{{Book Review}} The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford

Elisabeth Gifford's debut novel,The Sea House, is a story of loss and longing set in the wild isolation of the Outer Hebrides. 

Scotland, 1860.
 
Reverend Alexander Ferguson, naive and newly-ordained, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the Hebridean island of Harris. His time on the island will irrevocably change the course of his life, but the white houseon the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after Alexander departs. It will be more than a century before theSea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. 
Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child's fragile legs are fused together --- a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? Ruth needs to solve the mystery of her new home --- but the answers to her questions may lie in her own past.
 
Based on a real nineteenth-century letter to The Times in which a Scottish clergyman claimed to have seen a mermaid, The Sea House is an epic, sweeping tale of loss and love, hope and redemption, and how we heal ourselves with the stories we tell. 

*My Review*

The Sea House is a beautifully written book and engrossing tale. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. "The Sea House" is about the power of past events and of forgotten people to influence the lives in the present.  Elisabeth Gifford's writing is lyrical, & beautiful. I totally fell in love with this story of how the mysteries of the past haunt the present. 

::WARNING::
There is some usage of the "f" word in this book. I was able to get past this and finish the book, but I wanted to let my readers know ahead of time that way you guys aren't shocked if/when you read this book for yourself. 

Meet the Author

Elisabeth Gifford grew up in a vicarage in the industrial Midlands. She studied French literature and world religions at Leeds University. She is the author of The House of Hope: A Story of God's Love and Provision for the Abandoned Orphans of Chinaand has written articles for The Timesand the Independent and has a Diploma in Creative Writing from Oxford OUDCE and an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway College. She is married with three children. They live in Kingston on Thames but spend as much time as possible in the Hebrides. Learn more about Elisabeth at: website, Facebook, Pintrest *Disclaimer*  I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.