Heart's Safe Passage by Laurie Alice Eakes

The best nautical adventure you can find for Christian Fiction!

Heart's Safe Passage, The Midwives Series #2 by Laurie Alice Eakes
Revell, February 2012
400 pages, Paperback
Review copy provided by the publisher via HNR, thank you!
Review originally posted in Historical Novels Review Magazine, May 2012
Burton Book Review Rating: 4 Stars

It's 1813 and all Phoebe Lee wants out of life is to practice midwifery in Loudon County, Virginia. When Belinda, her pregnant sister-in-law, presses Phoebe to accompany her onto a British privateer in order to cross the Atlantic and save her husband from an English prison, Phoebe tries to refuse, then finds herself kidnapped. Captain Rafe Docherty is a man in search of revenge. His ship is no place for women, but he needs Belinda in order to obtain information about the man who destroyed his family and his life. Between Belinda's whining and Phoebe's hostility, Rafe can't help but wonder if he made the right choice.
When it becomes apparent there is an enemy among them on the ship, the stakes are raised. Will they reach the English shore in time? Can love and forgiveness overcome vengeance?

Seeking God’s guidance is a strong theme in this second installment of The Midwives series, and sailing through dangerous waters during the War of 1812 is another. Throughout the stand-alone novel, Phoebe is sailing with Captain Rafe Docherty, her captor, who is hell bent on seeking revenge against James Brock. Captain Rafe’s wife was murdered by James Brock, and is using Phoebe and her family to find him. As Phoebe learns more about the captain, her common sense tells her to run from him, but her heart pulls her straight into Captain Rafe’s arms. Amongst the plot twists, our heroine Phoebe is determined to share her faith in God just as much as she tries to stop Captain Rafe’s quest for revenge.

Supporting characters are well drawn out, details of life on a brig are abundant, and the action and suspense are well plotted. The voyage across the Atlantic is complete with a scampering dog, an endearing child, expecting mother and swashbuckling pirates, offering a clever love story with a charming Scottish accent. I enjoyed this novel a great deal, and already bought Eakes’ first book in the series.

And just for kicks, I found this quick summary regarding the War of 1812 here. Americans and Britain were at odds again, and the site points out it was pretty much a stalemate although it was a sort of confirmation that the USA was to be treated as an independent country. We fought Canadians and the native nations in the War of 1812, which ultimately resulted in the Treaty of Ghent. We are near the two hundredth anniversary: on June 18, 1812, the war began.