Scan barcode
A review by mdabernig
Secrets of the Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford
3.0
I remember when I was a kid, we were told about Selkies and they always seemed so magical and I think I've always had a soft spot for seals since then because of those stories. This book took those stories that I think many people in Scotland grew up hearing and gave them context and maybe a foundation and I loved that about it.
There's something about being given a potential trigger for a myth and seeing how that could become something so very different in the re-telling, but actually still so much the same that appeals to me and this book definitely provides that.
I could have given this a higher rating - I wanted to love the story as much as I loved the idea of the story, and there were aspects of it that I did love, but the modern part of the tale just didn't engage me that much and I found myself waiting for the flashbacks to the historic portion and to find out what happened to Moira and Alexander, two much more rounded and interesting characters for me.
There's something about being given a potential trigger for a myth and seeing how that could become something so very different in the re-telling, but actually still so much the same that appeals to me and this book definitely provides that.
I could have given this a higher rating - I wanted to love the story as much as I loved the idea of the story, and there were aspects of it that I did love, but the modern part of the tale just didn't engage me that much and I found myself waiting for the flashbacks to the historic portion and to find out what happened to Moira and Alexander, two much more rounded and interesting characters for me.