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)

Captivating

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

One of the best books I've listened to so far.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character in this book is Colonel Graham. I'd like him to be on my side like he was on Sophia's.

Which character ??? as performed by Rosalyn Landor ??? was your favorite?

I liked Rosalyn's performance of Jimmy most of all. I got a great mental picture of him.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I cried towards the end....don't want to give anything away.

Any additional comments?

Great listen. Loved it. Hated to have it end. I'll listen to it again. Love the narration. Made me want to check into my ancestry.

History and romance at an all time high!

Would you listen to The Winter Sea again? Why?

This is my first book by Susanna Kearsley and I am totally won over by her style. The book is full of Scottish and English history along with the touches of intrigue and mystery , love and heartache. The only thing that I wanted to happen was the story not to end! I laughed and cried one minute and then angered or heartbroken at the next! The story rolls along at a pace that makes you want the next chapter to hurry up and get here so I could find out what was going to happen next.. I could not have wished for a better first try at this author. I look forward to reading other books by her.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the history and details of what happened with King Jamie and the English onslaught of Scotland. I was moved at how much the story involved the dedication of the men defending the King and their love for not only the King but for their country. An amazing story and very well written

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved this book and from the start scene to scene was as heartfelt and powerful as the next.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The strength of a mothers love for her child and the undeniable lengths that she would go to not only to protect that child but also to protect herself and the man she will love all of her life! .

Any additional comments?

Hats off to Ms Kearsley! I will be back for another tale.

Loved it!

If you could sum up The Winter Sea in three words, what would they be?

Scotland, Scotland and love!

What did you like best about this story?

I had driven down the road the author mentions! Beautiful costline!

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

Had a nice voice and allowed me to do other things while listening.

If you could rename The Winter Sea, what would you call it?

Scotland now & back then!

Wonderful!!!

I so enjoyed this book - can't wait to listen to more by this author!!!

Captivating

Truly, it's been a while since I enjoyed a saga of history and romance as captivating as this one. It is my first Susanne Kearsley novel, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Caused a Sleepless Night!

If you could sum up The Winter Sea in three words, what would they be?

Compelling story effortlessly weaving back and forth between past and present. I literally stayed awake listening and stole every moment to get away to the little house on the cliff!

interesting listen

What made the experience of listening to The Winter Sea the most enjoyable?

The book starts stronger then it ends but I still enjoyed listening

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character

Which scene was your favorite?

No one scene stood out for me

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No just the story just caught my interest

A soothing read

I loved this book...It was interesting and soothing to listen to. I liked how the author described the writing of the book and what went into the creation of the story. I found the narration to be slightly distracting as the English accent seemed a bit contrived, but I was impressed with the narrator's ability to do different voices for the different characters. I am off to "read" Susanna's next book!

Good book, worth a listen.

If you loved the Outlander series, you may also enjoy this book since it's set in historic Scotland. But the humor and sarcasm that Gabaldon generously sprinkles throughout her stories is missing in this book. Still, it's a very good story and the author is masterful at descriptions of the surroundings. I felt like I was standing on the edge of that winter sea. Some other reviewer's did not like the narrator's accents. Not being from the UK, I thought the Scottish accents were good. It was Carrie's voice that grated on me. There was something very stiff and proper about her voice that turned me off so much I had a hard time getting into the story. It was not the voice I would have cast as a romantic heroine. And similarly, the friend/agent Jane's voice sounded more like she would be the main character's hoity-toity old grandmother than a young, new mother. Once into the story, though, I was able to get past that and enjoy it. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more with a different narrator or just as a book, so I could imagine my own voices for the characters.

Excellent ending

I love a book with a surprise ending. This book is hard to put down and great for people who like to study their genealogy