This book, guys–it makes me want to pack my bags right away and fly over the Isles of Scilly to tour the Abbey Gardens, watch the Wednesday morning gig races, and search for pirate treasure! Everytime I opened its pages, it just made me feel happy inside!
1906
Lady Elizabeth “Libby” Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn’t favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage’s former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished.
Oliver Tremayne–gentleman and clergyman–is determined to discover what happened to his sister, and he’s happy to accept the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth’s summer cottage . . . especially when he realizes it’s the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can’t quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him.
As Libby and Oliver work together, they find ancient legends, pirate wrecks, betrayal, and the most mysterious phenomenon of all: love.
There was so much to love about this brilliant start to Roseanna’s latest series! First, the characters… I fell in love with Libby from her first appearance on the page. While at times she felt rather naive, I reminded myself that that is just part of who she is–she has been sheltered her entire life and this is her first experience with the world on her own. And I could relate to her in many ways, actually. I certainly don’t share her fascination with science, but I could totally sympathize with Libby’s feeling of being out of place and misunderstood because her interests and personality didn’t fit with everyone else. Next, I fell in love with Mabena; I appreciated how she was feisty and headstrong, but there were more layers to her than just that. Then in came one of the dreamiest heroes I’ve met this year in my reading–the vicar, Mr. Oliver Tremayne. **sigh** You gotta love a preacher man who also loves his family (especially his deceased, sickly brother that he took care of **cries all the tears**), books and flowers, and lets the heroine be exactly who God made her to be. I appreciated that he still had flaws, though, to compensate for his otherwise perfection, namely his rivalry with Casek Wearne, which factors greatly into his arc as a character. It kind of reminded me of the feud between Ross Poldark and George Warleggan. Except Casek is far less despicable than George! I actually ended up liking Casek a lot!
As always, Roseanna’s secondary characters shine just as brightly as her main ones do. I could spend several more paragraphs talking about all of them–Casek, Tas-gwynn Gibson, Mr. Menna, Beth, Bram, Lord Sheridan–but for the sake of not making this review a mile long, I will only focus on one more, which was my favorite character in the entire story… Mamm-wynn! After the recent loss of my own grandfather, this sweet, precious grandmother figure touched a tender place in my heart. I could just hear her pixie-like laugh, see her sunny and mischievous grin, and feel her soft hands wrap a handmade shawl around my shoulders. She was a refreshing, loving hug my heart needed.
The second thing I really loved about this book was the setting. The Isles of Scilly were almost like a character in their own right, and I could practically hear them calling my own name (coincidentally, my middle name is Elizabeth, so it’s a perfect fit LOL). I could practically feel the sand between my toes and the salty wind in my hair, hear the crashing of the waves and morning greetings from locals, and smell the mouth-watering scent of the bakery’s famous rolls. Like I said earlier, I want to pack my bags and fly there right now!
Lastly, I loved the uniqueness of the premise and the pirate lore and treasure hunting aspects of the story. The pace of the mystery surrounding Beth’s disappearance and the hunt for Mucknell’s silver didn’t unfold as quickly as I expected, and some threads of the mystery got slightly confusing for me there at the end, but the other aspects of the journey were so delightful that I loved it anyway. I’m anxious to see what “secret of the isles” the Scillonians and incomers will uncover next!
I’m convinced this book (and the rest of the series, I’m sure) would make the PERFECT Masterpiece Classic period drama. Seriously! The setting, the characters, the romance, the drama, the mystery–it has all the makings of a hit. So… someone please make this happen! LOL 😉
If you’re a historical fiction lover in need of an “armchair vacation” this summer (or anytime of the year) this is the book for you! Totally worthy of all 5/5 Stars!
**I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
