Girl from a well-to-do Edinburgh family falls in love with a sailor boy that her family doesn't like. And when she finds herself up the proverbial creek, and that he's vanished on the very night that they were to run off to Gretna Green, what's a family to do, but ship her off to the country to hide the shame. Only in this case, it's 1814 and the family's trade is building lighthouses, so she's banished to the furthest outpost, a lonely lighthouse on Cape Wrath. There, not only must she contend with her deceitful companion who betrayed her to her parents, and the surly lighthouse keeper, but she's confronted with mysterious letters from a man who may, or may not, know what happened to her sweetheart.

The story mixes some interesting elements, including a ghost or two and maybe a time walker. The setting of the wilds of the highlands, and the rugged, dangerous coast of northern Scotland. Though there's a lot of drama that often accompanies tales of loves betrayed and lost, but I kept reading, mostly to find out what the blazes was going on with the letters. Was it ghosts, time travel, a visit from the T.A.R.D.I.S, or what???

Well, I've finished the book. I can't say that I entirely grasped what the author was trying to do, but that may be because I wasn't reading as carefully toward the end. But, there were moments that I really liked the book. And I loved that a friend of mine (author Bernard Cornwell), who spends part of his year here in Charleston, and his beautiful wife were mentioned in the acknowledgements. So much fun to find folks I know in unexpected places. It was really on that subtle recommendation, as well as the obvious care to details (and the large chunk of the book I'd read before losing steam) that kept me going to the end. ( )

Its 1814, Sara Stevenson is pregnant and the father of her child who promised to run away with her has vanished without a trace. Why did he abandon her and what is her family going to say when they find out?

She is from an affluent family, her father is a renowned Scottish lighthouse designer, and so she is packed up and sent to what seems like the ends of the earth- a lighthouse on Cape Wrath. She does not go alone; she brings her once close friend, Kate and Kate’s husband, where they are met by William Campbell. Campbell is a rough around the edges, disgruntled loner who appears to resent her presence on the island. Yet she still has hope to find her true love, she never gives up on him; he once told her he would move heaven and earth for her never realizing how true his promise would become...

The book is a fun read, with a bit of science fiction twist… at the very end. While it was enjoyable, I did have a hard time with the language and decorum for the time period---I had a hard time believing it was really 1814. The other problem I had was the backdrop of the lighthouse without noting that in the winter there is very little daylight in northern Scotland; there was no mention of this, days and nights seem to be 'normal'. I did enjoy the book until the end, even though I figured out the twist halfway through, I don’t think it came together very neatly. Overall it was fun, quick read but had some holes and weaknesses along the way. ( )

This is a great book that combines historial fiction with the supernatural and time-travel. Sara Stevenson is exiled to a remote lighthouse after becoming pregnant by the wrong man. She meets colorful locals and develops a relationship with the lighthouse keeper that is antigonistic and tender by turns. A ghostly ship brings letters from someone who, inexplicably, is linked to the missing father of her child. A family mystery develops that spans generations.

I just loved this book. It was one of my favorites from 2010. I picked it up after reading a review of it in the local Sunday paper. I really liked the Scottish setting and the supernatural element was just right. I will be looking for more from this author.

In this book Sarah Stevenson finds herself with child and alone after her sailor fiance has gone missing. Her parents are disgraced so they send her off to live in a lonely lighthouse along with her companion, her husband, and the surly but attractive lighthouse keeper. Since Sarah is not used to domestic work she is at first put out by her situation. Her companion is non too happy about being exiled with her. As time goes on Sarah and the lighthouse keeper get to know each better and much is revealed about the situations that landed both of them at the lighthouse. The supernatural element comes in the form of a ghost and letters that seem to cross the bounds of time. The story is a little slow at first but the pay off at the end makes it worth it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical romantic fiction. ( )

The best type of book is one that stays with you beyond the last page and I have remembered this weeks later. What a beautifully written book from the writing style to the language to the storyline. It's rare for me to read a romance as most just do not hold my interest, but I was completely swept away with this one from beginning to end, and it has become one of my favorite books. Darci Hannah is a truly gifted writer and I look forward with gusto to her next installment.

Near the beginning we learn that Sara Stevenson has been banished to a lighthouse in a remote location for marring the family name by having a relationship with an Adonis-like sailor named Thomas Crichton that results in a pregnancy out of wedlock. In her new setting, a headstrong Sara, who has never before taken on domestic chores and who does not understand the strange man, William Campbell, who runs the lighthouse, learns to make the most of her situation as she yearns for the man she loves, forever hopeful that he will return one day. Then one day she sees a mysterious boat leaving the harbor and finds a letter from an Alexander Seawell waiting for her. So develops the mystery of the identify of this mysterious Mr. Seawell and the boat that no one but William Campbell and Sara can see, a mystery that transcends across history as Sara finds herself drawn to William Campbell while yearning for the father of her child. ( )