Book Review: Full Steam Ahead

Full Steam Ahead

by: Karen Witemeyer

It is time for a book review!  I have received a copy of this book in order for me to read and review from Bethany House Publishers. So, without further ado, we are off to the summary and review!

Is it abandon ship or full steam ahead between a reclusive scientist and a wealthy debutante in Karen Witemeyer's Full Steam Ahead?

Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston, Texas, to find her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, Nicole's father has always focused on what she's not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.

Vowing to find a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But her father's rivals come after the dagger, forcing a change in Nicole's plans.

After a boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana nearly took his life, Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. Even if it means letting a female secretary into his secluded world.

Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grow between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to another? And when her father's rivals discover her hiding place, will she have to choose between that love and her family's legacy?  (familychristian.com)

Full Steam Ahead is a historical romance book and does not disappoint on delivering a very well-written novel of the sort.  You have a man (Darius) that felt inadequate from the steamship disaster that is now trying to earn his salvation through fixing boilers.  You have a head-strong woman (Nicole) that thinks too rash, and goes headlong into foreseeable danger that could have been avoided had she just logically thought through what she was going to do and actually listened to the advice of others.  Of course, they meet and she wants to fix this tormented man.  And it follows as such.

I actually like these kinds of completely non-realistic historical romance novels when one seems to fall in love and is ready to marry with a few days, but with that said, there are a few things to watch out since this is billed as a Christian novel.  While the book shows them praying every once and a while, I have to doubt that the characters would do what God wanted them to do if it differed from what they were asking for, Nicole more than Darius.  They also don’t really search for God’s will, but pray that what they want will be in his will.  They put themselves into situations that would advance physical intimacy, while all the while thinking that they are in control or “almost” beyond control.  Nicole also goes against her father’s wishes, steals the dagger, puts herself and others at risk, and then gets affirmed that everyone loves her; no real consequences for her actions.  On that point, from the beginning she is looking for her self-worth from her father and Darius; Darius is looking for his self-worth within himself by making boilers safe, and then with the reassurance of his family in his worth.  While Darius seems to get that he must turn to God for his worth (at the prompting of Nicole), she doesn’t seem to get it, and I felt that she thought that she was still only acceptable when her family and Darius affirmed her.

All-in-all if you like Christian historical romance novels, this is a very well-written one.  Don’t look for twists and turns, but it is still a very delightful read.