Tempest's Course by Lynette Sowell

Kelly Frost is a textile conservator. She's been invited to a Massachusetts coastal town to restore a 150-year-old Mariner's Compass quilt. But there is a catch. She has to stay in the old empty house where the quilt is stored. It is an old whaling captain's home that has been empty for half a century.

Kelly takes the job because she's afraid she'll get no other. She's made a terrible mistake and has been shut out of many avenues of her work, especially museums.

Tom Silva has been hired to be caretaker and restore the house's extensive grounds. He is dealing with the lingering effects of an accident while in the military and is having a difficult time adjusting to the change in his life.

This novel is a pretty good romance centering around the restoration of an old quilt that has been damaged by neglect and misuse. There is a great deal of tension between Kelly and Tom and there comes a point in the novel where it seems it would be impossible for the two to get together, even though they were made for each other. Both of them have issues. Kelly is a cast off child, being raised in foster homes. Tom has never been able to live up to his parents' expectations.

Kelly finds a journal in the house that helps reveal the story of the original home owners. It was interesting to read the parallels in the plot structure, the history of the whaling captain's wife and Kelly's own past experience.

It was interesting to learn a bit about quilt restoration. I wish there had been more detail. While I appreciated the novel's characters, I didn't like Kelly very much. Yes, she had a tough childhood, but it didn't appear that she had risen above it. I wish she would have been a stronger character.

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Lynette Sowell is the award winning author of five novels and six novellas. She was voted one of the favorite new authors by Heartsong Presents book club readers. She was also a finalist in ACFW's 2010 Carol Awards. When she is not writing her novels she edits medical reports and writes for the Copperas Cove Leader-Press. She and her husband live in Texas. Join her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynettesowellauthor.

Abingdon Press, 240 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Litfuse Publicity Group for the purpose of this review.