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A review by stephdaydreams
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
4.0
This was a gorgeous read.
I’m very grateful to a friend for having recommended this one. How right she was about this one!
Towards the last half of the book my vision was blurry from the tears and emotions the story elicited from me. And I think having listened to the audiobook (in which the narrator did a superb job) catapulted those emotions even higher.
It was beautiful.
At first I admit I struggled a bit in engaging myself with the book, particularly with Sophia’s story. At times it felt like informational overload as we learned all the various historical facts. It dulled my intrigue rather than heightened it, thus not allowing me to immediately connect, but somewhere along the way things just clicked and I got right into it. I even googled some historical facts mentioned during reading breaks.
I enjoyed both Carrie and Sophia’s stories, but I think by the end, it was Sophia whose character gripped me most. She, the character who I initially had a difficult time connecting to, became the one I connected to most. I cheered for her, cried for her, feared for her, and loved her. All I wanted was to see her find her happiness, no matter how it looked in the end.
There were only two minor hiccups for me, first was the trouble I had in connecting due to they information overload and secondly (spoiler for ending):
Nevertheless, this book is a major keeper, and one I recommend to all.
I’m very grateful to a friend for having recommended this one. How right she was about this one!
Towards the last half of the book my vision was blurry from the tears and emotions the story elicited from me. And I think having listened to the audiobook (in which the narrator did a superb job) catapulted those emotions even higher.
It was beautiful.
At first I admit I struggled a bit in engaging myself with the book, particularly with Sophia’s story. At times it felt like informational overload as we learned all the various historical facts. It dulled my intrigue rather than heightened it, thus not allowing me to immediately connect, but somewhere along the way things just clicked and I got right into it. I even googled some historical facts mentioned during reading breaks.
I enjoyed both Carrie and Sophia’s stories, but I think by the end, it was Sophia whose character gripped me most. She, the character who I initially had a difficult time connecting to, became the one I connected to most. I cheered for her, cried for her, feared for her, and loved her. All I wanted was to see her find her happiness, no matter how it looked in the end.
There were only two minor hiccups for me, first was the trouble I had in connecting due to they information overload and secondly (spoiler for ending):
Spoiler
I failed to understand why Sophia and Moray did not retrieve Anna. I understand there is a second book that follows Anna, but I likely will never read it, and only want to review the story within this book. It simply did not make sense to abandon her once they were out of immediate danger. I do wish that had gone differently.Nevertheless, this book is a major keeper, and one I recommend to all.