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White Sails #3
Grace Arising
GRACE ARISING is the final full-length novel in The White Sails Series. The burgeoning 1840s New Holland wool market is irresistible to entrepreneurial souls prepared to brave the open oceans. Having survived unimaginable tragedy together, Grace and Seamus Fitzwilliam plan a fresh start aboard their new ship, Elias.
Lucius Chittenden, the new first mate, comes highly-recommended, and with the return of the trusted crew, the journey promises smooth sailing. The Elias is bursting with goods for the colony as well as shepherds for Gilly Downs, but it is not long before a theft is discovered, souring the mood aboard.
While Chittenden’s demand for expedience guarantees blistering speeds, it comes at a cost to the men’s morale, and sets Seamus and Grace at loggerheads. Seamus believes the officer pragmatic, Grace believes him cruel. When Chittenden’s cavalier attitude results in him shooting Seamus, Grace has Chittenden chained to the hold. With Seamus gravely injured, she assumes command of the Elias, taking responsibility for seeing her crew and family to safety.
The demands of navigating a tall ship across stormy seas, while trying to keep Seamus alive and managing her children, sees Grace bowed by duty. Sheer grit keeps her at the helm, affecting an air of steadfastness and complete control—but do the sailors see this in her? And will she make it to New Holland in time to save Seamus’s life?
Be prepared to be swept away from the smoggy skies of London, across the roiling Indian Ocean, and returned to beloved Gilly Downs in New South Wales as GRACE ARISING delivers more romantic, historical adventure, sea stories. The White Sails Series is a historical women's fiction trilogy, touted by readers as, if Bridgerton and Pirates of the Caribbean had a love child.
Lucius Chittenden, the new first mate, comes highly-recommended, and with the return of the trusted crew, the journey promises smooth sailing. The Elias is bursting with goods for the colony as well as shepherds for Gilly Downs, but it is not long before a theft is discovered, souring the mood aboard.
While Chittenden’s demand for expedience guarantees blistering speeds, it comes at a cost to the men’s morale, and sets Seamus and Grace at loggerheads. Seamus believes the officer pragmatic, Grace believes him cruel. When Chittenden’s cavalier attitude results in him shooting Seamus, Grace has Chittenden chained to the hold. With Seamus gravely injured, she assumes command of the Elias, taking responsibility for seeing her crew and family to safety.
The demands of navigating a tall ship across stormy seas, while trying to keep Seamus alive and managing her children, sees Grace bowed by duty. Sheer grit keeps her at the helm, affecting an air of steadfastness and complete control—but do the sailors see this in her? And will she make it to New Holland in time to save Seamus’s life?
Be prepared to be swept away from the smoggy skies of London, across the roiling Indian Ocean, and returned to beloved Gilly Downs in New South Wales as GRACE ARISING delivers more romantic, historical adventure, sea stories. The White Sails Series is a historical women's fiction trilogy, touted by readers as, if Bridgerton and Pirates of the Caribbean had a love child.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2022
7 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Emma Lombard
6 books69 followersEmma Lombard was born in Pontefract in the UK. She grew up in Africa—calling Zimbabwe and South Africa home for a few years—before finally settling in Brisbane Australia, and raising four boys. Before she started writing historical fiction, she was a freelance editor in the corporate world, which was definitely not half as exciting as writing rollicking romantic adventures. Her characters are fearless seafarers, even though in real life Emma gets disastrously sea sick.
DISCERNING GRACE is her debut historical women's fiction:
- 2021 B.R.A.G. Medallion for excellence
- 2021 Bronze Medallist for Historical Romance, Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award
- 2021 1st Place—Chatelaine Award for Historical Romance, Chanticleer International Book Award
To join the crew—subscribe to Emma's newsletter: www.emmalombardauthor.com
DISCERNING GRACE is her debut historical women's fiction:
- 2021 B.R.A.G. Medallion for excellence
- 2021 Bronze Medallist for Historical Romance, Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award
- 2021 1st Place—Chatelaine Award for Historical Romance, Chanticleer International Book Award
To join the crew—subscribe to Emma's newsletter: www.emmalombardauthor.com
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 17, 2022
Ok, so it was worth paying for this book. I liked it just as much as the first two in the series. I could have done without the sex talk though. The first book skimmed on it, the second book a touch more. The story didn’t need the in depth details, the story would have been just as good without it. I have to say I was bummed that the 4th installment isn’t being released until August.
May 5, 2022
I received an ARC of this book from the author, the third in the White Sails series. It was different from the first two because, in this one, Grace and Seamus spend so much time apart. Naturally, this was sad, but what it did was invite the reader to experience the very real separations that people were forced to endure during that period of history. We need not look too far into the past to comprehend the difficulty of communications only in the past 30 years—busy signals instead of answering machines, no cell phones for immediate contact, and correspondence dependent upon physical mail delivery rather than instantaneous messages in response to inquiries.
Some of the metaphors employed by Emily Lombard were remarkable:
“A large blister bulged on Chittendon’s nose like a pulsing oyster.”
“His breath stank like one of Ben Blight’s farts passed through a boiled onion.”
“His profanity oozed from him with the airy ease of a harmonica.”
“The wind swirled around the burning carriages like a wolf circling its prey, and the fanned flames in defiant response.”
“...he looked like a shiver searching for a spine to run up and down.”
“The cold gnawed at his injured right wrist like a fox crunching through week-old rabbit bones.”
“...his brown spittle splattering at her feet like perforated fish guts.”
I also loved some of the banter between characters:
This insult was great. “You couldn’t hit water if you fell off the ship!” And this description of one of the sailors was equally amusing. “...the man was so lazy that he only breathed because he had to.”
Describing sheep, Grace thinks, “Stupid creatures, as sharp as a sock full of soup they were.”
When asked in court about Chittendon, Seamus’ first mate for the early part of their journey, and his decision to do something risky, Grace explains, “There’s no accounting for some folk’s stupidity. One can’t expect to find what God chose to omit.”
This description of summertime in Australia is enough to make me want to avoid the place. “Thank goodness the plague of flies died out at this time of year. In summertime, their numbers were sufficient to pick up a roast chicken and carry it off!”
The conversations between Old Quill and Wee Granny Mac are particularly amusing, as when he says, “...Had my hand to carpentry since before ya was born.” She responds, “Aye, and what was it like apprenticing with Jesus, then?”
And when the visiting priest suggests the two of them formalize their relationship, she retorts, “I don’t need to be marrit to the auld beggar to know he’s the one I want to annoy for the rest of ma days. Wound’t do it even if his arse were dipped in diamonds,” she (Wee Granny Mac) declared with supreme Scottish hard-headedness. “Mention it again and I’ll have the castrating knife to your bollocks when ya next sleep—priest or no priest.”
Although I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the previous ones, I think that’s because of my own failings. Specifically, I have trouble remembering character names and backstories when the last book I read was months earlier (as was the case in this instance). Also, some of the ship jargon was a little difficult for me to follow, but again, that’s because I have trouble remembering the simplest of things sailing-related, like fore and aft or starboard and port.
Some of the metaphors employed by Emily Lombard were remarkable:
“A large blister bulged on Chittendon’s nose like a pulsing oyster.”
“His breath stank like one of Ben Blight’s farts passed through a boiled onion.”
“His profanity oozed from him with the airy ease of a harmonica.”
“The wind swirled around the burning carriages like a wolf circling its prey, and the fanned flames in defiant response.”
“...he looked like a shiver searching for a spine to run up and down.”
“The cold gnawed at his injured right wrist like a fox crunching through week-old rabbit bones.”
“...his brown spittle splattering at her feet like perforated fish guts.”
I also loved some of the banter between characters:
This insult was great. “You couldn’t hit water if you fell off the ship!” And this description of one of the sailors was equally amusing. “...the man was so lazy that he only breathed because he had to.”
Describing sheep, Grace thinks, “Stupid creatures, as sharp as a sock full of soup they were.”
When asked in court about Chittendon, Seamus’ first mate for the early part of their journey, and his decision to do something risky, Grace explains, “There’s no accounting for some folk’s stupidity. One can’t expect to find what God chose to omit.”
This description of summertime in Australia is enough to make me want to avoid the place. “Thank goodness the plague of flies died out at this time of year. In summertime, their numbers were sufficient to pick up a roast chicken and carry it off!”
The conversations between Old Quill and Wee Granny Mac are particularly amusing, as when he says, “...Had my hand to carpentry since before ya was born.” She responds, “Aye, and what was it like apprenticing with Jesus, then?”
And when the visiting priest suggests the two of them formalize their relationship, she retorts, “I don’t need to be marrit to the auld beggar to know he’s the one I want to annoy for the rest of ma days. Wound’t do it even if his arse were dipped in diamonds,” she (Wee Granny Mac) declared with supreme Scottish hard-headedness. “Mention it again and I’ll have the castrating knife to your bollocks when ya next sleep—priest or no priest.”
Although I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the previous ones, I think that’s because of my own failings. Specifically, I have trouble remembering character names and backstories when the last book I read was months earlier (as was the case in this instance). Also, some of the ship jargon was a little difficult for me to follow, but again, that’s because I have trouble remembering the simplest of things sailing-related, like fore and aft or starboard and port.
March 26, 2022
Grace Arising (The White Sails Series Book 3)
It’s time to check out this engaging, historical women’s fiction novel! It looks like Emma Lombard has another fantastic, 5 Star novel to share with her followers. The author brings us dynamic adventures, well-written suspense episodes, and a dash of romance.
Join a young family, who while make their living delivering goods for the wool market, cross paths with blissful blessings and disquieting endeavors. This is your opportunity to be bounced across the blustery Indian Ocean towards New South Wales, through storm and saltwater, through life and death!
The main character is a zealous female, who demonstrates all that is good, capable, and strong …all that is woman! She works aside her husband as an equal on board their ship and within their growing family. Each respectful and supportive of the another.
The striking illustrations that adorn each book in this series have been carefully tailored to entice the reader. This illustration shows a tight-knit family in the foreground, amid soft foliage and a cozy home. The background reveals boats on the ocean, quietly anticipating a journey. As in contrast, we learn that this peacefulness and stillness is not the case at all. There are gritty events to unfold with the ship’s crew. We even experience the torment and frustrations in recalling a time when women had no legal rights, and its effects on families. A well-researched book, #3 finds the family in the 1800’s, setting sail upon their new ship with anticipation.
Relationships between the family and the ship’s crew form riveting events. Each character has a distinct, believable personality. The author displays a vivid richness in her tone, as different accents generate an appealing cadence to the dialogue. Tension is engaged not only through the plot, but also through Lombard’s use of figurative language. Colorful language abounds and pulls you through chapters at a fast pace!
This is a novel to read more than once because it’s tangy, electrifying and charming.
Do check out Emma’s page at https://www.emmalombardauthor.com
where you can get familiar with the cast, find her blog, get behind the scene insights, and more! A really creative, original author page!
After reading this, readers will anxiously await another series from Emma Lombard!
Thanks is extended to the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s time to check out this engaging, historical women’s fiction novel! It looks like Emma Lombard has another fantastic, 5 Star novel to share with her followers. The author brings us dynamic adventures, well-written suspense episodes, and a dash of romance.
Join a young family, who while make their living delivering goods for the wool market, cross paths with blissful blessings and disquieting endeavors. This is your opportunity to be bounced across the blustery Indian Ocean towards New South Wales, through storm and saltwater, through life and death!
The main character is a zealous female, who demonstrates all that is good, capable, and strong …all that is woman! She works aside her husband as an equal on board their ship and within their growing family. Each respectful and supportive of the another.
The striking illustrations that adorn each book in this series have been carefully tailored to entice the reader. This illustration shows a tight-knit family in the foreground, amid soft foliage and a cozy home. The background reveals boats on the ocean, quietly anticipating a journey. As in contrast, we learn that this peacefulness and stillness is not the case at all. There are gritty events to unfold with the ship’s crew. We even experience the torment and frustrations in recalling a time when women had no legal rights, and its effects on families. A well-researched book, #3 finds the family in the 1800’s, setting sail upon their new ship with anticipation.
Relationships between the family and the ship’s crew form riveting events. Each character has a distinct, believable personality. The author displays a vivid richness in her tone, as different accents generate an appealing cadence to the dialogue. Tension is engaged not only through the plot, but also through Lombard’s use of figurative language. Colorful language abounds and pulls you through chapters at a fast pace!
This is a novel to read more than once because it’s tangy, electrifying and charming.
Do check out Emma’s page at https://www.emmalombardauthor.com
where you can get familiar with the cast, find her blog, get behind the scene insights, and more! A really creative, original author page!
After reading this, readers will anxiously await another series from Emma Lombard!
Thanks is extended to the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 26, 2021
I've just finished reading this book as a Beta reader. Emma Lombard asked for criticism where necessary as well as praise. I'm sorry to say, I don't have much to criticise!. There were a few odd words missing from the text and a typo that I reported, but for the writing and the story - I enjoyed the first two books in this series but I think I've enjoyed this one more. I really like Ms Lombard's characterisation. I feel I know these characters personally now. I imagine there must have been such a lot of women who went to Australia or America to be wives of men they'd never met, not knowing what awaited them. Grace's friend, Adelia reacted exactly as I would imagine a woman reacting to the circumstances she found - how lucky for her she had a friend like Grace. I can't imagine how Ms Lombard did her research into shipboard life in the 19th century, but she certainly brings it to life. I felt for Seamus in the first two books, but I did even more in this book. I understand well Grace's feelings toward her children, after her own childhood, and the loss of a child, but I do think she forgets that Seamus, although trying to preserve the strong, manly exterior, feels hurt as much as she does. He obviously loves Grace for her feistiness, cool head under pressure and abilities to equal any man, but I think she makes him suffer more than she realises, by not considering his feelings enough.
I like a feisty heroine, and Grace is certainly that, but I think sometimes she is a bit selfish where her husband is concerned.
This story highlights so many of the problems - catastrophes, that people suffered in such places as rural Australia when the country was young, and particularly the prejudiced ideas and laws against women. There were a few scenes where I really couldn't look away or read fast enough to find out what would happen. I laughed at Adelia's description of life with her new husband!
I'm really interested to find out how the drastic change Seamus proposes works out. I'm already looking forward to it!
I like a feisty heroine, and Grace is certainly that, but I think sometimes she is a bit selfish where her husband is concerned.
This story highlights so many of the problems - catastrophes, that people suffered in such places as rural Australia when the country was young, and particularly the prejudiced ideas and laws against women. There were a few scenes where I really couldn't look away or read fast enough to find out what would happen. I laughed at Adelia's description of life with her new husband!
I'm really interested to find out how the drastic change Seamus proposes works out. I'm already looking forward to it!
March 30, 2022
I'd been eagerly awaiting "Grace Arising," the third book in The White Sails Series, and (as usual!) Emma Lombard's writing did not disappoint. The book picks up Grace and Seamus Fitzwilliam's story aboard their ship the Elias, bound for Sydney Harbor in the New South Wales colony, and the fulfillment of their new partnership with old friend Elijah Barclay, grazier at Gilly Downs, to transport and sell the wool produced from Gilly Downs sheep. Also on board are a small group of shepherds looking for a fresh start in New South Wales, and soon to be employed by Barclay. The voyage starts off with high hopes and spirits, but a series of mishaps at the incompetent hands of the new first mate puts the safe and timely arrival of the Elias in Sydney Harbor at risk and threatens Seamus's life. But Grace perseveres, bringing the ship safely into harbor, where a new round of adventures begin, bringing new beginnings and endings for most of the characters introduced in the previous books in the series. "Grace Arising" is fast-paced, and written with a descriptiveness that, as with Lombard's two previous books in the series, always makes me feel as if I'm right there in the action. I admit to being a bit teary at the end, mostly because I felt sad to be saying good-bye to Grace, Seamus, and all the other colorful characters Lombard has brought to life as I thought this was the final book of the series. But to my happy surprise, I discovered Lombard has written a fourth book in the series, a novella that picks up the Fitzwilliams' story ten years down the road. I'm grateful not to have to say my goodbyes quite yet. I highly recommended "Grace Arising," and the entire White Sails Series, for fans of historical fiction and romance with a nautical twist. Or, really, for anyone who enjoys a well-told, well-researched, well-written story.
April 18, 2022
There may spoilers for Discerning Grace and Grace on the Horizon in this review
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased review.
At the end of Grace on Horizon Grace and Seamus are grieving for their lost son Elias but hopeful for the future as they look to the future with their trading ship Elias. But of course, their journey to New South Wales is not smooth sailing. Poor Grace has to deal with a bully of a first mate, intent on a speedy journey regarding of the cost, Seamus being shot, theft, assault and this is before Grace has arrived in New South Wales.
Grace continues to be a woman ahead of her time but her conflicts in this book are more realistic and relatable- how to be a working mum (although being the captain of a ship and looking after children might be a challenge too far), or helping friends or keeping both your seafaring husband and your land laving kids happy.
Silverton is noticeably absent and the book has no particular villain but the book races along with Grace and Seamus dealing with every obstacle thrown in their way.
My own highlight was Reily popping up and helping Grace in her own particular way.
Content warning-Parents dealing with grief, assault, whipping
I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased review.
At the end of Grace on Horizon Grace and Seamus are grieving for their lost son Elias but hopeful for the future as they look to the future with their trading ship Elias. But of course, their journey to New South Wales is not smooth sailing. Poor Grace has to deal with a bully of a first mate, intent on a speedy journey regarding of the cost, Seamus being shot, theft, assault and this is before Grace has arrived in New South Wales.
Grace continues to be a woman ahead of her time but her conflicts in this book are more realistic and relatable- how to be a working mum (although being the captain of a ship and looking after children might be a challenge too far), or helping friends or keeping both your seafaring husband and your land laving kids happy.
Silverton is noticeably absent and the book has no particular villain but the book races along with Grace and Seamus dealing with every obstacle thrown in their way.
My own highlight was Reily popping up and helping Grace in her own particular way.
Content warning-Parents dealing with grief, assault, whipping
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2022
As Grace has matured, from a run away young girl to a sea faring wife & mother, so has the writing in this series with heartbreaking sentimental moments, action & adventure, loss and most importantly love. Emma likes to take readers on a journey along with her characters, bringing back old favourites & introducing fabulous new ones. She writes a great villain, which is important when you have a feisty heroine as she needs someone worthy to come up against.
I flew through this book, as I did the other two, & as always was left wanting more so I was very excited to see that Emma is planning a new series. This will follow Emily Fitzwilliam, Grace & Seamus's daughter, who is already showing a steely heart & sense of adventure she has inherited from her mother.
I flew through this book, as I did the other two, & as always was left wanting more so I was very excited to see that Emma is planning a new series. This will follow Emily Fitzwilliam, Grace & Seamus's daughter, who is already showing a steely heart & sense of adventure she has inherited from her mother.
January 3, 2022
This third book in The White Sails Series is my favorite so far. The characters are truly developed, the scenic descriptions are spot on and her writing flows. I laughed, I definitely cried and I couldn't stop turning the pages to find out what happened next. I highly recommend this series for anyone who likes historical fiction with a dash of romance.
January 23, 2023
This was my favorite book in the series! It was fun watching Grace and Seamus' children grow up, and there were sweet new romances for some of the side characters. There continues to be plenty of adventure in this story, and the characters go through major highs and lows. I was on the edge of my seat in the second half of the book waiting to see if everything would turn out all right in the end!
September 5, 2023
This third installment I think is clear that anyone who took to ships in the days when England was colonizing Australia and New Zealand had to have been half crazy. Or just everything was super dangerous at that time anyway and a ship was the least of the things that could kill you. Fortunately, the good guys make it in one piece and the ending felt a little rushed but it was right.
November 26, 2021
Lombard outdoes herself with the next installment of the White Sails Series. It is an absolutely beautiful expansion of the Fitswilliams' lives. Fans of Lombard will not be disappointed!
Anyone who enjoyed The Secret River, history, or who loves a gutsy heronine should read this!
Anyone who enjoyed The Secret River, history, or who loves a gutsy heronine should read this!
April 18, 2022
This is the third book in the series that I've read. If you're looking for a well-written novel with a beautiful, realistic love story and well-researched history that will take you on wonderful adventures around the globe, then this series is for you! Highly recommended!
August 31, 2022
We are proud to announce that GRACE ARISING (The White Sails Series #3) by Emma Lombard has been honored with the B.R.A.G.Medallion (Book Readers Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG.
January 25, 2023
lively characters
The many surprise twists in the lives of the characters was entertaining and an enjoyable read. The many challenges in both their lives kept one turning page after page way into the night.
The many surprise twists in the lives of the characters was entertaining and an enjoyable read. The many challenges in both their lives kept one turning page after page way into the night.
April 27, 2022
This is a wonderful book. I loved the characters. Even though I was given a copy of this book by the author, it in no way influenced my opinion and this is my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews