Review: Under the Same Sky by Genevieve Graham

Title: Under the Same Sky
Author: Genevieve Graham
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Publish Date: January 3, 2012
Source: I received a copy from the author and publisher. This did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book?:

• You're a historical fiction fan.
• You like great, well developed characters.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "The year is 1746. A young woman from South Carolina and a Scottish Highlander share an intimacy and devotion beyond their understanding. They have had visions of each other their entire lives. And yet they have never met.
Now, with their lives torn asunder, Maggie Johnson and Andrew MacDonnell's quest to find each other is guided only by their dreams—and by the belief in the true love they share.

On the Carolina frontier Maggie Johnson’s family struggles to survive. Maggie’s gift of “the sight” and her visions show her a presence she calls Wolf. She watches him grow from a boy her age to a man even as she goes from child to woman.

Andrew MacDonald has always wondered about the girl he sees in his dreams. He is able to talk to her through their thoughts and vows that even if he must cross an ocean he will find her. They are thrust into different situations: Andrew fights for the doomed Jacobite cause and Maggie is captured by slavers, then rescued and brought into a kind, loving Native American tribe. They each believe in destiny and the power of the love they have shared forever."

My Two Cents:

Oh, I really liked this book! It's a historical fiction mixed with some mystery and paranormal with some romance or in other words, a truly delicious combination and the type of book that you can get lost in. And lost I got. This book found me lazing on the couch for the entire afternoon because I couldn't bear to put it down. I really liked how the author wove the paranormal details with the historical details. It really made the book come to life for me!

This is also a tale of how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I saw the cover before reading the synopsis and said "oh, this is a bodice ripper." And I like bodice rippers sometimes but this book is not a bodice ripper at all. There is romance but not the... uh... sort that you would be expecting from the cover.

This book explores the idea of soulmates, an idea that I really like. I loved Maggie and Andrew as soulmates. I loved that both of them seemed to know each other even though they were literally an ocean apart (Maggie is in the Carolinas and Andrew is a Scottish Highlander).

I really wish that we would have gotten to see more about them once they finally meet in real life. I'm still holding out hope for a sequel that features more of Andrew and Maggie together (Graham has another book coming out later this spring that features Andrew's brother back in Scotland; there's a sneak peek in the back of Under the Same Sky). I think one of the signs of a good book is when you aren't ready to let go of the characters at the end of the book and I was so not ready to let go!

Bottom line: This is a story that will hold on to you until the last page (and beyond).