The Winter Sea (Slains, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 30, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: hf, friend-love, bricks, ashley-s-list, library, 2014, audible, friend-rec

4.5 stars. This is a classic case of the right book finding the right time. I know I've picked this book up several times with the intent to read it and it just didn't look all that compelling. Nothing really grabbed me about it beyond the cover, I didn't really know much about that historical period, and I'm not really a person who reads romance novels regularly. I'd read a kind of heavy, dark book though and needed something light. A friend recommended something short that was perfect. I enjoy 4.5 stars. This is a classic case of the right book finding the right time. I know I've picked this book up several times with the intent to read it and it just didn't look all that compelling. Nothing really grabbed me about it beyond the cover, I didn't really know much about that historical period, and I'm not really a person who reads romance novels regularly. I'd read a kind of heavy, dark book though and needed something light. A friend recommended something short that was perfect. I enjoyed it, but wanted something still on the light side but longer. She suggested this one and this book finally found its time.

This book has two parallel storylines. One is in the present, and the other is in the early 18th century, both in Scotland, by the sea.

Reasons to read this book:

-This is an escape read, you'll be immersed quickly.
-You won't wanna put the book down.
-Both storylines are equally appealing, and you'll really care about the characters.
-It's all about relationships. Relationships of all kinds.
-If you're into genealogy, you'll love this book.
-Both male leads are hard to resist. :)
-If you've always wanted to write a book, this is great, because she really gets you into the mind of an author as she's creating a story that takes off in her mind.
-The audio narration by Rosalyn Landor was very well done. She got the Scottish accents almost too perfect, they were a bit hard to understand at times, but mainly this was one character with a minor role who had a very deep accent. The others were easy to understand. She did a great job of changing from female to male voices! At times, it was hard to believe a woman read the whole book.

I know this is a book I will never forget. If you can get through this book without crying, you may not be totally human! I really enjoyed it, and thanks to everyone who encouraged me to read this. Perfect book, exactly what I needed. Proof that we should be able to go to the library or bookstore and get a prescription in literary form. This was it for me!

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Jan 17, 2011 Elaine Kasteler rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had such high expectations for this book. On both Amazon and Goodreads, the readers gave this book raving reviews. I found the book to be more bland than most of the 5 star ratings.

However, I did appreciate the history of the book. I looked up Slain Castle, which is magnificent and although it is fallen into ruins, must have been an amazing castle in its time.

I do find the history of the kings and queens to be fascinating. And I did like that I did look up events and the history in this book, ...more

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