The good old days really weren’t that great. Sure, it might be wonderful to travel back to the bucolic rolling hills of 19th century England, and live in Jane Austin’s elegant world of manor homes and ballroom galas. But for those not born into a wealthy family, the good old days meant a life of indentured servitude, long grueling hours on the farm, and an early death from disease. Even with money and social status there were few happy endings. Most marriages were arranged in order to keep the wealthy wealthy and the poor poor. While Austin’s work mocked the restrictive social mores of her era, in DARK BLUE WAVES author Kimberley Sullivan looks back on that period of British history with nostalgia and romantic fondness, a time when men and women treated each other with respect and dignity, and society was polite … as long as you were rich and didn’t look too deeply below the surface.
Like Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” the hero of DARK BLUE WAVES gets hit on the head and travels back in time. Instead of King Arthur’s time, Janet Richards is transported back to Jane Austin rural Bath, England, where she finds herself in the company of Emma and Sir Edward Huntington of Hemsley Manor, a brother and sister pair of wealthy landowners. Edward is steely, arrogant, and harsh, but, like any good Austin protagonist, Janet wins him over and melts his heart with her intelligence, wit, and grace. Her modern sensibilities allow Janet to prevent a measles outbreak among the local farmers, improve their living quarters, and open a school on the grounds of Hemsley Manor. Janet is a hero worthy of an Austin novel, and it’s hard not to get swept up in her time-spanning journey. Sullivan clearly has a profound love of reading and getting lost in a good story, and DARK BLUE WAVES delivers that experience for readers. The title refers to Lord Byron‘s poem about “dark blue waves” that carry him to distant shores. We are all travelers looking for a place to call home… even if it’s in a century other than our own.
In DARK BLUE WAVES author Kimberly Sullivan has crafted a detailed and immersive time-traveling romance populated with colorful characters and plot twists that would make Jane Austen proud.
~Rob Errera for IndieReader