Castaway in Cornwall
-
-
4.6 • 84 Ratings
-
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
Set adrift on the tides of fate by the deaths of her parents and left wanting answers, Laura Callaway now lives with her uncle and his disapproving wife in North Cornwall. There she feels like a castaway, always viewed as an outsider even as she yearns to belong.
While wreckers search for valuables along the windswept Cornwall coast--known for its many shipwrecks but few survivors--Laura searches for clues to the lives lost so she can write letters to next of kin and return keepsakes to rightful owners. When a man is washed ashore after a wreck, Laura acts quickly to protect him from a local smuggler determined to destroy him.
As Laura and a neighbor care for the survivor, they discover he has curious wounds and, although he speaks in careful, educated English, his accent seems odd. Other clues wash ashore, and Laura soon realizes he is not who he seems to be. Despite the evidence against him, the mysterious man might provide her only chance to discover the truth about her parents' fate. With danger pursuing them from every side, and an unexpected attraction growing between them, will Laura ever find the answers she seeks?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Klassen (The Bridge to Belle Island) delights with a winsome love story between an orphaned young woman living on the coast of North Cornwall, England, in 1813 and the shipwreck survivor she nurses back to health. Eight years earlier, while Laura Callaway was away at school, her parents died, leaving Laura dependent on her kind Uncle Matthew and his family. Now 23, Laura occupies herself searching for flotsam from shipwrecks and writing to the family members of the drowned. After Alexander Carnell washes up on shore, he charms Laura from his sick bed with his handsome looks and good manners but his accent and evasive manner rouse Laura's suspicions that he isn't who he says he is. When Alexander confides that he is a French navy captain and escaped prisoner-of-war anxious to return home and save his brother from prison, Laura agrees to help him find passage to Jersey and insists on going with him. In the midst of the ensuing high seas drama, their relationship develops at an unhurried pace. The appealing lovers are well suited in their mutual willingness to bend rules for a greater good, and Klassen steeps their romance in atmosphere and intrigue. The result is an entertaining and satisfying romance.
Customer Reviews
Wonderful
Another intriguing novel by Julie Klassen. I appreciate the way the author truly thinks through all of her plots, laying them out so strategically. New developments continue to unfold, keeping the reader guessing. One thing is for sure, Julie Klassen’s books are never predictable. Set in the early 1800s, lots of suspense and mystery, faith and romance mixed in as well. What more could you ask for?
A wonderful read!
Another great page turner from Author Julie Klassen! Love how all her books are mystery, romance and Christian fiction all wrapped up in one!
Epic
This period piece is an epic tale of an English woman finding her place in a home not her own, and an escaped French prisoner of war hiding in plain sight in the English countryside.
After being injured and washed ashore on the coast of Cornwall, Captain Alexander Carnell is taken in by Laura’s uncle, and befriends Laura.
As the intrigue and tension between their countries build will either of them be able to completely trust and find hope in the midst of war?
I loved this sweeping tale full of complex characters and rich depictions of life at sea, and amidst the gentlefolk of Cornwall.
I recommend it to lovers of historical fiction.
I received an ARC courtesy of Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group through NetGalley. This is my honest review.