Sunday 7 May 2017

To The Farthest Shores by Elizabeth Camden

The unpredictability of her upbringing prepared army nurse Jenny Bennett to face any challenge at the Presidio Army base, but the sudden reappearance in her life of the dashing naval officer who broke her heart six years ago is enough to rattle even her. 

Lieutenant Ryan Gallagher is one of the few men in the world qualified to carry out a daring government mission overseas--an assignment that destroyed his reputation and broke the heart of the only woman he ever loved. Honor-bound never to reveal where he was during those years, he can't tell Jenny the truth, or it will endanger an ongoing mission and put thousands of lives at risk. 

Ryan thinks he may have finally found a solution to his impossible situation, but he needs Jenny's help. While her loyalty to her country compels her to agree, she was too badly hurt to fall for Ryan again despite his determination to win her back. When an unknown threat from Ryan's past puts everything at risk--including his life--can they overcome the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against them in time?

Review: I give this book a ten out of ten. Gold star! Two thumbs up! Well, you get the picture... I loved it! 

First, it was so believable. The way Elizabeth Camden wrote the character of Jenny is breathtaking. She is so real I half expected her to leap off the page and come to life. As a budding writer myself, this book bears re-reading as a study on how to write dynamic and complex characters. Jenny lives and breathes within these pages. Her reactions to situations are so believable - you can tell Ms Camden didn't just write in flaws for the sake of making her character flawed. She created a character whose very essence from the core IS flawed...if that makes any sense. Also, unlike most romances, Jenny doesn't just throw her good sense into the wind and fall head over heals for her fallen hero, she reacts the way any sane and confident woman would - she tells him to take a hike. She keeps her wits and her brains about her. She's in love but not stupid. Basically, this romance didn't feel pushed at all. Often times it feels like authors force their characters to love each other despite conflicts and mistakes. Ms. Camden doesn't do that. The relationship between Jenny and Ryan is so natural - I'm basking in the glory of this book right now. SO WELL DONE!

Second, I really really liked how historical events were incorporated into this story. I have to be careful here not to give out spoilers so I won't get into it, but needless to say the historical aspects of this story are so interesting and really add to this story.

Third, I loved the espionage woven through this tale and the multiple layers of intrigue. This book is an amazing story of two people's emotional journey back to each other, but it is also a very interesting spy book set in a rather tense period of American-Japanese history.

I give this book full marks. Absolutely excellent!

Thank-you to Graf Martin Communications and Baker Publishing House for the complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion. 

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