The Sound of the Sea

Old. Not Dead. This is one of those nice women's fiction/ romance blends where instead of one or the other or both friends going on similar journeys, we get one friend going on one journey and the other going on the other - which is a nice divergence from the norm. That Newton manages to pack so much into so few pages is a mark of a strong storyteller, and that she manages to break the norms means she is a storyteller I'll be coming back to - as this was the first book I'd actually read from her (despite owning books under all of her names, in some cases for *years*). On the theming, this is more large luxury yacht maybe a *very* small cruise ship (such as the real-world WindStar cruise line) than a traditional cruise ship, but it works for the tale told here - and gives the author the timing she needed within story, as larger ships/ lines are not often at sea for this length of time (15 days at sea, iirc). The romance works well here, the women's fiction side - dealing with a more recent widow and how she has coped - works so well it almost jumps off the page in its realism. Overall simply a great - and short - tale, one perfect as a quick getaway whether you're at sea yourself or not. Very much recommended.