Elizabeth Blackwell has written a winner of a story with On A Cold Black Sea. Poor choices, consequences, redemption, love and the Titanic all packed into one satisfying story.

Charlotte Digby, Esme Harper and Anna Halversson are three very different young women. Charlotte, less than honest, Esme, spoiled and Anna, afraid to express her own wishes. Each of them is now in a life and death situation. How will their past lives dictate their present actions?

This is deftly written character driven fiction at it's best. Blackwell has created characters that are multifaceted and believable; each flawed in their own way, displaying what is most annoying and frustrating about the human character. Yet it's possible to empathize with each of them, even when they're at their worst.

The book is bit slow to get going, but once it does, I found it impossible to put down. This one deserves all the praise it's received and more.

A solid historical fiction read about three women who survived the Titanic. Enjoyable, but not a memorable book. I enjoyed the plot, but it just didn’t take off the way I hoped it would.

Confession: I've attempted reading On a Cold Dark Sea three times and simply could not get into the story.

I desperately wanted to like this book but the writing bored me to tears. I appreciate the subject matter but Blackwell's style and tone put me to sleep.

*thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Titanic?! Did someone say Titanic! Ohh my gosh yes. Right away I knew I had to have this book. Plus look at that cover! If that's not stunning to you then I just dont understand that. This story did not disappoint. It was gripping and interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. I did notice the few small references to the big, was it 1997, movie release which made me smile. The Titanic is one of those stories that can be told from many points of view and not get boring. This book is just one of them but is definitely a clear favourite among them. 

I really want to re-read this in the future and will probably be purchasing it in actual book format aswell.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction - and when you throw in a story about The Titanic, you've got me from the first word. Elizabeth Blackwell did not disappoint on any level with her novel On A Cold Dark Sea.

The characters were wonderful! They were written with such care and attention to detail that I half expected to sit down to lunch with them. Blackwell tells a remarkable story that feels pulled from news clippings, and in many ways, it is. The amount of research she must have done to tell her story really shows.

I will look forward to forthcoming novels by Elizabeth Blackwell. Her detailed style, and voice truly made On A Cold Dark Sea a pleasure to turn every page.

A story about the secrets of three women who survived the sinking of the Titanic, and think they have moved on for good - until the death of a man they once knew brings them all back together. This is a character driven novel about several unlikeable people - which are always the best kind of people to read about. An interesting take on the Titanic and its aftermath.

4stars
I received this arc sometime ago but didn’t get a chance to read it

I quite enjoyed this novel about 3 women who survived the Titanic - three women with very different backgrounds and experiences whose lives intersect briefly one night on a lifeboat .

Loved it. So much better than I thought it would be. A delightful surprise with great writing.

As I started reading the characters seemed so familiar that, as I continued reading, I saw other characters from different books that I'd read before. The plot may have been different, but the characters were not. However, that view quickly changed as the lives of the characters became more complexed and, for me, intriguing. Overall, I enjoyed the story. It is one I'd read again because of the complexities of the characters lives. I was invested in the characters, when at first, I thought I would care more for the plot.

I don't know why I'm having trouble writing a review of this book. It might be because before the ship and after the sinking lies the meat and potatoes of the book. I enjoyed those parts best. I absolutely
recommend to lovers of historical fiction.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

4 Stars.

Elizabeth Blackwell has written a winner of a story with On A Cold Black Sea. Poor choices, consequences, redemption, love and the Titanic all packed into one satisfying story.

Charlotte Digby, Esme Harper and Anna Halversson are three very different young women. Charlotte, less than honest, Esme, spoiled and Anna, afraid to express her own wishes. Each of them is now in a life and death situation. How will their past lives dictate their present actions?

This is deftly written character driven fiction at it's best. Blackwell has created characters that are multifaceted and believable; each flawed in their own way, displaying what is most annoying and frustrating about the human character. Yet it's possible to empathize with each of them, even when they're at their worst.

The book is bit slow to get going, but once it does, I found it impossible to put down. This one deserves all the praise it's received and more.

I really enjoyed this book and the stories of Anna, Charlotte & Esme. Their stories encompassed life before, during & after the sinking of the Titanic. Each character had a unique story but it was Charlotte that really tied everything together. I thought the revelation about half way through the book was perfect & that part of the story helped Charlotte find closure. I thought this story might be too much like the movie but it was its own story in every way. This was my first Elizabeth Blackwell book and it won’t be my last.

On a Cold Dark Sea is a historical fiction that focuses on three women who were in the same lifeboat during the sinking of the Titanic. It focuses less on the event itself and more on how it impacted the women for the rest of their lives. I liked how there was a chapter about each woman before the Titanic sank, which helped develop their characters. Overall, it was a good read.

I have always been fascinated by stories of the Titanic so I was anxious to read A Cold Dark Sea. I was not disappointed while reading the story of three very different women who were passengers. We come to know their different backgrounds separated by wealth, moral standings and cultures. Their lives before, during and decades after the devastating sinking of the Titanic provided an interesting story that I enjoyed and would recommend to anyone who shares my interest in Titanic history.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, for a copy of this book. This is my unbiased opinion.

This is a very interesting exploration of three women from three different classes aboard the fateful Titanic.

The intensity of the first part of the book as it perfectly recaptures the events of April 15 (not to mention the opulence of the first class cabins and the crammed quarters of the lower class steerage) is just as suspenseful regardless of dramatic irony.

From there, Charlotte ( a con artist), Esme, a socialite with an illustrious love affair of a past and Anna carry on their lives as best they can until the trio intersects 20 years later.

A riveting and deeply readable novel of three immensely different women bound by a unique and everlasting bond. Also, a perfect snapshot of two riveting times in history.

Author Elizabeth Blackwell often says that before she started this novel, she spent quite some time wondering whether the world really needed another Titanic novel. Well, if the story is this, I’d say: definitely yes!

In its essence, On a Cold Dark Sea is a simple enough story. And it is indeed about the Titanic. It isn’t a story just set on the liner or a plot involved with the events of the sinking. That faithful night and what happened on Lifeboat 21 casts its shadow on the entire book and the lives of the characters. Facing those events finally unlock all the characters’ personalities.

What I find particularly fascinating is the structure of the story, which is what creates the meaning of the story. The basic idea is that what happened on Lifeboat 21 (and it is nothing spectacular in terms of storytelling) interrupts the course of the lives of all the people on that boat and pushes them in a different, unexpected direction, but also creates secrets that are buried with the memories of that night.
Instead of following the events in a linear way, the plot twists and turns around them, going up and down the timeline. This creates mystery but also meaning, because events are connected not by the neutral link of time, but by that of relations and causes and effects.
I really really liked it.

We follow the three main characters – Esme, an American wealthy woman; Charlotte, a British journalist who used to be a swindler; and Anna, a Swedish immigrant – basically from their childhood and it’s very easy to become attached to them as we see their expectations bloom up to the night of the sinking. They illustrate the diversity of the people who historically were on the Titanic and give the story a sense of universality. But they are also their own characters and we care about them and what happens to them.
I found Charlotte the most relatable, and maybe it’s also the author’s favourite. It’s true that an equal time is devote to all three women, but the story does start and end with Charlotte who’s also the one that gets the change in motion in the middle of the novel. She’s unconventional and spunky, truly a fantastic character.

A good read.

This is a novel about three women who survived the Titanic, whose lives intertwined briefly while sharing a lifeboat. Charlotte, Esme, and Anna were from different countries and socioeconomic statuses, but the events of that night changed all of their lives. Charlotte was a thief, masquerading as the wife of a reputable couple. Esme was onboard with her new, older husband, while secretly pining for another man. And Anna was embarking on a new life to America, with a girl who was about to marry the man of Anna’s dreams.

I liked how realistic this novel was. There are too many barriers keeping these women from becoming besties, but the way they found themselves communicating with one another, decades after the Titanic, was believable. I also liked how this did NOT turn into a romance book. The novel ends on an optimistic note, but once again, it’s tempered by reality.

I did wish there was more about Esme. A lot of her past (post Titanic) is summarized in a conversation with Charlotte, which made me feel distanced toward her, of all three main characters. She is also, perhaps, the hardest to empathize with. I wish I had had a better chance of getting to know her.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I’ve always been interested in the tragic events of the Titanic, and this is a solid fictional retelling.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.

When I saw this book took place on the Titanic, I was immediately intrigued. Told from three different viewpoints from 3 different girls, each one traveling in a different class. I thought the author did a good job with the different story lines. You learn the back story of each traveler, and how they all came to be together in the same life boat. I even learned some new things from that night of the sinking I never knew before. Of course, reading about all those who died is still heartbreaking. The author writes how the characters felt with the guilt of surviving the sinking, and the heartbreak of loosing a loved one left on the ship.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

As a fan of the Historical events related to the April 15, 1912 the Sinking of the Titanic, I have always been attracted to all books, movies and documentaries related to these events. I never get tired of reading books about this event in history, nor seeing movies or documentaries.
So, I was happy to read a new historical novel from an author that I have never read.

It would be monotonous to write an intense summary of the Novel when I could just wrap it up by saying that the book presents the experiences of 3 women (Charlotte, Esme and Anna) from different worlds, who were strangers when they boarded Lifeboat #21 on the night of the Titanic tragedy, but due to different circumstances and after 21 years, they come together and confront their past, their secrets, their decisions on the night of April 15, 1912, on a cold dark sea…

I liked the book but I was expecting more of it. The plot of the story was good, the writing also was good. What made me rate it as 3.75 (rounded as 4)?
1) The order in which the 4 parts of the book was presented is a little bit confusing and lead me too lose my interest in the plot. I would have presented it in this order: After the Prologue, Part 1: Before, Part 2: The Lifeboat, Part 3: After and Part 4: Aftermath. It means a great difference when you know what happened to these characters in the Lifeboat and then set motion to their lives after.
2) Two secondary characters’ life after the tragedy were vaguely presented: Charlie and Mr Healy. Both were important in the development of the plot of the novel and as survivors of Lifeboat 21. It seems to me that they were tormented by demons after that night. Little was mentioned regarding this.
3) I would have included the final moments during the Titanic sinking of some important characters for example Reg Evers and Hiram Harper the same way as I read the final moments with Emil and Sonja.

The author did a great job in her research for writing this book. I loved the way she intercalated excerpts of Congressional testimony, where even though they were her own creation, the questions and responses were inspired by the actual hearings which began the day after the Titanic survivors arrived at NY. I was completely satisfied with the ending the author gave to the three ladies.

I have to say it is a great challenge for an author to write about the Titanic because of the enormous quantity of fiction and non-fiction books already published. Still, it’s seems never tiresome to read new books about this memorable historical event that marked and will mark the lives of many in the past, the current and future generations.

Overall, I highly recommend this book and would read other future Historical fiction novels from Elizabeth Blackwell.

Review being posted on my blog on June 8th, 2018
* I ended up reading a finished copy of this book

On A Cold Dark sea follows three different women from different social classes. We have Esme who is a newly-wed wealthy American woman who is unhappy. Charlotte Digby who is a con artist looking for a new life in America. Anna Halversson who is a Swedish young woman who is in love with someone she cannot have and is going to America for a better life.



"To lose my sweet, darling boy with no warning, and not even have a body to bury... it ruined me."







This book is told in three parts. Part one is right before the Titanic and what happened, part two is mostly what lead to them all being on the Titanic, and part three is several years after the Titanic.

Along with the three different time periods we also have three different pov's that switch every so often.

While this pov switch is a little confusing at times, after a little while it's easy to tell who is who. Charlotte does seem to be the main pov we see the most from, but she is also my favorite personally. Her life both before and after the Titanic was so fascinating to me. Even though things didn't turn out like she had wanted them to, she was still able to make a great life for herself.



"No, I didn't tell anyone I'd met you. Hardly anyone I work with knows I was on the Titanic, to this day."



I never really cared for Esme much and could have done without her part of the story. She was just your typical rich girl who was unhappy in her marriage already and was willing to do anything to get a little thrill.



Anna is the other character I really loved. She was from a small farming community who didn't have much and didn't seem to be able to be with the person she truly loved. But she was okay with that in a way, or at least she knew she would be given enough time. She was sent to America for a better life and a chance for success that she wasn't going to get in her hometown.



"I'm met men from Sweden and Norway and Finland who came here with nothing, and now they're living in big houses and driving new cars. America changes your thinking, Anna. It makes you believe anything is possible."

Overall I really enjoy this story. It was fun to get back into Titanic fiction and to see so many different walks of life all in one place, with little to no interaction happening between them until a tragedy happened. I also really liked how for a change we get to see how everyone was connected after, and that they were still dealing with what happened that night.



I'm interested to see if any of Blackwell's other books are in this same time period and have multi pov's done really well.



"All those inquiries and awful stories in the paper... they could never explain what it was really like, could they? Having to make decisions of life and death when you're freezing and knackered and afraid you're about to die. Things happen so quickly, and you haven't time to think. And later, when you're called to account for what you've done, how can you possibly make anyone else understand?"

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought it was well written and I would definitely read another book by this author.

I really enjoyed this read! I love Titanic history so I knew I wanted to read this. No major romantic scenes to spoil it either of which I am so thankful. I loved the pacing and the different timelines within the three characters: Charlotte, Esme and Anna. The author gave us background info on each woman thru 20 years after the tragic event. I think many of us who find themselves drawn to the Titanic always want to know more about what happened out there and what became of those who survived. This story gives us a realistic possibility to these questions. I will remember the scenes as presented by Elizabeth Blackwell and I feel like she did a great job putting us there in the event with those who experienced it. She seems to have researched this pretty extensively.