By Tonya Ulynn Brown
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Quebec, Canada, 1847.
While trying to escape the Potato Famine, shipwrecked Irish immigrant Breanna Clarey awakens injured and alone on an unfamiliar beach. To make matters worse, she has been separated from her family, and her friend, Crow, is lying dead at her feet. But when Dawson Roberts, a reclusive fisherman with a guarded past and big dreams for his future, finds Breanna, he puts his plans on hold to offer her shelter and help find her family.
But life for an Irish immigrant isn’t easy. Facing a deadly quarantine station, dangerous immigration officials, and grief over her missing family, Breanna struggles to exert her independence and navigate her new world. While Breanna confronts an unknown future, Dawson is plagued by a painful past. They each must determine their own course, even if it means ignoring the pull they have on each other.
When the future takes an unexpected turn, only the ocean that has brought them so much devastation can help them find their way back to where they belong.
The ocean holds many secrets, holds powerful forces. It holds the power to give life, with many beautiful beings living within its realm, but it also holds a darkness, the ability to take, to destroy, to harm, and to kill.
Breanna Clarey was on her way to a new life, towards hope and a future she wouldn’t have found in Ireland. Desperate times, during the Potato Famine, had left her family destitute, starving, and without means to continue. But Canada held hope, prospects, and a way forward towards a better future. That is, until the Carricks hits a storm, the previously calm waves taking a turn for the worse and dragging the ship down. Washed up on a beach, Breanna finds herself in a strange land, alone, and not knowing whether her beloved family is alive or not.
"What the Ocean Brings" by Tonya Ulynn Brown presents an emotional story of heartbreak and grief, but also of hope, of hard work and reaping the rewards of one’s efforts.
Breanna would surely not have survived not only her injuries, but also her grief, if she had not been found on the beach. It is by chance that Dawson Roberts found her, but his kindness is not left to such fleeting fortune. He takes her into his home, far away from the town, from civilisation, and gives her the opportunity to heal, to move on from her injuries, both physical and mental. Dawson is a beam of light in a storm for Breanna, a hope that was lost when she woke up on the sand, and a chance at moving on and living the life she had dreamed of, even though her family is missing. With such a secluded home, far away from the bustle of town, Dawson’s home becomes a sanctuary, somewhere Breanna can feel safe in the company of a stranger. Dawson’s compassion is both charming and admirable. He could have simply turned Breanna over to the authorities, but instead he saw this waif of a girl in distress, and opened his home and hearth to her, ensuring her comfort and care.
It is not simply a case of allowing Breanna to heal and letting her move on, out of Dawson’s life, to find her own way. Although it saw the arrival of many Irish immigrants, Canada did not hold the easy new future that everyone may have imagined. Fear surrounded its inhabitants of disease brought across the ocean, and many people found themselves immediately shipped off to quarantine stations upon reaching their destination. It was an unfortunate by-product that many healthy individuals entered such stations and caught diseases within the walls, succumbing to illnesses they did not previously carry. In order to keep Breanna safe, Dawson knew that he had to keep her out of sight, at least until the quarantine period was complete and she could be officially declared disease-free. Unfortunately for him, this was a task easier said than done. Breanna may have understood the dangers, but finding her family was worth the risk of being caught, and even finding out the truth as to whether they had or hadn’t made it ashore alive would be enough to allow her to either find them or to properly grieve their losses. The not knowing was all-consuming, and she is truly a determined character. Some of her actions may be construed as foolish, but her heart shines true – her family is everything to her, and to be separated from them, not knowing their fate, is enough to give her the strength to fight, to take risks in order to find the truth, even if it might put her in danger. Breanna’s loyalty to her family is endearing, and her separation from them layers this novel in emotion and heartbreak. Her resolve is strong, and the thought that her family may be somewhere out there drives her forward, allowing her to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when she would rather curl up and weep.
Throughout this novel, as Breanna heals, she begins to settle into her new life. As she starts to contribute to the household, she and Dawson fall into a routine. They slowly become a part of each other’s lives, and as Dawson heads out on the water each day, catching crabs to sell for a living, Breanna takes over the house. The cleaning and cooking are done for when Dawson gets home, and she ensures he is warm and fed in between his trips out. As they start to know each other more, a fondness develops between them, and seeing each other becomes a welcome part of their day. Their relationship grows slowly, built on trust and faith before any feelings come into play, but neither can deny their attraction to each other. Their interactions are warm, creating a homely sense of calm within the turmoil of grief and fear. Neither is at a place in their life when they are looking for love, but the friendship between the two gives them both a sense of peace, a shoulder to lean on, and someone to trust. That their friendship and admiration for each other grow so slowly throughout the novel makes it appear all the more realistic. Breanna especially has been through an incredibly traumatic experience, and Dawson is not ready to open his heart to anyone, but to have someone around, someone to come home to, gives them both an opportunity to heal.
The setting of this novel has been penned with an expertise that brings the story to life. As you read, you can almost smell the sea air, feel the salty breeze on your skin. Dawson’s house feels truly real, for it is not only a setting, but a metaphorical place of safety and relief. The characters are crafted to fit completely and naturally into their setting, and the addition of Dodge, Dawson’s beast of a dog, only adds to the level of security in the setting. He is a welcome addition to the novel and only adds to the narrative. Between the two characters, an emotional novel of loss and hope has been crafted that will dig its hooks in you and drag you deeply into the story until you are so emotionally invested in the characters, you feel as though you truly know them.
An intensely emotional novel that has proved highly efficacious in captivating its readers, "What the Ocean Brings" by Tonya Ulynn Brown is a truly exquisite novel. Full of emotion and characters who will steal your heart, this is truly not a novel to be missed, for it will encapsulate you and evoke a true sense of both joy and sadness throughout.
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Tonya is a writer who loves ancient, medieval and early modern British history. She has a particular interest in anything to do with Scotland, and you will find that influences a lot of what she writes about. She enjoys writing historical fiction, and also blogs about historical figures, places and customs, mainly focusing on 16th century Europe. She's not above throwing some American history in every now and then as well.
She holds a Master's degree in Teaching and is an elementary school teacher. Writing fills a good bit of her time when she is not at school or running her boys to a marching band event or some other activity.
Tonya lived in Minsk, Belarus when she was younger and taught English as a second language. Having even less aptitude for reading Russian than she had for speaking it, she took to looking up topics on her Encarta CD-ROM to read, since going to the library was not an option. Her topics of study? The U.S. presidents and the kings and queens of England. Tonya attributes this time of study to the beginning of her love for British history, but she didn't realize her love for writing until many years later.
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See you on your next coffee break!
Take Care,
Mary Anne xxx