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Heart of the OceanA dark secret . . . a grieving ghost . . . a handsome stranger . . .
What more could Eliza Robinson want?
Except for maybe her life.
In Heather B. Moore’s enthralling 1840’s historical romance, Heart of the Ocean, Eliza Robinson has turned down the very pretentious Mr. Thomas Beesley’s marriage proposal. As a business partner of Eliza’s father, Thomas quickly discredits the family and brings disgrace to the Robinson name.
While her father scrambles to restore his good name in New York City, Eliza flees to the remote Puritan town of Maybrook to stay with her Aunt Maeve. Although relieved to be away from all- things-male and unforgiving gossip columns, odd things start to happen to Eliza, and she is plagued by a ghostly voice. Her aunt’s explanation? That Eliza is being haunted by a woman who died of a broken heart twenty years ago.
After Aunt Maeve is tragically killed, Eliza's life is put in danger as she tries to uncover the mystery of her aunt's death. She encounters Jonathan Porter in Maybrook, whose presence in the town seems suspicious, yet she finds herself drawn to him. When she discovers that Jonathan’s dark secrets may be the link between the dead woman who haunts her and her aunt’s murderer, Eliza realizes that Jonathan is the one man she should never trust.
Excepts from Heart of the Ocean:
In which Aunt Maeve tells Eliza about
the ghost:
“She was banned from sight?” Eliza asked her aunt.
“Helena’s shame was so
great, she couldn’t even accept visitors,” Maeve said, her expression grave. She
sipped at her tea, closing her eyes briefly. “The poor dear lived
alone—couldn’t face her own family or any of the townspeople for the disgrace
of it.”
A pang twisted inside Eliza.
Alone. Pregnant. Disgraced. “Wasn’t
there anyone she could turn to?”
“Oh, some took pity and
left baskets of food at her doorstep, but only on the darkest of nights.” Maeve
looked past Eliza as the candles in the room flickered. “The night of her son’s
birth, there was a violent storm—the townspeople had never experienced such a
one. By morning, Helena’s place was hardly recognizable, yet she’d delivered a
healthy boy despite it all. She stayed away from town for the first year. Her
mother never came to visit the baby.”
What
sort of mother refuses to see her own grandchild?
Eliza wondered. The madness of Mistress Talbot must have been a mixture of
grief and guilt.
“I still remember his
dark locks and black eyes . . . He was only three years old when his mother
disappeared.” Maeve stared at the fire as if seeing it all in her mind. Her
voice quavered, and after a deep breath she said, “Someone found the boy
wandering the edge of the cliff all alone, looking for his mother. Many think
his mother drowned.”
Eliza and Jon are thrown into jail after
the death of Maeve
Eliza stared through
the dark iron bars. The cold cellar was damp, with water dripping from the
ceiling in a rhythmic fashion. This crude
jail is no place for a woman, she imagined her father saying. She pulled
the cloak given to her by Ruth around her shoulders. Shivering, she thought of
how last night she was snuggled in her warm bed; tonight she was surrounded by
concrete walls.
A low curse from the
next cell reached her ears. It had to be Jonny. When she arrived at the jail,
she’d been led past his barred cell, feeling his eyes watching her. The
constable already arrested Jonny before going to Ruth’s place.
Eliza let out a breath,
gathering her courage. “Are you all right?” she called.
Silence greeted her.
She tried again. Maybe
he hadn’t heard. “Are you ill?”
“I’m in jail,” he said
with a scoff. His deep voice seemed to fill the small space with an echo.
Eliza bit her lip. It
was her fault he was here. “I’m sorry.”
He spoke again. “Did
you kill her?”
She drew a breath in
sharply. “No.” How could he accuse her? Because she lived with her aunt? How
did he arrive so fast at the cottage—how had he known to come? Suspicion
knotted inside her. “Why were you riding by the cottage in such a storm?”
Purchase
Heather B. Moore is the award-winning author of ten novels, two inspirational non-fiction books, and two anthologies, including The Newport Ladies Book Club Series, A Timeless Romance Anthology, and Christ's Gifts to Women (co-authored by Angela Eschler).
Her historical fiction is published under the pen name H.B. Moore. She is the two-time recipient of Best of State in Literary Fiction, two-time Whitney Award Winner, and two-time Golden Quill Winner for Best Novel. Her most recent historical novel under H.B. Moore is Daughters of Jared (2012 LUW Gold Award of Excellence & 2012 LUW Best Book Trailer).
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I've added the book to my read list. It sounds great.
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Thanks for posting this!
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