"A poignant second chance at love tale"
In the days of the thriving whaling industry, the
residents of Truro, Massachusetts survive by recovering
cargo from the shipwrecks near their Cape Cod community.
Rachel Best and her husband Richard have lived in Truro all
their lives. He knows the nearby Atlantic Ocean as well as
anyone, but when he disappears at sea, everyone else
concludes he died. Rachel refuses to believe her spouse is
dead so every morning regardless of the weather she walks
to the ocean expecting Richard to return. Sea Captain Jared Mitchell has wanted to die ever since
he blamed himself for the accidental deaths of his wife and
daughter. Unable to cope, he tries a strange suicide by
commanding his whaling crew maroon him in the sea. The
ocean fails to listen to his plea; so on a cold autumn day,
Rachel finds the whaleboat containing the half-dead Jared.
She and her family nurse Jared back to health. Jared falls
in love with Rachel who begins to reciprocate, but she
feels guilty because she still believes Richard is coming
home. GIFTS FROM THE SEA is an insightful American romance
that is excellent when it concentrates on a second chance
at love though closure from the previous relationship has
not occurred. When the novel meanders into unnecessary
subplots, it loses some of its wallop. Jared is a
compassionate hero while Rachel is more difficult to accept
because her marriage was not a happy one so one wonders
why she loyally clings to a memory. Still when Jane
Goodger keeps the love story of the lead couple front and
center, readers receive a wonderful historical romance. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted December 10, 2001
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