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"Do not start unless you want to be up all night!...Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, you'll believe in the ability of love to transcend time and place and the wonder of Ciji Ware's writing. Superb!"
--Romantic Times (Gold Medal review)
One woman, one man, one shared fate...
A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stowe like the perfect escape from the pain and humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby manor house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny. As they unearth one shocking family secret after another, Blythe is forced to conclude that her intriguing neighbor is more than just an impecunious British gentleman bent on saving his ancestral home. And the impeccably honorable Lucas Teague begins to see Blythe as a lifeline in an otherwise bleak existence.
But is the unbridled attraction they're experiencing a dangerous distraction, or could it be strong enough to transcend the insurmountable complexities of time and place...?
"A deep, complex novel exploring love, betrayal, healing, and renewal in the human heart."
--Affaire de Coeur
"A book to be savored and then put on the keeper shelf."
--Gothic Journal
After a scandalous Hollywood divorce, Blythe Stowe ran away from the tabloids that shouted how her famous husband had dumped her for her own sister. On the wild coast of Cornwall, she found a cottage by the sea claimed by her ancestors, a wickedly handsome neighbor and a love story 200 years old. Original.
From Chapter 2
In typical Cornish fashion the weather had changed abruptly by mid afternoon. The dark, rain-filled clouds that had greeted Blythe's arrival in the West Country quickly vanished and were replaced by benign puffs of white that drifted across a Wedgwood-blue sky.
Blythe set out for Barton Hall dressed in jeans and an ivory cable-knit turtleneck sweater. She walked along the public footpath that skirted the cliff side meadow, glancing back briefly at the sight of Painter's Cottage perched dramatically at its edge. She could hear the surf crashing on the narrow beach below, accompanied by friendly shrieks from gulls circling overhead. Wisps of smoke drifted from the chimney, the remnants of the crackling fire she'd carefully banked before her departure. Just as Lucas Teague suggested, she had soaked for an hour in piping-hot water while surveying the spectacular coastline in naked privacy.
A Bathtub with a View, she thought, smiling to herself as she reached the far corner of the grassy field. For the first time in months her spirits began to rise.
She shut the gate carefully, not wishing to be responsible for the escape of any of the sheep that were her new neighbors. Cautiously she looked in both directions for vehicles driving on the left side of the road.
"Do, please, avoid the Dead Yank syndrome, darling," Christopher had chided her on their first trip to England together. "The civilized world drives on the left."
Resolutely she darted across the narrow road that separated the coastline properties of Barton Hall from its principal holdings. Near a brambly hedge at the entrance to the next field, an iron sign enameled white and embossed with black letters beckoned her to follow another public pathway called, appropriately enough, Hall Walk.
She climbed gingerly over a wooden stile that consisted of four spiraling steps cleverly designed to allow humans access to the field while keeping four-legged animals from getting out on the road. A second metal sign directed her to make a right turn. Within moments she had plunged into a kind of leafy mine shaft, thick with English oak and dense underbrush, where dappled sunlight filtered through the trees that arched overhead. Enclosed in this cool, green, shadowed habitat, she suddenly had the giddy sensation that she was like the White Rabbit in the animated version of Alice in Wonderland, diving into an underground lair.
Then she halted in her tracks.
There I go again! she thought crossly. Everything in my life can't be a potential movie scene!
As usual, she was observing the world through a designer's eye, rather than simply living. It was an occupational hazard, she supposed. On some crucial level, however, she sensed that her habit of seeing daily events as fodder for some future film had a way of bleeding some of the joy and spontaneity out of her everyday life.
I'm in Cornwall! I'm not scouting locations. I'm here. It's beautiful... and that's enough.
On her left, fifty yards down the path, the gnarled roots of an enormous oak had pushed up thick tentacles from the moist ground, forming a large hollow some three feet in diameter. She leaned forward to have a closer look, concluding that an Irish leprechaun or Cornish "pisky" would find this space a suitable abode. Or perhaps even the White Rabbit himself.
Old habits were hard to break, she mused.
Impulsively Blythe shed her indestructible dark-green Barbour jacket-another present from Chris that first trip-and placed it on the ground. Feeling like a mischievous five-year-old hiding from her nanny, she then squeezed inside the vaulted space that was blanketed with cozy moss so intensely green it seemed almost psychedelic. She had just enough room above her head to sit, legs crossed Indian style, like a happy Hobbit in a sheltering forest home.
This is a bit much, she thought, amused by her childish antics as she strafed her fingertips along the velvet-clad roots that formed her woodland cave. In this magical forest an uplifting harmony seemed to prevail-proof of a wholeness in the natural world that seemed to soothe and assuage her wounded soul. As if to confirm this hypothesis, a plump brown rabbit leaped across the path to her right, followed by a bounding gray squirrel that appeared to be not so much its pursuer as its playmate.
Reluctantly Blythe glanced at her watch. Twenty minutes past four. She pulled herself to her feet and dusted off her jacket. A gentle coolness enveloped her as her new walking shoes trod along the tufted emerald path that led through this enchanted wooded world of bright ferns, twisting vines, and ivy-cloaked tree trunks.
A thousand shades of green.
The phrase rang in her head, and the incredible beauty of her surroundings lifted her spirits another notch. As she slowly inhaled the soft Cornish afternoon air, the thought came to her that time spent here-with her feet planted in the soil of her probable forebears, her lungs filled with gentle breezes blowing off the sea-might purify the wells of bitterness and remorse she now realized ran deep.
As she peered ahead, her euphoria swiftly began to evaporate. "It's always something, isn't it?" she exclaimed aloud. The leafy tunnel, its shadows warmed every few feet by shafts of sage-green light, angled sharply upward. As far as Blythe could determine, there appeared to be no way to avoid climbing the steep, challenging hill that stood between her and her destination, Barton Hall.
Author Ciji Ware has been an Emmy-winning television producer, reporter, writer, and radio host. Also a Harvard graduate, she has written several fiction and non-fiction books. She enjoys Scottish history and is a dancing enthusiast. Other titles include: Island of the Swans, Wicked Company, Midnight on Julia Street, A Light on the Veranda, and A Race to Splendor. She resides in San Francisco, California with her husband.
After a brutal and highly publicized divorce, Blythe Barton Stowe thinks the remote cottage on the Cornwall coast is just what she needs to get over the humiliation, shock, and pain of her husband's affair with her sister, not to mention the press in Hollywood hounding her. But once in Cornwall, Blythe seems to find a strange connection to her long ago ancestors, and appears to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy. It also looks as if the handsome owner of the manor house on the hill is entwined in her destiny. Blythe finds herself not only determined to help Lucas Trevelyan Teague save his ancestral home, but to uncover the mysteries of their past. Lucas has been shrouded in painful loss as well, and begins to see Blythe as a lifeline from his bleak existence. Is their unbridled passion and new love enough to conquer the past tragedies, and is it enough to transcend the complexities of time and place?
I cannot throw enough positive adjectives at this book to give it justice. And I cannot even begin to fathom how much research it must have taken to write such a stellar work of fiction, crossing language and lifestyle barriers between the States and England, not to mention landscape, environment, gardening, psychology, history and supernatural research. Also to notably mention the varying array of secondary characters which brilliantly added to the story immensely: Chloe, Richard, Valerie, and Mr. and Mrs. Quiller, plus the ghosts of the past: Kris, Ennis, Blythe, and Garret.
This is a book for everyone. From supernatural and history buffs to romance lovers and garden experts, this book will capture you beginning to end. Written in an eloquent and poetic format, this powerful story relays a harrowing tale of overcoming pain and loss to righting the wrongs in history. Often bringing the reader to a varying degree of emotions, one will find themselves, laughing, weeping, and sighing. The setting was downright astounding and never will you root for a hero and heroine so emphatically. The perfect book to read while sitting by the fire with a box of tissues and a cup of tea.
Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.A solid read! Some parts were silly and far fetched in regards to DNA and time travel, but otherwise worth reading. I loved the main character and her story held my interest. A good love story with a twist in the past!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 24, 2012
Started out good but once they began having sex--over and over and over again--it became quite predictable and mundane. (Yawn...)
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 17, 2011
This is a great read. Finished in two days! Could not put it down. Loved the characters and the unexpected turn of events.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.1nookworm
Posted May 8, 2012
Really enjoyed this novel. A love story that is not sappy. Just enough depth to engage the reader but not bore or be tedious. Can't wait to read another book by Ms. Ware.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Dmesa
Posted May 6, 2012
I found the story to be interesting and engaging. However it was very similar to The Winter Sea, both in location and in general plot.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 18, 2012
I really enjoyed this book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 14, 2012
Hmmmm
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 9, 2012
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 21, 2012
Great Read, Great Love Story!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.kmarie8
Posted February 2, 2012
I did not enjoy this book. I thought the character interactions were kind of predictable, laughable and unbelievable. The characters continually said stereotypical phrases. The ending was nice, but too predictable...
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 14, 2012
I Also Recommend:
A great book that keeps your attention til the very end. Just the right amount of history combined with complex relationships. Love the writing style!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.marinemom1020
Posted November 2, 2011
Engaging plotline, a story within a story...a relationship story for any time. I hope there are more books by this author.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Likes2Analyze
Posted August 20, 2011
Enjoyed reading about the Cornish setting. Very well written. Reminded me of Phyllis A. Whitney. I am a believer of memory being passed down through DNA......why not? I think the possibilities of DNA studies are endless.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 15, 2011
This was the first book I've read by Ciji Ware and it wont be my last. I could not put this book down. This book was very easy to get into, I loved the characters. Not just a simple, shallow love story. You feel like you are truly there. Thank you Ciji!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted July 5, 2011
This was an entertaining book. Characters and story were likeable and engaging.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Really not my type of book. I felt the writing style was very bad. Way too many adjectives, almost using them as fillers. For me that was distracting. Sorry
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 11, 2011
Loved this book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 7, 2011
A first time read for this author. Enjoyed very much, in fact already have purchased a second novel. I have retained this in my library for a second reading. Liked the attention to detail and that the author did not rush through the plot.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.NettaAG
Posted May 19, 2011
I loved this book, I could not put this one away untill i finnished!
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Overview
"Do not start unless you want to be up all night!...Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, you'll believe in the ability of love to transcend time and place and the wonder of Ciji Ware's writing. Superb!"
--Romantic Times (Gold Medal review)
One woman, one man, one shared fate...
A remote cottage on the wild coast of Cornwall sounded to Blythe Barton Stowe like the perfect escape from the pain and humiliation of recent events in her Hollywood life. But soon she seems to be reliving a centuries-old tragedy, and the handsome owner of the shabby manor house on the hill appears vitally entwined in her destiny. As they unearth one shocking family secret...