Tuesday, September 4, 2018

The Lady Of Tarpon Springs by Judith Miller – 5 Stars!!



I loved this book!  I did read it in one day.  It was very interesting.  In addition to having a romance thrown in there is a very real history of diving off boats for sponges.  I knew nothing about this business or how it came to be.  Although the story line is fiction, there was actually a group of over 500 Greeks that moved to Tarpon Springs to live and work diving for sponges.  I enjoy reading about Greek families as I lived with a Greek man for 13 years.  Back in 1905 there was a thriving sponge business and also many came to that area to use the mineral springs that were thought to be beneficial.  The Greeks that came to that area used some of the first diving gear, really quite a process to keep themselves from getting sick or dying while going down or coming up in these suits.  A lot of research went into the writing of this book in regard to diving, the sponge business, and Tarpon Springs in that time period.  The story line is also built around a Greek woman who studies and passes the bar to become a lawyer without her Father’s permission, which was a very big deal in those days.  She ends up running the sponge business for her friend who inherited it from her Father who died suddenly.  Her friend works as a doctor another career not taken up by ladies by many in those days.  The Greek men didn’t want lady doctors taking care of them, nor do they want to do business with ladies and are superstitious about having a lady on any of their boats.  This book was so interesting and the love story and the mystery built into the story line made up for a great read.  Hat’s off to Judith Miller for another very interesting read!

I received this book from the publisher as part of their book launch program, the review is entirely my own. I’m a member of "Bethany House and Chosen Books Reader Crew".  #Bethany House. #BakerPublishingGroup. #ChosenBooksReaderCrew.

The description as follows of the book was found on Good Reads:
Much to the dismay of her Greek family, Zanna Krykos makes a living as a lawyer in Tarpon Springs, Florida. When her friend Lucy needs legal advice about the business she inherited upon her father's passing, she ends up asking Zanna to run the business instead so she can focus on her medical career.

Nico Kalos is a Greek diver who has worked on sponging boats in the Aegean Sea since the age of 14, giving him a vast knowledge of the trade. When he hears of an opportunity to lead a group of spongers to the United States, he seizes it. But his excitement is quickly quelled when he arrives only to discover that a young woman with no experience in the business will be in charge of the new crews. 

But as Zanna and Nico face even more complications than they could have imagined, they must learn to work together or risk everything they've worked so hard for.