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227th out of 1,090 books
—
797 voters
Sea Change
by
Karen White
For Ava Whalen, a new marriage and a move to St. Simons Island means a new beginning. But what she doesn’t realize is that her marriage will take her on an unexpected journey into the deep recesses of her past that will transform her forever…For as long as she can remember, Ava Whalen has struggled with a sense of not belonging, and now, at thirty-four, she still feels sty...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
June 5th 2012
by NAL Trade
(first published January 1st 2012)
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Karen White's Sea Change is a welcome and pleasant departure from the books that I have read in the past few months. I equate it to eating fast food for a week and then getting a home-cooked meal. The fast food is sustaining and tastes good at the time, but it doesn't compare to your grandmother's Sunday dinner. The same can go for books (OK, maybe I'm stretching it a bit with my analogy here but I think you get my point.) I have enjoyed the recent books that I have read (I am not referring to a...more
I didn't think this was one of Karen Whites best books. I completed this book to see how it would end I would not recommend this
This was a perfect summer read. I couldn't put it down. A little bit Rebecca, a little bit Phyllis Whitney, and don't forget Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt. I'll have to read more by Karen White.
This book is written in first person from two different time periods ... today and and the early 1800s. There are headers at the beginning of each chapter so you know what the time period is and whose voice it is. In the today's period, it alternates between Ava and her mother, Gloria's voices. In the early 1800s, it is Pamela's voice.
Ava is a midwife who meets and marries Matthew very quickly and moves with him to his family's home (it's been in the family for generations). As she settles in,...more
Ava is a midwife who meets and marries Matthew very quickly and moves with him to his family's home (it's been in the family for generations). As she settles in,...more
Originally posted at PaperbackDolls.com.
When the author asked Paperback Dolls if we would review SEA Change by Karen White I immediately jumped on the opportunity based on the synopsis I couldn’t wait to read it and wow am I glad I did. It was by far one of the best books I have read in a while.
SEA CHANGE is a story of what it means to be a family. It’s a heartwarming story of how our families past affects our future and how misunderstood events in the past flavor the way we view ourselves today...more
When the author asked Paperback Dolls if we would review SEA Change by Karen White I immediately jumped on the opportunity based on the synopsis I couldn’t wait to read it and wow am I glad I did. It was by far one of the best books I have read in a while.
SEA CHANGE is a story of what it means to be a family. It’s a heartwarming story of how our families past affects our future and how misunderstood events in the past flavor the way we view ourselves today...more
Some believe that the soul doesn’t die with the body, that it’s often given second chances to right wrongs and fulfill destinies and for Ava Whalen that destiny was Matthew Frazier. From the moment she met him she felt a belonging that had eluded her, her entire life and their courtship as fast as it was felt like coming home, so much so that even to the dismay of her mother she travels from her home in Antioch to Matthew’s centuries old family home on St. Simons Island Georgia. Yet the fulfillm...more
Ava Whalen marries Matthew Frazier. This does not make Ava's mother happy. Especially as Ava and Matthew will be starting their new life on St. Simon's Island. For someone who has a fear of the ocean, Ava is either brave or really in love.
Ava can not explain it but she feels a connection to St. Simon's Island. It is here that she learns about who Matthew really is. Rumor has it that Matthew killed his wife. Could Ava be living with a murderer?
I am a fan of Mrs. White. Her latest book, Sea Chang...more
Ava can not explain it but she feels a connection to St. Simon's Island. It is here that she learns about who Matthew really is. Rumor has it that Matthew killed his wife. Could Ava be living with a murderer?
I am a fan of Mrs. White. Her latest book, Sea Chang...more
Ava Whalen has been looking for something for a very long time. What she wants and needs is far beyond her understanding. After a very quick meeting and romance, she marries Matthew Frazier. Off they go to a happy life forevermore in St. Simon's Island in Georgia, U.S.A., right? Wrong! There's a haunting, palpable tension present from the moment Ava sets foot in Matthew's home. Soon she discovers that Matthew was married before and that his wife died in a car accident that not everyone thinks wa...more
Ava is a midwife who meets and instantly falls in love with Matthew at a medical conference. After a brief courtship, they marry and she moves to his family home on St Simmons Island. Despite being deathly afraid of water she is determined to make a life with her new husband. She soon discovers that her husband has been keeping a secret from her. A first wife, also a midwife, who died under mysterious circumstances. As she tries to settle into her new life she begins to wonder whether her ties t...more
Ava never felt like she belonged to her family - youngest sister of four brothers, who could be identified as funeral directors, just like her father. She had always deeply yearned for a sister. When Ava suddenly announced she was marrying Matthew and leaving landlocked Antioch, GA for the seashores of St. Simons Island, her mother Gloria took to her bed. Oddly enough as she left, her grandma Mimi, who had lived with Mimi forever, reminded her that some endings are really beginnings. As they dra...more
To the Point: Beautifully descriptive language that helps you feel the story. White does a nice job of describing the present and the past and takes you on an interesting journey that vines in and out of several family relationships. It holds you in until the end.
In More Detail: (Spoilers) Overall I enjoyed reading this novel. I like that there were several mysteries to solve and that there were clues given along the way but most of the answers didn’t come until the end. I believe that White did...more
In More Detail: (Spoilers) Overall I enjoyed reading this novel. I like that there were several mysteries to solve and that there were clues given along the way but most of the answers didn’t come until the end. I believe that White did...more
Ooh, another Karen White novel! *Rubs hands together with glee* I was excited to tear into this one, and it was classic White style, just what I was hoping for. The story follows Ava Whalen, newly married to Matthew Frazier. They eloped quickly after meeting, and Ava knew with all her heart that he was the only one for her. They decide to live on St. Simons Island, where Matthew’s family has lived for generations. Upon arrival, Ava’s happiness begins to fade. The past starts creeping amongst the...more
I love Karen White's books! I always have to stop several times and look up info about where the book is set. Her writing is very descriptive and makes me want to visit the places she's written about.
This book is told from three POV's. Ava is the woman the book is centered around. She meets and marries a man quickly, then moves with him to St. Simons island off the coast of Georgia. She has nagging fears about the water and unresolved issues with her family that she tries to accept. Once she get...more
This book is told from three POV's. Ava is the woman the book is centered around. She meets and marries a man quickly, then moves with him to St. Simons island off the coast of Georgia. She has nagging fears about the water and unresolved issues with her family that she tries to accept. Once she get...more
This book was truly a treat. A beautiful and descriptively written tale of families, love, secrets and lies. Her descriptions transport you in both place and time. I feel as if I've been to St. Simon's Island, both past and present. The story moves seamlessly from the 1800's to present day 2011, telling the story of Pamela and Geoffrey in the past, and Ava and Matthew in the present. I loved that the story was told from different POV's. The unfolding of their stories and how they were all connec...more
I have found a new favorite author – Karen White. Sea Change is a suspense novel that reminds me of works of some of my favorite authors including Daphne Du Maurier and Mary Stewart.
The novel starts with Ava Whalen, a mid-wife. In her mid-thirties and the youngest child and only girl, Ava has lived most of her life sheltered in her small town. She unexpectedly elopes with a child psychologist, Matthew Frazier, and moves with him to his ancestral home on St. Simons Island (off the coast of Georgi...more
The novel starts with Ava Whalen, a mid-wife. In her mid-thirties and the youngest child and only girl, Ava has lived most of her life sheltered in her small town. She unexpectedly elopes with a child psychologist, Matthew Frazier, and moves with him to his ancestral home on St. Simons Island (off the coast of Georgi...more
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Who am I? Where do I belong? Like an echo from the sea or a whisper in the walls of an ancient house, these questions form in the mind of Ava Whalen, a young woman questing for love and connections.
When Ava meets Matthew Frazier, a Savannah child psychologist, she immediately feels connected to him. Their marriage a short time later seems hasty and impulsive to those around them, but who can explain the bond they share?
After the marriage, the two move into an ancient house where Matthew grew up,...more
When Ava meets Matthew Frazier, a Savannah child psychologist, she immediately feels connected to him. Their marriage a short time later seems hasty and impulsive to those around them, but who can explain the bond they share?
After the marriage, the two move into an ancient house where Matthew grew up,...more
Add this book to your summer reading list. Seriously. Do it! Sea Change by Karen White is a mixture of mystery, romance, and history. Ava Whalen has been afraid of water since she was a baby. Nobody knows or understands why. Ava's mom, Gloria, loves her but has always been standoffish towards Ava. Pamela lived 200 years before in the same St. Simons Island house as Ava and her new husband, Matthew Frazier. The story is told from all three women's point of view.
Ava and Matthew married after a whi...more
Ava and Matthew married after a whi...more
Although I'm usually not big on books that pull heavily on romance for the story line, I have been a Karen White fan since I first began reading the Tradd Street series. I also loved The Color of Light. Some of her books are a little romance-heavy for me but she weaves a good story. This one I liked in that it relied less on romance and more on the story itself. I like the setting White chose for the story and her descriptions of St. Simon's island are wonderful. She creates a great sense of pla...more
Nice try! The title of this book is accurate and reflects the action in the story. Plus, Karen White is a seasoned author who has written at least twelve novels. This tepid account which takes place on an island off the coast of Georgia appears to be her most current work. And, although I wanted to see what the resolution was to the choppy misleading plot, I really did not enjoy reading the book. There were some finely wrought phrases and some sympathetic characters, but overall I felt like the...more
When I'm looking for an easy and enjoyable read that isn't as fluffy as your typical chick lit, Karen White is always my first choice. Though this book might not be deep or especially thought provoking, it is incredibly entertaining. With well written characters who are enjoyable to read, White builds a novel based on romance, the past and mystery. Though the book isn't frightening, I often felt a chill while reading it. I especially loved the haunted feeling that came with reading the historica...more
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Ava Whalen has arrived on beautiful St. Simons Island after meeting and marrying her husband Matthew in just a couple of months. While settling into her husband's ancestral home, she begins to have strange and seemingly impossible memories of the life of a midwife, Pamela, living in that same home generations ago. Ava's life is rapidly turned upside down when she learns that Matthew has suspiciously forgotten to tell her about the mysterious death of his young first wife Adrienne, while also cop...more
I found this novel somewhat formulaic. Perhaps the suspense factor kept me reading. I wish the novel ahd either stayed in the present or past. I did find the historical flashback story interesting, but the novel tried too hard to keep the spooky reincarnation undercurrent running, along with Gothic elements of a woman marrying a man whose first wife died mysteriously. There were too many coincidences for me, with both wives being midwifes, etc. I cared about Ava, especially after she learned she...more
May 23, 2012
Wanda
is currently reading it
I just won this!!! Can't wait to get it!!
When I see the name Karen White, I immediately get all excited to get my hands on her newest creation. Karen has a way of writing about the south that rings true to me and also makes me want to pack my bags and experience it for myself. This story was put together meticulously and with special attention to the little details. I thought the three POV's were written seamlessly and I liked each woman and their story equally. What I really enjoyed was this little hum of malice that was written behin...more
Looks like I'm in the minority here in my feelings about this novel, which I found maudlin and trite in tone and scattered in its focus. The dialogue was stilted...hate when an author gives characters lines that aren't normally spoken because the sentences are either too long or poorly constructed. I like reality. Another thing I didn't like were the overabundance of stupid similes. And if I had to read about the 'odd look in someone's eyes' one more time I was about ready to toss the book acros...more
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So this is the book I should have read over Spring Break when we were staying outside Savannah on Tybee Island in Georgia! I loved this book--best I can describe it is a Southern Gothic mystery. I always enjoy reading historical fiction that alternates chapters between past and present (St. Simon's Island, 2011 and 1804-1815) and usually I enjoy the chapters set in the past much more. But in Sea Change, both stories were equally compelling and expertly plotted. Both involve members of the same f...more
Steeped in mysteries and secrets dating back to the 1800's, "Sea Change" held me spellbound. The layered plot, complicated characters, and the suspense created between the past and present further awakened my curiosity about Georgia's involvement with British soldiers in the waning days of the War of 1812. Karen White is a gifted story teller whose interest in events that may not be easily understood by science adds another dimension to her writing. The nuances of the plot reflect White's intell...more
When I packed this book for a recent vacation I was soooo looking forward to reading it. Past lives, current love story -- what's not to like? I really wanted to sink my teeth into a meaty women's fiction book but instead of steak I got soggy pizza. The voice of the main character Ava was whiny to me, I just couldn't connect with her. And the plot seemed plodding more than anything else. Even in a story with paranormal elements you need a character's motivations to make some sense and connect wi...more
I like this one better than The House on Tradd Street. However, it is still not great. I would charge this one with a lack of subtlety and a repetiveness of certain details which leads the reader to feel she is being beaten over the head with a "this is important...I'm giving you a hint...IMPORTANT!" hammer. Also, how many time is she White going to use the "seeminly devoted wife and mother abandons husband and son for another man" thread? Bit of a lack of inventiveness, no?
Need mind candy wit...more
Need mind candy wit...more
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“Storms bring the detritus of other people's lives into our own, a reminder that we are not alone, and of how truly insignificant we are. The indiscriminating waves had brutalized the shore, tossing pieces of splintered timber, an intact china teacup, and a gentleman's watch—still with its cover and chain—onto my beloved beach, each coming to rest as if placed gently in the sand as a shopkeeper would display his wares. As I rubbed my thumb over the smooth lip of the china cup, I thought of how someone's loss had become my gain, of how the tide would roll in and out again as if nothing had changed, and how sometimes the separation between endings and beginnings is so small that they seem to run together like the ocean's waves.”
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2 people liked it
“Some are called to be gardeners of souls, and she'd tended hers with the blind dedication that accepted the floods and famine along with the sunshine.”
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1 person liked it
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I too appreciate a book that transports you back in ti...more
Oct 31, 2012 03:39pm
I too appreciate a book that transports...more
Nov 02, 2012 06:41pm