story of two families, forever connected.
The book tells of 11-year-old Beatrix Thompson who has been sent to America to escape the threat of war and bombs in London. Bea is taken in by the Gregory family and the first part of the novel tells the story of her five years in America spent at the family’s home in Boston and their picturesque summer home in Maine. Bea is sandwiched between Nancy and Ethan Gregory’s two children, William and Gerald. Parts two and three take place when Bea returns to the UK and follows the three children, and their families, as they grow into adulthood.
A few things I loved about this novel:
- Short Chapters: the chapters are often only a few pages, sometimes only a few paragraphs, and this kept me going, especially when the book felt slow at the start.
- The different perspectives: throughout the novel, you get the perspective of all three Thompsons and all adult members of the Gregory family.
- The time jumps: I loved how, especially in parts two and three, the novel seemed to move quicker - very much how time as an adult does - compared to the slower pace of the characters’ childhood.
- The found-family dynamic. I was enthralled with Bea’s relationship with the Gregory’s and my heart ached when they were parted.
- The beautiful descriptions of New England. I felt like I could smell Mrs. G’s Maine Wild Blueberry Muffins and fresh sea air as I read the story. I was swept up in the setting and it made me long for my own New England childhood.
A few things I didn’t love:
- Some problematic content is never explored or glossed over. Nancy and Rose both do some questionable things that are never explained, explored, and seem out of line with their character.
- While the relationships in parts one and two seem very well developed, I thought the ending of the book and the pivotal relationship in part three felt rushed. I wanted more and felt so invested in that story but then kind of let down by how quickly it wrapped up and jumped into the future with the epilogue.
- Most of the chapters have dialogue that is italicized and does not use quotation marks. While that’s not the end of the world, I found it difficult to follow who was saying what at certain points and found myself re-reading paragraphs repeatedly to figure out who said what when. I also listened to a few chapters on audio and would recommend the audio experience because this doesn’t come into play there!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books, Celadon Audio and Laura Spence-Ash for an Advanced Reader Copy of Beyond That, The Sea.