ACROSS THE STAR-KISSED SEA (Proper Romance Regency), by Arlem Hawks, Shadow Mountain, Oct. 1, 2024, Paperback, $17.99 (young adult/ new adult/ adult fiction)
A young woman joins a ship’s company as a lady’s maid and gets more than she bargained for in Across the Star-Kissed Sea, by Arlem Hawks.
1811, Mediterranean Sea
May Byam grew up following her father to his work at the ropemaking factory and listening to her uncle’s tales of life aboard a Royal Navy ship. After tragedy and scandal shatter her family, May is desperate to escape the shame that follows her. Despite her mother’s pleadings against it, May signs on as a lady’s maid to the young wife of a naval captain. If she’s going to run, she may as well do it in honor of her late uncle and cousin and where there is food, shelter, and perhaps even adventure. But the frosty reception she receives from the ship’s clergyman makes her feel far from welcome.
Heartbroken young Chaplain Elias Doswell returns to a harsh life at sea, but preaching to disinterested sailors isn’t the escape he’d hoped—until a captivating young woman boards the ship. However, a case of mistaken identity ensures that he starts off on the wrong foot with the newly hired lady’s maid, who clearly wants nothing to do with him. But the close quarters of the ship forces the pair together, and May begins to see a side of the handsome clergyman she didn’t expect. As they struggle to navigate their deepening feelings, the danger of war with the French looms on the horizon, threatening their lives—and their love. —Synopsis provided by Shadow Mountain
Across the Star-Kissed Sea is a companion novel to Arlem Hawks’ Georgana’s Secret, which is also set on a Royal Navy ship. It’s not as exciting as the first novel, in part because one of the main characters is a chaplain, but it’s still an enjoyable read.
May endearing personality is buoyed by her somewhat feisty attitude — at least what could be considered feisty during the Regency period. Elias is haunted by his previous experiences in the Navy, but is determined to make this time a success.
Sometimes you connect more with characters than others, and this time around, I found Elias to be kind of stick-in-the mud boring. He wasn’t the sort of protagonist I would have been drawn to, however, Hawks writes in such a way that you feel May’s connection, and it all makes sense.
Across the Star-Kissed Sea is a fast-moving, chaste Regency romance with an adventure on the high seas as a backdrop. Though written for adults, the characters and situations will appeal to older teens as well.
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