Across a Starlit Sea

I loved this book. However, I have to say Moondark Moor is my favorite. When is the 3rd book in this trilogy going to appear?

Did the other reviewers even read the same book I did? This is one of my all time favorite romances. This is a gothic-style romance and many gothic romances were and still are told from a female, first person narrative. Secondly, Laura, the heroine, thought she loved Nicholas "Nicki" Chandler (NOT the hero, BTW). Nicki was charming but had a ruthless, cruel streak and he was the one, in a druken rage, who TRIED to rape Laura. If not for Jarrett Chandler, Nicki's brother, coming to the rescue, Nicki would have succeeded. Jarrett, the hero, loved Laura since childhood. It took Nicki's violent assault on Laura to make her realize what a total blackguard he was and that he didn't care for her at all except as a means of hurting his brother Jarrett. So, Laura was not raped by Jarrett. Nicki was not the main male lead in the book, but a strong secondary character. Okay, that clarified, now I can move on. This is the second book in the Highclyffe Hall trilogy which continues the saga of the Chandler family. The young people from the first book, Upon a Moon-Dark Moor, are the middle-aged adults in this book with their offspring as the focus of the romance and melodrama. I liked all the characters in their respective roles, from the notorious Nicki and selfish Lizzie to the handsome, honorable Jarrett and misguided Laura. Jarrett, especially, is one of my favorite historical romance heroes. Ms. Brandewyne has a certain style that draws the reader in and makes you become a part of the story, as all great storytellers should do. This book is a keeper for me and I have read it many times and still enjoy it. I hope sometime soon Ms. Brandewyne writes the third book in the trilogy.

This is my first time reading Brandewyne, and after reading the reviews posted on both Across a Starlit Sea and Upon a Moon-Dark Moor (which I haven't read yet. but will when I get my hands on them), the only thing I can say is READ BETWEEN THE LINES. So ok, it's not your usual romance novel where the hero and heroine (with little flaw) meet, and immediately fall in love. To me, when I was reading the book, I felt I WAS part of the book. I mean, yes her descriptions are long and her wording tedious, but it gives you a visual of what the heroine sees. And the best part is its first person point of view. She with the heroine being in her old age who promises to show us what things she did in her youth and the mistakes she made. Although you know what's going to happen, you are still serious to how and why it happened. She then starts with the heroine being 7 and growing up with a passion to live life to the fullest. She blames on the "Chandler trait". In her youth she believed that what she does is right and come on! Don't we all? That's what being young is all about, you are restless, think you are always right, and if it's first love, ah! you can NEVER be wrong no matter what the signals are. Brandewyne does try to show that, but then again, you have to read between the lines. Also her being a woman-child, I mean come-on! She's just SEVENTEEN for goodness sake. She doesn't know the rights front he wrongs as she admits in the book saying that although she did so things wrong, if she was given the chance to change them, she won't for that's what made her WHO she is.Then here's the complain about the hero; being to ruthless, coldhearted, and according to the heroine, hot-tempered. But then again, you only get the picture of what the heroine feels about the hero. Remember, she doesn't love him (yet) and if you don't love someone, will you go on praising them? NO! He might seem a bit rough when he pulls her in his "iron grip", but when is the setting taking place? In the 1840's. It was a male-dominated world. Women were there for male pleasure ONLY. But his "iron grip" justifies for itself, for he maybe hot tempered, seem dangerous with the Gypsy look, but he DID and DOES love her. If you again Read Between the Lines, you'll see and he has been loving her since he was a boy of 13 and she only 7. He's a guy, so showing his feeling for another may not be that easy as it is for girls. So, although it might seem like it, he's not a 'one-dimensional' character.Yes here are some history lessons in the book, but they do justifies for itself late on in the book. The whole union rising and the destruction at the china-mines.....doesn't it make you curious? It does me.'The only think I can say is you are going to LOVE the book, if you can just read between the lines. Having EVERYTHING on a page doesn't let your imagination run and yes the character may say one thing and so another, but if you really think about it, you'll see the true picture.

I first read this book several years ago and I loved it. Over the years this has been a favorite of mine that I have read time and again. A lot of this has to do with the characters the author created. I found them to be quite endearing.