Seal Island

By Kate Brallier

Book Overview

Cecil Hargrave lives in a cramped apartment in New York City, hates her job, and has no close friends. She yearns for something more, but what? When Cecil inherits a beachfront house and a thriving business on picturesque Seal Island in Maine, she jumps at the opportunity to kickstart her life, despite her reservations about moving to New England. But even if stereotypes hold true and New Englanders are standoffish, she'll have a new career and a gorgeous home. Much to her delight and surprise, Cecil settles rapidly into small-town life. She makes real friends, plays with the seals who live on the beach outside her house, and meets two very different men. Tom, a darkly sexy novelist, has returned to his hometown to write. He and Cecil hit it off almost immediately, and their chemistry is explosive -- but Cecil can't seem to stay away from the handsome drifter, Ronan, despite his secretive ways. It's like she's under a spell...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765348926
• ISBN13: 9780765348920
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Great first novel

I bought this book after reading her second novel "The Boundless Deep. While I enjoyed that book, I loved this one for it's more simplicity. It was an easier read and I enjoyed the characters more. It is dreamy, romantic and suspenseful. This novel was particularly refreshing because it was supernatural, but different from the vampire, werewolve, shift-shaper novels that are really in abundance now.

Not a bad way to start a writing career!

Seal Island by Kate Braillier is a great debut novel. Without going into the details of the novel (see previous reviews), Ms. Braillier does a stellar job with her characters, the mystery and the setting, and the haunting legend of the selkie. It made me yearn for the maine coastline. and i love a first person story when its done well. The author accomplished that. I was surprised by the numerous typos in the book, however. I also felt the book was a tad too long, resulting in a bit of a sagging middle. These are nits, because for a first book, Seal Island is exceptional.

Editing job required for a very good story

This book is well written, with fabulous descriptions of the beautiful Maine coastline. The characters are well developed, and are easy to like. What this book suffers from is shoddy editing. I found several instances where words are left out, and other instances where the words are mis-spelled. Ms. Brallier, a gifted story teller, deserves to have her publisher put forth more effort in the editing department. Despite the complaint, I would recommend this story as I enjoyed reading it very much. More from this author!

One of My Favorite Books this Year!

I found this book un-put-down-able. It had a great Gothic feel to it. Not your standard romantic suspense fare. At one point, I started to get a little worried that the heroine might end up picking the wrong man...I was never sure how it would all turn out until very close to the end of the book. I'm happy to say that Ms. Brallier didn't disappoint me! I eagerly await her next book.

PERFECT for a beach vacation!

Cecilia "Cecil" Hargrave inherits a beachfront house and a small business on glorious Seal Island in Maine. Since Cecil has just been laid off from work and lost her apartment, she decides to spend the summer on Seal Island to relax a bit and figure out what she will do with her life. Cecil makes new friends and slips into the local town life almost seamlessly. She also becomes friends with three very different men. Richard is the editor of the local paper. He is patient, steady, and dependable. Tom is a lobsterman with the sea in his blood and has a mysterious part time job that pays the bills. His pragmatic look at life keeps Cecil guessing as to just what will happen next. Then there is Ronan who is shy about approaching Cecil as friends, and later as more, but with a spontaneous approach at life that attracts her. During her summer afternoons Cecil spends time on the shore line where she makes friends with a special seal named Ragnarok. Between Cecil's new friends, her business, and Ragnarok, her days are carefree and filled with warmth. But when night falls, Cecil is torn between the men. **** This is the debut novel of author Kate Brallier, and what an excellent one it is! It is larger than most books now-a-days, but only because the author inserts descriptive backgrounds of the characters and the town so that readers find themselves submerged into the life on Seal Island. Most of the story reads like a contemporary romance with some danger thrown in for spice. However, be advised that there is some supernatural or mystical sections as well. This one is the PERFECT read during a beach vacation! **** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.