This was a really good retelling! Ondine and John made a sweet couple and I enjoyed Ondine’s carefree nature. She was found as a baby on the shores of Cornwall and raised by a fisherman and his wife. Her upbringing with such a supportive family contributed to her sweet and caring nature. Especially when she finds John washed ashore after he had an accident at sea.
Check out my full review below and see if this is a book you might like to read as well!
Title: Ondine and the Soldier
Author: Sienna Peake
Series: Once by a Shore
Genre: Historical Fiction, Regency Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
Disclaimer
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I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
My Thoughts:
This was a really good retelling! Ondine and John made a sweet couple and I enjoyed Ondine’s carefree nature. She was found as a baby on the shores of Cornwall and raised by a fisherman and his wife. Her upbringing with such a supportive family contributed to her sweet and caring nature. Especially when she finds John washed ashore after he had an accident at sea.
Ondine and her family take John in and nurse him back to health, only for him to have no memories of who he is. The romance between John and Ondine starts at this point and was grounded in a very supportive way in that they immediately cared deeply for one another.
This is a story that demonstrated healthy relationships where both individuals cared about the other and even when there was another party trying to break them up, they never lashed out at one another. These are the kinds of relationships I like to read about. Especially because half of this book includes them being married and so it was encouraging to see this.
Not to say that there aren’t hard times for them in their marriage, especially once John regains his memories and takes Ondine back to meet his family. Let’s just say John’s mother plays a very wicked antagonist in this one. She meets all the criteria of a wicked mother in law!
But altogether a very well rounded and healthy representation of a relationship with plenty of intrigue and excitement along the way!
Publisher’s Blurb:
Captain John Hubert is home from war, sent to retrieve a mysterious parcel from a wrecked ship along the coast of Cornwall. When an unexpected storm arrives, John suffers an injury that causes him to lose his memories. After he is discovered by the kind daughter of a fisherman, he finds a new life and new love. But when his memories at last return, will he lose all that he has gained?
Ondine Kellow was discovered as an infant and raised along the Cornish coast. She has often dreamed of adventure, and it arrives in the most unexpected form–a strange man washed ashore. After Ondine and the stranger form an attachment, new discoveries arise that threaten to tear them apart. When she at last adventures beyond the borders of Cornwall, will she find the love she has long been seeking?
Ondine and the Soldier is the first book in the Once by a Shore series of Regency fairy tale retellings inspired by water-based fairy tales. The stories in the series are clean and wholesome and can be enjoyed in a single afternoon. Each story is a stand-alone work and may be read in any order.
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