By Jody Hedlund.
A fictional story based on the fascinating history of Bride Ships that sailed from Britain to British Columbia in the 1860s.
It was a well-written story about a woman, who had no other choice to save herself from the impoverished, street life in England or early death in the cotton mills. He was of the elite class, running from his memories of family who had died too soon. As a doctor on the ship, he comes to rely on the street wrench, he had helped on land, as his nurse. It is a romance that crosses classes but creates enemies.
My Rating: 3 Stars
The respect developed naturally between the Hero, Joesph, and Heroine, Mercy, as they travel the treacherous seas and attend to those on board, who need medical attention. However, the difference in class is forever on Mercy’s mind because she comes from the lowest class and feels that she does not what the hard life she watched her mother having children, she could not provide for. So she keeps her distance and fights the attraction for Joesph. By the end, it becomes a tug-of-war between her brain and her heart.
SPOILER ALERT: The ending made me want to scream at the heroine for teasing the hero by telling him no twice and then chasing him again. Toying with people’s feelings isn’t attractive for anyone and utterly destroyed the respect I had for her. It was as if the author was grasping at straws to make the book longer. People read romance for the happy ending, and by the end of it, I felt the Hero should move on because Mercy couldn’t commit. It turned me off of the author.
Whitney Buckley 