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    A Silent Ocean: Colette's Dominion
    A Silent Ocean: Colette's Dominion
    A Silent Ocean: Colette's Dominion
    Ebook434 pages6 hours

    A Silent Ocean: Colette's Dominion

    By DeVa Gantt

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Charmaine Ryan knows only poverty and pain growing up. In the wake of a horrifying tragedy, she seeks a new life, and fate leads her into the private world of the wealthy Duvoisin clan. At first, it seems as if nothing terrible could touch this seemingly charmed family. But an ill wind blows through the halls and chambers of the Duvoisins' sprawling island retreat, carrying betrayal, deceit, and ominous peril.

    Quickly, Charmaine is caught up in the secrets and mystique swirling around the enigmatic family. At the center are shipping tycoon Frederic Duvoisin and his youthful wife, Colette. And there is Paul Duvoisin, a dashing seducer and Frederic's bastard son, who stirs a dangerous fascination in the two women; the scheming Agatha Ward, who will not rest until she's taken Colette's place in Frederic's heart as well as in his bed; and exiled son, John, who reenters the family fold, stoking the turmoil as he unveils truths best kept hidden. Ultimately, Charmaine chooses to stand with Colette against formidable enemies, but has she made the right decision?

    A sweeping, remarkable blend of adventure, romance, intrigue, and suspense, A Silent Ocean Away heralds the arrival of a glorious new voice on the historical fiction scene.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateOct 1, 2008
    ISBN9780061981791
    A Silent Ocean: Colette's Dominion
    Author

    DeVa Gantt

    DeVa Gantt is the pseudonym for coauthor sisters Debra and Valerie Gantt, career women, homemakers, and mothers. They are the authors of two previous books in the Duvoisin family saga, A Silent Ocean Away and Decision and Destiny.

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    Reviews for A Silent Ocean

    3.5/5

    20 ratings7 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I realize this book is the first in a trilogy, so much remains to be resolved in the story and yet I am certain I will not continue the tale. I was very frustrated by this book - the basics of the plot are good, but I disliked nearly every character and not because they were bad people, but because they felt two dimensional and flimsy. The potential love interest of Charmaine is possibly the most interesting and likable character, and yet he seems prone to some incredibly creepy thoughts about what he'd like to do the woman he's interested in. The portrayal of several female characters annoyed me from the start: this is a novel with a very narrow view of how a "good" woman can be and the "bad" women aren't even provided motivations for their behavior. I'm not certain how I made it to the end of this one, but I am happy to put down this book and move on to something else.
    • 5/5
      I picked this up not knowing in it #1 in a trilogy. I found out there is a book that holds all 3 and that is - Colette's Prayer (2005-
      This is a wonderfully fast paced, enthralling story that centers around Charmaine, a governess. The cast of characters keep the reader guessing as everyone is seemingly out for themselves. Who is using who becomes the question. I shed tears and became angry at the ending as it just hangs in the wind! I didn't want the book to end, so I am happy there is more, I just wieh I had the next book to pick up right away.
      Highly recommend this book to any Historical Fiction readers who enjoy the era including 1833. The book takes place mostly on an island between Richmond and England.
    • 2/5
      While the story is very interesting, NOTHING gets resolved in this book. Nothing!! Apparently one is going to need to read all three books (with the third still to be released in late November 2009) before anything is settled. Frankly, the book and story is just not good enough to wait for that (or spend that kind of money), in my opinion.The book is set in the 1830's, beginning in Richmond, Virginia with heroine Charmaine Ryan, an 18-year-old whose mother was recently beaten to death by her alcoholic father. Employed as a companion to kind empty-nester Loretta Harrington, the latter suggests a change of scenery - applying for a position as a governess on a Caribbean island owned by the wealthy Duvoisin family, for whom Loretta's brother-in-law is an overseer.From that point on we have a number of the typical characters of a historical romance: the young second wife, the illegitimate son, the black sheep heir, and so on. Our heroine must prove her worthiness as governess, deal with squabbling members and a death in the family, and of course the lust of the two half-brothers.I enjoyed the descriptions of settings (particularly on the islands of Les Charmantes, "the charming ones") and the character development, but the plot and its lack of any resolutions sucked. I can't recommend it for that reason.
    • 2/5
      A disclaimer: I only read the first two chapters.This book was very poorly written. First the sentence structure is awful. It is alright for some sentences to begin with a noun followed by a verb. However this book is full of all sorts of phrases beginning the sentence. Passive voice hurts the book as well. The writer also summarizes major plot points that I thought should have been a scene in and of themselves. This is okay for a little while. I accepted it in the prologue. This got old really quickly.The characters, especially the protagonist, felt very contrived. All the women so far obsess about finding a mate. I realize that in the 1830s it was important for a young woman to find a husband. However, all these women want to marry our protagonist to some eligible man. She thinks she wants none of that because her father drank and abused her mother. However then she sees a man, whom I assume is the hero, and she wonders how she would handle being alone with him. This man is also way over the top. This all set on a little island not terribly far from Richmond, VA. The whole island drools over this guy. I couldn't help of thinking about Gaston from Beauty and the Beast because all the unmarried women want him. He also has rippling muscles.I couldn't read any further.
    • 3/5
      A Silent Ocean Away is an absorbing read, written by sisters Debra and Valerie Gantt, and it doesn’t convey any impression of design by committee, except perhaps in the depth of detail given to peripheral characters. Of course, I may be totally mistaking who’s peripheral, since the book is part one of a trilogy, and much of the story’s still untold by the final page.The tale is set on an exotic island in the 19th century. DeVa make their depiction of locale and time very enticing and convincing. I loved the simple touches, like a new Jane Austen novel being read, and the complex creation of a complete society, separate from but closely linked by trade to the rest of the world. I soon grew attached to the characters too, and appreciated the deft descriptions that made it easy to tell who was who as people vanished and reappeared.The subtitle, Colette’s Dominion, left me waiting for a Colette while following the tribulations of Charmaine through the early chapters. The writers do an excellent job of throwing both character and reader into the deep end of the pool, stripping family, friends and home away, till the landing on Charmante, where Charmaine becomes governess to Colette’s three children. The ocean of the title seemed to represent Charmaine’s anchorless existence at the start, and then the distance travelled to the island. But soon it came to symbolize the oceans of silence between secrets, each character revealing feelings to the reader that were never voiced to those who needed to hear them. Mysteries abound in this book, and by the end they are mostly unresolved. Indeed, that would be my biggest complaint, that the only “resolved” story-line seemed the least interesting when I suddenly found I’d turned the final page; I wish the trilogy had been published as a single volume.The children, with their delightful foibles and wonderfully natural tricks, are growing now. The brothers, almost uncles, are at each others’ throats. The father rules and vanishes with perplexing twists and turns. And the authors’ insights at the back of the book lead to a chapter from Colette’s Legacy that at least convinces me there really will be more.More than just a romance, this is a complicated, absorbing tale, marred only by its incompleteness. I’d certainly recommend it, as long as you don’t mind waiting in a roiling ocean as the waves turn to storm till the next book comes out.
    • 5/5
      Charmaine Ryan’s loving mother raised her as best she could despite her deadbeat and abusive husband in Richmond, Virginia just before the Civil War. As a teenager, Charmaine finds work in a wealthy home as a companion to help make ends meet at home. When her mother dies at the hands of her father, she is lucky that the Harrington family takes her in. She is safe from her father, but she is leary of men like him. When an opportunity to live on the Caribbean island of Charmantes as a nanny for the wealthy and powerful Duvoisin family arises, Mrs. Harrington, who has family ties to the island, encourages Charmaine to apply for the position. She wants Charmaine to have the best opportunities and make a wonderful match for herself. With her mentor’s encouragement and company, she sets sail for Charmantes. There, Charmaine encounters a family in crisis. Both parents are ill and the conflict between the adult children of Mr. Duvoisin threatens to tear the entire family apart. Although she has the complete support of Collette, Charmaine must fight for her position within the family and protect her dignity from the advances Paul, Duvoisin’s second, bastard son. Things only get worse when John, the heir to the Duvoisin fortune returns to the island.A Silent Ocean Away, written by sisters, Deb and Val Gantt, is the first installment in a trilogy about Charmaine and Colette’s legacy to her family. This entire saga was written as one tome, but it was split into a trilogy when it was published. Because it was a joint effort, they published the novels under the pen name DeVa Gantt. It is clear when reading this book that the women put a lot of work into polishing the story and the writing. The story and the characters are consistent from the beginning to the end. I want to know what happens to each of the main characters. I want to know if Paul’s business on his island is succesful and what John’s intentions were when he returned to Charmantes. I want to watch the children grow up and see how both Colette’s and Charmaine’s care impacts them. Most of all, I want to know which brother Charmaine will choose or if she will find someone even better suited for her. One disadvantage to reading a series is that not all of the clues, foreshadowing, and character development is completed in the first installment. Agatha and her brother, who is Colette’s doctor, are villainous characters and I wanted to see them get their comeuppance. At the end of A Silent Ocean Away, however, there was no true resolution to that storyline. With such a well though out and written story, I’m sure that my waiting will be rewarded. On the other hand, I will be disappointed if it is not. With a traditional novel, I would know this by the end of the novel.A Silent Ocean Away is a wonderful read that will sweep you away with the tide if you let it. In the bleak weather of late winter/early spring, it was so nice to escape to the warm dry air of Charmantes to experience Charmaine’s trials and joys. Once she made her way to the island, I had a difficult time putting the book down. When I finished it, I desperately wanted to pick the second installment up to continue along with Charmaine and the Duvoisin family. If you enjoy romantic sagas, DeVa Gantt is a must read this summer. I would strongly suggest buying Decision and Destiny: Colette’s Legacy while you’re at it. Sure, I haven’t read it yet, but I would hate to be stranded on the beach somewhere finishing up A Silent Ocean Away without the sequel nearby. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
    • 5/5
      A delicious premise sets this triology in motion, and from there this historical fiction never stops for one breath. In fact I just had to read it in one sitting, since it intrigued me so much. It is going to be very hard to wait till April for the next book in the trilogy. A Silent Ocean Away is an enthralling read, ideal for readers looking to be swept away. It is a ripe romantic Historical Fiction with page turning panache, with a melange of family sagas, a love story, and political historical fiction all served up in a coastal setting. A Silent Ocean Away captures perfectly the essence of a timeless adventure. DeVa Gantt brings a smart, lilting voice to Charmaine Ryan and their writng has added a sharp quirky perspective to a tried and true literay formulla. It is as if Deb and Val write with one voice. This is definitely a book club saga. The storyline is fast paced, thrilling, other worldly , yet adventurous. This could be the real story of an antebellium Virginia family that lived in the early 1800's. When young Charmaine arrives in the home of the Duvoisin family on a lush tropical Island, to be a governess to Colette's children, everything changes. Her coming of age takes her from naive admirer to a pragmatic defender; as she begins to understand that everybody has crosses to bear all while falling in love with Paul Duvoisin, a shipping magnate.. This novel is both a complete joy, and a subtle exploration of the ealry 1800's. It is a heady mix of love and loss, treachery and early nineteenth century history; it is enough to transport you somewhere else, without ever leaving your chair.

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    A Silent Ocean - DeVa Gantt

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