“Some are called to be gardeners of souls, and she'd tended hers with the blind dedication that accepted the floods and famine along with the sunshine.”
― Karen White, Sea Change

Beautifully told Southern Historical (and present day) Fiction.

This was my first experience with a Karen White book. My thoughts? I have read a soaring, hauntingly lovely 5 star novel!

Ava has moved, with her new husband Mathew to a small island off the coast of Georgia. But she expected to feel at peace and she doesn't. The stunningly beautiful island is cloaked in mystery that goes back to the early Eighteen Hundreds There is much about the island Ava does not understand, including her own connection to it and events that occurred there so very long ago.

Then there is the writing. Karen White writes in colors. Seriously. The writing is descriptive and lovely and the book is dripping with vivid colors. And be they Aquamarine or Yellow or Turquoise the reader feels the book and its colors all around them.

I do love writing where every word is a celebration, a poem. That is what you will find here. The imagery evoked of the beautiful island and the characters who inhabit them are beautifully drawn and I was enthralled.

This is also not just Historical fiction. Much of it takes place in current times. I love books that manage to combine genres and do it well and Sea Change is Historical,romance, Gothic, magical realism, contemporary, family saga. I mean it. The book touches so many genres. That is one of the reasons I adore it. It does not fall into any one category.

In this book's case there is not even a question of a rating. Five stars. It is also among my favorites in recent memory.

I would recommend the story of Ava and Mathew and others..to just about everyone because it touches so many genres but because the story is evocative and lovely. And yes, I will be reading more from Karen White. ( )

I thought I knew how this would end. The author is a skillful writer.I was pulled in by page 11.I enjoyed the love story,mystery and historical and supernatural aspects of the book. 3 women tell their stories, Ava, Pamela and Gloria.Al their voices intertwined.The story kept building and building.The last 1/3 of the book just seemed to get bogged down.It made a very climactic ending quite anti-climactic. I was almost relieved the story ended. I just think it could have been a bit shorter. Enjoyable and I was wrong abt the story ended. ( )

I like this one better than The House on Tradd Street. However, it is still not great. I would charge this one with a lack of subtlety and a repetiveness of certain details which leads the reader to feel she is being beaten over the head with a "this is important...I'm giving you a hint...IMPORTANT!" hammer. Also, how many time is she White going to use the "seeminly devoted wife and mother abandons husband and son for another man" thread? Bit of a lack of inventiveness, no?

Need mind candy with a romance, mystery, history angle? This will do. Need good writing and a fascinating and suspenseful plot? You might want to look elsewhere. ( )

I like this one better than The House on Tradd Street. However, it is still not great. I would charge this one with a lack of subtlety and a repetiveness of certain details which leads the reader to feel she is being beaten over the head with a "this is important...I'm giving you a hint...IMPORTANT!" hammer. Also, how many time is she White going to use the "seeminly devoted wife and mother abandons husband and son for another man" thread? Bit of a lack of inventiveness, no?

Need mind candy with a romance, mystery, history angle? This will do. Need good writing and a fascinating and suspenseful plot? You might want to look elsewhere. ( )

I like this one better than The House on Tradd Street. However, it is still not great. I would charge this one with a lack of subtlety and a repetiveness of certain details which leads the reader to feel she is being beaten over the head with a "this is important...I'm giving you a hint...IMPORTANT!" hammer. Also, how many time is she White going to use the "seeminly devoted wife and mother abandons husband and son for another man" thread? Bit of a lack of inventiveness, no?

Need mind candy with a romance, mystery, history angle? This will do. Need good writing and a fascinating and suspenseful plot? You might want to look elsewhere. ( )