Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult, Christian
Genre: Romance, Mystery
Content: Clean


It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war. Outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. Back on shore, Boston Navy Yard secretary Mary Stirling does her work quietly and efficiently, happy to be out of the limelight. Yet, despite her reserved nature, she never could back down from a challenge. When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is found, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges--and dangers--await them.

Sarah Sundin takes readers to the tense months before the US entered WWII. Readers will encounter German U-boats and torpedoes, along with the explosive power of true love, in this hopeful and romantic story.

Through Waters Deep is a light romance/mystery. There were some Christian elements to it as well, which at times I liked and at other times I thought was a little heavy handed. What I liked most about this book was the time period. I've always been interested in the 1940s, especially during WWII. I've seen countless movies from that time period, but have not read many books from it or about it, so it was interesting to read about what was going on just before the U.S. entered WWII.

Although this book was mostly fictional, there were a few aspects of it that were pulled from real events. I thought the conflicting opinions about entering the war were very well drawn, and the tension felt very real. The mystery of the saboteur was pretty easy to figure out, although there were a few red herrings thrown in, only one of them fooled me into believing that person was involved.

The romance between Mary and Jim was sweet and I liked that it was a slow building one, at least up until the point Quintessa comes to town. The book went downhill for a while after that. I didn't really see the need to throw that obstacle in the way. Mary's going overboard with the pride thing and being a martyr for her friend annoyed me, even though I could understand why she thought the way she did. Jim's not speaking up about his feelings for Mary annoyed me as well. I wanted to shake both Mary and Jim a couple of times. I mean oh my gosh, JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER! At a couple of points I felt like throwing my Kindle against the wall. This is the reason I couldn't give this book 4 stars.

Like most romance novels, this one is part of a companion series. I plan on reading the second book, which features Jim's best friend Arch and his sister Lillian.



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