If the Tide Turns by Rachel Rueckert 432 pages

When Kensington Books asked me to write a blurb for Rachel Rueckert’s debut novel, I jumped at the opportunity. Although I don’t read many romance novels, I do enjoy stories that take place
in or near the water. The feel of the salty breeze and the mist stinging your face---that sort of thing. Set during the waning days of the Golden Age of Pirates (1689-1718; who knew there was
such a thing?), If the Tide Turns is the “captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy, combining high seas adventure, star-crossed longing, surprisingly timely questions about social
justice and freedom, and the emotionally satisfying tale of one strong-willed young woman determined to choose her own path.”

This is the blurb I wrote: “Two lovers, separated by their stations in life, fight their way back to each other’s arms. On land and on the sea, Sam and Maria overcome the hardships of the mid-1700s. Rueckert’s new novel is a tale of daring, courage, aching loneliness and two people willing to face any obstacles to be together.”

It’s 1715 in Eastham, Massachusetts. Maria Brown is the beautiful, hard-headed daughter of a wealthy family who has arranged a marriage for her. She doesn’t want any part of the much older
(shall we just say old?), also wealthy and abusive John Hallett.

Maria has her heart set on a young, orphaned sailor, Sam Bellamy. They met as Sam had been laid-off (yes, laid-off from his previous ship when it docked and no longer needed his services) and searched for another ship. The two are drawn together. Sam to Maria for her beauty and her self-determination. Maria to Sam for his idealistic opinions. The two are smitten with each other. Sam wants to marry her, but her father forbids it, in fact banishing him from their home. Maria, characteristically, vows to wait for him, to wait until he can make his fortune and offer everything her father deems, she should have.

Eager for success, Sam becomes involved with a pirate ship. But Sam isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill pirate. He is only interested in taking other ships’ bounties, not lives nor ships. His reputation as a “nice” pirate precedes him. Maria leaves home, bent on following him from port to port. It’s a dangerous path she has chosen--- a woman traveling alone.

If the Tide Turns has all the aspects of a swashbuckling delightful read as Sam and Maria fight for their love. If the Tide Turns gets 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Women of Pearl Island

 “The Women of Pearl Island” by Polly Crosby 352 pages

 If you are looking for a page-turner, you’ll want to pass on this beautiful, atmospheric novel. The plot builds steadily and gives lots of surprises, but it is the land and seascapes that make this novel a must-read. 

Tartelin Brown is having trouble moving past the death of her mother. She needs to get away from London and accepts a position as a personal assistant to an elderly woman in a wheelchair on an island off the British coast. 

The island is owned by the Stourbridge family. The elderly woman who calls it home is the last of her lineage. Miss Marianne was raised on Dohhalund (name of the island). Her family made their money from the herring trade and the pearls that are farmed off the island’s rugged coastline. It is a primitive place to live---no cell service, no electricity, and no phones. 

Tartelin’s main job is to collect a variety of butterflies so that Marianne can study them. Something happened on the island during World War II. Something that involved the nuclear testing done there, but no records have survived. Marianne is sure she can find answers in the butterflies that she has been collecting since 1955. 

The book has two timelines: 1955 and 2018. In 1955, a young girl comes to live with the family. Marianne distrusts her as she seems to steal all of Dad’s attention. But there is a bigger secret that Marianne uncovers. In 2018, as Tartelin roams the island in search of butterflies, she meets many people who help her discover the secrets.  

I enjoyed the scenery a lot, but the plotline was a tad slow for me. The book’s title was a mystery until near the story’s end when the island is referred to as Pearl Island. If that sentence had been deleted, the reader would never get it.  Or at least this reader wouldn’t.  Therefore, I’m going to give “The Women of Pearl Island,” 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.