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Garden of the Moon
After she inherits a plantation in 1850, Sara Wade jumps at the chance to live there on her own, but her ability to see ghosts causes her to discover two specters in the stately home--one whose love for her in another lifetime has endured beyond the grave, and another who is determined to drive Sara and her phantom lover apart, even if it means killing her. Original.
371 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 22, 2010
So...I somehow missed the word "plantation" in the back-cover blurb, and thought this novel was set on an English estate. Nope, it turns out that I've just purchased a romance novel about a woman who owns slaves. Oh, but it's ok, because she doesn't abuse her slaves like that bad, nasty man who owns the next plantation over. The slaves have really stereotypical accents, too, always saying "Laws-a-mercy" and such.
It's not that I won't read novels with slavery in them. But it deserves to be taken seriously and examined critically, not just used as set dressing in a light "escapist" book. And oh, the accents. The accents.
The book is narrated in Sara's voice, not that of an omniscient narrator. Which makes for a big head-scratcher when a mansion is described as "antebellum." It's 1855. THE WAR HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
I'm at page 33. Can't decide whether to keep reading and see what breaks my brain next, or call it a loss.
It's not that I won't read novels with slavery in them. But it deserves to be taken seriously and examined critically, not just used as set dressing in a light "escapist" book. And oh, the accents. The accents.
The book is narrated in Sara's voice, not that of an omniscient narrator. Which makes for a big head-scratcher when a mansion is described as "antebellum." It's 1855. THE WAR HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
I'm at page 33. Can't decide whether to keep reading and see what breaks my brain next, or call it a loss.
January 3, 2013
Wow, this was really bad. I have no idea what actually possessed me to finish it, other than it was free (amazon lending library) and I had an 11 hour car ride.
February 2, 2023
Enjoyable historical romance with dual timelines. Sara has the gift of seeing ghosts. And when she inherits her grandmother’s house in 1955, a particular set of ghosts become a part of her world. A long ago love triangle consumes her, and she is drawn into unexpected time travel. Light. Happy ending.
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January 10, 2021 i was disturbed by the treatment of the slaves. wanted to just throw the book away.
August 13, 2016
Garden of the Moon is at turns confusing and just a shade disturbing. The synopsis I read for the book gave away a lot of the surprises, so I spent much of the book wondering when they would be revealed instead of just flowing along with the narrative.
Sara Wade started out a fun and interesting character. A 19th century Ghost Whisperer, she moves to her grandmother's old plantation to escape her mother's cold condemnation and is excited by the prospect. Except the plantation does not have the same feeling of safety and peace as it did when she was younger. If this Sara had stuck around for longer then the first 40 pages or so, I would have been a lot happier. As it stood her ability to see and talk to ghosts got pushed aside except when in relation to her Gran or Jonathan (and occasionally Katherine) and with it seemed to go a lot of her personality.
Sara's behavior and personality becomes erratic, as her obsession deepens and she grows desperate. She doesn't act in what people would call a 'sane' manner at all and I can't help but wonder that Julie and Sara's personal slave Raina do not call the doctor before she collapses. After her collapse she continues to act strangely and seems to only live so she can find Jonathan again.
The whole romance between Jonathan and Sara is disturbing on certain levels. Reincarnation is meant to be the basis of why Sara reacted so strongly to Maddy's diary, looked so much like her and why Jonathan's ghost was drawn to her. It was also used to explain why Sara was able to time travel back to Maddy's body while reading the diary. Until the very very end the 'love' between Sara and Jonathan only occurres when Sara is Maddy. The end declaration from Jonathan was a deus ex machina that had no supporting evidence throughout the novel.
If the author has left out the reincarnation talk, I think this could have been a better time travel romance. Unfortunately between the perplexing mechanics of the reincarnation, time travel and Sara’s complete personality swap, I was not able to enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. Overall, an interesting twist that I wish had just been done a bit differently.
Sara Wade started out a fun and interesting character. A 19th century Ghost Whisperer, she moves to her grandmother's old plantation to escape her mother's cold condemnation and is excited by the prospect. Except the plantation does not have the same feeling of safety and peace as it did when she was younger. If this Sara had stuck around for longer then the first 40 pages or so, I would have been a lot happier. As it stood her ability to see and talk to ghosts got pushed aside except when in relation to her Gran or Jonathan (and occasionally Katherine) and with it seemed to go a lot of her personality.
Sara's behavior and personality becomes erratic, as her obsession deepens and she grows desperate. She doesn't act in what people would call a 'sane' manner at all and I can't help but wonder that Julie and Sara's personal slave Raina do not call the doctor before she collapses. After her collapse she continues to act strangely and seems to only live so she can find Jonathan again.
The whole romance between Jonathan and Sara is disturbing on certain levels. Reincarnation is meant to be the basis of why Sara reacted so strongly to Maddy's diary, looked so much like her and why Jonathan's ghost was drawn to her. It was also used to explain why Sara was able to time travel back to Maddy's body while reading the diary. Until the very very end the 'love' between Sara and Jonathan only occurres when Sara is Maddy. The end declaration from Jonathan was a deus ex machina that had no supporting evidence throughout the novel.
If the author has left out the reincarnation talk, I think this could have been a better time travel romance. Unfortunately between the perplexing mechanics of the reincarnation, time travel and Sara’s complete personality swap, I was not able to enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. Overall, an interesting twist that I wish had just been done a bit differently.
January 12, 2012
Do you love TV Programmes like Medium or Ghost Whisperer ? If so, then no matter what you will adore the Garden of the Moon by Elizabeth Sinclair . I was surprised that it was a 2009 release as picking up the book , everything from the cover to the pages inside and author profile just screamed an older publication but don't let this put you off as it was an OMG read , it was amazing. Set in the 1800's we meet Sara Wade , she has the gift of seeing Ghosts and helping them cross-over to the other side . The gift passed on from her grandmother and her father. When her Grandmother passes, she leaves Sara her plantation and the Harrowgate Estate that lays onsite. As Sara arrives though, something feels off . Later she recieves a visit from her Grandmother's ghost telling her to see the neighbour next door . Sara agrees and discovers that evil lurks around Harrowgate as prior her Gran's arrival , a young man was killed on his wedding night and a scandal arose around the death. The man's name was Jonathan , he was engaged to Katherine but in love with her twin sister Maddy. Katherine, jealous of Maddy never let Jonathan go which eventually lead to deaths galore. Now the eerie part is that Sara resembles Maddy and is having flashes back to Maddy's time as Maddy. Is Sara - Maddy reincarnated and what happens when Sara starts to fall in love with Jonathon - the ghost ? Of course, evil is always around the corner in Garden of the Moon with Katherine's ghost doing everything in her power to stop Sara/Maddy being reunited with her love forever.
The Garden of the Moon by Elizabeth Sinclair had a Kate and Leopold feel to it , so if you enjoy ghosts, historical fiction and a bit of time travelling , then this is the book for you.
The Garden of the Moon by Elizabeth Sinclair had a Kate and Leopold feel to it , so if you enjoy ghosts, historical fiction and a bit of time travelling , then this is the book for you.
April 30, 2014
I love a good ghost story so I was really hoping to like this book. Sigh. Several things turned me off — one, slavery is uncomfortable to read about, but I know that it happened, so I forced myself to power through this part of the story. What made this harder was that the portrayals of slaves seemed stereotypical. I also hated that our protagonist patted herself on the back for being such a good slave-owner but sadly there were probably many real slave-owners who did so. I also hated that she thought of doing something nice for her slave but got all absorbed by her crush on a ghost and let that thought fall by the wayside. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
Focusing on the ghost story, the first thing that annoyed me was the fact that the grandmother’s ghost could appear, could converse, could warn Sara about the evil in the house but the little ball of light she was attached to wouldn’t let her share specifics. Except for the time that Granny apparently got frustrated with Sara’s lack of progress and sent her a note — a note! — about a letter. Eyeroll. If you’re going to have a ghost in the story and the ghost knows important things and can effectively communicate with the person he/she needs to warn, then I need a much better reason for why specifics can’t be shared than “the little ball of light won’t let me tell you” or “you have to discover that on your own, my girl”.
And then there’s Sara’s love interest, a handsome yet cryptic ghost who pops up at convenient times, is capable of making love to the protagonist, and yet doesn’t seem to be able to share helpful information. Apparently men’s libidos get in the way, even in the afterlife. Fan-tastic.
I could go on and on but I won’t — it’s time to move on and read something else.
Focusing on the ghost story, the first thing that annoyed me was the fact that the grandmother’s ghost could appear, could converse, could warn Sara about the evil in the house but the little ball of light she was attached to wouldn’t let her share specifics. Except for the time that Granny apparently got frustrated with Sara’s lack of progress and sent her a note — a note! — about a letter. Eyeroll. If you’re going to have a ghost in the story and the ghost knows important things and can effectively communicate with the person he/she needs to warn, then I need a much better reason for why specifics can’t be shared than “the little ball of light won’t let me tell you” or “you have to discover that on your own, my girl”.
And then there’s Sara’s love interest, a handsome yet cryptic ghost who pops up at convenient times, is capable of making love to the protagonist, and yet doesn’t seem to be able to share helpful information. Apparently men’s libidos get in the way, even in the afterlife. Fan-tastic.
I could go on and on but I won’t — it’s time to move on and read something else.
August 20, 2014
Can you travel through time to find your true love?
Sara is leaving New Orleans for her grandparents estate because her mother is freaked out by her talking to ghosts, and is embarrassed by the fact that she hasn't found a suitable husband at 27, and that's unacceptable in 1800's society. Once there, strange things are going on, especially when she is told she will find her true love, but he is a ghost! Free download
Sara is leaving New Orleans for her grandparents estate because her mother is freaked out by her talking to ghosts, and is embarrassed by the fact that she hasn't found a suitable husband at 27, and that's unacceptable in 1800's society. Once there, strange things are going on, especially when she is told she will find her true love, but he is a ghost! Free download
January 17, 2012
This book combined several of my favourite themes: paranormal romance, historical fiction, time travel, and ghosts! I found this book hard to put down and enjoyed it a great deal.
January 28, 2015
Excellent storyline.
Easy to follow story and very exciting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a mystery love story.
Easy to follow story and very exciting. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a mystery love story.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews