Scan barcode
sheffner07's review against another edition
3.0
A solid debut. I loved the setting and the present-storyline characters. I didn’t enjoy the storyline set in the past as much and Churchill was the worse. An overall quick, fun read.
halligomez's review against another edition
5.0
This newly released novel is a story told from two points of view, past and present, about two young women who navigate the responsibilities, obligations, and passions of those around them while attempting to pursue their dreams. Their passion for poetry is tied together through the same man and the aura of wonder surrounding him, and through each teen, we’re able to learn the man behind the stories. The novel is beautifully written, the characters are well-developed, interesting, and motivated. And through it all we are immersed in the girls’ poetry.
lillyvienna's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
emsbookishness's review against another edition
5.0
“I hope that when people look for something that is left of me, all they’ll find is you.”
In present day Cape Cod, Michaela Dunn wants to go to a poetry workshop being hosted by her dream college, but her stepfather refuses to pay for her to go. Michaela discovers a contest that will pay for her workshop that requires her to write a poem about a local legend, Captain Benjamin Churchill. Not much is known about the mysterious Captain Churchill so Michaela isn’t sure what to write until she discovers the diary of Leta Townsend, a woman who personally knew the Captain. Leta had been writing poems under the name of Captain Benjamin Churchill thinking he was dead, but when he astonishingly returns, she quickly falls in love with him.
This book goes back and forth between two different point of views and time periods. It was really interesting to see how these stories taking place two hundred years apart were connected and mirrored each other. Everything was beautifully written, especially the poetry sprinkled throughout the book with both characters being poets. It was really fun to read both a contemporary romance and a historical fiction romance.
I loved both romances although they were very different. Even though I didn’t really like the character Benjamin Churchill the story surrounding him was so intriguing. Michaela’s love interest was the sweetest and super supportive. Both girls had some good development, especially Michaela as she grew more comfortable sharing her work, opening up to other people, and working things out with her family.
I loved the book and was engaged in both storylines. I’d totally recommend to those who love contemporary or historical fiction romances or just want a good summer read!
In present day Cape Cod, Michaela Dunn wants to go to a poetry workshop being hosted by her dream college, but her stepfather refuses to pay for her to go. Michaela discovers a contest that will pay for her workshop that requires her to write a poem about a local legend, Captain Benjamin Churchill. Not much is known about the mysterious Captain Churchill so Michaela isn’t sure what to write until she discovers the diary of Leta Townsend, a woman who personally knew the Captain. Leta had been writing poems under the name of Captain Benjamin Churchill thinking he was dead, but when he astonishingly returns, she quickly falls in love with him.
This book goes back and forth between two different point of views and time periods. It was really interesting to see how these stories taking place two hundred years apart were connected and mirrored each other. Everything was beautifully written, especially the poetry sprinkled throughout the book with both characters being poets. It was really fun to read both a contemporary romance and a historical fiction romance.
I loved both romances although they were very different. Even though I didn’t really like the character Benjamin Churchill the story surrounding him was so intriguing. Michaela’s love interest was the sweetest and super supportive. Both girls had some good development, especially Michaela as she grew more comfortable sharing her work, opening up to other people, and working things out with her family.
I loved the book and was engaged in both storylines. I’d totally recommend to those who love contemporary or historical fiction romances or just want a good summer read!
libraryalexa's review against another edition
Beautifully written and gripping story!
ania_star's review against another edition
4.0
Michaela is dreaming of going to art school, as a poet, that school would be a great fit for her and it's the school her father went to. Their a workshop that she wants to attend, but her stepfather refuses to pay for it. Their relationship is very tense at best.
So she enters a local contest searching for a poet to write the dedication plaque for a statue honoring Captain Benjamin Churchill. local whaler and poet. While searching for clues she finds a diary of Leta Townsend, who portraits a very different picture of what happened then.
Part of the story is set in the present and past in the past, follows Leta.
It's a very interesting story, I enjoyed it very much, it was a bit slow in the middle, though.
received from Netgalley
So she enters a local contest searching for a poet to write the dedication plaque for a statue honoring Captain Benjamin Churchill. local whaler and poet. While searching for clues she finds a diary of Leta Townsend, who portraits a very different picture of what happened then.
Part of the story is set in the present and past in the past, follows Leta.
It's a very interesting story, I enjoyed it very much, it was a bit slow in the middle, though.
received from Netgalley
delightful_reading's review against another edition
4.0
Words Composed of Sea & Sky is a tale of two girls; one from the present and one from the past connected through poetry and Captain Benjamin Churchill (the man, the myth, the legend).
In the present, Michaela is trying to find the man underneath the legend, so that she can write a poem for a contest that will help pave the way for her acceptance into her dream college, She finds her inspiration in a forgotten diary of a poet form the past: Leta Townsend.
In the past, Leta is falling for the man she made up: Captain Benjamin Townsend. Leta went to school with him, and once he was presumed dead, decided to use his name to get her poems published. However, he returns and Leta finds herself confused at the man she's starting to fall for: is it the man she created from words composed of sea and sky or the sea captain behind her poetry.
I loved how interconnected the author made Leta's past with Michaela's present and the role Pearce boys play in their lives. (Finn from the present and Elijah from the past stole the show)
All in all, this was a lovely tale of two girls finding their place through poetry and words composed of sea and sky, I am extremely thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
In the present, Michaela is trying to find the man underneath the legend, so that she can write a poem for a contest that will help pave the way for her acceptance into her dream college, She finds her inspiration in a forgotten diary of a poet form the past: Leta Townsend.
In the past, Leta is falling for the man she made up: Captain Benjamin Townsend. Leta went to school with him, and once he was presumed dead, decided to use his name to get her poems published. However, he returns and Leta finds herself confused at the man she's starting to fall for: is it the man she created from words composed of sea and sky or the sea captain behind her poetry.
I loved how interconnected the author made Leta's past with Michaela's present and the role Pearce boys play in their lives. (Finn from the present and Elijah from the past stole the show)
All in all, this was a lovely tale of two girls finding their place through poetry and words composed of sea and sky, I am extremely thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
andraebutler25's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you Net Galley for providing me a digital arc of this book!
I know a three star rating doesn’t look that great but I was actually really pleasantly surprised by this.
I really really really enjoyed it.
This did a lot of things well. The characters that were created in this story were amazing. I really connected with them even though I could not relate to them personally. I have been feeling disconnected with a lot of the books I have been reading recently so it was refreshing to feel absorbed into a story again. I really thought that Erica created a great group of main characters that kept me entertained throughout the novel.
The concept of this book was unique. I did not think that it was going to work for me because I don’t like contemporary or historical fiction but something about this story just clicked. I found the whaling aspect of the story so original and interesting, not many YA novels have written about that time in history that I know of. The dual timeline was done so well, both of our protagonists’ voices were very distinct and the two stories wove together very nicely.
The problems that I had with this were all pretty mediocre. It was very clear that this was a debut novel, some of the writing I felt was subpar at times and I wish that the ending packed a bit more of an emotional punch than it ended up having. However, I think that there is a lot of potential here and I am excited to read more of Erica George’s work in the future.
I also felt like the tropes in this book were maybe one too many. They weren’t as obnoxious and in your face as I have seen in other books but two love triangles... cmon... ANY trope but that one. I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES. Another one that showed up a bit too often for my liking was the damsel in distress... but again it wasn’t too obnoxious I just think that Michaela could have handled some of her situations by herself. :)
The last issue that I had with this book and it is the biggest turn off for me was that Ben Churchill was SO toxic and it was never addressed. (minor spoilers) He was idolized straight up until the last page and he was not a good person. He was very stuck up and snobby and bullied an 8 year old as a 19ish year old man. Never mind the fact that he treated Leta like shit and was very possessive. (also, Elijah is too good for her) It did not sit right with me at all. We did have Caleb on the other hand whose situation I thought was handled extremely well and I thought spread a very important message about toxic and abusive human beings and how we can deal with them appropriately.
That’s all I really gotta say, I feel like I talked about a lot of negatives but I really did enjoy this and I encourage people to pick it up. I just think that in the future this story will end up being forgettable for me.
I know a three star rating doesn’t look that great but I was actually really pleasantly surprised by this.
I really really really enjoyed it.
This did a lot of things well. The characters that were created in this story were amazing. I really connected with them even though I could not relate to them personally. I have been feeling disconnected with a lot of the books I have been reading recently so it was refreshing to feel absorbed into a story again. I really thought that Erica created a great group of main characters that kept me entertained throughout the novel.
The concept of this book was unique. I did not think that it was going to work for me because I don’t like contemporary or historical fiction but something about this story just clicked. I found the whaling aspect of the story so original and interesting, not many YA novels have written about that time in history that I know of. The dual timeline was done so well, both of our protagonists’ voices were very distinct and the two stories wove together very nicely.
The problems that I had with this were all pretty mediocre. It was very clear that this was a debut novel, some of the writing I felt was subpar at times and I wish that the ending packed a bit more of an emotional punch than it ended up having. However, I think that there is a lot of potential here and I am excited to read more of Erica George’s work in the future.
I also felt like the tropes in this book were maybe one too many. They weren’t as obnoxious and in your face as I have seen in other books but two love triangles... cmon... ANY trope but that one. I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES. Another one that showed up a bit too often for my liking was the damsel in distress... but again it wasn’t too obnoxious I just think that Michaela could have handled some of her situations by herself. :)
The last issue that I had with this book and it is the biggest turn off for me was that Ben Churchill was SO toxic and it was never addressed. (minor spoilers) He was idolized straight up until the last page and he was not a good person. He was very stuck up and snobby and bullied an 8 year old as a 19ish year old man. Never mind the fact that he treated Leta like shit and was very possessive. (also, Elijah is too good for her) It did not sit right with me at all. We did have Caleb on the other hand whose situation I thought was handled extremely well and I thought spread a very important message about toxic and abusive human beings and how we can deal with them appropriately.
That’s all I really gotta say, I feel like I talked about a lot of negatives but I really did enjoy this and I encourage people to pick it up. I just think that in the future this story will end up being forgettable for me.
always_reading_a_novel's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked that this is a time-slip novel! I believe this is only the second YA time-slip novel I have read, but I hope to find more!
Things I liked:
- The cover and the title are gorgeous!
- The past and present are woven seamlessly together, and I enjoyed reading from both Michaela’s and Leta’s perspectives.
- I liked how both Michaela and Leta had to learn about themselves and what they want in life.
- The poetry in the book was beautifully written!
- The setting was gorgeous and now I want to go to the beach!
Things I didn’t enjoy as much:
- There were several times where Michaela or Leta didn’t treat their friends well.
- I didn’t really care for Leta’s romance, though I did like Michaela’s once things were figured out.
I think I would have liked this book more if I had connected better with Michaela and Leta; I did really like reading about them, but I didn’t like some of the choices they made regarding their friends. I liked the ending for both girls and the book was well-written!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content:
Strong curse words scattered throughout the book.
One fade to black intimate scene.
Things I liked:
- The cover and the title are gorgeous!
- The past and present are woven seamlessly together, and I enjoyed reading from both Michaela’s and Leta’s perspectives.
- I liked how both Michaela and Leta had to learn about themselves and what they want in life.
- The poetry in the book was beautifully written!
- The setting was gorgeous and now I want to go to the beach!
Things I didn’t enjoy as much:
- There were several times where Michaela or Leta didn’t treat their friends well.
- I didn’t really care for Leta’s romance, though I did like Michaela’s once things were figured out.
I think I would have liked this book more if I had connected better with Michaela and Leta; I did really like reading about them, but I didn’t like some of the choices they made regarding their friends. I liked the ending for both girls and the book was well-written!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content:
Strong curse words scattered throughout the book.
One fade to black intimate scene.