Sarah, Sarah, Sarah!

Sarah Sundin writes World War II romantic fiction and does it quite well. I have loved every book she's written and gobbled them up as soon as they are issued. I made it a point to grab her newest book, An Anchor in the Storm, and get it in my TBR list. While I was away on a trip to see my husband get a national award for the work he does, the book came up next to read. I was excited, I was anticipating a great read, and I was ready to get down to business.

Lillian Avery is Jim Avery's sister and she is heading from Ohio to Boston to work in a pharmacy as one of the few female pharmacists in the nation. Jim's friend, Archer Vandenberg, is a bit over the top for Lillian, but his charm wins her over, especially as they have a common mystery to follow. The problem that Lillian sees is an inordinate number of prescriptions for phenobarbital being issued. Her boss says it's normal and encourages her to fill them and let it go. Arch is seeing a number of seamen falling prey to addiction to phenobarbital and knows there is a source on the ship and wants to find it and plug the hole.

The romance between Lillian and Archer plays as much of a part in the book as does the mystery of the drug ring. What Sarah did in this book that I found totally unnecessary is to use "the formula" for a romance novel.

the romance novel formula: boy meets girl
boy falls in love with girl
boy loses girl
boy gets girl back
Everyone lives happily ever after.

Lillian sees herself as "less than" because she lost her leg in an accident as a child. Archer is leary of women because he thinks they only want his money. Their romance falls apart as he tries to test her true motives. It's not until he is wounded in carrying out his duties do they find themselves together again.

That being said, this book is truly enjoyable, with a solid four stars.

Revell Books provided the galley I read in exchange for my honest opinion, and for that I thank them.