
OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA
BY LEAH ANGSTMAN
Publication Date: January 11, 2022
Regal House Publishing
Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook; 334 pages
Genre: Historical / Literary / Epic
**Shortlisted for the Chaucer Book Award**
OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a historical epic of one woman’s survival in a time when the wilderness is still wild, heresy is publicly punishable, and being independent is worse than scorned—it is a death sentence.
At the onset of King William’s War between French and English settlers in 1689 New England, Ruth Miner is accused of witchcraft for the murder of her parents and must flee the brutality of her town. She stows away on the ship of the only other person who knows her innocence: an audacious sailor—Owen—bound to her by years of attraction, friendship, and shared secrets. But when Owen’s French ancestry finds him at odds with a violent English commander, the turmoil becomes life-or-death for the sailor, the headstrong Ruth, and the cast of Quakers, Pequot Indians, soldiers, highwaymen, and townsfolk dragged into the fray. Now Ruth must choose between sending Owen to the gallows or keeping her own neck from the noose.
Steeped in historical events and culminating in a little-known war on pre-American soil, OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a story of early feminism, misogyny, arbitrary rulings, persecution, and the treatment of outcasts, with parallels still mirrored and echoed in today’s society. The debut novel will appeal to readers of Paulette Jiles, Alexander Chee, Hilary Mantel, James Clavell, Bernard Cornwell, TaraShea Nesbit, Geraldine Brooks, Stephanie Dray, Patrick O’Brian, and E. L. Doctorow.
REGAL HOUSE PRINT | AMAZON KINDLE
Review:
After her parents die in a terrible fire and a nearby farmer's sheep die, Ruth Miner is branded a witch. When her grandmother dies during a brutally harsh winter, no one in town will help Ruth and she curses them. Ruth knows she must escape before the townspeople come to burn her as well. Ruth stows away on the Primrose, heading to Stonington, Connecticut in the New World. Working aboard the Primrose is first mate Owen Townsend, the only person who knows Ruth's full past. Once in Stonington, Ruth has a new start; however, things are not necessarily easier. Ruth finds friends in an elderly couple that she boards with, another young woman in town as well as a Pequot, Askook. Ruth learns that the land has been taken from them and wants to set things right. The French and English are beginning to fight in the New World and Owen's French heritage brands him a traitor. Ruth fights to save herself, Owen and the Pequot that she has befriended, but what will it cost her?
Masterfully written, Out Front the Following Sea is a historical fiction novel exploring the hardships, prejudices and power struggles within the newly settled colonies in 1689. The characters were all very well written with distinct personalities, struggles and secrets. I was pulled into the story through Ruth's strength and fortitude in her daily life as she struggled as an outsider that no one would help. Ruth and Owen's relationship is complex and their secret is slowly teased out. Owen's passion and loyalty shone through; although, I consistently wondered why he didn't step up to help Ruth sooner. Askook, the Pequot was an interesting addition for me and a good reminder of the blood and stolen land that the United States was built on. The plot slowly builds as secrets come out and tensions rise for continuous action throughout the story. The writing also offered a good sense of place and time as safety and security could never be taken for granted and war and death always loomed on the horizon. While the story is fictional, the author has incorporated research of skirmishes of King William's War and first hand accounts of real people who lived in the area at the time to create a well rounded story of the people at this time.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Leah Angstman is a historian and transplanted Michigander living in Boulder. OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA, her debut novel of King William’s War in 17th-century New England, is forthcoming from Regal House in January 2022. Her writing has been a finalist for the Saluda River Prize, Cowles Book Prize, Able Muse Book Award, Bevel Summers Fiction Prize, and Chaucer Book Award, and has appeared in Publishers Weekly, L.A. Review of Books, Nashville Review, Slice, and elsewhere. She serves as editor-in-chief for Alternating Current and The Coil magazine and copyeditor for Underscore News, which has included editing partnerships with ProPublica. She is an appointed vice chair of a Colorado historical commission and liaison to a Colorado historic preservation committee.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS | MEDIUM | ELLO | MAILING LIST
Guest Post at Novels Alive
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Review at Bookoholiccafe
Excerpt at Books, Ramblings, and Tea
Tuesday, January 4
Review at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals
Wednesday, January 5
Review at Probably at the Library
Thursday, January 6
Review at Reading is My Remedy
Friday, January 7
Review at A Girl Reads Bookss
Monday, January 10
Review, Excerpt + Interview at andreajanel_reads
Tuesday, January 11
Review at Little But Fierce Book Diary
Wednesday, January 12
Review at Novels Alive
Thursday, January 13
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks
Friday, January 14
Review at SJ Through the Looking Glass
Monday, January 17
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Tuesday, January 18
Excerpt at The Book Junkie Reads
Wednesday, January 19
Review at Jessica Belmont
Thursday, January 20
Review at Reading the Past
Friday, January 21
Review at Books and Zebras
Monday, January 24
Review at Bookworlder
Tuesday, January 25
Review at Booking With Janelle
Wednesday, January 26
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews
Friday, January 28
Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read
Sunday, January 30
Review at A Darn Good Read
Monday, January 31
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review + Interview at Jorie Loves A Story
Wednesday, February 2
Review at Donna’s Book Blog
Friday, February 4
Review at Coffee and Ink
Review at The Enchanted Shelf