Kelly Frost, a textiles conservator, is invited to the Massachusetts coastal town of New Bedford to restore a 150-year-old Mariner’s Compass quilt, with one stipulation: she must live and work in Gray House where the quilt is stored. Tom Silva, whose heart seems as hard as the rocky coastline, is the caretaker employed by the mysterious absent owner of Gray House.
Over the long-lit months as Kelly works to restore the quilt, she is drawn out of her self-imposed shell and embraces the family God has given her after her own family failed her. As Kelly reads stories in a journal penned by Mary Gray, she learns there is no transgression beyond God’s forgiveness, but the real obstacle is forgiving herself. During her and Tom’s journey to grace and love, an unknown force works to keep both of them from discovering a long-buried truth that will change their lives forever.
Over the long-lit months as Kelly works to restore the quilt, she is drawn out of her self-imposed shell and embraces the family God has given her after her own family failed her. As Kelly reads stories in a journal penned by Mary Gray, she learns there is no transgression beyond God’s forgiveness, but the real obstacle is forgiving herself. During her and Tom’s journey to grace and love, an unknown force works to keep both of them from discovering a long-buried truth that will change their lives forever.
Tempest’s Course uses my very favorite writer’s strategy: a story within a story. I love that you’re reading the history of Gray House and the Mariner’s Compass quilt while you’re tracking with Kelly and Tom. The way that Sowell reveals both stories, bit by bit, builds the suspense and creates a relationship between the reader and the main characters.
Kelly and Tom are stand-up characters, too. Both have troubled pasts and are still dealing with issues but are determined to work through them. They are neither willing to give up in shame nor take the easiest path but instead press through the problems, determined to seek out God’s will. That strength of character makes for the best kind of story.
I didn’t want to put this book down. Kelly and Tom make fascinating characters with believable, down-to-earth problems, and when you throw in the historical mystery, you’ve definitely got a winner in my book.
Lynette Sowell is the award-winning author of five novels and six novellas for Barbour Publishing with sales topping 250,000. In 2009, Lynette was voted one of the favorite new authors by Heartsong Presents book club readers. Her historical romance, All That Glitters, was a finalist in ACFW’s 2010 Carol Awards. When Lynette’s not writing, she divides her time between editing medical reports and chasing down news stories for the Copperas Cove Leader-Press. Lynette was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but makes her home on the doorstep of the Texas hill country with her husband and a herd of cats who have them well-trained.
Learn more at: http://www.quiltsoflovebooks.com
Learn more at: http://www.quiltsoflovebooks.
I received a free copy of Tempest’s Course from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.
