Queen of the Waves: A Review

In a twist of the classic “rich girl falls for the poor boy” tale, Jacqueline asks farm girl Tessa to take her place on the Titanic so that she can elope with the gardener, who happens to be Tessa’s brother. Desperate to escape her abusive father, Tessa agrees, and after a crash course in how to behave like a lady, she boards the ship in pursuit of a better life. When the ship sinks, both women will never be the same.

A longtime fan of Titanic stories, I was eager to read this book and was not disappointed. I found the characters to be engaging and even the side characters were well-developed.  I loved Tessa, the spunky girl who wrestled with pigs and now had to wrestle to get into fancy dresses. The character I wish had more of a storyline is Roland, the man Jacqueline is told to marry, which sparks the identify exchange. Instead of writing him as a mean man Jacqueline must escape, he is a true gentleman and deserving of his own story one day. (Hint, Hint, Jacqueline.)

Because everyone knows what happens with the ship and so many books (both fiction and nonfiction) have been written surrounding the tragedy, it’s hard for readers to find a fresh take on the event. However, Thompson does this beautifully. The well-researched event is written vividly, giving us readers a sense of eagerness, panic, grief, and finally hope that passengers must have felt.

Fans of Christian historical fiction will enjoy this book as well as fans of fiction surrounding the infamous Titanic.

I was given this book in exchange for my review. My thoughts are my own.