She Rises

Louise Fletcher is a dairymaid. Safely ensconced on the farm she is far removed from the sea that has stolen her father and her brother Luke. However the salty lure pulls her back when she is offered work as a lady's maid in the seaside town of Harwich. Exposed to the aggressive, harsh life of the bustling port Louise turns to her passionate and careless mistress Rebecca for safety, not realising this may be the more dangerous path.

Luke Fletcher cannot remember how he came to be aboard the navy ship. The cut on his head and the sick feeling in his stomach indicate he was captured by the press gang while drinking. Torn from his family and the woman he loves without leave or explanation he is desperate to get back. Life onboard is cruel and sickeningly brutal so Luke throws himself into the protection of Nick, a violent, seasoned sailor in order to survive.

This gripping adventure set in the mid 18^th Century jumps between port-life, told from Louise's point of view, to sea-life, as seen by Luke. Each alternate chapter carries the reader on wave after wave of emotion until they collide in a shocking, unexpected manner. Written with fantastic, gruesome detail of maritime life in the 1700s this book is full of love, longing and secrets. Well worth a read.