Swept Up by the Sea

A Romantic Fairy Tale

By: Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Determined to seek his fortune, Percival Taylor leaves behind his sleepy hometown and sets out to become a legendary pirate - only no one at the roguish seaport of Blackshore will allow him anywhere near a ship! Percival must find other means to win the heart of the beautiful Tuppence Magrathia-Paddock, who has mistaken him for a pirate rogue out of one of her romantic tales. She is entirely willing to swoon into his arms if he can prove his buccaneer soul - and she is willing to arrange her own kidnapping to prove it.

Percival eventually finds himself captain of a broken-down ship (complete with a crew of pirates who make their living selling fake treasure maps), a jilted fiancee, a reclusive Master Shipwright, and an old professor with a secret that could kill them all. It’s Pirates of Penzance meets Princess Bride as this motley group of characters sets sail for treasure and romance.

©2013 Tracy and Laura Hickman (P)2013 Shadow Mountain

Fun story! Great characters! Love the narrator!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Laura and Tracy Hickman have been well-known authors for decades, and this book proves that they haven't lost their touch! What a fun book! I highly recommend this and it's prequel Eventide. Thanks Hickmans! You made dish and chore time a ton of fun!

Fun story. Appropriate for young readers.

While this book was not what I was looking for. I won't give it a bad review. It was a cute book. It would be a fun listen for a family car trip. There was lots of wit, no real violence and a number of interesting characters. "Pirates of the Carribean" influence is easily recognized, but this story has some of its own charm.

I would classify this as something other than romance. Adventure or young readers catagories?

The narrator was good.

Fun, Whimsical Adventure for All Ages

Delightful, whimsical, and subverts expectations!

I didn't particularly like the narration of the prologue, but it was otherwise pleasing to listen. the story may seem to ramble a bit, but it all comes together beautifully in the end!

I was especially delighted with the accurate (and intentionally comically inaccurate) use of sailing jargon throughout, which was wonderfully supported by context clues for any who may not follow the jargon itself.

Excellent Story, really funny and enjoyable!

Would you consider the audio edition of Swept Up by the Sea to be better than the print version?

I am a dressmaker who listens to audiobooks while working and I really enjoyed this audiobook, Simon Vance is a top rate performer and the story is very funny, with that perfect mix of humor and seriousness.

What did you like best about this story?

The story, how it evolves and the humor that is conveyed with it.

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

Simon Vance is a genius! (his perfomance of 'The Prestige' is amazing!) and he manages to blend the humor so well in to the story. Also in the serious moments he manages to retain a dignity, whereas so many narrators descend into a whinny or overly serious tone of voice he manages the perfect balance.

Who was the most memorable character of Swept Up by the Sea and why?

well.... they were all really good, I liked Verity and her evolution from a small town girl to realising she didn't need a man to complete her, and I liked Abel and am very much looking for to his book (which I am guessing must be book 3 in the series)

Any additional comments?

I think this was a very smart well thought out book with an excellent performance and also recommend Eventide which was the first book in the series and was also excellent!!

Disappoints

I just couldn't get through this. I liked the sample, but just couldn't get past chapter 10. I think the problem was a mismatch between genre and narration. I absolutely love Simon Vance as a narrator. I actually found the book via a search for books narrated by Vance.

However, I think what I don't like about the book is that the narration style clashes with the genre of the writing style. They just did not work together. Imagine a fairy tale read with the dry wit of Simon V. It would have been great if there had been dry wit in the fairy tale, but it wasn't that style of fairy tale, so it was very hard to mesh with the delivery.

I think I might have loved this book with another narrator, but with the clash of two such distinct styles, I just could not enjoy it at all.