Title:The Captain’s Daughter
Author:Meg Mitchell Moore
Narrator:Coleen Marlo
Published:July 2017, Random House Audio / Doubleday Books
Length:11 hours 11 minutes / 304 pages
Source:Audio – Personal copy via Audible / Print – ARC Paperback via Publisher
For fans of Elin
Hilderbrand and Emma Straub comes an emotionally gripping novel about a
woman who returns to her hometown in coastal Maine and finds herself
pondering the age-old question of what could have been.Growing
up in Little Harbor, Maine, the daughter of a widowed lobsterman, Eliza
Barnes could haul a trap and row a skiff with the best of them. But she
always knew she’d leave that life behind. Now that she’s married, with
two kids and a cushy front-row seat to suburban country club gossip in
an affluent Massachusetts town, she feels adrift.When her father
injures himself in a boating accident, Eliza pushes the pause button on
her own life to come to his aid. But when she arrives in Maine, she
discovers her father’s situation is more dire than he let on. Eliza’s
homecoming is further complicated by the reemergence of her first
love–and memories of their shared secret. Then Eliza meets Mary Brown, a
seventeen-year-old local who is at her own crossroad, and Eliza can’t
help but wonder what her life would have been like if she’d stayed.Filled with humor, insight, summer cocktails, and gorgeous sunsets, The Captain’s Daughter is a compassionate novel about the life-changing choices we make and the consequences we face in their aftermath.
My thoughts:This is the second book I’ve read by Meg Mitchell Moore and it’s the second book I’ve enjoyed by her. She has such a way with words and storytelling – being able to draw you in and keep you engaged and invested in the world she creates.
I loved that the characters are so real and relatable! You may not always like them or agree with their choices or actions, but they are true to their characters and that makes them good, flawed, realistic characters. Eliza has been living in an affluent Massachusetts town with her family, which is quite the opposite of the small coastal town in Maine that she grew up in. When she needs to head back to Maine after her dad has been injured, she finds that going home isn’t always as easy as one thinks.
This book is filled with subtle themes that sort of sneak up on you. It’s not a heavy book by any means, but rather one that is balanced with humor and messages meant to think about. It delves into relationships between parent and child, motherhood, marriage, grief, and the idea of being true to yourself. And the settings – that of both the Massachusetts town and the Maine coastal town are ideal for this story! I loved both and found that both were just right for the messages that Meg Mitchell Moore was trying to send.
This was such a good story, with memorable characters, and insightful messages. It’s definitely a great summer read!
Audio thoughts:I have listened to Coleen Marlo before, so I knew I would enjoy this book and I was right. She did a great job with this audio production, giving each character their own unique voice and using just the right amount of emotion when needed. Her pacing and tone were spot on and this really was a great book to listen to.
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The Captain’s Daughter by Meg Mitchell Moore is one of BookSparks “Summer Reads” reading selection picks.
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I really liked The Admissions, so am anxious to see what I think of this one.
New one for me. Thanks for thed review.