Imagine if you had a choice of living your regular daily life or escaping on a magical floating island with a loving, mysterious man …. and did I mention you wouldn’t ever age? Shea Ernshaw has created such an island. Clay Lockhart was seen on his disappearing island burying his wife and babies, who all died in childbirth. This was one glimpse into the island, which mostly is never seen. Ellie Mills happens onto the island and meets Clay, and then spends much of the next twenty years asking herself if it really happened. When the island is spotted again, she decides to try to find if it is a reality or just a childhood dream. Ellie has a life with a career and just gets engaged to James as she sets off on the adventure to see if she can get back on the island. Is it real? She does reach the island, and she and Clay fall in love while caring for the crops and livestock on the island. Should she return to James and her old life or stay with Clay on this magical, hauntingly beautiful island? Written with such vivid sensory details, readers will feel immersed with Ellie as she makes her life-altering decision.
Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw, (List Price: $28, Atria Books, 9781668097731, 2026-07-07)
Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia