#susanna kearsley

[calischarm]

The Rose Garden- Susanna Kearsley

A perfect blend of Historical fiction and time travel story that is beautifully written, about a woman whose grief drives her back to her home in England. But her old English home brings more than just memories.

She is taken back centuries past where she meets a man who makes her question if she was born in the right time.

[diaryoftruequotes]

It's too easy, you see, to get trapped in the past. The past is very seductive. People always talk about the mists of time, you know, but really it's the present that's in a mist, uncertain. The past is quite clear, and warm, and comforting. That's why people often get stuck there. Susanna Kearsley, Mariana

[con-alas-de-angeles]

Susanna Kearsley, The Rose Garden

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Winter Sea | Author: Susanna Kearsley | Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (2010)

[pmg227]

Favorite Reads of April '24

“Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories.” Hilary Mantel in Wolf Hall Being Elisabeth Elliot: The Authorized Biography: Later Years Ellen Vaughn. Though I’ve known that Elisabeth Elliot was the wife of Jim Elliot (a missionary killed in Ecuador in 1956), that’s pretty much all I knew about her. A shame since she was living and writing during my younger…

[ce-archerhelke]

Season of Storms: A Susanna Kearsley Reissue

My first Susanna Kearsley was The Shadowy Horses, and I fell and fell hard: for those shadowy horses, and for the characters in that novel, and for the lush, almost mythic prose with which Kearsley brings worlds to our fingertips. Season of Storms, much to my surprise, is slightly later than The Shadowy Horses, but at least in this reading, my first, it felt much more like an early novel than…

[foggytyphoonangel]

Seems Charles Lamb's quote was quite popular. From Susanna Kearsley's, "Season of Storms".

[kestrellady]

November Reading Wrap Up

Books I Actually Rated Surprisingly none this month.

Stand Out Books from November The Book of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pizan, Translated by Earl Jeffrey Richards Originally written in 1405, many of this book's central arguments are still being made today. While the book feels incredibly "modern" (thanks in part, I think, to a very readable translation), many of the arguments are steeped in religious philosophy and occasionally argue for a status quo that would be unacceptable to most modern readers. A good read if you're interested in women and religion or feminism through history.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022 edited by Rebecca Roanhorse I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Particular standouts: "Colors of the Immortal Palette" by Caroline M. Yoachim, who writes beautifully about being between worlds culturally and mortally. "The Red Mother" by Elizabeth Bear, which I want a whole series about this protagonist. "Broad Dutty Water: A Sunken Story" by Nalo Hopkinson which envisions a world under water from climate change and how humans continue to survive.

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley I've thoroughly enjoyed most of Kearsley's works and this was no exception. They usually have an element of magic or time bending and this one involves the ghost of a Roman centurion and a lost legion. The romance felt like it progressed naturally and it was nice to see attention to detail with the archaeology.

What I'm Reading Now I'm in the middle of so many things because I keep having to read what needs to go back to the library. I've got Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace, which is shaping up to be an interesting sequel to Archivist Wasp, Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt, which is a fascinating premise but I'm not holding out a lot of faith that he'll stick the landing, and One for All by Lillie Lainoff, which is a very solid YA novel so far. I've also just started With Golden Visions Bright Before Them by Will Bagley, which is a non-fiction discussion of the California Gold Rush. This is book two in Bagley's Overland West series, which will unfortunately not be completed due to the author's death. I read the first book, So Rugged and Mountainous when I worked at the Gateway Arch as background research and loved the writing style and deep dive into the time period, so I've been excited to finally pick the second one up. I'm also in the middle of the manga series Liselotte and Witch's Forest by Natsuki Takaya, who also did Fruits Basket, a classic shoujo manga and personal favorite. It's super cute!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month So many recently published sequels that I've got on hold! N.K. Jemisin's The World We Make, Freya Marske's A Restless Truth, Cherie Priest's Flight Risk, and Sue Lynn Tan's Heart of the Sun Warrior! The next volume of the Mieruko-chan manga just came out and I can't wait for the library to get it.

Reading Challenges I finished r/Fantasy's Book Bingo! I'll do a post at some point with all the prompts and the books I read for them. I've only got two left for Book Riot's Read Harder, which is good because they'll be announcing next year's any day now. I'm reading One for All for 23. a book by a disabled author, and I've settled on Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper for 20. an award-winning book from the year you were born. I've also got No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai on hold as I try to read through all the works that inspired characters in Bungo Stray Dogs.

[flyinghome-againstthewind]

Tell me about the rose garden one. 👀🌹

So this idea comes from The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley, which is a gorgeous book that has some parallels to Outlander (21st century woman travels back in time and falls in love with Jacobite from the first rising) and I’m essentially taking the mechanics of time travel in that book and slapping it onto Jamie and Claire’s story. Which boils down to: when Claire travels backwards through time, she isn’t able to control when it happens and she always returns to right when she left, so no time passes while she’s gone. Time does move forward for Jamie until her next arrival though, and I just think it would add a devastating layer of their time together never being promised and never knowing when Claire would get yanked through time again.

Send me an ask about my current wips!

[ryebecca]

for the sleepover!! maybe not recs per se, but what are your favorite films, books, shows, clothing stores!?

Thanks, Jordan! ☺️

Favorite films: there are many, but - Clue, The Shawshank Redemption, and the Star Wars OT!

Favorite books: THE HARDEST QUESTION!!! So I'll list out a few, but there are WAY more 😂. Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, anything by Susanna Kearsley and Natasha Lester, the Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas, Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage, etc etc etc etc.

Favorite shows: Once again there are many, but right now I'm into Law & Order (the OG and SVU), anything true crime, and Masters of the Air!

Favorite clothing stores: Madewell, Old Navy, and J. Crew are some of my go-to's!

sleepover weekend

[walkinginland]

Okay, nice ask week ask -

What other books/tv would you recommend that have a similar vibe to Outlander?

OOOOOO this is such a good question!

ok number one book rec for an outlander vibe except with better historical research and editing lmao would be anything by Susanna Kearsley. Woman is a master. Historical fiction, magic, ghosts, soulmates, etc etc etc. Delicious stuff. Mariana, The Rose Garden, and The Winter Sea, are especially outlander-esque.

For non-magical historical fiction that makes you feel like you've been hit by a truck, may I suggest Amy Harmon? Especially Where the Lost Wander. I've only read two of her books but whewwwwwwww. beautiful ouch.

And currently my other fave historical fiction has been anything by KJ Charles. Mostly non-magical but wonderfully queer. Happy Endings all around 🥺

Anything I missed, @flyinghome-againstthewind, @theawkwardterrier?

[calischarm]

Mariana-Susanna Kearsley

This is a beautifully written historical time travel story about Julia who moves into an old farmhouse and finds her self transported back to old time England. Into Mariana’s life.

Each time she travels back, she becomes more and more fascinated with this time and Mariana’s life. Will she end up in this time or will she make it back to her own time?

I really enjoyed this book and had a terrible book hangover when I was finished with it!

[thebookwormslair]

If you enjoyed the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, here are some book recommendations that you might enjoy:

"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger: This novel tells the story of a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel and his wife who must navigate their complicated relationship. Like Outlander, it features a time-traveling love story that spans multiple eras.

"The Bronze Horseman" by Paullina Simons: This historical romance is set in World War II-era Russia and tells the story of a young woman who falls in love with a soldier. Like Outlander, it features a passionate romance set against the backdrop of war.

"Dragonfly in Amber" by Diana Gabaldon: This is the second book in the Outlander series and continues the story of Claire and Jamie. If you enjoyed the first book, you will likely enjoy this one as well.

"The Winter Sea" by Susanna Kearsley: This novel tells the story of a woman who is writing a novel set in 18th-century Scotland and discovers that the events in her book may have actually happened. Like Outlander, it features a romance that transcends time and historical elements.

"The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" by Lauren Willig: This historical romance is set in Napoleonic-era England and France and tells the story of a young woman who is researching the identity of the Pink Carnation, a spy who helped bring down Napoleon. Like Outlander, it features a strong female lead and a historical backdrop.

These are just a few suggestions, but they all share a similar theme of romance, time travel, and historical elements!

[con-alas-de-angeles]

Susanna Kearsley, The Rose Garden

[writingwell]

A Year in Books - 2022

(challenge: read a book recommended by someone else)

Butterfly Yellow - Thanhhá Lai (Jessie) Collected Ghost Stories - MR James (Terra) The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton The Rose Garden - Susanna Kearsley Nightbitch - Rachel Yoder (bookriot/Liv) all about love: new visions - bell hooks (Liv) The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell (book club) Legendborn - Tracy Deonn (Candice) The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern (Jessie) The Winter Sea - Susanna Kearsley Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys (book club) Dispatches from Pluto - Richard Grant (Jamie) What Happened to You? - Dr Bruce Perry, Oprah (Blake) Writers & Lovers - Lily King (Christy) Kaiju Preservation Society - John Scalzi Named of the Dragon - S Kearsley Memphis - Tara Stringfellow (Shelley) Under the Whispering Door - TJ Klune (Jessie) Midnight Library - Matt Haig (Christina) How to Be Perfect - Michael Schur (book riot) You Made a Fool Out of Death With Your Beauty - A Emezi Book of Night - Holly Black (MPL newsletter) Bringing Down the Duke - Evie Dunmore All Your Perfects - Colleen Hoover (Caroline) The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth  - Beth Allison Barr (Andria) How to Stop Time - Matt Haig Heat Wave - Richard Castle Naked Heat - Richard Castle Autumn - Ali Smith (Beanie) Quartet - Jean Rhys (book club) Who Is Maud Dixon? - Alexandra Andrews (Leslie) When Women Were Dragons - Kelly Barnhill (MPL newsletter) Ace - Angela Chen (book riot) Dracula - Bram Stoker (Beanie/daily dracula) Baby Teeth - Zoje Stage (Caroline) A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik How We Talk - NJ Enfield (Aaron) The Golden Enclaves - Naomi Novik (Jessie)

[saltirebookreviews]

Book: THE VANISHED DAYS

By Susanna Kearsley

Series: Scottish

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Overall Rating : Five Stars but deserves 1000!

Overall Blog Rating: Five Saltire Flags

This book takes place in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It is a time when there is so much upheaval in Scotland. Between politics, religion and a Union most don’t agree to! King James Stuart being dethroned and fleeing to France. The Jacobite movement started, and as Jacobite is the Latin name for James. Also many Scots were not happy about joining the English parliament with “The Treaty of Union by Acts of Union!” Plus so much bigotry and religious issues with Catholicism, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and it was a total disaster! On top of that there was the unsuccessful Darien scheme backed by Scotland to gain wealth and influence for a new colony Caledonia. This novel centers around the life of Lilias (Lily) Aitcheson-Graeme narrated by Adam Williamson.

Scotland 1683-1707

Adam will never forget the first time he met Lily, it was shortly after “The Treaty of Union by Acts of Union” was passed between Scotland and England parliaments in 1707. This was to form The Great Britain Parliament. Adam was staying at his friend’s home with his pregnant wife Helen, where he had been taken ill. His friend Turnbull was away, so in his friend’s place with another man Lily was being interrogated-to be able to get the proof her marriage was genuine. As her husband Jamie Graeme was a dead sailor, Lily was trying to prove she was his heir and attempting to get his back wages too. This was all due to her as Jamie Graeme’s widow, however the problem was all her witnesses were dead and they never married in a Kirk. It was an Episcopalian ceremony, where this religion seemed to have many prejudices against it and the marriage took place outside a Kirk.

Lily and Jamie’s relationship which began as children, where he was always so kind and protective, but from a noble family. Lily was also warned by her Grandmother that they were of two different classes, where Jamie would always be the Lord and she the servant. In other words, she would never be good enough for the happy go lucky boy Jaime Graeme, who was also her very best friend.

This also details Lily’s relationships with a few different families even though she was an orphan. One was her fathers second wife, another was a family she worked for and third was a woman named Barbara who found her. This is how Lily met her foundling sons where she eventually fell in love with the eldest son named Matthew, though he was a bit of restless spirit and couldn’t stay in one place for long.

This novel also has several different timelines one is current day 1707 and the other timelines start in 1683 to 1699 when Lily was eight years old until she was about twenty-three. It shows her hardships and tragedies that she has struggled through, yet still be true to herself and the ones she loves. It also shows how Adam is immediately smitten with her right from the beginning, even through his research and when he gets to understand her and her true dilemma.

This book weaves true history with a fictional story that is absolutely brilliant. It shows how the Jacobites are supporters of James II and his descendants in their claim to the British throne after the Revolution of 1688. Drawing most of their support from Catholic clans of the Scottish Highlands. It shows how he is dethroned no matter how hard he tries to get his throne back. Yet this book did sweep me and my Jacobite heart away! It shows how politics, religion and union are a big part of this tale too and how the author did such detailed research which will give readers a history lesson too.

This is a prequel, crossover and a type of companion book for Kearsley’s 2017 novel, “The Winter Sea.” It includes so many familiar families that are in the book, The Graeme’s, Moray’s, plus other familiar characters from the book. So for fans of that book this is like a dream come true, which made this reader ecstatically happy! The author did a phenomenal amount of detailed research with true history which is absolutely brilliant. Plus the clever way it is connected and crosses over to “The Winter Sea” novel is absolutely magnificent!

This novel is an absolute masterpiece, probably my favorite read of the 2021. Susanna Kearsley is the master of this genre and definitely my go-to-author, as she has been a favorite of mine for a very long time. I have read every book she has written and “The Vanished Days” is now one of my favorite books she has written, as is the previous book “The Winter Sea.” She has this incredible talent of sweeping the reader off her feet and smack in the center of her story very quickly. As she has written another choice story filled with history and compassion with special understanding of human motivation and love! A book that will definitely stay with you long after you have read it and you will want to read again and again!

It is a book I absolutely love and can't recommend enough obviously. Also I think it is a novel that can be read as a stand alone book. For readers who haven’t read The Winter Sea, I think this book sets readers up perfectly to read The Winter Sea next. I myself am going to re-read it, as it made me miss the characters from that book too!

I received this book from Sourcebooks Landmark for a fair and honest review. I voluntarily agreed to read, review, blog and promote through netgalley. All words, ideas and thoughts are my own.