Another LT recommendation, and to use my father’s phrase, it was fair to middlin’.

The book is well written and the plots (dual time lines) were well constructed. The story just didn’t do it for me. My cockles weren’t warmed and my attention wasn’t hooked. The present day POV kept me reading far longer than I should have, while the past POV had me bored and the trope had me rolling my eyes.

Just really not my jam.

I would, however, totally live somewhere that’s only accessible during low tides. ( )

This book is set in two timelines, 1910 and 2010, tied together by a hundred year old mystery of human bones discovered on an inherited property. It contains atmospheric descriptions of the Scottish countryside. Themes include art, love, relationships, history, architecture, and environmental/political viewpoints. The tensions among characters are well-depicted and believable. The solution to the mystery was satisfying and not completely obvious. Recommended to readers of historical fiction or those who enjoy novels about relationships. ( )

There is a plot convention that you will all be familiar with, the dual timeline, past and present, the present characters having some reason to be attempting to unfold the story of those in the past. I confess, when it is done well, it is a device I obviously enjoy. I usually find myself wrapped up in the characters of the past, however, with little interest in those of the present. Sarah Maine was able to keep me involved in both time frames with almost equal interest, so that I did not feel resentment when the story set in 1910 segued to the story in 2014.

Again, in hardly a new plot line, Hetty Deveraux, a Londoner, has lost her parents and thus inherited a crumbling estate in Scotland, which once belonged to a distant relative, renowned painter, Theo Blake. In the process of surveying to see what can be done with rebuilding the house, bones are found on the premises-- old bones buried under flooring, an obvious indication of murder. That Sarah Maine makes this feel like a fresh storyline is another almost miraculous achievement.

There are handsome, brooding men and women who are trying to establish their independence; and there is a very nice subplot regarding the responsibilities of people to the land and natural preservation. This is done without being heavy-handed and fits itself with perfection into both time frames. The atmosphere is haunting, as the house is set on an island that can be accessed across the strand only at low tides, and Maine is skilled in her descriptions and mood creation. She is able to make the setting both an ideal and gloomily isolated, so that the house and its surroundings seem to take on and reflect the characters moods and feelings.

It was serendipity that I happened to be reading this book right now. It wasn’t what I intended, but the electricity failed, making the ebooks I had planned inaccessible, and this was the top book on a stack of “real” books I hadn’t gotten to yet. I am happy the power had its glitch. I enjoyed this break and having the freedom to just sink into a story and get lost for a few hours of pure enjoyment.
( )

The House Between Tides is one of those books that I have wanted to read for a long time, I just never got the time for it. But, I've decided to go through my ARC's and read the ones that I've been meaning to read. And, I started with this one.

The House Between Tides title, description, and cover captured my imagination. The discovery of a hidden body that's been buried for decades is not the start Hetty had counted on when she arrives at the old house she has inherited. And, her restoration plan seems to fall to pieces too. However, she can't help being fascinated by whom the body could be and bit by bit will she discover deep dark buried secrets...

The book's story takes place both during 1910 and 2010 and I found both timelines fascinating to read about. Sarah Maine has written a captivating tale about forbidden love, regrets and how memories can consume one's life. Some secrets are perhaps not that surprising, but all and all was this book quite intriguing. The only drawback was that now and then did I feel a bit impatient with the story, not bored, I just wanted the characters to get some things to grip, like Hetty telling Giles off or Beatrice realizing why Theo was so obsessed with Cameron (which was pretty obvious why). I loved the scenery of the book. I could really picture the island and its wildlife.

But, the ending was perfect, tragic, but at the same time uplifting and I'm looking forward to reading more from Sarah Maine in the future.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review. ( )

Didn’t really like the characters, found relationships a bit confusing across two timelines with mixed up bloodlines - but kept reading as wanted to know how it ended. Kirkwall library book group read