Full Steam Ahead

Delightful story. The story starts with a bang (literally) and draws you through. Hero and heroine aren't in the same room together until well into the story, but the payoff was definitely worth staying with it.

The hero/heroine combo is delightful: pirate-princess secretary and a deeply wounded, propriety-flouting gentleman scientist. This hero broke free of every character cliche I've read. He's chock full of contradictions. Gentle, but intense. Wounded, but so strong. Protective, but entrusting. Curious and cautious. Truly unique and delightful to read about. His perfect complement, the heroine was a gutsy, running off by herself, protecting everyone at her own risk, females can do anything kind of girl. I've seen quite a few of show more these types recently, but her willingness to sacrifice and her ability to bring healing to the hero was beautiful and something unique to her.

While reading, I sensed nuances of Pride and Prejudice, Beauty and the Beast, and perhaps something of a nod to Tom Hiddleston in there, ha, but that may just be for this reader.

Would recommend to anyone who likes historical romance. show less

Nicole Renard has always felt like a mild disappointment to her father as his only child isn't a son. When local business rivals, the Jenkins, threaten her parents in an effort to recover a contested family heirloom, Nicole has every intention of fulfilling her father's wish of marrying a man who can immediately become his heir and take over their shipping business. But as Nicole prepares to leave for New Orleans to find such a man, the Jenkins interfere with her plans and leave her traveling deeper into Texas under an assumed name. In the small town of Liberty she takes a position as a secretary with Darius Thornton who is attempting to excise his past by developing boilers that won't explode. As Nicole and Darius spend time together show more they discover a mutual attraction that alters their plans for their futures in ways neither expected.

Witemeyer has quickly become one of my favourite Christian romance authors. While the writing in this one was a little rough at the beginning with some bumpy dialogue, the book quickly took off and I was quickly charmed by both the lead characters and their romance. As is usual with Witemeyer's books the suspense plot adds a forward momentum to the plot that keeps thing moving. I'd recommend this one to readers who enjoy Christian romance but I wouldn't suggest this be the first Witemeyer novel to try. show less

What a delightful book! This is the first I've read from Ms. Witemeyer. It's good to get to know another fabulous writer of Historical Christian Romance. I'm a fan!
I was caught up right from the beginning of the book. Learning about Darius and the fatal steamboat accident of 1849 quickly brings you deeply into the story. It was then a pleasure to get to know Nicole and her family. Brought together from entirely different agendas and both from highly successful shipping families, they had a lot in common, but it took quite some time for them to discover that about each other. The author brings each and every character to life perfectly. The lessons and Christian values throughout the book wonderfully support the story. This is an show more incredibly interesting tale of some depth as well as a very satisfying romance. And it's full of heart stopping danger. I read this book in 24 hours - I didn't want to put it down! Now I'm hoping there will be a second book, and I'll be first in line to read it.
I received this book from Heidi Reads blog. show less

After being on a steamship that exploded and witnessing first hand the deaths and injuries of the passengers, Darius becomes obsessed with making travel by steamship safer. He conducts experiments and now is in need of a secretary. Meanwhile, Nicole is trying to keep safe a family heirloom dagger that others want to steal, and, running away with it, needs a job. They meet, and their lives will forever be changed. This heartwarming yet exciting tale takes readers back to the mid 19th century with descriptive prose and charming period characterizations. But even more delightful is Nicole, a woman ahead of her time, ready and willing to take on the bad guys and yet still finds time for romance. It’s a wonderfully-told tale.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

Nicole should have been born a boy, that’s all there is too it! But she wasn’t, so she needed to figure out what to do about her father’s business. And with his health, it needed to be soon!

I love all Karen Witemeyer books! Her book, Head in the Clouds is the first book I ever won, and after reading it, I was hooked! And Full Steam Ahead is another awesome read by Ms. Witemeyer! I love the spunky Nichole and love that through circumstances, she ends up with Darius to help save her company as well as his own. There’s a lot of information, a lot of history about steam engines and how they work. It was all very interesting for me. The extensive research the author did is very obvious! But for me, the best show more thing here is the humor, I laughed and laughed, and laughed more as I read this book. It is fun, informative, enjoyable and entertaining all at the same time. I encourage you to pick up a copy if this book. Even though it’s been out for a few years, it’s still as amazing as it was in the beginning. And today it us free on Kindle Unlimited! You just can’t go wrong.

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 show less

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

Nicole should have been born a boy, that’s all there is too it! But she wasn’t, so she needed to figure out what to do about her father’s business. And with his health, it needed to be soon!

I love all Karen Witemeyer books! Her book, Head in the Clouds is the first book I ever won, and after reading it, I was hooked! And Full Steam Ahead is another awesome read by Ms. Witemeyer! I love the spunky Nichole and love that through circumstances, she ends up with Darius to help save her company as well as his own. There’s a lot of information, a lot of history about steam engines and how they work. It was all very interesting for me. The extensive research the author did is very obvious! But for me, the best show more thing here is the humor, I laughed and laughed, and laughed more as I read this book. It is fun, informative, enjoyable and entertaining all at the same time. I encourage you to pick up a copy if this book. Even though it’s been out for a few years, it’s still as amazing as it was in the beginning. And today it us free on Kindle Unlimited! You just can’t go wrong.

A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. show less

I loved Darius in this book. He was such a lovable hero with his imperfections, his intelligence, his loyalty, pretty much everything. Nicole, on the other hand, was a little bit harder for me to like at times. I loved that she helped Darius see the truth he needed to see to overcome the past that had haunted him, but I hated that she really needed to take some of her own advice and refused to do so. She wanted to be there for Darius and help him, but she wasn't too keen on accepting his help when she needed it. Her obsession with the protecting the dagger at the risk of her own life and others' frustrated me. All that being said, I still enjoyed the book because there was a point where she finally did come to the realize the truths she show more needed to see. I was able to enjoy her character more after that, and I very much appreciated how Darius and Nicole loved each other, brought the best out in each other, helped each other overcome the struggles they had, and did not give up on each other. show less