Do you like your books set at sea? If that is yes, then you must read Discerning Grace @LombardEmma @maryanneyarde

 Today we are casting off and heading to the high seas with The Coffee Pot Book Club!

 

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It is always exciting to come upon a new author. When I was offered the chance to read Emma Lombard’s debut novel, Discerning Grace, I jumped at the chance.

The characters in this novel are larger than life, the plot was utterly enthralling, and the historical setting was carefully portrayed.

I always have a great admiration for authors who set their novels at sea—they must have to do so much research. I am sure if I had to write about life on the high seas in the early 19th Century I would soon find myself adrift- pardon the pun!

Grace is a feisty protagonist who is determined to take control of her life, and I could only admire such determination. She does, because of her sheer stubbornness and her inability to think about consequence, makes some really bad decisions which leads to one of her friends ending up in Newgate prison and the other… well, you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens to him, but be prepared and have some tissues with you.

Despite the feel of this book being a little Treasure Islandly—without the treasure, or pirates, although I guess O’Reilly could be classed as the latter, this book was a really fun read. There is, however, a scene of explicit sexual assault which could certainly be very upsetting and traumatic for some readers. I would suggest a small warning at the bottom of the blurb so a reader can come equipped with the knowledge that there are such scenes.

As I have said, I really did enjoy this novel, and I was gripped from page one. This novel is certainly one that I would be happy to read over and over again. I am certainly looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

Discerning Grace

(Book One of The White Sails Series)

By Emma Lombard

As the first full-length novel in The White Sails Series, DISCERNING GRACE captures the spirit of an independent woman whose feminine lens blows the ordered patriarchal decks of a 19th century tall ship to smithereens.

Wilful Grace Baxter, will not marry old Lord Silverton with his salivary incontinence and dead-mouse stink. Discovering she is a pawn in an arrangement between slobbery Silverton and her calculating father, Grace is devastated when Silverton reveals his true callous nature.

Refusing this fate, Grace resolves to stow away. Heading to the docks, disguised as a lad to ease her escape, she encounters smooth-talking naval recruiter, Gilly, who lures her aboard HMS Discerning with promises of freedom and exploration in South America.

When Grace's big mouth lands her bare-bottomed over a cannon for insubordination, her identity is exposed. The captain wants her back in London but his orders, to chart the icy archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, forbid it. Lieutenant Seamus Fitzwilliam gallantly offers to take Grace off the fretting captain's hands by placing her under his protection.

Grace must now win over the crew she betrayed with her secret, while managing her feelings towards her taciturn protector, whose obstinate chivalry stifles her new-found independence. But when Grace disregards Lieutenant Fitzwilliam's warnings about the dangers of the unexplored archipelago, it costs a friend his life and she realises she is not as free as she believes.

If you would like to read this book then you need to head over to your favourite ONLINE BOOKSTORE! 

 

Emma Lombard

 

Emma Lombard was born in Pontefract in the UK. She grew up in Africa—calling Zimbabwe and South Africa home for a few years—before finally settling in Brisbane Australia, and raising four boys. Before she started writing historical fiction, she was a freelance editor in the corporate world, which was definitely not half as exciting as writing rollicking romantic adventures. Her characters are fearless seafarers, even though in real life Emma gets disastrously sea sick. Discerning Grace, is the first book in The White Sails Series.

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