Starred review from December 8, 2014
Contemporary romance novelist Ford (Her Best Bet) steps back in time with a sweeping historical love story that hits all the marks. In 1846, Ireland withers under a devastating potato famine while its indifferent English masters stand by. Kathleen Deacey reluctantly sails to Canada to find work to support her family and search for her missing fiancé. But when she’s tossed overboard by a storm, it’s an Englishman, Capt. Jack Montgomery, who rescues her and provides safe passage as his whaling ship heads home to Boston. Alone and terrified by her family’s plight, Kathleen must accept help from a man who symbolizes everything she despises—and with whom she’s reluctantly falling in love. Pacing the plot for maximum tension, Ford skillfully conveys the anguish and fury of not only her heroine, but all the struggling Irish both at home and abroad. She delivers genuine heat by teasing out the passion between her protagonists. Ford has made a deeply satisfying foray into new territory.