No Short of Impressed! ~ No Safe Harbor by Elizabeth Ludwig ~ Review

This novel came out of nowhere and completely enthralled me.

            

A rich historical with tension abounding in heritage, setting and characters. The romance was forbidden and absolutely perfect. I loved the richness of the Irish culture, how their prejudice crossed the ocean to America with them and produced more than a little bit of fodder for today’s modern authors.

            

The voice behind the words on the page was what swept me so deeply into this book. It’s engrossing, unique and perfect for a deep and full historical. There was a familiarity and smoothness to the story that propelled me quickly through the story. I now want to go right back and read slowly, taking every little bit back in.

           

Cara and Rourke are strong and determined characters. The suspense is bringing them together and the romantic tension sizzles. Between the two of those vices, I might have had all the air squeezed out of me.

           

I wasn't sure how well I would like Rourke as from the first couple chapters, I had the impression he might be the bad guy, or at least in cahoots with the bad guys. But the man has a heart of flesh and I loved watching him fall in love with Cara. It changed him. And I love a reformed bad boy.

           

Beginning to end, I was no short of impressed, and now most eager for book two in the Edge of Freedom series. Well done!

            

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to the publishers through CFBA for my copy to review.

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More about the novel and author...

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing No Safe Harbor Bethany House Publishers (October 1, 2012) by Elizabeth Ludwig

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Ludwig is an award-winning author whose work has been featured on Novel Journey, the Christian Authors Network, and The Christian Pulse. Her first novel, Where the Truth Lies, which she co-authored with Janelle Mowery, earned her the 2008 IWA Writer of the Year honors. This book was followed in 2009 by “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” part of a Christmas anthology collection called Christmas Homecoming, also from Barbour Publishing.

In 2010, her first full-length historical novel Love Finds You in Calico, California earned Four Stars from the Romantic Times. Books two and three of Elizabeth’s mystery series, Died in the Wool (Barbour Publishing) and Inn Plain Sight (Spyglass Lane), respectively, released in 2011.

Coming in 2012 is Elizabeth’s newest historical series from Bethany House Publishers. No Safe Harbor, the first book in the Edge of Freedom Series, will release in October, with two more books following in 2013 and 2014.

Elizabeth is an accomplished speaker and teacher, and often attends conferences and seminars, where she lectures on editing for fiction writers, crafting effective novel proposals, and conducting successful editor/agent interviews. Her popular literary blog, The Borrowed Book, enjoyed a wide readership in its first full year, with more than 17,000 visitors in 2011. Along with her husband and two children, Elizabeth makes her home in the great state of Texas.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Thrill of Romantic Suspense Meets the Romance of 1800s America

Lured by a handful of scribbled words across a faded letter, Cara Hamilton sets off from 1896 Ireland on a quest to find the brother she'd thought dead. Her search lands her in America, amidst a houseful of strangers and one man who claims to be a friend--Rourke Walsh.

Despite her brother's warning, Cara decides to trust Rourke and reveals the truth about her purpose in America. But he is not who he claims to be, and as rumors begin to circulate about an underground group of dangerous revolutionaries, Cara's desperation grows. Her questions lead her ever closer to her brother, but they also bring her closer to destruction as Rourke's true intentions come to light.

If you would like to read the first chapter of No Safe Harbor, go HERE.