Betrayed by the Ocean

by Christine Steendam

Brant Foxton won the girl, gained a legitimate life, and created a family for himself. But when his happily-ever-after comes crashing down he turns to the only thing he knows to try and find himself: the ocean.
Cutting ties with everyone he ever cared about, Brant begins a journey that he hopes will bring him back to the path he once walked, only to become more lost than ever.
Now he must learn to trust again and look for hope outside of his beloved ocean or his life may just come to an abrupt close at the end of a noose.

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2015

About the author

Christine Steendam is the award-winning romance author of the Foremost Chronicles and the Ocean Series. She also flirts with sci-fi and comic book writing and is a yearly participant in NaNoWriMo.
Christine makes her home in Manitoba, Canada on a sprawling 15 acre ranch with her husband, two young sons, and a brood of animals including Guinness, her beloved chocolate quarter horse, Beau, her St Bernard/Golden Retriever cross, and a gaggle of barn kittens.

Watch for the release of Christine's upcoming novels:
Shadows of the Unseen
Sci-Fi Romance
November 2014
Available for pre-order now.

Betrayed by the Ocean
Book 2 of the Ocean Series
Historical Romance
January 2015

Reviews

[Nancy]

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't your usual romance story line. I struggled at times to like the main character, Brent. But I did like how it wasn't a given if the main romance of the book was going to end up a thing in the end. Nice unusual ending. Liked how it was a clean moral read. I was provided a pre-release copy of this novel to read and review but was not required to give a positive review of it; the opinion is strictly my own

[Katie (hiding in the pages)]

This is Book 2 in the series, but can stand alone. Personally, I enjoyed reading the first book before this one. I understood the background and the characters better because of it, but I don't think a reader would be lost if Book 1 wasn't read first.

I was a little distressed about how Book 1 ended and wondered what was in store for these characters in the next installment. Things didn't end up the way I wanted them to and I wondered if they would be resolved in a satisfactory way. This author has a great way of weaving twists and turns into a story that leave a reader reeling, yet looking for more. I was once again surprised by some of the events.

Brant is a very passionate character and when things fall down around him, he turns to his one true and first love--the ocean. He has a lot of struggles and I enjoyed the journey he took, from hitting rock bottom, to finding hope, to seeking redemption.

It was great to see glimpses of characters from the first book and to see where they are in their lives. I found the new characters to be just as likeable. This adventurous pirate story is great!

Content: very mild romance; moderate religious elements (faith and finding God play a big role in the journey, but it's not preachy); mild-moderate violence (pirate activities--murder, plunder, fights, etc); no language. Clean!

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Agnes]

I loved the time period but this is a book that transcends time. It reflects the story that we all own, our struggle, our guilt, our loves. Christine Steendam had me from the first line. I loved the raw emotion, loved the pit in my stomach as I waited (not too patiently sometimes) for the story unfold and I loved the ending. I have read the prequel to this and I can say that the story really starts to cook in this book. Can't wait to read more from this rising star. I was privileged to be asked to read a pre-release copy of this novel but was not required to give a positive review of it; the opinion is strictly my own and I give it a ringing endorsement!

[Marsha]

Betrayed by the Ocean by Christine Steendam


Again, this is another fabulous pirate/historical/love story. I really tried to like Brant in this one as he is the protagonist, but the tragedy with Johnny dropped me off just shy. I didn't like him in any of this series, but still loved the trilogy so very much. I love the details, how all of the questions and situations were addressed with each character and I loved the ending. I would only change one little thing in all of the series, one little disconnecting cut of a knife.

[Laura]

I had not read the previous novel in this series but was able to appreciate this book on its own.
Of course I do enjoy a good pirate tale, but this had so many more levels to it.
The main characters split at the beginning of the story so we are entertained with two parallel story lines,
well not exactly parallel, as there are cross overs between the secondary characters.

This is more a relationship novel than a romance adventure. It is about the growth of the two main characters,
Brant and Catherine. We see growth in other characters also as they, too, struggle with finding their true paths in life.

The tale takes place in the late 1600s, when communications are delivered by hand and travel is via horse or sail.
It takes strength and courage to leave one's familiar surroundings especially without family support.
Tensions are high between England and Spain and the territories they control. Lands are under military control.
Was it Catherine's return to England that caused Brandt to lower his ethical standards and revert to being a pirate?
What is about Nathaniel that draws men toward him?
Adventure and mystery support this well written storyline.
Family dynamics and the gossip scene play their role as well.


I received this book as part of a blog tour but the review and opinions are my own.
I will be reading more of this series.

[Karyn]

3.5 Stars

**Slight Spoilers**

Upon starting this review I found out that this is book 2 in the series. It was written so it was fine as a standalone. I never felt like I was missing anything and it did not seem like there were too many flashbacks to get readers unfamiliar with the story caught up. The characters were well developed and the story flowed.

I liked the setting of the story and even though to get to different contents your only option was to travel weeks on a boat, the different countries that were visited seemed familiar to all the characters in the story as they traveled to them more than once.

The author did a great job making the reader feel the turmoil inside Brant; from the feeling of being trapped and needing to get back to the ocean, to the feelings of just destroying all other ships, to despair near the end.

At times I felt the story slowed down a bit in the middle but towards the end, I couldn’t stop reading to find out what was going to happen. The night I finished it, my whole night was filled with dreams about what happened next with all the characters. They were so vivid, I had to go back to the book to re-read the actual ending so I knew which was the real one. This is one of the books that because the story ended with a bang, I kept thinking about it for days later.

[InD'tale Magazine]

4.5/5.0

A historical romance with a heavy dose of searching for redemption, “Betrayed by the Ocean” is second in the Ocean Series.

Read full review in the 2015 June issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Sabrina Nagtegaal]

The book was amazing!