The Breath Between Waves by Charlotte Anne Hamilton- a Review

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Google Play / Apple

Description:
Penelope Fletcher gave up everything to board the RMS Titanic.

Forced to travel to America for her father’s new job, Penelope left her home in Scotland, her beloved grandmother, and even her girlfriend, who promptly got engaged to someone else. Heartbroken, Penelope isn’t looking forward to the weeklong journey. Or that her parents want her to find a husband in America. To make matters worse, she also has to share a cabin with a complete stranger.

Ruby Cole, her spunky Irish roommate, is unlike anyone Penelope ever met. They become fast friends as they bond over crushing family expectations and sneaking into lush parties together. That Ruby likes women, too, comes as a surprise to Penelope, but she knows their affair can only be temporary. Because as soon as the Titanic arrives in New York, Penelope will have to marry someone of her father’s choosing.

Before long, though, they’ll both have to decide what–and who–is really worth fighting for.

Review:

The Breath Between Waves by Charlotte Anne Hamilton begins with Penelope Fletcher and her family boarding the RMS Titanic.  Penelope has had to leave her home in Scotland and those she loves behind.  Her father has accepted a job in America and both of her parents expect her to find a husband soon.  Neither of those things is what she wants to do.  To add insult to injury, she must share a cabin on the ship with someone she doesn’t even know.

As Penelope is starting to unpack, her roommate, Ruby Cole, comes into their shared cabin.  Penelope is instantly drawn to Ruby.  The two young ladies become fast friends as they navigate the ship together and spend more and more time together.  Penelope finds herself attracted to Ruby and to her relief, she finds out that Ruby likes women as well.  As they develop feelings for each other, tragedy hits and the two of them get separated not knowing if the other has survived the sinking of the unsinkable ship.

The Breath Between Waves is a creative retelling of the Titanic story.  Both main characters were well written, as were the secondary characters.  The instant (and I do mean instant!) attraction that Penelope had for Ruby was a bit much for me, but I did enjoy them getting to know more about each other.  If I’m being honest, there’s a lot of Jack and Rose in the second half of the book.  With the parties they attended and trying to keep their affair a secret took me back to those scenes in the actual movie.  With all of that said, I did enjoy the book.  If you’re a fan of the genre, as well as stories about the Titanic, you’ll certainly enjoy it as well.

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Publisher