Not my cup of tea. I wanted to read it because of the interesting description and the cover, because of that I had high expectations, but it wasn t that nice. Still a good read tho! Loved the writing style at least.

This novel is well researched. The main character is well developed. I loved the setting also. An enjoyable well written historical novel

Wow!!
I devoured this book in 48 hours! Elsie leaves her home in Guernsey to join her husband in Nova Scotia. The hardships! The peril! The strength of this young woman ….

Set in 1755 - early 1800s it is interwoven with fiction and reality of these brave pioneers.

One of the best historical fiction books I have read this year. So very atmospheric. Showing the hardness but also the pure love they shared!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a creative and absorbing tale! Definitely recommend this one!

The plot sounded really intriguing but the book just didn't do anything for me. The characters are undeveloped and not interesting at all. The plot was dull and i found it hard to stay interested.

I can’t really say much about this one except that it really wasn’t for me. This is a very detailed, quiet portrayal of the life of a white settler in the newly established American colonies. i just kept expecting something to happen, something more to come, but it never did. This book flowed along like a placid little creek, but it did nothing for me except cause extreme boredom. I think that if you’re the person who likes quiet, inward books, or someone who’s really into white American settlers, this could be for you, but it surely wasn’t for me.

3.5 stars.

Okay, so what I don't get are all the negative reviews! This book does NOT deserve 2 stars, in my humble opinion. Sure, there are several things that could be improved, but overall, this is a great story. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Let's start with the things that bothered me, to get them out of the way.

1.) The title could be a little misleading. Maybe people see Song of the Sea and think pirate story or long boat journey or this story will take place mostly at sea. And those are all pretty inaccurate. Instead, we follow Elise's whole life story, of which only a short 3-ish months are on a boat ride across the Atlantic. I'll let you read the book and find out what the title refers to.

2.) The dialogue never felt quite right. It tended to info-dump and/or be a bit stilted.

3.) A couple plot points were jarring.

Now onto the positives!!

I don't know exactly what it was about the story (because this isn't necessarily an action-packed tale), but I was enthralled. I kept wanting to read it instead of tending to my responsibilities. The atmosphere and setting of 1700s Canada was so vivid.

I loved following Elise as a narrator, because even though she came off as naïve at first, she did grow into a determined, strong woman. The things that she went through and still came out alive and purposeful . . . I have a lot of respect for women like her.

I also enjoyed the addition of the raven and Elise's visions, though it did seem like maybe she could have picked up on their meaning earlier.

And I appreciated having characters from all sides - the early settlers in Canada + the early Americans + the native Mi'kmaq people.

Overall, this was a lovely story to read, and I feel like it will stay in my mind for quite a while! This is definitely a lifetime story - we follow Elise on her adventures and misfortunes from the time she is 20 to 80-ish. It isn't action packed, but I always felt like things were happening, and I just wanted to come on the journey with her! Also bonus points for the sweet romance.

Would recommend if you like early pioneer stories and over-arching tales of a whole lifetime!

I received an advanced reader copy of Song of the Sea in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this opportunity.

I‘m not an avid reader of historical fiction, but somehow I am regularly drawn to that particular genre of strong, independent women living remotely somewhere in the wilderness, bonus points if it’s at the sea in a place with harsh winters. So naturally, I expected Song of the Sea to be just my cup of tea, as the premise seemed very promising.

I adored the setting in Nova Scotia, and the beautiful, sweeping descriptions of the unforgiving nature there. The writing style helped paint a picture in my head of the islands and Elise‘s life there, which was of course closely linked to nature as an apothecary‘s daughter.

However, at the same time I also struggled a lot with the writing style. It was very detailed and descriptive with lots of telling and little showing, and that made the story drag on a lot in the beginning and towards the ending. There was a brief stretch in between where Elise lived alone which I read quickly and enjoyed well enough, but other than that I felt bored by the story because I wasn’t able to really connect with Elise as a main character.

Due to that, I also didn’t care very much about her fate, and the twists in her life rather annoyed me than keeping me hooked - at several points all I could do was shake my head at Elise‘s decision making. I also didn’t like that whole drama around Thomas. In my opinion, the story would have been dramatic enough if he had died of his injury after their escape from the fishing outpost, rather than that whole becoming a spiteful drunk who „fakes“ his own death and then later sets Elise‘s house on fire story. It simply seemed unnecessary to me, just for the sake of making Elise‘s life seem even more pathetic.

All in all, I thought that the story had great potential, but the execution was lacking. It is very telling that it took me almost a month to finish this book - I would definitely not have finished it had it not been a review copy.

2/5 stars.

Chronicling the life and times of Elise, a fresh-faced young woman with big dreams from Guernsey, Song of the Sea is a lovely character-driven tale. Bouncing from Guernsey to different Canadian islands and back to Nova Scotia towards the end of her life, we're given the story of what made one pioneering woman strong through unforgiving winters and unimaginable loss.

A Few Things I Really Liked:
- Song of the Sea is an incredibly well-researched novel. As we see Elise come into her own after venturing to meet Thomas on the shores of an unforgiving fisherman's island - all of the flora and fauna described are so fun!
- Love the included book maps, and the way the landscapes are described. All throughout, I thought of the dramatic rolling green hills of the Faroe Islands? But then more Icelandic with seasonal journeying Native peoples? The imagery was dramatic and well done.
- Elise's character is really well done in explaining what lengths people will go to to find purpose beyond the comforts of their youth. She faces losses that would cripple most people but perseveres for her ailing family and for the family that will be with her long after she's gone.
- Shows us the strength and joy in keeping to our convictions and choices. Elise could have made an easy life for herself early on in the book by marrying her father's shop apprentice, but instead, she chose to love Thomas and follow him. Great lesson!
- How Elise finds community and friendship with the native women of the Canadian wilderness. I think that's always such a beautiful point -- that, as a woman myself, I can find kinship and connection with other women because many of the fears, daily goals, and needs are the same!

A Few Things I Didn't Like:
- Definitely took a little grudging through, and there were parts that, while explaining Elise's character in greater depth, felt unnecessary.
- This was very much a character study, and while yes, things did happen - they almost read like a diary entry and not as an action scene? I can't explain it, but I wish I had gotten to see more of Elise's passions and happy times to make up for the heaviness of her life. The book is definitely heavy!

Other Notes:
- It's been a long time since I've seen an eBook not make it's debut on Amazon. Kind of fun that this is truly an independently published book!
- TWs: child loss, physical assault

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last! The story and its characters will stick with you long after you finish the story. Highly recommend!

2/5

There was so much going on in this book and not a lot of explaining about why/what was actually happening. I had to go back and reread different passages to try and figure out what was happening but I was still confused. Which made the pacing extremely slow and difficult to get through. I really wanted to like this book because the plot was intriguing but I just couldn't get behind it.

The characters were not well written, I found them bland and not at all likable. I found them to be very one dimensional and boring. I wish there had been more depth to them. They were traveling across the ocean to a new place give me something! Even the dialogues between the characters feel flat for me and i wish it was more engaging.

I do think the 3rd person narrative was an interesting touch and it was one I haven't read that many books with that narrative. I also liked how it did seem like the author did her research and added historical relevant events and aspects.

Thank you Netgalley and Mya Roberts for gifting me an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The authors writing style was great and the story line was easy to follow.

I was intrigued by the premise of this novel from the blurb as I love historical fiction. Sadly however it left me feeling rather flat. As others have noted the historical research is outstanding but sadly the characters lack depth and as such are difficult to fully engage with. Having started strong it became lacklustre for me regrettably as I so wanted to love it.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are beautifully created building throughout the story with depth and validity. The story describes the lives of the early settlers, the hardships they faced and the way in which they overcame these. The description of the natural world and its connection to the characters felt authentic and believable. I would definitely recommend this to other readers.

In 1775, a young woman moves to an island off the coast of Canada to be with her husband setting off a misery train of unfortunate events.

I would've loved to read this, as it sounded absolutely amazing, but I could not access the book on NetGalley Shelf, my Kindle or when I downloaded it.

While I am appreciative of the research put into this book and particularly the bibliography, this book often felt like a list of 'he did this, she did that'. It felt like the author was trying to fit so many events into the lives of the characters as well as historical events, while neglecting the creation of unique and meaningful characters. They, especially our main character Elise, seemed stilted and one-dimensional for the most part.
The storyline did improve later in the book, but then led to a lovely yet somewhat cliche ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Song of the Sea, by Mya Roberts, is set on the second half of the 18th century. The book tells the story of Elise, who embarks on a journey to Nova Scotia to meet with her fisherman husband in search of an adventure.

The premise of the book was what first interested me. The first noticeable thing about this book is that the story is told through an 3rd person narrator, which was a welcomed surprise. Additionally, the book appears to be well researched in regard to historical events, which makes the story feel like a ‘slice of life’ of an actual person and not just a character. Nevertheless, the pace of the story is rather slow and at times descriptions were too wordy.

Moreover, the characters were in need of more development, they felt one dimensional. I am aware that Elise is the main character and that the story is told through her eyes, but I felt as though I was living inside her head and could not scape. At times, the dialogue between characters felt as though it was ended abruptly in favour of more narration.

Using the sea for an analogy, the story was like a wave: it started slow and then disolved into foam.

Beautiful cover and premise - I was excited for this one, but sadly it never delivered. The start was a slog, the dialogue was stilted, the writing was too verbose, the characters were underdeveloped, and I never felt transported to 1755 by the language.

Song of the Sea by Mya Roberts

In 1755, a spirited young woman leaves her comfortable island home of Guernsey and travels to Nova Scotia, Canada to join her fisherman husband. But Elise’s dreams of adventure soon become her reality, and what follows is a life of fear, cold, mosquitos, fish, beauty, passion, loss and fulfilment.
This journey and adventure would be quite something in this time , go back to 1755 and it would be something else entirely.
I enjoyed reading about the character of Elsie and her determination to get to her husband so far away.
In the authors style I could sense Elsies fears and emotions and a kind of emptiness about her.
A strange but readable story.