Book Recommendation - Yesterday's Tides

 




One of my go-to authors for historical fiction is Roseanna M. White. Writing characters that you immediately connect with, with intriguing story-lines, spiritual depth and witty banter, her stories always suck me in, and are always enjoyable. Yesterday's Tides was no different. This was the first dual timeline that she wrote and while the closeness of the timelines did have me confused a bit at the beginning, it was definitely worthwhile to power through and set my reading breaks to occur at timeline breaks in order to glean as much as possible from this novel. This was thoroughly enjoyable and is easily in my top10 for the year. 

Here's a bit about the book:

In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same--until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie's inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling's injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the man he's tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.

Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, but he doesn't count on falling in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper's daughter. When war breaks out in Europe, and their relationship is put in jeopardy, will their love survive?

As Evie and Sterling work to track down an elusive German agent, they unravel mysteries that go back a generation. The ripples from the Great War are still rocking their lives, and it seems yesterday's tides may sweep them all into danger again today.

Bestselling and award-winning author Roseanna M. White whisks you away to two periods fraught with peril in this sweeping and romantic dual-time tale.


As part of the launch team for this book, I had the opportunity to ask some questions of the author. Here's how that went:

1. This book is your first dual timeline, I believe. What prompted you to write in this style and what challenges did you face with it? Will you attempt to write more in this style?

It is, yes! I’ve long loved dual timeline stories but had never really had an idea for one. As I was mulling over Louisa and Rem’s story one year while I was vacationing in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, however, I was mourning the fact that all the really interesting things happened on the islands during WW2 instead of “my” era of WW1. That’s when the idea struck. What if I told both stories? The fascinating and tragic tale of the sinking of the Bedfordshire as well as the earlier story I’d been wanting to tell for so long? So I pitched that idea to Bethany House, and they loved it just as much as I did!

 

2. What fun Easter Eggs will fans of your other books find in this one?  Are there any books that readers should definitely read before reading this one?

Mwa ha ha ha! You will find ALL the Easter Eggs! Or at least, there are a gazillion in there. ;-) You don’t have to read (or reread) any other books for this one, per se. It stands fully on its own. But…there are ties to the Culper Ring Series, the Ladies of the Manor, Shadows Over England, the Codebreakers, and even a nod to Secrets from the Isles (particularly book 2, To Treasure an Heiress). This is truly the story in which ALL my story worlds culminate!

 

3. What inspired this particular story line?

The story of Louisa and Rem (my “yesterday” line) is one I’ve had in my heart since 2004. It was the summer after I graduated college, and I woke up in the middle of the night with this idea. A mixed-race heroine from the Outer Banks whose family owned an inn…and a CIA analyst from the DC area who shouldn’t have loved her. I wrote a contemporary version that summer, rewrote it entirely several years later, and then excitedly realized their story would be even more fun in a historical setting. I planted Rem in Room 40 in my Codebreakers series to set it up, and there we go!

 

4. Did you have any special inspiration for the characters in this book? 

Wow, they’ve been with me so long I don’t know if I even remember the inspiration, LOL. Louisa was born from my love of the Outer Banks, I think…and I came up with Evie and Sterling’s story as a potential sequel back in the day two. Putting them together involved changing a lot of circumstances, but the hearts of those characters are what they’ve been in my own heart for nearly twenty years!

 

5. Which character do you most relate to and why? 

Without spoiling the story, ha ha, I’ll simply say that the way Louisa devoted her whole heart to her family was something that actually inspired me to devote myself to mine through the years. Yes, she was a fictional character that I created, but I created her to be what I wanted to be—someone who would put down other tasks to show the people I love how much I really love them in those moments when they need my attention,

 

6. What was your favorite "nugget" of research that you gleaned when researching this story?

I loved researching the Ocracoke Brogue! The accent of the islands has developed over the centuries into its own unique dialect, and I watched a video on it and read both a small book and a pamphlet about the history and flavor, which also included a handy glossary of terms. What I loved most was seeing how many of those “unique” words are part of my own small-town Appalachian culture too, also preserved from centuries gone by.

 

7. What do you hope readers will glean from this story?

I hope readers will come away seeing how the choices we make affect generations to come, and how the issues of today are without fail rooted in choices made in the past. So often we look at “kids these days” or politics or culture and take issue with it without realizing that we’re the ones who created it. Yesterday’s Tides may be the story of two romances in two world wars, of intelligence and espionage and treachery, but mostly it’s the story of yesterday shaping today and today informing tomorrow, and how important it is that we walk bravely into the choices we want to live out.

 

8. Did anything surprise you as you were writing?

Having written this book three or four times over the decades, LOL, I think the most surprising thing for me was how it still felt like the same story to me, even though none of the original plot was maintained. The hearts of Louisa and Rem and Evie were still the hearts I’d gotten to know all those years ago.

 

9. Any other fun bits of trivia or behind the scenes extras you'd be willing to share with my readers?

In May of 2021 my family actually took a trip to Ocracoke, to be there for the anniversary of the sinking of the HMT Bedfordshire. We visited the British Cemetery, took photos and videos, explored the woods, scouted the island for houses, chatted with locals, and generally got to know the place that my characters love so well. My aunt has been taking annual trips to Ocracoke for many years, so it was also fun to explore an island that she loves like a second home and meet her local friends. My own family tends to vacation on Hatteras Island instead (they were once connected but are now separated by a channel), so it was also fun to see what’s similar and what’s different on the two islands.

 

10. What are you working on next and when can we expect it?

 

Next up from me is my new series called The Imposters, which will launch summer 2023 with A Beautiful Disguise. This one combines an Edwardian circus theme with some fun investigator hijinks, aristocrats spying on their own to make a living, and yet another gorgeous English setting! I can’t wait for you all to meet the acrobatic Lady Marigold, her brother Yates, Earl of Fairfax, the cast of Romani and retired circus animals who call their estate home, and my noble-hearted hero, Sir Merritt, who calls on them when illness and injury demands he find help in an investigation surrounding the formation of MI5. SO MUCH FUN!!

 So excited for what's coming next! 

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. 



This book releases January 24, 2023 wherever books are sold. Be sure to pre-order from your favorite retailer! 

https://www.roseannamwhite.com/product/yesterdays-tides

https://www.amazon.com/Yesterdays-Tides-Roseanna-M-White-ebook/dp/B0B6Q3MJ9Y/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3LZD00VVEOV53&keywords=yesterday%27s+tides+roseanna+m+white&qid=1672533476&sprefix=yesterday%27s+tide%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1


For more information, check out the following links:

Roseanna M. White's website: https://www.roseannamwhite.com/

Roseanna M. White's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite

My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5076866503

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