It would be so easy to dismiss Anna as a socialite, but Lindsey gives her tremendous depth of character as she stands up for justice and the poor. I was completely mesmerized.“It’s difficult to reconcile the fantastic with reality hard to accept that things we can’t see exist-terrifying, in fact.” – Ashes on the WavesĪnna, Annabel Leighton, is a rich socialite who has gotten a lot of negative press lately so she is sent by her family to stay out of the spotlight in their island mansion while her brother plans a wedding and his political career. Liam’s mind is like reading a very lyrical poem. Not that the island’s location is central to the story, but that bit did ruffle my feathers.

There are plenty of ways for Anna’s character to be famous - she can fly to the island from Dublin, Edinburgh, London.

Why was it necessary to have the island close to Maine? Why have all these deep Celtic roots on a fictionalized American island? It would make far more sense for the island to be closer to the homeland. The setting was absolutely remarkable, but I wish it didn’t have to be an American coast. They are meant to be, and it’s easy to fall in love with their love. Anna is a unique character, one with a face for the dramatic press and tabloids, and a heart with deep dreams, aspirations, and compassion. Liam is such a tragic character, so full of love and hope and determination to live despite the horrible way the villagers treat him.

Lindsey’s knowledge of Irish fairies - true fairies, not the pixie Tinkerbells of Disney - truly helped to flesh out this haunting tale. Based on Poe’s chilling, haunting poem, “Annabel Lee,” one may know the ending - but the journey is a deeply heart-wrenching tale.Ĭeltic folklore mixed with my favorite Poe poem is bound to be a recipe for greatness. Trial after trial is thrown upon them, and their love for one another is tested to the limit. Everyone else, from banshees to Selkies to villagers, has a different plan in mind for these two. When Liam and Anna meet on an island far off the coast of Maine with deep Irish roots, the world as they know it ends. Frustrated, the creatures put the couple through one last trial-and this time it’s not only their love that’s in danger of being destroyed. But the tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. They make a wager on the couple’s love, testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. With Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied but, the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea around it, have other plans. Haunted by the wails of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will never get better for him-until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton arrives on the island and Liam’s fate is changed forever.

Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey