Book Review: Full Steam Ahead

Author: Karen Witemeyer

Publication Date: June 3, 2014

Publisher: Bethany House

Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston, Texas, to find her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, Nicole's father has always focused on what she's not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.

Vowing to find a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But her father's rivals come after the dagger, forcing a change in Nicole's plans.

After a boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana nearly took his life, Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. Even if it means letting a female secretary into his secluded world.

Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grow between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to another? And when her father's rivals discover her hiding place, will she have to choose between that love and her family's legacy?

Nicole blinked once. Then again. A son-in-law? Just who did he expect her to marry? One of his cronies from New Orleans? They were old enough to be…well, her father.

The protection of the Renard family legacy now rested on her shoulders. She’d guard it well.

Trust was all well and good, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Will Karen Witemeyer ever write a less than mediocre story? I honestly don’t believe so. She is constantly knocking me off my feet with all of her wonderful novels. This one makes the third that I have read of hers so far, and I have them proudly atop my favorite’s shelf. They are all so wonderful! Our main characters, Nicole and Darius, are both in need of something. One needs a husband and an heir and the other only needs a secretary, but together they might just be more for each other than they first intended.

Nicole Renard stole my heart right away and definitely won my award for favorite character in this book. We learn early on that Nicole’s father has often been disappointed in everything she is not: not male, not married, and not producing an heir to run his company, Renard Shipping. Nicole is so loyal to her father and only wants to please him. Nicole has so many charming and enduring character traits. After learning of her father’s ill health, she sets off in search of a man worthy enough to be her husband and to help maintain her father’s business. She is a character that is very worthy of praise!

Romance and historical fiction mix so well, don’t you think? I loved learning about Nicole’s family history and was very interested to know about the prized dagger that her father held in his possession, believing it to bring good luck. On the other hand, the romance was just as interesting. It was a bit steamier in this book than in the others I have read by Witemeyer, but not enough that I would not recommend to someone as young as 16 or 17. Very well written all across the boards!

***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Bethany in exchange for my honest review***