The Winter Sea

By: Susanna Kearsley

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 15 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

History has all but forgotten...

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her...

Please note: This novel has also been published under a different title: Sophia's Secret.

Please note, this title is the original recording, which is now known as Sophia's Secret

©2010 Susanna Kearsley (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Romance, 2012

"Rosalyn Landor provides delightful Scottish accents for many of the characters Carrie meets inside and outside her novel....Landor adds a poetic edge to her storytelling while at the same time giving a dreamy aura to the historical side of the story." ( Audiofile)

Loved it

What did you love best about The Winter Sea?

History and a love story intermixed. I wanted to know what happened to the characters. I felt the author did an excellent job moving back and forth between past and present and that the characters in both eras were interesting and engaging.

What does Rosalyn Landor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her performance was great. I could not have applied the appropriate primness to the tone of voices for past or any of the accents that helped bring the book alive.

Any additional comments?

I sought out other books by this author due to this book.

Wonderful narrator

This is a very good book and the narrator was perfect for it. She gave some accents and her voice was extremely pleasant to listen to.

not ordinary by any means. worth the time!

I just finished listening to this story on my 24 mile commute. So engaged was I in the story of Sophia and John, and Carrie and Graham that the miles flew by and I was transported to Scotland each morning and evening. Many of the novels that are considered historical romance can be somewhat formulaic. Kudos to Ms. Kearsley for making this story so engrossing with nary a hint at what was to be the ending. Thanks also for the richness of the history, making it not a backdrop but a telling of the struggle of the Jacobites and of Scotland's fight to remain independent.

I was happily lost in this story

What did you love best about The Winter Sea?

The combination of genealogy, mystery, and genetic memory.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!

Any additional comments?

While I like audiobooks for their portability, I normally get distracted by the narrator and their inability to really portray different characters, especially different genders. I usually speed up the reading so I can get through the book quickly because while I want to hear the story, the narrator is annoying. I did speed up this story because I couldn't wait to hear what happened! I easily and quickly got caught up in this story because 1) it's a really fascinating, enthralling story and 2) the narrator did not detract or distract me from the story. I found myself pausing whatever task I was doing while listening because I was so enchanted by what was happening. I even laughed, sighed, and almost cried

Mesmerizing

Where does The Winter Sea rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Right there with the good ones I'll remember. The plot and magical narration drew me in and held me there. I usually save my audiobooks for walks but this one turned out to be an exception, I grabbed every spare minute I found to listen to this

What other book might you compare The Winter Sea to and why?

Outlander. The scottish locale, and historical references remind me a bit of outlander but this book doesn't take from outlander, it stands on its own.

What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?

I liked the fact that she was the one who read it! Landor never disappoints. I could listen to her forever.

Smart love take, beautiful reading

Lots of historical facts, and a very smartly written old fashioned love tale. And the reading is just perfect bringing every character to live with all the emotions. Enjoyed the listening very much.

Great performance, compelling story

Loved this book! A very interesting premise with wonderful historical details and well developed characters. One of the best performances I've listened to! Ms Landor does a great job with all the different accents and assigning each character their own personality. Really enjoyable!

Very innovative and interesting story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Winter Sea to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't know, I did not read the print version.

What other book might you compare The Winter Sea to and why?

It was a new experience for me. Although I love historical romance, I don't like much history. This story wove history and modernity so wonderfully. I could hardly turn it off to go to sleep. If it wasn't the historical character holding my interest, it was the modern author. It was even more wonderful for lack of sexual content, I can even let my young granddaughter listen to it. Very intriguing book!

What about Rosalyn Landor’s performance did you like?

Everything. Very absorbing with the differences in geographical inflections!

If you could take any character from The Winter Sea out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Definately the Author. Very interesting character. Interestingly combining

Any additional comments?

These are the kinds of books that should become classics. Very well-written, has a moral, and interesting history thrown in!

Nice Story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I love historical fiction and I thought this book had a good story to it. I like how the writer slipped into the memories of the characters. Her main character Sophia was such a strong person to endure what she went through. I loved all the twists and turns to this book.

absolutely oustanding

Would you listen to The Winter Sea again? Why?

yes! I did.

What did you like best about this story?

story and narrator

Have you listened to any of Rosalyn Landor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

one of her best

Any additional comments?

I wish I had read it before I read the Firebird just because I think they should be part 1 and part 2 of the same excellent story.