Book Review: Anchor in the Storm

Anchor in the Storm. Sarah Sundin. 2016. Revell. 400 pages. [Review copy]

Sarah Sundin is without a doubt one of my favorite, favorite authors. Mind you, not one of my favorite, favorite "Christian" authors, but one of my favorite authors. She writes historical fiction set around the time of the Second World War.

Anchor in the Storm is the second book in the Waves of Freedom Series. In the first book readers meet Mary Stirling and Jim Avery. In the second book, readers meet Jim's sister, Lillian, and get reacquainted with Jim's friend, Arch. Lillian is a pharmacist--an almost unheard of profession for a woman in 1941--excited about her new job in Boston, she'll be moving in with Mary. (Lillian is one of Mary's many roommates. The third book, I believe, will focus on another of her roommates.)

The book opens dramatically enough with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. That is with the Avery family learning of the bombing and the declaration of war. Jim and Arch are Navy men. They've already seen plenty of action at sea, and, now that war has openly begun, the horrors will only increase. One of the things I appreciate about Sundin's novel--besides the obvious romance and mystery--is the realism.
The problem addressed in the novel is this: the men are suffering--mentally, emotionally, psychologically--because of what they've seen, because of what they've done, because they are always, always on high alert, because awake or asleep some things can't be forgotten. But. That isn't the whole problem. The problem is that the men feel the absolute need to keep quiet about it, feel the need to hide it, ignore it. If the men speak up, they could be dismissed or discharged; they could be labeled weak or coward by other men. Their careers could be over.

So that is where the mystery comes in....how the men secretly cope with their problems...

And this mystery helps Lillian and Arch work through some of their issues. Both Lillian and Arch are flawed, some might even say deeply flawed. And that's another reason I liked this one....

Did I like it, or, did I love it? I definitely LOVED it. But there was one scene--or perhaps even two or three scenes--where I was HORRIBLY ANGRY at Arch and was YELLING at him.

But for the most part, I liked it very much indeed!!!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible