On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna König reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home–assuming she survives. She’s heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.
Ship’s carpenter Bairn resents the somber people–dubbed Peculiars by the deckhands–who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him.
Delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?
There can’t be a more exciting account of an ocean crossing by a bunch of Amish people than Anna’s Crossing. It’s fascinating on so many levels – historically, romantically, faithfully, dangerously. I thought that a travel story about the Amish could only be so exciting, and while I was interested in their history when I received the book, I admit to putting off the reading of it for a it – but not for long. Shortly after reading the first page, I read the final one – and all of the other pages in between. I couldn’t put it down. I predicted a few pieces accurately, but there were always twists amidst the details that caught me off guard.
The sea story was a dramatic one, and the suspense of the dangerous voyage was exciting, but my favorite part was the personal story between Anna and Bairn. I enjoyed the emotional journey that Anna was experiencing and the faith journey of Bairn. He had quite a lot of baggage to unpack, and he did so in admirable ways. Their romance increased the interest level of every other aspect of the story. It wasn’t just a fluffy lust story, but instead it went much, much deeper. Their multiple connections, tangled faith, and mutual trust just made the book.
Fisher has definitely written another winner with Anna’s Crossing – each book just keeps getting better.
I received a free copy of Anna’s Crossing from Revell Reads in exchange for an honest review.
What are your thoughts?