It was a little slow at times but I really did enjoy this book. I felt transported to the Scottish Hebrides, watching the selkies and diving birds, feeling the misty ocean breeze and smelling the peat fires. “Atmospheric” is definitely the right word for it. I also enjoyed the tale of love and heartache, hope and loss, murder, lies and mystery.

Even though the book was slow at times with unnecessary characters dragging out the story, I enjoyed this compelling, dual timeline novel. I’ve read enough similar stories to guess what the mystery was, but it was fleshed out in an interesting way. I would read more of this author’s work considering this was her first novel.

I received a copy of The House Between Tides from NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley. This book will be published in May, 2016.
An entertaining, though easily figured out story. The landscape flora and fauna descriptions were quite wonderful and made the story flow easily between time frames.

I keep repeating this point but it is a crucial point: blurbs are so important. They are what draws you to a book, truly draws you in, not just attracts you like the cover does. The House Between Tides brought together some stunning things: mystery, ancestral homes, a body, and the Outer Hebrides. Nothing more was needed to make me want to read Sarah Maine's debut novel. Thanks t Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As some of you may know, I currently still live in Scotland so I love novels set here. The Scottish landscape is incredibly emotive, stunningly wild and expressive, beautiful and dangerous at the same time. It is the kind of landscape that becomes an extra character, it changes where the story goes, affects the feel of the book overall. Maine's descriptions of the Outer Hebrides are beautiful and are a part of some of the best moments in the book. There is an environmental awareness to this book which is triggered by the role of the landscape. This goes hand in hand with Maine's awareness of the importance of class in the United Kingdom. Although discussions of feminism and race have taken precedence over the discussion of class in recent years, it is becoming a topic again due to how latent class difference is affecting modern day politics. Maine works out the 19th-century tension between the upper class which struggles with its entitlement and the lower class which struggles with their disenfranchisement and shows its repercussions in the modern day. It makes for really interesting reading and is one of the few contemporary novels I've read lately which addresses these topics.

The House Between Tides is a great historical novel which explores different time lines and class tensions. Maine's writing is beautiful and intriguing, even if at times the narrative flags a little bit. I'd recommend this book to fans of Historical Fiction and Suspense!

I enjoyed this up to about the first third of the book when I became supremely bored. The plot slowed way down, Hetty our main protagonist had the personality of a wet flannel, and the romances were badly written. There was a scene which i assume was meant to come across passionate but to me it read like a rape.

There was too much sexism and not enough correction of it on the page, which made me uncomfortable. Comments like one man threatened to beat his wife if she carried on with her suffragette work during a happy little picnic and no one batted an eye.

The only saving grace for it was the setting in the Outer Hebrides and the descriptions of the beautiful landscape.

Trigger warnings for sexism, threat of domestic violence, animal cruelty, several animal deaths on the page, loss of a loved one, elitism and miscarriages.

DNF

Bored, could not finish

*3.5 Stars*

I picked this up because it was suggested to me as similar to Susanna Kearsley whom I absolutely love. I definitely enjoyed it and think that that comparison is fair. The beginning hooked me immediately. I love an atmospheric, Scottish setting and the first few chapters in each time period left me wanting more when I turned the page to find we were shifting to the other time period. It did slow down for me though in the middle third or so of the book. I found myself wishing that some details would be revealed just a little bit faster. I had a feeling where it was going and wanted it to hurry up and get there! The final third moved along at just the pace I wanted and as the threads that were set up earlier in the book started to come together I couldn't put it down. After the slowdown in the middle this quickening of the pace really turned the book around for me. The resolution wasn't unexpected but was still satisfying.
I plan to pick up something else by this author to see if the trend continues. If you enjoy books with historical and contemporary settings that have a bit of mystery and light romance you should give this a try.