“My father always told me that the sea was in my blood” (2).

Emotionally draining at times (the longing and waiting of the characters), intellectually demanding at others (so many dates and events and historical figures to know and connect), but poetically stimulating throughout, even if much of the swirling, gray sea descriptions were a bit somber and melancholic. In the end of this maudlin Scottish seaside story, there is a beacon of light—the promise of the winter sea: the hope of what lies beneath.

While the atmospheric Slains Castle off the coast of Scotland sets the stage for this gothic story, it’s the characters and the rich historical plot—full of espionage and clandestine lovers and secret plotting—that kept me waiting and hoping and longing right along with the characters. I really loved these characters, especially Countess of Errol who seemed ahead of her time, not content to be a female bystander in this male-made war but leading like a General with intelligence and grace and shrewd confidence. I also loved professor Graham—his quiet confidence—and John Morray—his contrast of pirate persona and devoted lover—and Colonel Graeme—the perfect mix of a roguish yet reliable uncle.

Beyond the history and plot and characters and setting—all of which I loved—I also loved the bigger ideas in this book: genetic memory and blurred lines. Anything that explores the connection we have to our ancestors and the land of our roots is something that inspires me. The way Kearsley tells this dual-plotted story is original in blurring the lines between fact and fiction, imagination and memory—never knowing where one ends and the other begins. Intriguing, imaginative, and inspiring: a story that makes me want to know more about these determined Jacobites. For a reader who rarely reads series, I’m eager to explore the other Slains stories.
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Surprisingly good. Kept my interest all through. Two parallel stories: an author comes to the Aberdeen area and writes a novel about the 18th century and a Jacobite rebellion, which more or less "writes itself." She is told this is "genetic memory." The characters in her novel are from her own family's past but with her writing in her current love interest as her heroine's--a family ancestor.
Fact and fiction blur with amazing coincidences in plots. ( )

A writer finds herself drawn to a particular section of Scottish coastline while she's plotting her next book--but the book virtually starts to write itself as ideas flood her brain. Or are they memories? "Genetic memories"? Interesting premise, although not for the skeptic at heart. I viewed it as a more creative, intense way to tell a story that would have otherwise been a straight researching-family-history premise. Or that could have gone to the other end of the spectrum and been a time-slip novel.

It got bogged down (for me) in some of the political history of the Jacobites, which, no matter how hard I try to follow, makes my eyes glaze over. It was also a bit long for holding my interest steadily.
But the writing was quite literary in places. ( )

I really loved the beginning of this book. I looked up the history, enjoyed getting to know the characters, and found the writing to be top notch. Unfortunately, the story lines are not resolved satisfactorialy. ( )

En el noreste de Escocia, donde las olas rompen contra los acantilados y una lluvia pertinaz cae sobre las ruinas de antiguos castillos, se oculta una historia de rebelión, intrigas, amor y traición. Para Carrie McClelland, aquel pueblecito escocés únicamente iba a ser un alto en el camino. Sin embargo, al visitarlo, queda atrapada por su paisaje agreste y el perfil de las ruinas del castillo de Slains sobre el acantilado. Cediendo a un impulso, se instala allí para trabajar en su próxima novela; mucho tiempo después comprenderá que no tomó aquella decisión por azar. Poco a poco esos parajes y sus gentes, que le resultan extrañamente familiares, se adueñan de ella. Y empieza a escribir una historia olvidada, como si la recordara o se la dictase una voz del pasado. Una historia que sucedió trescientos años atrás. Pasado y presente se entrelazan en una novela evocadora, bañada de romanticismo y misterio, basada en un episodio real y apenas conocido de la historia de Escocia.