Published By: Sphere
Pages: 352
Released On: 08/02/2024
In 1824, Lyme Regis is as tumultuous as the sea that surrounds it. When twenty-four-year-old Ada Winters – poor, peculiar and brilliant – uncovers a set of unusual fossils on the cliffs, she believes she has found the answer to her scientific frustrations and her family’s financial struggles.
Meanwhile, Doctor Edwin Moyle has come to Dorset in search of the discovery that will place him amongst the greatest geologists of the age. What he finds instead is a strange young woman who seems to hold the key to everything he desires.
But what is the creature that Ada and Edwin seek to unearth? And will it lead them to greatness, or destruction?
*****
Thanks to Sphere for the gifted proof of this title in return for an honest review.
What an absolutely gorgeous cover!! I could have stared at it all day.
My late nan’s closest friend lived about 8 miles from Lyme Regis, and so we often spent out summer holidays in that part of the country, exploring the beach and rock pools and the shops, and my fondest memories come from what we knew as the Dinosaur Museum. I haven’t been for years but I loved going, and it’s only now that I’ve taken more of an interest in dinosaurs and fossils and whatnot that I can really appreciate the importance and the wonder that these artifacts bring. But what I wanted to say was I loved Joanne’s description of Lyme. Yes she’s describing a Lyme 169 years prior to my birth and so is obviously different, it conjured up the same feelings that I have when reading about modern Lyme or looking back at my memories. And this was within the first paragraph, and so I instantly knew that this would be a book for me.
I did a bit of writing about the palaeontologist Mary Anning a couple of years ago and so had read a lot about fossils in Lyme, and this conjured up the same feelings. I know this was a fictional tale rather than about Anning herself, but it was about a strong woman in a time where men were King, and I just found the parallels fascinating.
I love reading about strong women in a period where they were seen as subordinate. It brings this power to the story which I really enjoy reading. Ava was an utterly fabulous main character. A woman in the 1800s needs to be feminine, subordinate, marry and bear children, not go off on her own and dig through mud and stone, rejecting sensible marriage proposals. But I rooted for her from the start and immediately wanted to be her friend. There are lots of other characters, some friendly, some slimy, and some evil, (I could go on forever talking about them), and they’ve all got their own great qualities, but I will keep my focus on Ava as this is her story and she needs to shout it from the rooftops.
It is such a delicious book. It’s a history book, a romance, an adventure, all wrapped up in a delicious, exciting, invigorating parcel. It’s well researched but doesn’t feel like a non-fiction. Joanne has expertly woven the truth in with artistic licence and she’s balanced it so well.
Yes it is obviously about the fossils that Ada finds, but there’s more to it than that. There’s familial love, unrequited love, death, loss and grief, poverty, deception, passions, abuse, desires, religion vs science, hatred, anger, fear, humanity vs nature, and the extent to which you’ll go to get what you desire.
The sign of a good book for me is one that you keep coming back to. I was so absorbed in it that when I finished, I just wanted to continue reading it. And even some time after finishing it, I keep thinking about it. I think it will stay with me for quite some time. My first of Joanne’s books but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for her others.
I read it in one sitting. It is absolutely gorgeous and all consuming and I dare anyone not to find it on their best books of 2024 list.
Books By Your Bedside 