The Captain's Bride by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Title: The Captain’s Bride (Northern Lights #1)

Author:  Lisa Tawn Bergren

Genre: Historical Fiction

Type: Trade Paperback

ISBN: 9781578560134

Source: Review copy from Blogging for Books

Published: WaterBrook Press; Reprint edition (June 2, 2009)

Synopsis of book: Elsa Anders's dream of marrying Peder Ramstad is about to come true. But as this independent, strong-willed woman discovers her own creative gifts--a love for travel, painting, and the sea--can she find happiness with a captain who insists upon leaving her safely on shore?
Leaving their home in Norway behind, Elsa and Peder embark on a new life in  with their closest friends, including: Kaatje Jansen, a woman seeking a new beginning for the sake of her marriage and for the child growing within her; Elsa's sister Tora, a sly young vixen who knows exactly what she wants--and exactly how to get it; and Karl Martensen, a man torn between his friendship for Peder and a forbidden, secret love for Elsa, a man tormented by emotions that threaten to ruin them all.
From the gentle hills of Bergen, Norway, to the rocky coast of Camden, Maine, and across the crashing, danger-filled waves of the open sea--experience an epic saga of perseverance and passion, faith and fidelity, in the Northern Lights series: the historical series by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Why I read this book: I was given this book by Blogging for Books to read and give an honest review. I also enjoy historical fiction so the book stood out to me.

What I didn’t like: That now I have to buy the next in the series to continue on with this historical saga. Just kidding I know that is not a bad thing right.

What I did like: I enjoyed the time period of this book as that is one of my favorite times to read about. I also enjoyed that it starts out in Norway as I have a lot of Norwegian heritage and am always looking for books that take place there or have to do with Norwegians.

Overall Impression: This book is full of very strong characters. We start out in Norway and then journey over the high seas to the new land: America – to start life anew. I think the author did a good job of making the characters seem very real as they faced situations that happen in everyday life. One of my favorite characters was Tora – she knew what she wanted and she knew what she had to do to get it. I liked that she was so stubborn that she got on the boat even though she was told she could not go. It took me a short time to get into the book but once I got going it was hard to stop. I will continue on with this series so I can find out what happens next to this cast of characters. "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review." I give this book 4 stars.

Here is a link for you to try out the first chapter of this book: Chapter 1 of The Captain's Bride