Book Three of my 2013 Goal

The Whaler's Bride by Carla Marie Sullwold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Whaler's Bride by Carla Marie Sullwold is a slow paced romance, mystery perfect for relaxing by the fireplace. The author's use of words in her descriptions is impressive and the feeling I got while reading it stayed with me long after the book was finished. The story is filled with a lot of descriptions of the settings which in a way stall the slow pace of the story, however it has a lot to do with the overall picture and understanding the 'feeling' of the main character, Mary Lee.

The story starts off when Mary Lee Larssen recalls on her honeymoon when her husband, Lucas buys her an exquisite piece of scrimshaw as a memento of the beginning of their life together. Mary Lee cherishes this scrimshaw and after Lucas dies from a heart attack 40 years later she visits a scrimshaw exhibit in a museum in New Bedford. Mary Lee spots a piece of scrimshaw by Lars Linquist that is the spitting image of her husband and becomes obsessed with finding out more about the piece as well as her own. Her search brings her back to Cape Cod, the place her piece was purchased from. Not only does Mary Lee learn more about these pieces of scrimshaw, she uncovers another mystery in the Cape, only this one is about a very prominent family from long ago, the Snows.

The characters in the story are well developed and the pace is slow and relaxing. The authors love of words is prominent throughout the story and at times are as rhythmic and beautiful as good poetry. The settings are well described to the point where you can almost hear the waves crashing on the shore or see the scrimshaw right in front of you. The ending was a bit of a surprise and so beautiful. It made me sigh and fill with so many emotions, I am sure this story will stay with me for quite some time.

I recommend this story to anyone who would like a slow paced, relaxing read about love and its boundaries.

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