Emmaline Truelove, Lord Silverton, and their friend Max Haywood, now the Duke of Olympia, are once again seeking the answers to the strange events in Greece last year. No longer the Duke's secretary, Truelove is now the
Director of the Haywood Institute, created to be the organizing force in the Duke's research into history, archaeology, and anachronisms--and last year's events, recounted in A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, are currently a major focus.

And a puzzling adversary, a ginger-haired man who seems determined to stop something the new Duke of Olympia will do at some point in the future, is becoming ever more dangerous.

Silverton disappears--just disappears--while he and Truelove are traveling north to meet up with the Duke, who is meeting a possible new Duchess. In Scotland, at the castle of Thurso, Truelove and the Max negotiate tricky social waters created by the rumors they are lovers, and also the puzzling reasons for the ginger-haired man's pursuit.

They do figure out that Max has some ability, apparently, to move people through time, something made even more dangerous than it sounds because Max doesn't yet understand it or have full control of it.

Things get much more dangerous when the ginger-haired man arrives at Thurso, with his own plans.

It's exciting, intriguing, and ever more dangerous, especially when Truelove finds Silverton again--in the Orkney Isles in the early 1300s. Unable to reconnect with Max to return to their own time, they make a life there, unencumbered by the sharp difference in their social standing in 1906 Britain.

But time isn't done playing games with them, and they are confronted by more mysteries, the "selkie legend," and both local threats and the reappearance of the ginger-haired man, still pursuing a goal they don't understand at all, but which they apparently stand in the way of.

It's a lot of fun, both exciting and intriguing. There's a satisfying conclusion to some major plot threads here, but there's clearly another book coming, also.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.com, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Well that was not what I was expecting! Reading the blurb I was expecting a fairly straight forward historical mystery with maybe a little tough of magic. Instead, what I got was a time travel fiction. There's a slight problem here - I'm not a big fan of time travel fiction. But since I recently discovered that Juliana Gray is also Beatriz Williams whose books I've really been enjoying lately, I kept reading.

I liked the characters. Emmeline is quick on her feet, logical, but also in a bit of turmoil regarding her feelings for Silverton. Max is less than enthused about his recent rise to dukedom, he's intensely loyal to Emmeline, as well as completely curious about just what is going on. Silverton has the air of your typical good natured aristocratic rake but even at the beginning it's clear there is more to him and as the book goes on his character development is fascinating.

Then there's the plot. This gets a little tricky because my issues with it are mostly personal preference. The writing and pacing are fantastic and I think the time travel elements are very well done. I did have some questions about the hows and whys that I don't think were fully explained though a few of the details are cleared up. I think the world building was also well done and the different time periods felt very different. However, this wasn't the book I wanted it to be. I loved the 1906 Scottish setting and really wanted to explore the mystery of just what was going on with the Selkie suit and this just really wasn't that. Had I been better prepared for what it was I probably would have enjoyed it more though I'm not sure I would have requested it in the first place.

Sometimes you pick up a book in a series and immediately know you are going to love it. That’s what happened with this one.

Just the cover and title alone was enough to entice me to read this one and next thing I know, within a couple of pages, I already know I desperately need the first book in the series.

For a number of reasons though, not just because I liked Emmeline Truelove and wanted more, but mostly because I felt like I needed to know more about what was going on with the characters and the over all story.

Scotland, 1906. A mysterious object discovered inside an ancient castle calls Maximilian Haywood, the new Duke of Olympia, and his fellow researcher Emmeline Truelove, north to the remote Orkney Islands.

No stranger to the study of anachronisms in archeological digs, Haywood is nevertheless puzzled by the artifact: a suit of clothing, which, according to family legend, once belonged to a selkie who rose from the sea in ancient times and married the castle’s first laird.

But Haywood and Truelove soon discover they’re not the only ones interested in the selkie’s strange hide, and when their mutual friend Lord Silverton vanishes in the night from an Edinburgh street, the mystery takes a dangerous turn through time, which only Haywood’s skills and Truelove’s bravery can solve (summary from Goodreads).

Emmeline Truelove reads a little like Amelia Peabody so if you are a fan of those books (and you know I am) then you will find a kindred heroine in Emmeline Truelove. She’s a little bossy, a little know-it-all-y but she’s got sass and charm in spades. I was however frustrated by her inability to fully commit to Lord Silverton which was why I felt like I especially needed to read the first book. Had he wronged her in some way? Was she just stubborn? I wasn’t sure why she fought against him so hard when it was clear that he loved her. I mean she did travel through time to be with him and yet she kept insisting that she wasn’t in love with him which seemed off to me so I felt like I needed more history which I would eventually glean from the first book.

I think my favorite part of the story though was the romance between Emmeline and Lord Silverton. They had a chemistry that can’t be denied and I love how tentative and open Lord Silverton was with his feelings for Emmeline. He clearly wore his heart on his sleeve and knew exactly what he wanted when it came to their future and feelings. Lord Silverton himself is easy to love and pairing him with Emmeline–though predictable—was so right and comfortable that readers will feel at home with the pair.

This one also reminded me a little of Outlander—though not so heavy as all that but still hints of it all the same. I liked the idea of time travel in this book but at times I also felt like it wasn’t explained well enough to make sense. For example when Max and Emmeline are talking about why she can sense Lord Silverton and feel Max’s pull, I found myself scratching my head. Then adding a couple of characters from the future and I finally just had to throw up my hands and be like ‘ok it’s time travel and there are no rules’.

On the whole though the time travel element worked for me. I liked how there were multiple characters that moved through time and the idea of being called back by the master time manipulator. I kept wondering when Lord Silverton and Emmeline were going to be called back so that unknown made the book all the more suspenseful.

The thing that bothered me the most throughout the novel though, was the little excerpts from the Book of Time at the beginning of each chapter. I wasn’t at all interested in that and couldn’t understand how it related at all to the overall narrative. It didn’t seem to have a greater purpose in my opinion, however it does in fact have a purpose in the narrative but not one that I felt entirely invested in.

Also I felt a little at a loss as to who the apparitions were in this book, having not read the others. I was like wait why is the Queen in Emmaline’s room? Where did she come from? I think this might have made more sense had I read the first one.

After about chapter 3 I immediately went to download the first book in the series which I will be reading next. I had planned on reading the first one this summer in preparation for this book, but the summer just got away from me and I didn’t have time to read the first one.

The cover design is also fantastic. It hints at a castle on the cliffs with a hint of mystery as the women suggests someone there to investigate something. Its bright enough to appeal to many readers and eye catching with the colors to grab you while you are searching for a mystery to read.

If you are looking for a new lady gumshoe (like I perpetually am) with a flair for adventure, then I think you will like Emmeline Truelove. This story is part adventure novel, part romance, and part mystery. There is something for everyone to enjoy. I gave it 4 stars only because I felt a little out of place with some of the references to the first book as well as the excerpts at the beginning of each chapter, but it was a great read all the same.

As a side note, this author is also a pseudonym for one of my favorite authors, Beatriz Williams, so you know that the writing is going to be fantastic as well as the story!

Book: A Strange Scottish Shore (Emmeline Truelove #2) by Juliana Gray

Kindle Edition, 464 pages
Expected publication: September 19th 2017 by Berkley
ASIN B01MT32RL8
Review copy provided by: Publisher/Author in exchange for an honest review
This book counts toward: NA

Hosted by: NA
Books for Challenge Completed: NA
Recommendation: 4 out of 5

Genre: Adventure, mystery, detective novel, Edwardian era

Memorable lines/quotes:

Juliana Gray's Emmaline Truelove series is a bit of a surprise for me. When finishing the first book I was surprised by how much I liked it considering it had the one fantastical element that I avoid like the plague in my fictional adventures: time travel. I suppose that Gray just handles it in a way that appeals to me, which is a good thing considering that this element plays a much larger role in the second book than it did in the first.

In A Strange Scottish Shore Emmaline has traveled to Scotland with her employer, but not before Lord Silverton steals something of importance and promptly disappears. Emmaline is rather displeased by Silverton's apparent betrayal but soon discovers that there is more to his disappearance than meets the eye. Readers of the first book will be aware of Emmaline and Silverton's combustive relationship; those invested will be thrilled with the direction that this relationship takes in book two. I will say no more to avoid spoiling it, other than to say I was a little surprised at how the relationship was resolved considering that this is a series, but left more than a little intrigued about where this is going to go with book three.

In addition to the terrific character of Emmaline Truelove, readers get to see more of Silverton as well as Emmaline's employer, Max. Interestingly enough, it turns out that Max has the ability to control those traveling in time, and its this element that I think will have some rather interesting and compelling consequences in future books. I could see more focus being put on Max as the series goes forward.

A Strange Scottish Shore is a really, really good follow-up to A Most Extraordinary Pursuit. Given the events of this second book I'm left feeling anxious about Emmaline and her apparent happy ending - this can't possibility be the end so I'm rather certain something will disrupt Emmaline's contentment. Gray has truly succeeded in creating a unique series that doesn't follow the expected formula of the many other historical mystery series that I have read, and for that alone, A Strange Scottish Shore stands out as very good book.

Thanks Berkley Publishing Group and netgalley for this ARC.

Juliana Gray knows how to keep us thrilled with her novels. This is one of the best most well written and ratified series ever. I'm hooked and can't wait to see what happens next with this unique, intrepid heroine and her soulmate.

Well written by Julianna Gray. Wonderful banter between the two main characters. Historical accurate and had enough time travel to make it very interesting. I loved "A Strange Scottish Shore" and look forward to the next book by Ms Gray.

**** 4.5 stars: A Strange Scottish Shore has a captivating plot and surprisingly-complex characters – with an Outlander-esque feel, this is a must-read!

jgray-strangescottlishshore



Recommended readers:

If you like Juliana Gray or Diana Gabaldon
If you want a good mix of great characters, historical time travel and more
If you like Outlander
Here’s my Rankings:

5/5 for characters
4/5 for plot
4.5/5 overall
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:

It’s hard not to love A Strange Scottish Shore immediately – from the lovable and dated-looking cover that brings to back to the early 1900s – to the seemingly mousy Emmeline Truelove, who’s always behind-the-scenes and almost in love with the almost-too-suave Lord Silverton. Juliana Gray’s historical romance have been a favorite of ours for a while (see our other reviews) – and this novel is no exception. With a bit of an Outlander-time-travel and romance feel, A Strange Scottish Shore has a captivating plot and surprisingly-complex characters. We loved it!

Available Sept 19: A Strange Scottish Shore by Julianna Gray

What a delightful story. I love the pace and word choices of the author. I would definitely read more from this author. Give yourself a treat and read it.
---Ronb

For fans of Outlander. This the second book in this series and it takes the premise of the first book and bumps it up to 11. It has is all....mystery, romance, time travel, and gorgeous settings. It makes me want to go to Scotland for sure.

Review published at the Dew on release date. http://dewonthekudzu.com

This series is so weird and wonderful at the same time -- it's a great choice for fans of romance, mystery, and time travel, and particularly if those readers' interests lie with historical period pieces. I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment.

I really enjoyed this book but I would caution readers that it is waaaay different from the first book in the series. The time travel aspect that was introduced in the first book comes into play in a major and unexpected way in this one (I can’t say much more without giving anything away, sorry!). The romance between Emmeline and Lord Silverton continues and evolves which was my favorite part of the novel. I have no idea what is going to happen with book 3, but can’t wait to see where Juliana Gray takes this story!

When I read A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, the first of Juliana Gray’s historical mystery series featuring the intrepid Emmeline Truelove, I wasn’t – at first – quite sure what to think.  There’s a mystery, yes, and a bit of romance… but I wasn’t expecting the time travel element or the fact that the heroine has regular conversations with both her deceased father and the late Queen Victoria!  In the end, however, I enjoyed the story, which is quite unlike anything I’ve read before – or since, really – and in which the author does a great job of interweaving the various plot elements – mystery, romance, time-travel and oddness! - with a caper-type adventure and a hefty dose of Greek mythology.  The somewhat starchy Truelove and the gorgeously dashing Lord Silverton made a wonderfully odd couple as they struck sparks off each other throughout their travels and I was sorry to leave them at the end while also looking forward to the next book and hoping for answers to some of the many questions raised.

Before I go on, I should point out that there are likely to be spoilers for A Most Extraordinary Pursuit in this review, so if you haven’t yet read that book, proceed with caution.  And I’ll add that while it might be possible to read A Strange Scottish Shore on its own, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Maximillian Haywood – who became the Duke of Olympia upon the death of his formidable great uncle – has made a name for himself as an archaeologist, and specifically as one with expertise in historical anachronisms; in analysing objects discovered in strata at a time and place they shouldn’t have existed.  In the previous book, Max had gone missing – had been kidnapped, in fact – which is what led to Silverton and Truelove’s expedition to Greece to find him, and eventually to the discovery that Max is possessed of an incredible power which somehow enables him to reach through time and bring people through to the present or send them back to the past.  A Strange Scottish Shore picks up a few months after Truelove and Silverton parted on the Greek island of Skyros, having located the duke and gone their separate ways.

Truelove is no longer working as the Duke of Olympia’s secretary and instead heads up The Haywood Institute for the Study of Time which Max set up following his return from Greece.  He has sent for her to join him at a hunting party being held in the north of Scotland by Lord Thurso, where he has come across an object that doesn’t belong – but as she is boarding the train in London, Truelove catches sight of a familiar face, one of the men she, Silverton and Max had encountered on the Greek island of Naxos months earlier.  She knows he is likely following her to Scotland to get to Max and to get hold of the documents she is carrying to him – but before she can think more on the matter, she is joined in her first class compartment by none other than the Marquess of Silverton, looking as cheerfully handsome and nonchalant as ever as he informs her he’s received a telegram from Max and is also on the way to join the hunting party.

The sudden appearance of the red-haired man she had glimpsed in London sees Silverton haring off in pursuit, but following a scuffle, the man jumps from the train, and the ensuing delay while the matter is investigated leaves Silverton and Truelove unable to continue to their destination that day and forced to stay in Edinburgh overnight. Worried that perhaps the man is still following them, Silverton announces his intention to stay the night in her room, on the sofa of course – but when she wakes, he - and her document portfolio – are gone.

Truelove continues her journey and is met at Thurso station by Max, whom, she is troubled to discover, has no notion of what could have happened to their friend.  Once arrived at the castle, Max is able to show Truelove exactly what he has found that has so intrigued him.  Hidden away at the bottom of an old wooden chest is a suit made of a cool, slippery, unknown material that appears to have been fashioned for a tall, adult female.  The chest was found during the refurbishment being undertaken at one of the family’s properties in the Orkney Islands – an old, dilapidated castle which the present owner, Mr. Magnusson – the illegitimate son of Lord Thurso – intends to remodel into an exclusive hotel and resort. Neither Max nor Truelove has any idea what the suit is made of or its purpose, when Magnusson tells them it’s a selkie suit and then of the old family legend that tells of their ancestor – a fisherman – who fell in love with a beautiful maiden who came from the sea.  Having fallen instantly in love with her, the fisherman found her sealskin suit and hid it so she could never swim away and leave him – she stayed for seven years and bore him two children, but then found her suit and disappeared back into the sea.

Shortly after this discovery, Truelove and Max come face to face one more with their red-headed nemesis - who introduces himself as Hunter - and who seems to want something from them that they do not have.  He also has knowledge of the future, telling Max that he will write a book in 1921 about his experiences with time travel and says that he himself was born in 1985; but before he can explain further or harm either of them, Magnusson intervenes and Hunter escapes by diving out the window into the sea below.

When, the next day, Truelove receives a telegram from the duchess asking for information about Silverton’s whereabouts, she is forced to confront the heart-breaking truth; that he really is missing and she has no idea how to find him or even where to look for him.  Until something happens that makes her think that perhaps asking where to look is the wrong question…

A Strange Scottish Shore is an incredibly creative and entertaining story that kept me eagerly turning the pages as I wondered what had happened to Silverton, how – and if – Truelove was ever going to find him, exactly what Max’s power entails and how all of it related to the legend of the selkie, which is very cleverly woven throughout the novel with excerpts from it prefacing each chapter.  (The author points out in her note at the end that while this legend is her own invention, such stories are frequently to be found in Scottish folklore).  The characterisation of both leads is excellent and Truelove’s distinctive narrative voice is as strong as ever.  She is intelligent and perceptive, but wary of falling for Silverton, while he is a thoroughly charming rogue who, as her father tells her, should not be judged by the mask he wears.  Their relationship continues along the same lines as in the first book until his disappearance, when Truelove is forced to confront the truth of her feelings, and by her willingness to make a potentially life-changing sacrifice in order to find him, to admit that her attempts to resist him were useless.

The mix of romance, mystery and the supernatural is just about right for someone like me, who likes there to be an emphasis on the romance in mystery and adventure stories – and saying that is probably a bit of a spoiler, so I’m not going to say any more about the plot, which is complex without being impenetrable (but you do need to concentrate!) and superbly constructed.  Ms. Gray does answer some of the questions I had at the end of book one, but then proceeds to pose more and the book ends… if not quite on a cliffhanger, then certainly at a point at which it is clear that there is more to come.

A Strange Scottish Shore has cemented my commitment to this series, and I am eagerly looking forward to more. I’d definitely recommend both books to anyone who enjoys romantic historical mysteries and is on the lookout for something a little out of the ordinary.

review by AAR's Caz

Please remove from my shelf. Since this title is not available, I cannot access the rest of my shelf. Thank you.

In 1906, the Duke of Olympia and his assistant Emmeline Truelove are called to the Orkney Islands to investigate an artifact purported to be a Selkie skin. Along the way, some important papers are stolen from Miss Truelove on the train. This book failed to draw me in and hold my attention. I found it confusing from almost the beginning. Some parts are simply too unbelievable, and others are missing connections needed to help readers process the action. Perhaps someone who enjoys the fantasy genre more than I do could make the needed stretches. I abandoned the book about 40% of the way into it. I received an electronic galley of the book for review through NetGalley.

A Strange Scottish Shore
by Juliana Gray
Berkley Publishing Group

The second book in a series, A Strange Scottish Shore takes the reader in a new direction -- different, but very enjoyable.

What's different about this book 
The first book in Gray's Emmeline Truelove series, titled A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, was a pleasant and entertaining read that posited the threads of events crossing across time: a murder suspense tale involving, at one point, a Greek god transported to the future, as well as other not-quite explained phenomena let the reader know "something is up."  A great read.

This second book, however, takes the original premise and builds a completely new world in an unexpected direction that nonetheless builds on the clues recognizable from the first book.  If they hadn't quite caught on in the first book, readers should be aware that time travel is a huge part of the story of Emmeline.

The new direction of A Strange Scottish Shore gives us more of what we want: more of the heroine Emmeline (or just Truelove as she is called) and the male figures with whom she works and adventures. A strong, satisfying romance develops in this second book.  

I was particularly impressed with Gray's mastery of a cliff-hanger ending sentence.  One sentence.  And the reader immediately remembers the threads skillfully planted earlier in the book that makes for a subtle but thrilling pause ... until the third book!  Aargh.

What I'll do now that I've read it 
This second book will cause librarians (and readers) to go back and consider the first title for purchase, if they haven't already done so.  Book one was very good.  Book two compels the addition to the library collection of the full series.  (The novella prequel may still have been the best of all so far.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Duke of Olympia (also known as Maximilian Haywood) and his able assistant/researcher, Emmeline Truelove set off for the Orkney Islands to examine an unusual artifact. The item in question is purported to be the suit of a selkie, a seal turned human, who married the last lord of the castle. The story of the selkie is based on an old legend, but it can’t possible be true can it? It would seem others want the skin themselves, it is worth a great deal to the right person, and they may be willing to kill to possess this strange and otherworldly artifact. I have long loved the selkie legend, so I was thrilled to see it would be part of the mystery in this book. Loved the setting, the characters and the hint of magic