“The storms within us are oftentimes more tempestuous than the storms at sea.”
Antwerp, 1904. The SS Kroonland is preparing to sail for Ellis Island when a woman clad in a white ball gown and diamond earrings arrives at the gangplank and walks on board. She has no money, no luggage, no identification and no ticket. What events could drive a woman to just walk away from a comfortable life with nothing but the clothes on her back? And what of her fellow passengers on the SS Kroonland? Might they have a ghost or two in their own past lives that need to be exorcised?
That’s pretty much all you need to know, this is one of those get a bunch of strangers into a room together and watch all the layers of their past lives slowly peel away, forever changing them and sending them into new, uncharted territory. The author based her story on a real woman in white who stowed away on the SS Kroonland, but her characters are completely fictional. There are a lot of POV switches and flashbacks, and while I thought they worked well in this story, I suspect some readers might be driven to distraction by them. I’d also have liked to see more character development and emotional connections, but despite those quibbles it was a satisfying read overall. 3.5/5 stars.
Reviewed for Amazon Vine.
At Home With A Good Book and the Cat 
Oooh, this sounds good. I love the title and the cover, too — so striking!
I’ve had some bum reads lately from Amzn Vine, this was a nice surprise from something so unknown.
Hi Dianne, I’m clnikcig links tonight and found your blog – it’s been really fun meeting you and your little family. I’ll be round to visit again real soon. 😀
I’ve often wondered, when a novel’s in translation, how close the translation is to the original and whether it conveyed the story in the right way. It certainly does look like an intriguing idea for a novel.
Nice cover but…another missing forehead. Alas.
Translations are a funny thing, and you never do know if the translator got it right. I never realized how much difference it made until I bought the wrong copy of Dumas’ The Queen’s Necklace. Two page chapters from Dumas? Stilted dialog? Oy veh.
I agree with you and Audra, the cover is lovely despite missing the forehead. I added it onto the GR list called Dude, where’s my forehead? 😀