Book Recommedation: Bride of a Distant Isle

by Barbara Brutt @BarbaraBrutt @cordiallybarbara

 

Reader of the open range. That’s what my dad called me when I was a young girl. We visited every library within 20 minutes of us in a rotation because I’d read through everything in my age group and would need a wider selection. Thank goodness for the eventual release of the online catalog.

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I met Sandra Byrd in a library. Okay, actually, I met one of her novels. To Die for: A Novel of Anne Boleyn.

And when you finally click with a good author, you read every single book she or he has ever written. There are many authors out there, but they are not all good. I see you nodding over there.

I’m not really a fangirl (very unlikely to find me in a crowd screaming over popstars). I just don’t do that, but when I hit on something truly good, it’s a joy to share.

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Also, I’m a chronic preface-r. So I’d better get to the point of this post.

Bride of a Distant Isle by Sandra Byrd

Miss Annabel Ashton returns to the family home of Highcliffe Hall for a short visit to discover that her cousin, Edward, has specific plans for her future that are advantageous for everyone but her. Without knowing the true card holding players, she tries to strategically fight for her future while uncovering the truths of the past, which may just hold the key to her gilded shackles. Will she find out the truth about her long-dead parents and her birth?

Find the book here!

Writing the above paragraph was a struggle! I mean, how can I sum up the journey a character like Annabel goes through in just a few sentences? It’s like when someone asks you that vague question, “How was your year?”

Words thin.

I’ve been waiting for months to delve into Sandra Byrd’s newest novel from her Daughters of Hampshire series.

Within the first two paragraphs on page one, Sandra caught my attention with the oncoming tension, an interesting setting, and a character who likes to call it as she sees it. Come on. We all love a character who’s a tad awkward and misspeaks. But Annabel endears herself to the reader when she offers sweets to Oliver, the boy hall servant, and the mute shepherdess, Emmeline.

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I could totally picture myself being friends with spunky and kind Annabel.

Drawbacks to this story are difficult for me to find. I value honesty and a keen eye so I’ll share what I can. Everything was clean reading except I noticed one minor misspelling. At the end of the story, I found myself still curious of the appearance and then disappearance of one nun; however, Sandra did subtly tie up that loose end. I reread that section again and recognized the soft explanation of this character’s coming and going.

But I think this is just nitpicking.

Oh! One more thing.

The villainous current that almost swept Annabel away must be noted. Sandra created multi-faceted and a layering of villains, and she had me wondering throughout the story who was really up to all the dastardly shenanigans. Throughout the pages, I found myself pegging characters left and right as the bad guy! There was motive! There was a shifting to the eyes I didn’t like!

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And at the end, there was a very startled Barbara. I love when authors surprise me.

I highly recommend Bride of a Distant Isle to all my readerly friends.

• reminiscent of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights (with a less scary male attraction)
• beautiful historical fiction
• a creative and unrecognizable antagonist (until the revealing at the end)
• page-turning tension and thrill
• a satisfying ending that makes all the emotional upheaval worth it

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The publisher provided me a copy of this book to review. Opinions are my own.

What do you love in a book? Do you have a book recommendation for me?

Find Bride of a Distant Isle on Amazon!