#BlogTour: On Starlit Seas by Sara Sheridan @sarasheridan @HodderBooks @AlainnaGeorgiou #OnStarLitSeas #SaraSheridan

Book Synopsis:

Celebrated writer and historian Maria Graham must make the treacherous voyage from Brazil to London to deliver her latest book to her publisher. Having come to terms with the loss of her beloved husband, Maria is now determined to live her life as she pleases, free from the smothering constraints of Georgian society.

For a woman travelling alone it’s a journey fraught with danger, and as civil war rages around her, the only ship prepared to take Maria belongs to roguish smuggler Captain James Henderson. Onboard, all is well until Maria makes two shocking discoveries – the first a deadly secret, the second an irresistible attraction to the enigmatic captain.

With Henderson on a journey of his own and determined to finally put his life of crime behind him, he and Maria grow ever closer. But can Henderson escape his illicit past or will the scandalous secret he’s hiding ruin them both?

My Review:

On Starlit Seas is another absorbing, atmospheric read from Sara Sheridan.  

Firstly I absolutely loved the main character Maria and enjoyed following her throughout the book.  She’s an actual historical character who I’d not heard of before so it was fascinating to find out more about her, chocolate smuggling and Brazil’s war for independence. It’s always a joy to read about independent, strong ladies especially in past times when the odds were more stacked against them and I loved how Maria stands up for herself against the norms of society.  She doesn’t let anyone get in the way of her dreams which is very admirable both in the book and her achievements in real life.

I though the book had a great pace to it and there always seemed to be something happening to keep me reading.  The author has done a great job of setting the scene and I often felt like I was really there experiencing the heat of the jungle at one moment and the rigidness of English society in the next.  The story has a bit of everything in it war, adventure, ship voyages and romance which worked really well in the story.  I loved learning more about the period as I didn’t know much about the beginnings of the chocolate trade or the gangs that existed purely for smuggling.  The book is based around real events and I liked that the author has been able to fit her story inside of what actually transpired which I thought was very clever.  I always love being able to google real life historical figures whilst reading so I can find out more about them but in this case I suggest not doing this until after you’ve read the book as it does cause some spoilers.

The ending was really well done and I found myself cheering for how everything turned out.  I do wish one aspect of the ending was slightly different but unfortunately real life events means that it wouldn’t have been possible to end any other way.

If you are a fan of vivid, exciting historical fiction then I highly recommend this book.  

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About The Author:

Sara Sheridan works in a wide range of media and genres but mostly historical and especially the stories of women. She loves exploring where our culture comes from. In 2018 she remapped Scotland according to women’s history. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she was nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She has received a Scottish Library Award and has been shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize and the Wilbur Smith Prize. Her work was included in the David Hume Institute’s Summer Reading list 2019. She has sat on the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland (where she lives) and on the board of ’26’ the campaign for the importance of words. She took part in 3 ’26 Treasures’ exhibitions at the V&A, London, The National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. She occasionally blogs for the Guardian about her writing life, the Huffington Post about her activism as a writer and a feminist and puts her hand up to being a ‘twitter evangelist’. From time to time she appears on radio, and has reported for BBC Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent from both Tallin and Sharjah. Sara is a member of the Society of Authors and the Historical Writers Association. A self-confessed ‘word nerd’ her favourite book is ‘Water Music’ by TC Boyle. In 2016 she cofounded feminist perfume brand, REEK: artefacts from the project are now held at the National Museums of Scotland and the Glasgow Women’s Library.