Tide and Tempest by Elizabeth Ludwig

Description:

 Two years ago, her fiance perished
during their voyage to America.

Now she discovers it may have been murder...

Dreaming of a better life, Tillie McGrath leaves Ireland behind and, with her beloved fiance by her side, sets sail for America. But when illness robs her of the man she holds dear, she's left alone with only a handful of tattered memories. While forging on proves difficult, Tillie soon finds some new friends at her New York boardinghouse, and begins pursuing a new dream--to open a home for orphaned children.

Despite two years passing, Captain Keondric Morgan has never forgotten the lass who left his ship so heartbroken. When a crewman's deathbed confession reveals her fiance's demise was the result of murder, the captain knows he must try to contact her. But his attention draws the notice of others as well--dangerous men who believe Tillie has in her possession something that could expose their crimes. And to their way of thinking, the best way to prevent such an outcome is to seize the evidence and then hand Tillie the same fate as her naïve fiance.

My Opinion:

Best suspense I have ever read! Not that I have read many... I normally don't like suspense novels. Many seem unrealistic to me because the main character/s almost die over and over again throughout the book. The danger they are in is mostly non-stop. I liked this a whole lot better because it's not like that. Sure, the characters are always on their guard, but people are not trying to "blow them up" every minute either. The whole plot just seemed much more believable than most.

I also normally don't jump into a series at the end. I like reading books in order of their series because I feel like I get a whole lot more out of them. Plus, I'm not getting the story twisted up. I have not read the first two books to this series, but I think it was completely fine this time. I don't think I missed a ton, and I don't think it will be hard to puzzle in the pieces when I go back and read the first two. Because I WILL be reading those too.

I thought these characters were very well developed and worked well together in the story. I wish I could read another book all about them. The romance was good, but not over the top, and I liked how their was a somewhat "imaginary" love triangle. At least for the Morgan brothers anyway.

I liked how none of the characters were perfect, and they all had past issues holding them back that they had to overcome. Tillie's was definitely the best, she had an issue with forgiveness, and I love how she overcomes it by feeling loved by others including God.

There's not anything I can think of to nit pick about this story. 

Rating: 5 Stars