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maryannmc's review against another edition
5.0
This was a period I hadn't read about before. I really liked the main character. A very unique and different book.
estherfilbrun's review against another edition
4.0
Between Two Shores came as something of a surprise in my reading diet this last month. I saw a review from a reader I respect, and I know our reading tastes are similar in a lot of ways. And after seeing that, I thought I should try to find my own copy to read—and, hello! NetGalley had it available!
What a story! I’m not sure I’ve ever read something quite like this. I’ve read about Indian captives before—Alone Yet Not Alone by Tracy Leininger Craven was quite a favorite growing up—and I’ve also read a book or two about the French who settled in Canada. But I’ve never read one that combined both elements and told the story of the French and Indian war in quite the same detail as it was shown here. The war wasn’t all there was to the book, but it was the framework that held up the story, and I enjoyed learning a bit more about it.
I loved the main character, Catherine, and sympathized with the struggles she had facing her. Learning to heal from and forgive the past is a hard thing, no matter what situation you find yourself in, and she had it especially hard because of the circumstances. Then there’s the trouble with siblings that she had to work through, and her father’s drinking problem…all while trying to survive and keep the family’s business going somehow.
I’m not sure what my favorite part of this story was. I always love the new little piece of history that books like this give me—though it may have been about a very narrow section of American/Canadian history, it still really did happen, and books like this give faces to fact. I love that. I also love the moral content of this story. Sometimes I wondered what the characters would do, and while I didn’t totally agree with all their decisions, I appreciated what happened overall. There was also some wonderful story-building here, and a depth to characters that you just don’t find every day. I felt like I really got to know some of them, and felt like I got to walk alongside them the entire way, and I loved that. A great historical fiction. Recommended.
Favorite quote: “ ‘What is courage,’ he said, ‘but moving forward in the face of fear? If there was nothing to be afraid of, we would have no need to be brave.’ ” —Samuel
I requested a free review copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion of it.
What a story! I’m not sure I’ve ever read something quite like this. I’ve read about Indian captives before—Alone Yet Not Alone by Tracy Leininger Craven was quite a favorite growing up—and I’ve also read a book or two about the French who settled in Canada. But I’ve never read one that combined both elements and told the story of the French and Indian war in quite the same detail as it was shown here. The war wasn’t all there was to the book, but it was the framework that held up the story, and I enjoyed learning a bit more about it.
I loved the main character, Catherine, and sympathized with the struggles she had facing her. Learning to heal from and forgive the past is a hard thing, no matter what situation you find yourself in, and she had it especially hard because of the circumstances. Then there’s the trouble with siblings that she had to work through, and her father’s drinking problem…all while trying to survive and keep the family’s business going somehow.
I’m not sure what my favorite part of this story was. I always love the new little piece of history that books like this give me—though it may have been about a very narrow section of American/Canadian history, it still really did happen, and books like this give faces to fact. I love that. I also love the moral content of this story. Sometimes I wondered what the characters would do, and while I didn’t totally agree with all their decisions, I appreciated what happened overall. There was also some wonderful story-building here, and a depth to characters that you just don’t find every day. I felt like I really got to know some of them, and felt like I got to walk alongside them the entire way, and I loved that. A great historical fiction. Recommended.
Favorite quote: “ ‘What is courage,’ he said, ‘but moving forward in the face of fear? If there was nothing to be afraid of, we would have no need to be brave.’ ” —Samuel
I requested a free review copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion of it.
srmcdaniel14's review against another edition
5.0
To be completely honest, when I discovered Between Two Shores was listed as Historical fiction and not solely labeled a love story, my romance-addict brain entertained some doubts. But then, I considered the author. I trusted Jocelyn Green’s storytelling panache. I knew she would take me on an incredible journey that would be as memorable as it is engaging. And at the risk of sounding smug, I have to say I was totally right! This story is achingly beautiful.
I’ve never really struggled writing reviews for stories, but this one, oh this one made me pause. I can easily rattle off the standard—It’s fabulous! Glad I read it!—but Between Two Shores isn’t your standard story. No, there’s something about it. The prose is lyrical, the descriptions are vivid, the characters burrow into your heart and remain with you. It’s like the moment you reach The End, you realize you’re not the same as when you had started reading—your soul’s refreshed. Yes, it’s fiction, but the strokes of grace are indelibly brushed on your heart.
Catherine is a character not to be forgotten. Her journey is an emotional experience, much more than just words on a page. It’s felt. The reader feels her self-sacrifice, bears the depths of her wounds, but also lives that pivotal moment where unconditional love—one that’s greater than any hurt —becomes the pillar of her existence. Oh this story!!!
Samuel is the epitome of loyalty. One who always endeavors to protect, to accomplish what is right even to his own momentary pain. He has some beautiful lines of wisdom, such as:
“God is not hemmed in by church or chapel. He does not belong to priests alone. He is no respecter of the lines drawn between nations, armies, or empires, but lives within you, wherever you are. You cannot get away from Him. He is here because He dwells in you. Do not be afraid.”
These characters, friends!!! Each carry their own story. Their own scars and victories. I’ve learned so much from each of them.
I’m grateful for authors who take risks with their storytelling because it’s between those pages where we, as readers, grow. Develop right alongside the characters. Thank you, Jocelyn Green, for penning another novel that nestled its way into my heart.
*I received a copy from the author. All opinions are my own.
I’ve never really struggled writing reviews for stories, but this one, oh this one made me pause. I can easily rattle off the standard—It’s fabulous! Glad I read it!—but Between Two Shores isn’t your standard story. No, there’s something about it. The prose is lyrical, the descriptions are vivid, the characters burrow into your heart and remain with you. It’s like the moment you reach The End, you realize you’re not the same as when you had started reading—your soul’s refreshed. Yes, it’s fiction, but the strokes of grace are indelibly brushed on your heart.
Catherine is a character not to be forgotten. Her journey is an emotional experience, much more than just words on a page. It’s felt. The reader feels her self-sacrifice, bears the depths of her wounds, but also lives that pivotal moment where unconditional love—one that’s greater than any hurt —becomes the pillar of her existence. Oh this story!!!
Samuel is the epitome of loyalty. One who always endeavors to protect, to accomplish what is right even to his own momentary pain. He has some beautiful lines of wisdom, such as:
“God is not hemmed in by church or chapel. He does not belong to priests alone. He is no respecter of the lines drawn between nations, armies, or empires, but lives within you, wherever you are. You cannot get away from Him. He is here because He dwells in you. Do not be afraid.”
These characters, friends!!! Each carry their own story. Their own scars and victories. I’ve learned so much from each of them.
I’m grateful for authors who take risks with their storytelling because it’s between those pages where we, as readers, grow. Develop right alongside the characters. Thank you, Jocelyn Green, for penning another novel that nestled its way into my heart.
*I received a copy from the author. All opinions are my own.
english_lady03's review against another edition
4.0
I finally read this, after like two years. Between Two Shores was a really good book, and I think the standout aspect was that it turned out not to be a romance at all, at least not in the traditional sense or with the traditional conclusion.
Kind of like Great Expectations, it showed that you can love someone, without necessarily being together or acting on those feelings.
I have read two other books by this author, and I think BTS was the most complex in terms of storyline, characters, and the historical backdrop, but also the one I enjoyed the most. Katherine's character arc was incredible. Even Samuel's was, but to a lesser extent, and its really good how the conclusion was presented without vilifying him for his choices.
The only thing I found a little confusing was how the timeline kept jumping back and forth. Other that that though, it was a wonderful evocation of the lives of a family caught between two worlds and cultures, and later of a community torn apart by a conflict which was not of thier own making.
Thanks to Bethany House for approving my request for this title on Netgalley. I purchased the ebook of my own volition as well.
Kind of like Great Expectations, it showed that you can love someone, without necessarily being together or acting on those feelings.
I have read two other books by this author, and I think BTS was the most complex in terms of storyline, characters, and the historical backdrop, but also the one I enjoyed the most. Katherine's character arc was incredible. Even Samuel's was, but to a lesser extent, and its really good how the conclusion was presented without vilifying him for his choices.
The only thing I found a little confusing was how the timeline kept jumping back and forth. Other that that though, it was a wonderful evocation of the lives of a family caught between two worlds and cultures, and later of a community torn apart by a conflict which was not of thier own making.
Thanks to Bethany House for approving my request for this title on Netgalley. I purchased the ebook of my own volition as well.
anniejaneb's review against another edition
2.0
Only ok.
Too long of a book, especially when I realized it wouldn’t end how I wanted it to end. Too much historical war details for my liking.
I stayed up way too late to read this and felt like I wasted my sleeping time.
Too long of a book, especially when I realized it wouldn’t end how I wanted it to end. Too much historical war details for my liking.
I stayed up way too late to read this and felt like I wasted my sleeping time.
rosannelortz's review against another edition
5.0
Half-Mohawk and half-French, Catherine Duval must choose between the two worlds that formed her. When her mother dies, she decides to leave the Indian camp to keep house for her French father, Gabriel Duval, and manage his trading post. As much as he relies on her, however, she always proves a disappointment to him, and his unhealthy dependence on alcohol frequently leads him to treat her with harshness and violence. This departure from the Mohawk camp is seen as a betrayal by Catherine’s sister, Bright Star, and it is only after years of bitterness, heartache, tragedy, and hope that the sisters bridge the gap between them.
Told in two parallel story lines, ten years apart, the book commences with the return of Samuel Crane, an imprisoned British soldier, to the small Canadian town on the St. Lawrence River. Samuel had been indentured to Gabriel Duval ten years earlier, developing a relationship with Catherine that is now sundered. Resentful of his absence, Catherine finds herself troubled by his return–can it be that he still holds a piece of her heart, even after all these years?
As Catherine struggles to understand her feelings, the war between England and France takes a heavy toll on the Canadian colonies. Famine threatens both Montreal and Quebec, and Catherine helps harvest grain to send to the French soldiers. As her people suffer, she must answer the difficult question: is she willing to aid the enemy just so that the war will end?
The French and Indian War is typically examined from the side of the English, but here, we see the effects of the conflict on both the Canadian colonists and the native tribles. The setting of this story comes to life with ferocious grandeur and startling intensity. The plot itself unfolded beautifully like a flower, with layer after layer of disclosures piquing my interest throughout. At first, the book seems to be a tale of star-crossed lovers (the scene where Samuel takes the beating that Gabriel Duval means for Catherine is romance at its finest), but the story veers like a river channel to the deeper waters of the loyalty that binds family together.
Catherine is a strong, courageous, and capable young woman, trading with the rough men of Canadian territory and braving the rapids of the river in her own canoe, shifting between the many-layered gowns of eighteenth-century French women and the simple deerskin dress of a Mohawk huntress. The secondary characters in this story also stand out. Catherine’s half-brother, Joseph Many Feathers, is a devoted ally to those he calls family, providing meat for their hungry bellies and protection from every threat. Gabriel Duval alternates between apologetic episodes and alocholic rages, never quite accepting Catherine because of her half-breed status but regretful of his behavior when his mind clears. Bright Star, Catherine’s enigmatic sister, bears sorrows too many to count–her true feelings toward Catherine remain elusive even as she grudgingly agrees to assist Catherine in her time of need.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of early Canada. One of my favorite books as a child was Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare, and this book explored the same setting in 1700s Montreal and the same harsh realities of massacre/capture at the hands of the Native Americans. The character arcs were excellent, the surprise twist in the book was wholly a surprise to me, and the dual timeline plot was fresh and well-structured. The only thing that detracted from my enjoyment was the long span of time spent dwelling on the siege of Quebec, but other than that, highly recommended!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Told in two parallel story lines, ten years apart, the book commences with the return of Samuel Crane, an imprisoned British soldier, to the small Canadian town on the St. Lawrence River. Samuel had been indentured to Gabriel Duval ten years earlier, developing a relationship with Catherine that is now sundered. Resentful of his absence, Catherine finds herself troubled by his return–can it be that he still holds a piece of her heart, even after all these years?
As Catherine struggles to understand her feelings, the war between England and France takes a heavy toll on the Canadian colonies. Famine threatens both Montreal and Quebec, and Catherine helps harvest grain to send to the French soldiers. As her people suffer, she must answer the difficult question: is she willing to aid the enemy just so that the war will end?
The French and Indian War is typically examined from the side of the English, but here, we see the effects of the conflict on both the Canadian colonists and the native tribles. The setting of this story comes to life with ferocious grandeur and startling intensity. The plot itself unfolded beautifully like a flower, with layer after layer of disclosures piquing my interest throughout. At first, the book seems to be a tale of star-crossed lovers (the scene where Samuel takes the beating that Gabriel Duval means for Catherine is romance at its finest), but the story veers like a river channel to the deeper waters of the loyalty that binds family together.
Catherine is a strong, courageous, and capable young woman, trading with the rough men of Canadian territory and braving the rapids of the river in her own canoe, shifting between the many-layered gowns of eighteenth-century French women and the simple deerskin dress of a Mohawk huntress. The secondary characters in this story also stand out. Catherine’s half-brother, Joseph Many Feathers, is a devoted ally to those he calls family, providing meat for their hungry bellies and protection from every threat. Gabriel Duval alternates between apologetic episodes and alocholic rages, never quite accepting Catherine because of her half-breed status but regretful of his behavior when his mind clears. Bright Star, Catherine’s enigmatic sister, bears sorrows too many to count–her true feelings toward Catherine remain elusive even as she grudgingly agrees to assist Catherine in her time of need.
I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of early Canada. One of my favorite books as a child was Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare, and this book explored the same setting in 1700s Montreal and the same harsh realities of massacre/capture at the hands of the Native Americans. The character arcs were excellent, the surprise twist in the book was wholly a surprise to me, and the dual timeline plot was fresh and well-structured. The only thing that detracted from my enjoyment was the long span of time spent dwelling on the siege of Quebec, but other than that, highly recommended!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
ahyggelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
A riviting story about a girl learning to embrace her identity in a time when cultures and politics clashed and determined the future of Canada. While it does not have what I would call a HEA, I would recommend it to Canadians due to the impressive way Green illustrates the French-Indian wars.
mariahvangogh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would love to say this is awful book but it’s really not. It’s very good.
I was just ticked off because I thought this was gonna be a romance and literally nobody end up together. It’s a sad ending that I was not expecting.
I was just ticked off because I thought this was gonna be a romance and literally nobody end up together. It’s a sad ending that I was not expecting.
betherin02's review against another edition
5.0
Full review on FaithfullyBookish.com
Between Two Shores is an all-consuming literary adventure set in the picturesque region surrounding Montreal amidst the turmoil of the Seven Years’ War. Jocelyn Green has gifted readers with a story which opens the mind and wrings the heart. The beauty, faults, and suffering of each represented culture are depicted with honesty, reverence, and grace.
Thanks to the author’s skill and the special gift of historical fiction, I have a better understanding of (and dare I say an emotional connection to) this time period and the people who lived in it. I highly recommend this story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Between Two Shores is an all-consuming literary adventure set in the picturesque region surrounding Montreal amidst the turmoil of the Seven Years’ War. Jocelyn Green has gifted readers with a story which opens the mind and wrings the heart. The beauty, faults, and suffering of each represented culture are depicted with honesty, reverence, and grace.
Thanks to the author’s skill and the special gift of historical fiction, I have a better understanding of (and dare I say an emotional connection to) this time period and the people who lived in it. I highly recommend this story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review. The opinions expressed are my own.