The Captain's Bride

I am so far behind on my blogging, I may never catch up. However, that is the life of one who reads constantly.

I just (and I do mean "just") finished The Captain's Bride by Lisa Tawn Bergren and found it to be a book full adventure and unexpected.

Elsa and Peder begin their married life on a ship with other friends from their community emigrating to the United States from Norway. When they are out to sea, they find that Elsa's little sister has stowed away on the ship. Tora is impulsive and selfish, to say the least. She thinks of no one but herself and her own desires and doesn't mind who she hurts in the process. Elsa tries her best to rein Tora in, but Tora resists with everything she has. Tora does acquiesce to caring for the babies of a widower for six months after they land in exchange for her passage to America.

Throughout the book, you will engage with Elsa and her friends in all their troubles and trials: Kaatje raising two babies on the prairies of North Dakota while her husband Soren is off working with the railroad; Elsa and Peder learning to live as husband and wife while beginning a ship-building business; Karl fighting his love for Elsa and leaving his partnership with Peder because of it; Tora being Tora.

Lisa Tawn Bergren writes an engaging story that grabs your attention and never lets it go. Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a ship christening.