From the award-winning author of The Promise Kitchen comes a riveting new story of twin sisters caught in their mother’s crosshairs on what to do about their disturbed younger sister. Lush with devastating secrets, lies, romance and psychological drama…”You tell me about a family without a certain amount of dysfunction, and I’ll tell you that family is lying.”After aimlessly traveling the … lying.”
After aimlessly traveling the country for fifteen years, Linnea Chandler returns to her hometown of Key West, Florida keeping the genesis of a life-altering phobia to herself–not a good idea, as she comes to find out. The 19th Century lighthouse that she, her parents and two sisters call home also has a troubled past, carrying the frightening myth that eerily mirrors the mystery of her younger sister today. Should Linnea run while she can?
The women must decide to what extremes they are willing to go to protect their secrets. Ignore the brutality behind the retrieval of spoils from a fatal shipwreck in 1857? Defy a 2017 hurricane threatening to pummel their town? And when their world is upended, do the women have the strength to move forward?
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Welcome, my fellow Book Dragons, to Tea Time Tuesday. Pull up a chair, curl your tail before the fire and pour yourself a cuppa while I unveil our Gem this evening. Isn’t this exquisite? Red as a blood, it captures the flames of the fire and makes them dance in waves across it’s surface. Watch it long enough and you get a bit drowsy, feeling the pull, as though you were on the water and the tide was pulling you out to sea. Beware, here there be monsters. This is Gem Maker Peggy Lampman’s “Ruby of the Sea”.
This is the tale of three sisters. Delphina, Linnea and Ivy. Delphina and Linnea are twins, in their 30’s, and though identical do not seem to have much in common. Delphina is a child of the water. Living on the island of Key West, she is as much a part of the sand and surf, the coral reef and the swaying palm as nature itself. Linnea moved is more like a wildflower that sprouts where the wind blows it. She has travelled the U.S. since high school graduation, she does not like the sea, it is intimidating, frightening, an ugly beast with a mind all it’s own. And then there is Ivy, youngest, “mama’s baby, papa’s pet” to quote O’Neill. She, always handled with kid gloves is pet named “Our Girl” by her father and doted on by her mother, artistic in both vocation and temperament is like neither of her sisters. Still living at home, in the tower of the lighthouse B&B her parents run, like some fairy tale character whose story has not yet been plotted out by the Brothers Grimm.
Linnea has come home after fifteen years of travelling. This isn’t really her first time home, there was the occasional holiday here and there, but only for a day or two and never with a mind toward getting a job and staying any length of time at all. Too many painful memories and always the sea, the vast ocean looming near, surrounding all, never relenting, always bringing nightmares to her slumber in it’s wake. But she is home now, to help her twin, Delphina with a parade float for she and her husband’s business, but also to meet her new niece, Ella. Just a baby. And to see to Ivy, whom, Delphina has told her, seems to be taking a dark turn in her aspect and her art.
Lampman states in this book, through the character of Linnea, “You tell me about a family without a certain amount of dysfunction, and I’ll tell you a family that is lying.” She’s right. Light or heavy, easy or hard, it’s there. It has to be. We are human and humanity is folly. Get two or more of us together and the dysfunction level rises exponentially. She knows how to write dysfunction well. Lampman’s characters are realistic, foibled, tender, angry, sometimes reactionary, sometimes paralyzed by emotion. They are in a phrase “completely human”.
I don’t do spoilers. I am not going to dive deep into this story because I don’t want to give away the plot, the twists, the turns. The story is told from three perspectives. Delphina’s, Linnea’s and Ivy’s. Lampman did a wonderful job of character building and kept it simple. There are no side stories, flashbacks, etc. We hear each character out. We grow to know and understand each of these women as much as anyone can know anyone else. As well as a person can know themselves. I will say this. If you love a good, down to earth human tale of kinship, self-discovery, secrets hidden and then revealed where people aren’t dysfunctional to the point they hate each other, but rather desperately want to understand each other so they can love, so they can survive, so they can heal and so they can grow old together, this is the book for you. I loved it. I know I will be reading this one again.
It is sold everywhere. Is currently free on Kindle Unlimited to borrow and the paperback is very affordable. Get it today. You won’t be sorry.
Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon, Drakon T. Longwitten
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Ruby of the Sea” by Peggy Lampman, February 2020
Peggy Lampman, author of “The Ruby of the Sea” has written an emotional and captivating novel. The Genres for this novel are Psychological Drama, Fiction, and Romance. The timeline of the story is in the author’s present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. The story takes place in Key West Florida. The author describes her characters as dysfunctional, complex and complicated.
The author discusses the importance of family. Yet the Chandler family has deep dark secrets, lack of communication, and strange dynamics. Linnea Chandler has returned to Key West to see her family. Linnea has not been truthful about the reason she has been away for many years. She has been away from her twin sister and her younger sister Ivy. Ivy is artistic, but her mother keeps the two twin sisters from seeing her for any length of time because Ivy has migraines. The Chandler family lives in a 19th Century lighthouse and uses it as an inn for income. Their father tells the haunted story of the lighthouse to his guests.
As a threat of a major and devastating hurricane approaches, deep dark secrets will be revealed that can be as hurtful as the effects of the hurricane.
I appreciate that the author discusses the importance of getting treatment for mental illness, and therapy for rape and abuse. The author also mentions protecting the environment. Peggy Lampman talks about forgiveness, second chances, the importance of family, love, and hope. I love how the author writes and vividly describes food, Cuban food, and lemon meringue pie. I would recommend this intense novel for those readers that enjoy a Psychological Drama.
This is a rich, poignant and heartbreaking story that is centered on twin sisters, Delphina and Linnea. The story is told in their alternating viewpoints along with their younger sister Ivy.
The family is coming into grips trying to help their mother and their younger sister Ivy who has bipolar disorder. The story is set in Key West, Florida where they live in a 19th century lighthouse with a history of its own.
Immersed in the issues of mental health and family drama, this family tries to face their demons and strengthen each other by uncovering secrets, learning to face the truth, and hope to come out stronger than ever to keep their family intact.
Lampman’s brilliance is in creating these flawed characters you would love to read about. It’s a great story to get lost in, in one afternoon. I enjoyed getting transported to Key West and the mysterious light house with an eery past connected to a fatal shipwreck in 1857.
I recommend this read for those that enjoy a character driven story line and a contemporary family drama. Get ready with your tissues in hand as this story is bittersweet. I really enjoyed this read.
I recommend this book for many reasons. Tackling difficult subjects can be tricky, but Peggy Lampman handles these matters in a graceful way few could match.
What a beautiful, lush story–set in Key West–about a loving but broken family struggling to make sense of bipolar illness. The mouth-watering descriptions of Cuban food and home-baked pies are a bonus!
This is one of those rare books that I had to wait a few days before I could write my review. The characters continued to resonate in my thoughts after the last page and I wanted to make sure that I could wait to give an honest review. My short review is YOU MUST READ THIS NEW NOVEL by Peggy Lampman. My longer and more in depth review follows:
This beautiful and well written novel is about a family in Key West, Florida – not just the Key West that we’ve all seen but the Key West that isn’t full of tourists and souvenir shops. Twin sisters Linnea and Delphina were very close when they were younger but now they are nothing alike. They are in their early 30s and Linnea has moved to Idaho and returns home rarely while Delphina runs a snorkeling company with her husband and is proud to be part of the island. They have a younger sister Ivy who spends most of her time at home alone creating art. The girl’s parents run a b&b and the twins think they are overly protective of Ivy and vow that they will spend some time with their sister.
All of the sisters are hiding secrets from each other and as those secrets are gradually reveled throughout the book, the reader can only feel more compassion for each of them. Parts of the novel are fun – parades in Key West, chickens roaming the streets but parts of it are very difficult and deal with rape, mental illness and dysfunctional families. ”You tell me about a family with some sort of dysfunction, and I’ll tell you that family is lying.” A hurricane heading towards Key West makes the family members realize the things that are most important in life.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
-BOOK REVIEW (ARC): The Ruby of the Sea by author Peggy Lampman
-Releasing 2020
Allow me to begin by saying~ Very few books will wake me in the middle of the night and whisper, “it’s time to experience more.” This book was more than whispering to me, it was touching my heart. Truly.
A powerful story steeped rich in historical legend, family dysfunction, personal triumphs, the tender subject of mental illness along with secrets, drama, romance and the very personal journey of finding ones own way through hope, faith, love and determination …
The characters and their narrative are written by this award-winning, talented author, as real and believable, endearing and compelling, with the intensity of the sea itself, yet delivered to its reader as lyrical and more importantly, human.
It will latch onto your every emotion as you journey with The Chandler family, their historical status within their community, as well as their haunts, heart break and personal victories not only as a family unit, but as individuals yearning for the peaceful and tranquil.
I encourage you to read this soul-stirring novel~ a captivating gem of imaginative delight and meaning….
I would like to thank Ms. Lampman for this opportunity and the wonderful gift of a story that will be with me in many ways for quite some time…
5 Stars
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I truly enjoyed this book though there was a character that caused me great sadness. A story of a complex family that in the end still provides hope. Beautifully written, I highly recommend this book.
While this book was slow to start for me, once I got into the book I really enjoyed the story. While I thought that this was just going to be another story about three sisters coming together to clear the air of all that they have been through and are going through, I am glad to say that I was wrong. Peggy Lampman’s writing was full of wonderful and not so wonderful surprises! While I am not a huge fan of books that have multiple narrators, Peggy Lampman did a wonderful job of keeping each of the sister’s stories separate, while at the same time weaving them all together. While I was not sure I was going to like this book with how slow it started for me, I am glad that I stuck it out or I would have not learned of the sister’s tales and all that it takes to keep a family together during hard times.
Of note, Peggy Lampman writes of mental health troubles in this book. Since I am a social worker and work with people with mental health troubles, I am always interested in how people portray them. Will they give the issue the attention that it deserves while not overwhelming the reader? Without giving the story away, I think that Peggy Lampman did a great job of describing what one goes through with a mental illness. She did a great job of showing the severity of what those affected go through, while at the same time telling a beautiful story of the person affected and how the family is affected as well. I can only hope that other authors would take the same care with the subject of mental illness as Peggy Lampman did.
Ruby of the Sea completely took me by surprise, in a good way! It’s a story about a family, specifically three sisters, who have lives of their own and secrets they keep. This book was full of family dynamics that had me absorbed from the beginning!
From the back cover:
Lush with devastating secrets, lies, romance and psychological drama…”You tell me about a family without a certain amount of dysfunction, and I’ll tell you that family is lying.”
**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All views and opinions are my own.
Every year I like to try and read a book set in Florida sine I am currently living in the state. And lately it seems that I enjoy books set in the Keys. But not the touristy aspect of the Keys, the real day to day life in the Florida Keys. It’s just such a unique setting. So you could imagine my excitement when I found out about this book! Plus this book is just one of those importantly amazing books as it deals with the effects of mental illness.
This book was just such a lush read. I was enamored with the setting and the characters and just truly enjoyed the read. It is easy to connect with all of the characters and the dysfunctional family that the story revolved around. I mean, who doesn’t have a some sort of dysfunctional family members? The locale of the “real” Keys is also just always so interesting to read about. It’s like a completely different world and I just love how colorful and vibrant it is.
This book is definitely a powerful and emotional read as well. There are moments that just really hit hard as the family struggles together. Overall I really enjoyed The Ruby of the Sea and think that it is a book many people can connect with.
The Ruby of the Sea is a POWERFUL book. This books is a well crafted book that is expertly written and and deals with some heavy mental health topics such as sexual abuse and bipolar disorder. This is a story about family and sisters, three sisters to be exact. A compelling story about three sisters and the love they share for each other, but also the secrets they hold. The story is written in alternating perspectives of each of the sisters POV.
This endearing, powerful book will take you on an emotional ride that had me crying as I anxiously turned the pages to read more of these powerful women’s story and the heartbreak that mental illness has taken on in their lives. I cried for them and for me, as I have experienced much of what the author so respectfully represented in the sisters story.
There are some funny moments along with the endearing family dynamics between the sisters.
Key West was a great backdrop for this story and I really enjoyed reading about the 19th Century LIghthouse Legend.
I cannot say how much I appreciate the afterward and the author’s helpful resources for those that need help fighting a mental illness.
This is an incredible book that is so well written with complex, complicated, flawed characters that are so relatable.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
“The Ruby of the Sea” is a novel with striking descriptions that takes you on a journey to Key West, Florida. The author, Peggy Lampman’s writing awakened my senses; from feeling the gritty sand on my face to seeing breathtaking views of the ocean. My emotions paced the characters’ throughout the book, feeling giddily happy to profoundly sad. I was immersed in the characters; each so complex and brilliant.
Twin sisters, Linnea and Delphina along with their younger sister, Ivy grew up in a 19th Century lighthouse that their parents owned. Linnea returns after many years to her childhood home facing the phobia that made her leave. “Phobias are weird…they can seed themselves into a person when they least expect it.” Living in this lighthouse has its mysteries and myths that seem to be repeating themselves within Ivy.
I really enjoyed this book. Peggy’s writing just flows over each page. She is an artist of words and puts the brushstroke on the last page to make the perfect story. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a story of love, friendship and how a family can endure hardship together. I give this novel an absolute 5 stars!
~This book was given to me in a giveaway by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.~
Every once in a while I read a story that hits home for me in a lot of ways! “The Ruby of the Sea” is that story!
Peggy Lampman wrote a remarkable novel full of soul-stirring and poignant moments that touched my heart, bringing every emotion to the surface. I literally felt every sentiment pulling from my soul. My senses were heightened! There was no holding back!
Peggy Lampman wrote about family, and all of its fabrications with an evocative insightfulness. Happiness was almost enchanting! Feral Chickens. History, Magical! A gorgeous 19th century lighthouse. Even each crack was written about beautifully! Mental illness and it’s acceptance. Each word leading to the next; like a poem, a love letter. A perfectly planned execution, like a lyrical dance!
There was a piece of me in each character. Between that and Peggy Lampman’s writing, I was left with a sense of awe and appreciation when I closed the book.
Staring at it’s beautiful cover, knowing the Chandler family had left their mark and I was left better for knowing their story! and, no review I write can express my love for this book and my gratitude!
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for fair and honest review.
This was my first book by Peggy Lampman. I loved the Key West setting and the mystery of the lighthouse. It gave the right amount of movement to the book as you followed each sister in the Chandler family. Each Chandler sister also holds a mystery of their own that you are trying to solve while getting drawn into their relationships. I have a sister and the dynamics of Linnea and Delphine reminded me of my own relationship with my sister. I also enjoyed learning some facts about Key West that I did not know before.
The waters are troubled in this emotional and suspenseful story that dives deep into the territory of family relationships and the nature of forgiveness. Even as a building hurricane off the coast of the Florida Keys tightens its coil in preparation to strike, a densely woven web of secrets kept out of love has begun to unravel between mothers and children, siblings and lovers. And wither threat holds the power to shatter lives. The setting by itself is a feast for the senses, as evocative of place as it is of human nature. This novel is a true page turner.
I dare you to read this one without a box of tissues nearby. A heartfelt . . . and beautifully crafted novel. Kudos, Peggy Lampman!
Linnea Chandler returns to her family’s home, now a B & B, in a 19th Century lighthouse in Key West, after a fifteen-year absence of her own choosing. Reunited with her twin sister, Delphina, and their younger sister, Ivy, the dysfunction of their relationships becomes apparent and is exacerbated by the alternate reality their parents espouse as they continue to bury demons … some imagined, others true. Secrets and lies conflict with Linnea’s wavering desire to make things right. She struggles with fighting the urge to flee or succumbing to finally facing truths. An unexpected love affair and impending hurricane add to the drama.
Peggy Lampman’s writing is beautiful, intense, literary and compelling. She draws the reader deep into the heart of the story as her characters come alive and take us to unimagined places.
A most satisfying read, but difficult at times. Tissue alert! This is a book you will be recommending to everyone and most definitely will pick up to read again, as I did.
The compelling, poignant story of a family, with all its pain, joy, love, secrets and shared revelations. The colorful and engaging cast will draw you in, as they face their demons, deepen their connection to one another, and find the strength to move on. Peggy Lampman’s characters will linger in your mind, and heart, long after the last page. Lively and rich. A gem of a novel.
In this beautifully woven tale of three sisters, Lampman explores the devastating impact of mental illness on family and creativity without ever losing sight of the glory of being alive and the transformative power of love. An important book, definitely one for the book clubs.