A Silent Ocean Away by Deva Gantt

From the back cover: Charmaine Ryan knows only poverty and pain growing up. In the wake of a horrifying tragedy, she seeks a new life, and fate leads her into the private world of the wealthy Duvoisin clan. At first, it seems as if nothing terrible could touch this seemingly charmed family. But an ill wind blows through the halls and chambers of the Duvoisins' sprawling island retreat, carrying betrayal, deceit, and ominous peril.

Quickly, Charmaine is caught up in the secrets and mystique swirling around the enigmatic family. At the center are shipping tycoon Frederic Duvoisin and his youthful wife, Colette. And there is Paul Duvoisin, a dashing seducer and Frederic's bastard son, who stirs a dangerous fascination in the two women; the scheming Agatha Ward, who will not rest until she's taken Colette's place in Frederic's heart as well as in his bed; and exiled son, John, who reenters the family fold, stoking the turmoil as he unveils truths best kept hidden. Ultimately, Charmaine chooses to stand with Colette against formidable enemies, but has she made the right decision?

A sweeping, remarkable blend of adventure, romance, intrigue, and suspense, A Silent Ocean Away heralds the arrival of a glorious new voice on the historical fiction scene.

I liked the Charmaine character. Seeing the events unfold through her fresh, inexperienced eyes was fun. Because the story starts out with her terrible homelife, the authors have you rooting for Charmaine right from the start. I did enjoy how delicously bad Agatha was...whenever she appeared I knew there would be catty remarks. I was very suspicious of Agatha's brother, the doctor. I would have liked that possibility to be explored - the evil siblings plotting!

The book ending caught me completely by surprise because it happened so abruptly. I wasn't mentally prepared for it to end. Nothing seemed wrapped up; there were so many storylines unresolved. I know it's a trilogy but I expected more closure than what I got. When I think about other trilogies I have read, I feel like the individual books had more of a stand alone feel than this one did. This one felt incomplete. But with all that said, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and I will plan to read the next two books because I want to know how everything gets sorted out.

This book was the April selection for the Facebook Historical Fiction bookclub.

This book happened to meet my needs for two challenges...

This is one of the books on my list for the Spring Reading Thing 2009. Click on the logo to see the rest of my list.






Click here to see my progress towards completing the challenge!