If I were to describe the perfect story for me, Beside A Burning Sea by John Shors would be a very close fit. Set in 1942 the hospital ship Benevolence is torpedoed and nine survivors make their way to a deserted South Pacific island.

A story of survival and redemption. These people struggle against the elements, their fear of discovery by the Japanese and even against each other. Unbeknownst to them, one of them is a traitor, he betrayed their ship and now is about to reveal their location to the Japanese. More than this, he is a true psychopath eagerly anticipating the damage he will do, the terror he will inflict. The survivors are a mixed crowd, three nurses, the ship’s captain, two naval officers, an ship’s mechanic, a young stowaway and a Japanese prisoner of war. Many of these people have conflicts within themselves and how they bond together and help each other survive makes for a wonderful story.

Each chapter is the equivalent of a day and as we are drawn deeper into the story the suspense rises. I literally couldn’t put the book down, I had to know how it would end. Not a perfect book but I found myself willing to overlook some minor flaws and simply savour the story. This was so much more than a simple action story, the characters are well developed, the writing extremely lyrical and the story telling rich and varied. Like the haiku that start each chapter, this book is a small gem. ( )

This novel takes place during World War II in the Pacific. When the hospital ship Benevolence is torpedoed by the Japanese near the Solomon Islands, only nine people survive by swimming to a nearby uninhabited island. The captain of the ship, Joshua, is devastated over the loss of so many. Isabelle is married to the captain and she and her sister, Annie, also survive. Annie is recovering from a bout of malaria and is saved and brought to shore by Akira, a Japanese prisoner. Akira is haunted by his failure to prevent a young girl from being raped and killed by Japanese soldiers earlier in the war. Over the next few days, he and Annie are drawn to each other and begin to fall in love. The story takes place over an 18 day period where they are waiting to be rescued.

The book focuses on three main relationships: the changing marital dynamics of Isabelle and Joshua, the growing relationship between Annie and Akira, and the friendship between Big Jake and Ratu, an African American engineer and a young Fijian stowaway. There's secondary drama with the three remaining characters as well. One of the nine will turn out to be a traitor who intends to kill everyone once the Japanese land on the island.

This book seems to get diverse reviews but I really liked it. Many of the conversations were boring and there was a lack of character development but I couldn't wait to find out what as going to happen. One of my favorite parts of the book was that each chapter begins with a beautiful haiku written by Akira. I plan to read John Shors debut novel, Beneath a Marble Sky, very soon. ( )

Anyone who believes that men can't write romance really need to reads John Shors! The relationship between Akira and Annie is simply perfection, romance-wise, for me. They balance each other out, complete each other. They're gentle and sweet with each other and just beautiful in their expression of their love. The obligatory sex scene was even beautiful and sweet rather than out-right passionate. Then there's the added bonus of it being a forbidden love scenario (my favorite kind!) and you've got a fantastic novel, romance-wise.

The writer also never leaves his readers unbalanced when it comes to story-flow. The narrative is equally balanced with fast-paced action and relaxing downtime on a paradise island. There never was a spot where I had to slog through pages and pages of descriptive dialogue with no redeeming factor to save it. Nor was there so much happening action wise that my head was left spinning. Very nicely balanced.

There are a few instances of stereotypical characterization, too little characterization on secondary characters, and a antagonist that I felt was revealed far too soon. I also had to raise my eyebrow at who some of the survivors were (thinking husband and wife here). Seemed a bit too lucky for me... But at the end of the day, these minor irritants were enough for me to mark this book down further than one star off.

This book was a lovely novel of romance and survival in the South Pacific. I enjoyed the story and the relationship between Akira and Annie. A few things made me grit my teeth a bit, but really, not that big of a deal. I would definitely recommend this novel if you're looking for a good WWII story set in the Pacific. ( )

This was my first john Shors book and I found it quite good. I was a little predictable, but the story was well written and enjoyable. ( )

Absolutely loved this book! I really like Shors' writing. Am anxious to read Beneath a Marble Sky. ( )