A rags to riches romance set on the Titanic

Queen of The Waves by Janice Thompson
Summerside Press, October 1, 2012
Paperback 336 pages
Review copy provided for free from LitFuse in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 3 stars

When pampered Jacqueline Abington secretly elopes with the family gardener, she asks another woman to take her place on the much anticipated maiden voyage of the Titanic. Tessa Bowen hails from a poor corner of London but has been granted the opportunity of a lifetime—a ticket to sail to America aboard a famed vessel. But there’s a catch: she must assume Jacqueline’s identity. For the first time in her life, Tessa stays in luxurious quarters, dresses in elegant gowns, and dines with prestigious people. Then a wealthy American man takes an interest in her, and Tessa struggles to keep up the ruse as she begins falling for him. When tragedy strikes, the game is up, and two women’s lives are forever changed.

From the synopsis I knew it would take a lot of faith in the storyline for me to enjoy this one. I absolutely love Titanic novels even though it was such a tragedy, there is something about it that I love to continue to explore in novels. The major issue with this plot point is that of a pig farmer's daughter impersonating a wealthy young lady in a very wealthy first class on the Titanic, with only two weeks 'training'. As a pig farmer's daughter, Tessa apparently has only tended to pigs and barely left the farm in her life so the believability factor is a major stretch. Impersonating the well-bred Jacquie, it is amazing that Tessa is able to form intelligent words and mingle with the best of the best who are traveling on the epic Titanic.

Tessa is impersonating Jacquie so that Jacquie can stay behind to marry Peter, Tessa's brother. Peter is the gardener at Jacquie's estate, and even though Jacquie should be engaged to a very eligible and sweet young man, she follows her heart and sends Tessa on the Titanic so that Jacquie can stay behind with Peter. Of course, the fact that a beautiful high society London girl falls in love with a lowly gardener is yet another unlikely thing to happen in real life. She hides her intentions from her parents, so while the story follows Tessa's journey to riches on the Titanic, we also follow Jacquie's possible path to eventual rags.

Ignoring the incredulity of the plot in itself, the events on the ship and the people described were all well done. There were several conversations with crew members and the staff of the Titanic offering details of the Titanic adding to the atmosphere which tingled with excitement. The normal mentions of the famous people aboard such as the Astor's and the Straus' were here as well, along with an eccentric fashion designer Edith Russell.

Jacquie sits at a hotel waiting for Peter to visit her, while on the Titanic Tessa-now-Jacquie catches the eye of Nathan Patterson, the same scripture quoting man who had admired the real Jacquie once before. He notices immediately their eyes are different shades, and another man Tessa-now-Jacquie meets remarks on this as well, but she somehow is able to reassure the men. Nathan's character offers a side story as well, with the odd relationship of his mother and another gentleman which offers a bit of mystery.

The total amount of believability required of a reader such as myself renders this story a bit contrived. There were no faults with the author's writing or the tone, and I really wanted to like this one, but I couldn't bring myself to feel invested in the characters, probably because of the improbability of the basis of the story. The plot twists of who will end up with whom were what kept me reading, and the emotionally charged ending with the sinking ship was my favorite part of the book. The awakening of faith in a merciful God for Tessa was another theme, so there is a strong Christian element with both Tessa's and Nathan's character and I only mention it for those who were strictly looking for a Titanic themed novel. Those who do not like the preachy tones of Christian novels will certainly get a dose of preachiness from another traveler who acts as a bit of a confessional for Tessa and Nathan.

I am intrigued by the American Tapestry series that Summerside Press has created: novels that focus on epic moments of our history such as the Oregon Trail, and an upcoming novel on the Alamo. Queen of The Waves has been well received in the historical romance market, and you can follow along the blog tour to gauge differing opinions. If you can easily get past the improbability of the rags to riches storyline, this could be an exciting romance set amongst a tantalizing setting of the great ship Titanic.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books (formerly The Printed Page) where book lovers share the titles they received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Mailbox Monday is now on tour, and May's host is Martha @ Martha’s Bookshelf

This week I could not ignore the hype, no matter how hard I tried, even though this is YA which I do not normally read:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (See a review at the Historical Novel Society)
I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.


This one is another I couldn't resist requesting,
 The Wild Princess, by Mary Hart Perry(novel about Queen Victoria’s “wild child” daughter, Princess Louise, July 2012)
The marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert produced nine children—five of them princesses, all trained for the role of marriage to future monarchs. However, the fourth princess, Louise—later the duchess of Argyll—became known by the court as “the wild one.” She fought the constraints placed on her brothers and sisters. She broke with tradition by marrying outside of the elite circle of European royals at a time when no child of the English throne had wed a commoner in 300 years. Some said she married for love. Others whispered of scandal covered up by the Crown.

In fact, many years after Louise’s death, a civil lawsuit claimed that the teenage princess secretly gave birth to a baby boy out of wedlock. One Henry Locock sought to prove through DNA evidence that his grandfather was Louise’s child, delivered by Queen Victoria’s gynecologist then secretly adopted by the doctor’s young son and his wife, thereby avoiding scandal and preserving the line of succession to the throne. But the mysteries and drama involving Louise’s life don’t stop there...This is her story.

I kept seeing this one at various Mailbox Monday blogs last week, so again I could not resist snagging a copy for myself:
Hearts That Survive by Yvonne Lehman (Free Kindle download!) In April 1912, Lydia Beaumont is on her way to a new life with a boundless hope, against all that Craven Dowd desires for her and himself. Her friendship with Caroline Chadwick deepens as they plan Lydia’s wedding on board the “grandest ship ever built.” Then both women suffer tragic losses when the “unsinkable” Titanic collides with an iceberg and there are only 20 lifeboats for 2207 passengers. They struggle to keep their families and dreams together.

Decades later, Caroline’s granddaughter, working at the museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, plans for the 50th memorial for the sinking and contacts survivors and descendants of survivors. Alan Morris feels like a failure until he discovers he is the descendant of an acclaimed novelist who lost his life when the Titanic sank. He becomes caught up in finding his identity in the past and must come to terms with his present and the meaning of true success.

Characters struggle to answer whether love is more powerful than the pain of loss and learn what it means for a heart to survive.


For Review, I received two huge galley manuscript things which are going to be so annoying to lug around. These are apparent reissues from the nineties which I wasn't aware of either when I accepted for review (which brings on a whole new discussion of why I do not want to review for publishers any longer):

Two Crosses by Elizabeth Musser
The glimmering Huguenot cross she innocently wears leads her deep into the shadows. When Gabriella Madison arrives in France in 1961 to continue her university studies, she doesn’t anticipate being drawn into the secretive world behind the Algerian war for independence from France. The further she delves into the war efforts, the more her faith is challenged. The people who surround her bring a whirlwind of transforming forces—a wise nun involved in the smuggling, a little girl carrying secret information, and a man with unknown loyalties who captures her heart. When she discovers a long hidden secret from her past, it all leads to questions about trust, faith in action, and the power of forgiveness to move beyond the pain of the past.

Two Testaments by Elizabeth Musser

It's the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and so here comes my second read this year set against that sad voyage. So much hope and promise for the record breaking steamliner, and so much horrifying tragedy. Tricia Goyer uses this event as a mere background to a story of a young woman looking for her life's direction while making the journey from England to America. Amelia is a lover and a romantic, who sees the goodness in everyone from the stewards to the first class occupants. Her faith in God is unwavering as she seeks his guidance on who to choose to love, because she only has a few days to make this decision.

She is on her way to meet a potential husband in America, Mr. Chapman, who paid for her voyage. However, while on the Titanic Amelia meets Quentin Walpole, a drifter in need of her help, and his brother Damian who wants to control everything around him, including Amelia. Amelia must not have had much male attention before the voyage, as she fawns in the glory of being admired for her beauty and kindness throughout most of the novel. She continually aks God, 'Who is the man for me? Show me a sign....' as she struggles to decide whether wealth and financial security equates to happiness and stability, or could she perhaps let love lead the way.

And then of course, towards the end of the novel... the mighty ship sinks, taking with it icons of the time. In Amelia's world, who is left standing? And patiently waiting, there is always Mr. Chapman, the one who she thought she wanted to marry before she met the Walpole brothers on the Titanic. While this is a relatively short book at 320 pages, Tricia Goyer does a good job of immersing us in the story with historical details of the Titanic, writing seamlessly from one point of view to the other as we shift from the fictional Amelia to Quentin periodically. Quentin and Amelia each have some discoveries to make about themselves, and their souls as they both have to overcome personal obstacles in order to move away from the hurts of their past.  Predominantly featured in this historical romance is the prodigal son theme and upstairs-downstairs nuances as we witness that tragedy and grief effects all of God's creatures whether they are in third class or first class. Interesting enough, the novel takes place during a short period of time, leaving room for a sequel if the author desires. It would be interesting to follow the story of the Gladstone and the Walpole family to see how they cope after the tragedy of the Titanic.

Tricia Goyer is a Christian Fiction author, and her novels are geared towards this audience.  Although many of my historical reads lately have been inspirational themed, this is definitely one of those that threads the theme of faith and spirituality throughout the novel. The author ends her novel with the lyrics to the song that was popular in 1909, By the Light of the Silvery Moon. To see how this compares to the other Titanic novel I read this year, read my review of The Dressmaker, and The Queen of the Waves.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books (formerly The Printed Page) where book lovers share the titles they received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the past week. Mailbox Monday is now on tour, and this month’s host is Cindy's Love of Books. 
I've got some 'splaining to do.. said in my best Lucy and Ricky imitations.. somehow I just cannot stop myself from requesting all sorts of books...it's a spring fever!
For Review:
Veil of Pearls (July 2012) by MaryLu Tyndall

The sequel to Beguiling Dreams......Before America's entry into World War I, The American Field Service organized to help bleeding France. In thankfulness for France's aid during the Revolutionary War, young American males volunteered as ambulance drivers to repay their country's debt. Henry 'Hoop' Braddock is one such man. He and the boys of Section Two drive Model T ambulances, and are 'En Repos,' a unit awaiting assignment. One day, in a crowded, smoke-filled canteen in Bar-le-Duc, Hoop meets Kyla Laurens, a Scottish nurse. Her violet-colored eyes burn into his heart, branding him. As fate would have it, Hoop and Kyla end up serving at the same chateau-turned-hospital while the bloody battle to save Verdun ensues. At first, Hoop has precious little time to spend with Kyla due to the German attack. Instead, his time is spent driving his ambulance, all the while hearing the gruesome and touching detailed accounts of the fighting from injured soldiers riding in his cab. But later, once the pressure is off, a romance between Hoop and Kyla begins to flourish. Yet will experiences from Kyla's past prove fatal to their relationship?

A tale of love and espionage from the author of Midwife of the Blue Ridge...
She spies for General Washington, betrays the Redcoats and battles for America's independence...
It's 1777, and a fledgling country wages an almost hopeless struggle against the might of the British Empire. Brought together by a fateful kiss, Anne Merrick and Jack Hampton are devoted to each other and to their Patriot cause. As part of Washington's daring network of spies, they are ready and willing to pay even the ultimate price for freedom.
From battlefields raging along the Hudson, to the desperate winter encampment at Valley Forge and through the dangerous intrigue of British-occupied Philadelphia, Anne and Jack brave the trials of separation, the ravages of war and an unyielding enemy growing ever more ruthless.
For love and for country, all is put at risk-and together the pair must call upon their every ounce of courage and cunning in order to survive.

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott (pseudonym for Patricia O'Brien)
Doubleday February 21st 2012
ISBN13: 9780385535588
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 3.5 stars for Enjoyable read

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she's had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.

On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period's glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.

This is the story of Tess Collins who is eager to leave her life as a maid behind in England. She has talent at being a seamstress with an eye for design, and as she looks for a new life in America she conveniently bumps into one of the biggest designers of her time, Lady Lucile Duff Gordon. They both sail together to America on the Titanic, where Tess is immediately thrust into the world of haves and have-nots. She finds herself stuck somewhere in between, with two men from opposite ends of the social class who take notice of Tess.

While Tess tries to piece together what she is capable of and where she belongs, she is at the beck and call of the imperious Lady Duff Gordon. Lady Duff Gordon is the epitome of a snobbish shrew with a dash of psychosis tendencies, with a husband who does nothing to improve upon this picture. Tess realizes their duplicity but she struggles with the fact that this woman is the only one who can immediately offer Tess a dream come true.

However, the aftermath of the Titanic must be dealt with as inquiries and testimony are required from the survivors. What happened on Lifeboat One is one of the most scandalous and newsworthy topics, as it is rumored that the Duff Gordons bribed the men on their lifeboat as they sailed to safety, not allowing any stragglers from oily blackness of the sea on their boat. And covering all of the news is Times reporter Pinky, a name I detested, as she was deserving of much more. Pinky was the character who strung them all together, from Tess to the crewmen and the rest of the personal stories she covered, who had a side story of her own.

A strong plot line and always an intriguing historical event is the fate of the Titanic. The Dressmaker has a lot to live up to, and even though some of the characters bear the factual names of those in reality, the driving force of the story is the romance between Tess and her wishy-washiness between her two loves. I cannot think of anything to complain of writing-wise, but the characters that the author created surrounding this tragic event could have used a bit more fleshing out. While there is still a lot of potential for this debut author, this is the one story that could have been treated as an epic saga given all the famous notables and the look at human nature in the face of tragedy (as well as corporate cover up, etc). With the many lives lost on the Titanic, this should have been a story that pulled at my heart and make me go through a box of tissues, but instead it was simply what the titles implies, a story of a dressmaker. And even with the hope for something more, I did enjoy the dressmaker's story as it was set against that intriguing backdrop of the Titanic with a broad spectrum of characters.

I also wanted to add that I had read another review before reading the book which stated there were French phrases, or conversations, which encumbered her enjoyment of the book. I was so looking forward to these French phrases, but I remember only seeing two.

I read Danielle Steel's No Greater Love back in the '90s which was my first real intro to the Titanic, and I remember being deeply moved by it, reading it several times. Then of course came the blockbuster film with DeCaprio. What novel would you recommend that really knocked your socks off that was set against the Titanic? I would love to read more about it and the real people aboard the ship, and I need your help finding that story, as The Dressmaker didn't fulfill that need for me. Edited to add that I found out after the fact that Patricia O'Brien actually wrote this.. and knowing that, I am even just a bit disappointed. She needs to dig a little deeper and pull out some real emotions on these big topics. I know she can do it!