In the year 1841, on the eve of her departure from London, Bridie’s mother demands she forget her dead father and prepare for a sensible, adult life in Port Phillip. Desperate to save her childhood, fifteen-year-old Bridie is determined to smuggle a notebook filled with her father’s fairytales to the far side of the world.
When Rhys Bevan, a soft-voiced young storyteller and fellow traveller realises Bridie is hiding something, a magical friendship is born. But Rhys has his own secrets and the words written in Bridie’s notebook carry a dark double meaning.
As they inch towards their destination, Rhys’s past returns to haunt him. Bridie grapples with the implications of her dad’s final message. The pair take refuge in fairytales, little expecting the trouble it will cause.
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MY REVIEW
If I had to be making a sea voyage in 1841 from England to Australia (and what other way was there back then?), then I would definitely want a story book along with me. We're talking months at sea here. It's not like they had a cruise director and organized activities to keep people's mind off the fact that the only two pieces of scenery they would see for the duration was blue skies and a sparkling sea vs a dark sky and stormy seas. At least it wasn't a prison ship. (A lot of convicts got sent to Australia.)
Ms. Corbett's imagery is so realistic and finely crafted that I can almost hear the gulls, feel the rock of the ship and (and I forgive her for this one *lol*) the smell of the Thames. It is extraordinarily easy to insert myself as a passenger on Bridie's ship and experience the story along with the written characters.
Ditto her writing about the fear of enclosed spaces, as experienced by Rhys. Now, I don't have that same fear, but I am none too fond of, say, WalMart on the first of the month...or during the holiday shopping season. Too many people, not enough space. Anyway, back to Rhys. He aids Bridie in getting her book on board (which her mother had told her to leave behind), so both Bridie and we readers develop a kinship soft spot for him.
But it's not all 'beer and skittles' on the voyage. In the middle months, food and supplies are used up, people's patience and tolerance for stress are stretched to the breaking point. Who knows what could happen?
The words of The Tides Between flow smoothly and have a cadence all their own. Seriously, it's prose but it reads like poetry. The best of both worlds perhaps?
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth lives with her husband, Andrew, in a renovated timber cottage in Melbourne’s inner-north. She likes red shoes, dark chocolate, commuter cycling, and reading quirky, character driven novels set once-upon-a-time in lands far, far away.
For more information, please visit Elizabeth Jane Corbett’s website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
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GIVEAWAY!!!
Go to the tour page and scroll until you see the really big picture of the book cover and the Gleam giveaway form. A few extra clicks maybe, but SO worth it!
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Click on the banner above to go to the tour page, where you will find links to more reviews of this title. You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there!
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.)
Thanks so much for hosting The Tides Between Blog Tour! I am so happy that you enjoyed the read!
ReplyDeleteAmy
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