"Against the Tide" by Elizabeth Camden
Synopsis:
After a childhood rampant with uncertainty, Lydia Pallas has carved out a perfect life for herself. She spends her days within sight of the bustling Boston Harbor, where her skill with languages has landed her an enviable position as a translator for the U.S. Navy.
Lydia's talents bring her to the attention of Alexander Banebridge, a mysterious man in need of a translator. Driven by a campaign to end the opium trade, Bane is coolly analytical and relentless in his quest. He cannot afford to fall for Lydia and must fight the bittersweet love growing between them.
When Bane's enemies gain the upper hand, he is forced to turn to Lydia for help. Determined to prove her worth, Lydia soon discovers that carrying out Bane's mission will test her wits and her courage to the very limits.
My Review:
As a beautiful work of historical Christian fiction, I consider Elizabeth Camden’s “Against the Tide” to be a great read for all—not just for Christian readers. This book is very well written with fascinating characters and an excellent blend of mystery, suspense, adventure, romance, and redemption.
The development of each character in this book is very well paced. Camden keeps you guessing as the history and motives of each character are slowly unveiled with brilliant timing. Most of the characters have visible flaws, which I really appreciate because this makes them much more realistic, more human.
Bane in particular is such a complex, mysterious, and intriguing character! The Bane you see in the beginning, middle, and end of this story, are all very different. This character is constantly evolving throughout this book and my opinion of him changed drastically from beginning to end, which I love. I believe he has more depth than any other character in this book.
There is also a character that is so inherently evil that reading about him/her made my skin crawl, however this character has an outward appearance to most of a well-educated and highly intelligent individual with a kind disposition, which makes this person even more creepy—a definite wolf in sheep’s clothing. I won’t spoil who this character is, but I will say that this person adds a lot of shock and suspense to this story!
The plot of “Against the Tide” is centered around an opium (a narcotic drug) addiction problem in the U.S. that had led to extreme crime and severe suffering in the late-1800s, and from what I could tell this book is historically accurate. The author really did her research. I found this story especially interesting because the U.S. is facing a very similar problem today with opium addictions.
Outside of some necessary terrors that keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat, this book is clean with no cursing or sexual situations in it, which I really admire the author for. I'm also impressed with how the author blended faith into this story without being overbearing or "preachy," making this book appealing to both believers and nonbelievers.
I finished this book not wanting it to end, and I will undoubtedly be reading it again multiple times in the future.
“Against the Tide” is a very enjoyable and exciting read that I highly recommend.
Notes: This book has one of my favorite book covers! You can find my Goodreads review of "Against the Tide" with my book highlights here.
Credits: The book cover and synopsis seen in this post are courtesy of Amazon.com, and if any of you would like to learn more about Elizabeth Camden and her books, check out her website, ElizabethCamden.com.
Let me know if you've read and enjoyed this book. 🙂
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