Sunday, August 21, 2016

The Whiskey Sea (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: The Whiskey Sea
Author: Ann Howard Creel
Publication: Lake Union Publishing, trade paperback, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction, 1920s New Jersey
Giveaway: Thanks to the author and publisher, I have a copy of this book to give away to a US or Canadian reader! If you are a fan of historical fiction, please leave a comment telling me your favorite setting or time frame and I will pick a winner at or around the end of August.
Plot: Homeless when their mother (the town whore) dies, Frieda and her sister Bea are adopted by a kindly fisherman Silver. Frieda loves the sea and Silver’s way of life while the more delicate Bea excels in school. But Silver doesn’t approve of Frieda’s desire to join him deep sea fishing when she leaves school, so he sells his boat to a quiet young man named Sam Hicks who admires Frieda. Forced to think creatively about how to support her sister and adoptive father, Frieda persuades Hicks to teach her how to repair engines. Some of the fishermen are reluctant to trust a woman for such work and some people in town can’t forget her scandalous origins but Frieda scrapes out a living. When she is invited to help the skipper of a large boat smuggle liquor, her family and Hicks disapprove but Frieda sees not only a chance to make extra money as a mechanic but also finds excitement as the smugglers are often chased by the Coast Guard (trying to uphold Prohibition restrictions). Adding to the drama, Frieda falls for the handsome young Princeton alum who shows up to help with the smuggling as a lark - if he disappears as quickly, will he take her heart with him?

Audience: Fans of historical fiction, especially of feisty heroines longing for a non-traditional role in the world. Creel is also the author of While You Were Mine, set just after WWII.

What I liked: There are many books about this time period told from the perspective of flighty (or not so flighty) flappers, some of whom, like Frieda, yearn to escape the expectations of family but author Creel spotlights a very different heroine – one from a small town with little money and long memories – she is judged and found wanting due to her birth and sharp tongue. Frieda loves her adoptive father and sister but ignores their pleas to stop smuggling, justifying her actions as being done to support them. The descriptions of whiskey running are detailed, vivid and terrifiying, leading inexorably to disaster.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

What I disliked: For most of the book, I found the heroine hard to like. She was ashamed of her mother’s behavior and reputation so it didn’t make sense that she would so easily succumb to the charms of a stranger. Plus, it annoyed me that she was such a pushover even while the author skillfully conveyed Charles’ magnetism. I was also extremely irked that after Frieda risked her life on multiple occasions to fund her sister’s desire to attend college and become a teacher, Bea was so willing to toss her dream away and, even worse, not be available when Silver and Frieda needed her.
Source: I received a copy of this novel from TLC Book Tours and Lake Union Publishing in return for an honest review.  Don't you like the cover?  Although Frieda looks a bit too fashionable...  Please visit other stops on the tour:

Monday, August 22ndMusings of  a Bookish Kitty
Tuesday, August 23rdYou Can Read Me Anything
Thursday, August 25thI Wish I Lived in a Library
Friday, August 26thThoughts on This ‘n That
Monday, August 29thBookNAround
Tuesday, August 30thBlack ‘n Gold Girls Book Reviews
Wednesday, August 31stCaryn, The Book Whisperer
Thursday, September 1stSharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Friday, September 2ndThe Warlock’s Gray Book
Monday, September 5thPatricia’s Wisdom
Tuesday, September 6thJust Commonly
Wednesday, September 7thReading is My Superpower
Thursday, September 8thWrite Read Life
Monday, September 12thBibliotica
Tuesday, September 13thMelissa Lee’s Many Reads
Thursday, September 15thView from the Birdhouse
Friday, September 16thFictionZeal
Monday, September 19thReading the Past

3 comments:

GSGreatEscaper said...

Am I a fan of historical fiction? You bet. Having started with Katherine by Anya Seton, I do think that medieval/early modern British hf is my favorite. Elizabeth Chadwick and Sharon Kay Penman come to mind among living writers. To the historian's mind, though, contemporary fiction, even that dismissed as 'romance' or 'women's fiction' is historical if it accurately reflects social, political and/or intellectual conditions and thought of the era.

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

Prohibition era is such a fascinating time to read about for me - I'm looking forward to getting another peek at it in this book.

Thanks for being a part of the tour!

Anonymous said...

I love historical fiction, particularly the WWI and WWII time period. Preferred setting is definitely England, but I can't wait to read this book!

Kimberly B.