Evie Farrow is an innkeeper on a small island in South Carolina in 1942. Her life is, if not peaceful, then predictable until a U-boat sinks a British naval boat off shore. One survivor, Stirling Bertrand, washes up on her beach and she takes him in without alerting the authorities. 18 years earlier, on the same island, an English aristocrat, Remington Culbreth, spends a summer at the inn and falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter, Louisa Adair. When war breaks out in Europe, the two are separated in tragic ways. As Sterling tries to unravel Evie's family secrets in 1942, the reader learns more about Louisa's fate in 1918. The two stories of love and loss intertwine into a beautiful tribute to the strength of the human soul.
Ms White is one of my favorite Christian historical writers. I loved her series about the codebreakers of WWI and was excited when this book was released this year. I thought it was a stand alone book, but was pleasantly surprised when it tied into the earlier series. The plot of this book is quite complicated and Ms White does an amazing job of unfolding the stories in both time lines in a way the keeps the reader enthralled and wanting to know how it all works out. Both Evie and Louisa are strong Christian woman, and Ms White's treatment of the prejudices of the 20th century American south are handled well. I am not completely thrilled with reader of the audiobooks in this series. The way that Pilar Witherspoon's voice goes up at the end of a sentence instead of down drives me crazy for about the first three chapters every time I listen to her, but then I get used to it. Maybe the next time a book comes out in this series, I will check out the print copy and read it the old fashion way. (2023, 410 p)
No comments:
Post a Comment