I recently finished my NetGalley copy of Alison Weir's fabulous new novel JANE SEYMOUR: THE HAUNTED QUEEN. Wow, what a fantastic story. I've always thought of Jane Seymour as a mousy, quiet woman. A woman who was the antithesis of Anne Boleyn. The calm after the storm. Well, this book throws all my preconceived ideas out the window. I have no doubt she was the calm after the storm that was Anne Boleyn, but she was no shrinking violet, either. The Jane Seymour portrayed by Alison Weir (one of THE BEST historical novelist I've ever read), is a calm, but highly intelligent young woman. One who happened to catch the eye of Henry. The only woman who was able to give him the son and heir he required and craved. She was full of life and joy, but the title tells it all. She was haunted. There is an element of the supernatural in this book. She is haunted by a dark figure; she feels partly responsible for the death of ...
About The Outer Banks House
Publication Date: June 8, 2010
Crown Publishing
Formats: Ebook, Paperback, Hardcover
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance
As the wounds of the Civil War are just beginning to heal, one fateful summer would forever alter the course of a young girlís life.
In 1868, on the barren shores of post-war Outer Banks North Carolina, the once wealthy Sinclair family moves for the summer to one of the first cottages on the ocean side of the resort village of Nags Head. Seventeen-year-old Abigail is beautiful, book-smart, but sheltered by her plantation life and hemmed-in by her emotionally distant family. To make good use of time, she is encouraged by her family to teach her fatherís fishing guide, the good-natured but penniless Benjamin Whimble, how to read and write. And in a twist of fate unforeseen by anyone around them, there on the porch of the cottage, the two come to love each other deeply, and to understand each other in a way that no one else does.
But when, against everything he claims to represent, Ben becomes entangled in Abby's father's Ku Klux Klan work, the terrible tragedy and surprising revelations that one hot Outer Banks night brings forth threaten to tear them apart forever.
With vivid historical detail and stunning emotional resonance, Diann Ducharme recounts a dramatic story of love, loss, and coming of age at a singular and rapidly changing time in one of Americaís most beautiful and storied communities.
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Praise for The Outer Banks House
"...There's real darkness on the edge of this romance that hurls the lovers toward tragedy, as if the price to re-enter the innocence of Eden might afford Abby nothing but despair. This 2010 debut novel and portrayal of the historical Outer Banks offers a terrific option for beach reading; it's the sort of novel that can be charming without requiring an abundance of character complexity and depth. Abby's evolution ultimately parallels the positive aspects of how the South reconciled to change after the Civil War, a change that required a culture of ignorance to wash out to sea" Style Weekly Review"It's 1868, and the natives of North Carolina's Outer Banks think the Sinclair's summer residence on the beach at Nags Head is right peculiar. Seventeen-year-old Abigail Sinclair is enlisted by her parents to teach Ben Whimble, her father's fishing guide, to read. Abby is being courted by medical student Hector Newman and is appalled at the dirty and perpetually barefoot Ben. But Abby is also restless and slowly sees in Ben more than just a willing pupil. Ben might be getting sweet on his teacher as well, but her father has involved him in a matter that doesn't sit right with the Banker, knowing that freedmen and runaway slaves have long lived contentedly out on Roanoke Island. It's just three years since the end of the war, and for some, that isn't long enough. VERDICT First novelist Ducharme has laced her novel with the sounds and the smells of the North Carolina shoreline. Racism and Southern tradition run along parallel paths in this affecting debut, where gentlemen can be less than honorable and enslavement doesnít always involve chains. Highly recommended for fans of Southern fiction." - Bette-Lee Fox Library Journal, Starred Review
"A heart-felt and engrossing novel about the coming of age of two very different young people in the South just after the Civil War: a curious upper-class girl from an almost bankrupt plantation and a handsome young barefoot fisherman made of sand and seawater who comes to her to learn to read. What they learn from each other about tolerance and caring in those turbulent times will change their lives forever. A beautiful sense of this place by the sea, of a country in conflict, of death and redemption, and of new love." - Stephanie Cowell, Author of CLAUDE & CAMILLE: A NOVEL OF CLAUDE MONET and MARRYING MOZART
"The Outer Banks House is a beautifully written and deeply moving story of a sheltered young woman's awakening to life, love and the injustice of discrimination against former slaves. In theme and impact, shades of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn; in the evocative setting and fresh voice, a unique novel all its own."-
Karen Harper Author of THE QUEEN'S GOVERNESS
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About Return to the Outer Banks House
Publication Date: December 10, 2014Kill Devil Publishing
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance
She was the spirited daughter of a North Carolina plantation owner, and he was a poor fisherman who she tutored on the porch of her familyís Nags Head cottage. When we last saw Abigail Sinclair and Ben Whimble at the close of The Outer Banks House, theyíd overcome their differences in life stations and defied convention to begin their new life together.
But now it's seven years later, and Return to the Outer Banks House finds the couple married and in hard times riddled by poverty, miscarriages, and weakened family ties. The strong bonds that once held them together have eroded over time, and their marriage threatens to unravel, particularly when relationships from the past and ambitions for the future find their way into the mismatched coupleís present predicament.
Can their love survive? Or are the challenges they face insurmountable? Return to the Outer Banks House carries readers back to 1875 to answer these questions and explore the ebb and flow of a rocky marriage set against the enchanting North Carolina shoreline. Replete with history, intrigue, and plenty of maritime drama, itís an evocative tale of struggle in the Reconstruction-era South.
Praise for Return to the Outer Banks House
"...Set between 1875 and 1876, Ducharme's story this being the sequel to The Outer Banks House (2010)is about love and its many faces, from young and reckless to unrequited. Specifically, she explores the unlikely passion that forms between smart, affluent Abigail Sinclair and uneducated, penniless Benjamin Whimble. The people of this tightknit island community on the Outer Banks, off the coast of North Carolina, are connected by their collective poverty and abiding love for the sea. Outsiders are generally unwelcome..." - Kirkus ReviewsBuy Return to the Outer Banks House
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About the Author
Diann was born in Indiana in 1971, but she spent the majority of her childhood in Newport News, Virginia. She majored in English literature at the University of Virginia, but she never wrote creatively until, after the birth of her second child in 2003, she sat down to write The Outer Banks House. She soon followed up with her second book, Chasing Eternity, and in 2015 the sequel to her first novel, Return to the Outer Banks House.Diann has vacationed on the Outer Banks since the age of three. She even married her husband of 10 years, Sean Ducharme, in Duck, North Carolina, immediately after a stubborn Hurricane Bonnie churned through the Outer Banks. Conveniently, the family beach house in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina provided shelter while she conducted research for her historical fiction novels.
She has three beach-loving children and a border collie named Toby, who enjoys his sprints along the shore. The family lives in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia, counting down the months until summer.
For more information visit Diann Ducharme's website. You can also follow Diann on her blog, Twitter, and Goodreads.
my thoughts:
To begin, let me say I read this book very quickly to get the review done in time. I enjoyed what I read and would like to reread it at a slower pace.
This is quite an interesting story. North Carolina, Nags Head. A beautiful place. After reading this story, I want to go visit! Diann Ducharme's descriptions are colorful and just amazing. Can't wait to see the area for myself.
The timing of this book, post civil war, 1868, a country in chaos. (I've not read a great deal of historical fiction focusing on this time frame), young 17 year old Abigail loves the Outer Banks. Her family has lost a great deal of their wealth after the war. She decides, under duress, to teach a young man named Ben to read and write. Ben is socially 'beneath' Abigail. Predictably, Abigail and Ben fall in love.
During the post war period, Abigail is shocked to discover her father, as someone who has lost just about all he possessed, is a racist and a KKK sympathizer. Racism is a modern term for an age old problem. It is handled with care and honesty in this novel. The characters are charming and realistic, I found myself caring for both Ben and Abigail.
This is an interesting story. A perfect read for the beach....perhaps even while on the Outer Banks!
I'm starting the second book now!
The Outer Banks Series Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, May 25Spotlight & Giveaway at Raven Haired Girl
Tuesday, May 26
Guest Post & Giveaway at Susan Heim on Writing
Wednesday, May 27
Review (Book One) at Back Porchervations
Thursday, May 28
Review (Book One) at In a Minute
Friday, May 29
Interview & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Obsession
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book
Saturday, May 30
Spotlight at Becky on Books
Sunday, May 31
Review (Book One) at Book Nerd
Monday, June 1
Review (Book Two) at Let them Read Books
Spotlight at I'd So Rather Be Reading
Tuesday, June 2
Review (Book One) at Book Lovers Paradise
Wednesday, June 3
Review (Book Two) at Back Porchervations
Thursday, June 4
Spotlight & Giveaway (Book One) at View from the Birdhouse
Friday, June 5
Review (Both Books) at Bibliotica
Sunday, June 7
Review (Book One) at Carole's Ramblings
Monday, June 8
Review (Book One) at Ageless Pages Reviews
Guest Post at Curling Up With A Good Book
Tuesday, June 9
Review & Giveaway (Book One) at A Literary Vacation
Wednesday, June 10
Review (Both Books) at Unshelfish
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews
Thursday, June 11
Review (Book Two) at Book Lovers Paradise
Interview at Boom Baby Reviews
Friday, June 12
Spotlight at Caroline Wilson Writes
Sunday, June 14
Review (Book Two) at Carole's Ramblings
Monday, June 15
Review & Giveaway (Both Books) at Genre Queen
Tuesday, June 16
Interview at Books and Benches
Spotlight at The Lit Bitch
Wednesday, June 17
Review (Both Books) at Luxury Reading
Thursday, June 18
Review (Book One) at Books and Benches
Interview at Layered Pages
Friday, June 19
Review (Book One) at Build a Bookshelf
Review (Book Two) at Ageless Pages Reviews
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