What do you think?
Discovery #2
Jewel of the Sea
A generation after Columbus made his great discovery, the tired Old World is striving ton conquer the new lands in the West, seeking gold and riches beyond their wildest dreams.
From Spain to England to the Caribbean, follow the fortunes of Armando, restless wanderer with an uncertain heritage: Gabriella, whose beauty hides the secret of her birth; Paloma, child of a Spanish grandee and an Indian wise--woman; and Will, master-musician who flees the Inquisition because of his Jewish blood.
Appalled by the cruelty of their countrymen, they seek to help the native peoples of the new lands, organizing the resistance to the Conquistadors in the land that will be called Florida.
From Spain to England to the Caribbean, follow the fortunes of Armando, restless wanderer with an uncertain heritage: Gabriella, whose beauty hides the secret of her birth; Paloma, child of a Spanish grandee and an Indian wise--woman; and Will, master-musician who flees the Inquisition because of his Jewish blood.
Appalled by the cruelty of their countrymen, they seek to help the native peoples of the new lands, organizing the resistance to the Conquistadors in the land that will be called Florida.
- GenresRomanceHistorical
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
About the author
Susan Wiggs
171 books7,703 followersSusan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.
The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 26, 2015
I'm feeling lazy today, so I'll let part of the blurb do the recapping and then I'll leave my thoughts on the reading experience.
From Spain to England to the Caribbean, follow the fortunes of Armando, restless wanderer with an uncertain heritage: Gabriella, whose beauty hides the secret of her birth; Paloma, child of a Spanish grandee and an Indian wise--woman; and Will, master-musician who flees the Inquisition because of his Jewish blood.
Appalled by the cruelty of their countrymen, they seek to help the native peoples of the new lands, organizing the resistance to the Conquistadors in the land that will be called Florida.
Jewel of the Sea is the second in a trilogy based on the Spanish explorations and exploitations of the new world. I don't know what prompted me to pick up the second book prior to reading the first, but I did, and it did stand up on its own fairly well; I had a few times where it felt like I was the last one to come to the party and missed the introductions, but I caught on quickly enough.
After reading the description quoted above, I had expectations of a story centered in Florida, and was quite surprised that so much time was spent by all the main characters in the England of Henry Tudor and his early years married to Katherine (Catherine in this book) of Aragon. I was even more surprised at how Henry and Catherine were portrayed in this book and I would warn historical purists this might be a bit off-putting. ---->>>slight spoiler .
That might be a bit off-putting to some readers, YMMV.
Finally, about two-thirds of the way through the book the *cough* action *cough* switches to the West Indies, where are hero Armando builds himself a large working sugar plantation and 'refinery' (a wee bit early for all that, isn't it?). There's also some involvement with the local tribes and their battles with the Spanish invaders and whatnot.
*yawn*
So, this started off well with a dashing hero and beautiful heroine and the first third was fairly well paced and interesting, the last of it was just boring-boring-boring and I admit to skimming quite a lot.
From Spain to England to the Caribbean, follow the fortunes of Armando, restless wanderer with an uncertain heritage: Gabriella, whose beauty hides the secret of her birth; Paloma, child of a Spanish grandee and an Indian wise--woman; and Will, master-musician who flees the Inquisition because of his Jewish blood.
Appalled by the cruelty of their countrymen, they seek to help the native peoples of the new lands, organizing the resistance to the Conquistadors in the land that will be called Florida.
Jewel of the Sea is the second in a trilogy based on the Spanish explorations and exploitations of the new world. I don't know what prompted me to pick up the second book prior to reading the first, but I did, and it did stand up on its own fairly well; I had a few times where it felt like I was the last one to come to the party and missed the introductions, but I caught on quickly enough.
After reading the description quoted above, I had expectations of a story centered in Florida, and was quite surprised that so much time was spent by all the main characters in the England of Henry Tudor and his early years married to Katherine (Catherine in this book) of Aragon. I was even more surprised at how Henry and Catherine were portrayed in this book and I would warn historical purists this might be a bit off-putting. ---->>>slight spoiler .
That might be a bit off-putting to some readers, YMMV.
Finally, about two-thirds of the way through the book the *cough* action *cough* switches to the West Indies, where are hero Armando builds himself a large working sugar plantation and 'refinery' (a wee bit early for all that, isn't it?). There's also some involvement with the local tribes and their battles with the Spanish invaders and whatnot.
*yawn*
So, this started off well with a dashing hero and beautiful heroine and the first third was fairly well paced and interesting, the last of it was just boring-boring-boring and I admit to skimming quite a lot.
August 4, 2015
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the others I've read. Good ending for the characters though
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews