Storm Wrack & Spindrift

Remnants #3

by Margaret Pinard

The MacLeans have suffered being thrown off their land, emigrating to the New World, surviving in the forest wilderness, and losing their father Gillan in a bizarre murder. Now, ten years later, the two youngest emigrants will split the family across an ocean. Sheena pursues a future back in Scotland with her husband Gordon Lamont. Alisdair dreams of university and a chance to reform the political system in the colony that denied him justice for his father's death. But the British Empire of the 1830s has yet more obstacles to throw in their path. When the only school in the province only accepts Anglican students, what will Alisdair do? When Sheena finds herself in a role of authority over families like her own, how will she cope with the isolation? And when both their hopes of peace and stability are dealt a telling blow, how will they stay true to their fighting spirit? STORM WRACK & SPINDRIFT is a dramatic story of family survival and personal struggle set against social upheaval. While voter enfranchisement was advancing in London, and slavery finally outlawed in the Empire, the tiny stage of rebellion in a backwoods colony farm could still have deep repercussions. Every life is precious, every decision important--which is why the early struggle for Responsible Government and other civil liberties continues to encourage us today.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Realistic Fiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2019

About the author

Sign up to hear about Margaret's new releases here: http://eepurl.com/-9Hj1 and follow her on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/margaret_pinard

Margaret Pinard has spent her first few decades traveling the globe in search of adventures to incorporate into her writing, including living in the lands of the Celts, the cities of European fashion, and several dolce far niente Mediterranean cultures.

Her five novels include the REMNANTS trilogy, historical novels about a family emigrating from Scotland to Nova Scotia in the 1820s; MEMORY'S HOSTAGE, a historical mystery; and DULCI'S LEGACY, a YA mystery. She resides in Portland, OR.

Reviews

[Jeremy Fee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I know Margaret Pinard from her Youtube channel, but this is my honest review.

In the third book in the Remnants trilogy, Margaret Pinard delivers an outstanding work of historical fiction that left me emotionally devastated. She has an amazing ability to craft characters that I come to deeply care for and root for, only to then put them through devastating situation after situation. It's just heart-wrenching for me experiencing the lives of these characters, but that makes the story feel all the more accurate to its historical truth.

There is a nice epilogue at the end, which seems to solidify that this book is the end of the series/trilogy by giving more information about the family after the events of the three books.

[Elizabeth Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty in Margaret’s work is the heart, the narrative, the grounding in time and place, greatly thanks to her love for history. If you haven’t read this series, you are missing out on getting to know people who live rich lives in times of struggle and heartache, love and happiness. The first book is called The Keening, go get it.

[Dede Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a terrific book for me to read over the holidays. My bits of Scottish roots wanted to know more, and suspect next I'll read more of this time period in Scotland. I most enjoyed the parallel stories of family members occurring an ocean apart, and particularly was interested in this time period of the 1830's. I would have suspected the author to be of this era, if I didn't know better. Her final nod to Oregon was a surprise and fun. I can only imagine those who have read Margaret's first two books will adore this third (I had only read the second book of the series), although this book would also stand well on its own.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author and I have become Litsy and Instagram friends, sharing a love of Jane Austen Mysteries. So when she had review copies available for this book I jumped at the chance.

While this is 3rd in series, I had no trouble diving in. Definitely want to go back and read books 1 & 2.

But the story I really want to read is Alisdair's that happens between the final Chapter and the Epilogue. I hope she writes it.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third and final book of the Remnants series, this was a treat like the first two: The Keening and The Grasping Root. This starts ten years on from the first two books in the early 1830s in Nova Scotia, as the MacLean family from the Scottish Highlands, continue their struggles in the New World. The novel focuses on the two younger MacLeans: Sheena and Alisdair. Sheena, the younger daughter returns to Scotland with her husband Gordon to find the injustices her family escaped a decade earlier are still prevalent in Argyll, with largely absentee lairds looking to profit from their lands with no consideration for their tenants. Meanwhile Alisdair is hoping to further his education but his brooding and recently bereaved elder brother needs him to work on their land. This is an interesting parallel narrative, as we follow the stories of Alisdair and Sheena, usually with parallel narratives I find myself interested in one and not the other, but this is not the case here. The characters are well drawn, I've followed them through the two previous novels, but you don't need to read those to appreciate this one. This is a story of hardship and resilience common in the stories of many of the pioneers to the New World at the time. The writing is engaging it draws you in and is filled with period detail about crafts and customs.

[Bethanne Bruninga-Socolar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took the morning off of work today to finish this book - as with the 1st two books in the trilogy, I NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. I almost died at the end of this 3rd book, and then the author brought me back to life with the Epilogue. :)

This is the 3rd book in the Remnants trilogy, which follows the MacLeans, a tenant farming family who lose their home in Scotland and travel to Nova Scotia. The first two books focus on the two older children of the family, Neil and Muirne, and their attempts to make a life for themselves while maintaining their tight-knit family relationships in the new land. I felt like their stories were wrapped up well in books 1 & 2, and enjoyed the switch in focus to the two younger children, Sheena and Alisdair, in book 3. These books are emotional and moving - the characters are so well-written that I was gripped early on in all three books and went through extreme emotional roller coasters because life in the early 20th century British empire was ROUGH!! If you want compelling, detailed but not too-detailed, historical fiction, these books are awesome. My one critique was that the pacing suffered a bit in books 2 and 3 - the early and middle parts of the book seemed to expand, leaving things a little rushed at the end. But still, these books were easily 4.5-star books for me, and book 1 was a 5-star read!

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This last in the Remnants trilogy stuck the landing, not in the sense that everything is wrapped up in a pretty bow, but in the sense that the vicissitudes of life are so constituent throughout the three books they are like a glue holding it all together. Decent people trying to find footholds, but time, place, and most certainly class, does not allow for anyone to rest easy. Actually, the three titles really spell that out: The Keening (book 1), The Grasping Root (book 2), and this last, Storm Wrack & Spindrift (book 3). I appreciated never being spoon-fed, and all three books go along at a good pace. I would suggest reading the books in order... you're on a journey with the MacLean family, and because the books are not tomes, it's not daunting to go on this voyage with them.

[John (Hey Y'all Listen Up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am familiar with the author from watching her YouTube channel.
I didn't find this story quite as engaging as the previous book. It's still a very interesting and well written tale.