Anchor In The Storm By Sarah Sundin

Lillian Avery has a lot counting against her.

I mean, she is a girl trying to make it as a pharmacist in Boston. A girl with a prosthetic leg. A girl who doesn’t show her emotions enough, or so her sister tells her. A girl who asks far too many questions, or so her employer tells her.

Which makes her the perfect person to uncover the secrets of a unseen, but very profitable drug ring right there in Boston.

She unintentionally brings her brother’s best friend Arch Vanderberg along for the ride after he discovers effects of the drug ring aboard his own ship in the Navy. The world is at war for the second time and they can’t afford to have anything slowing them down with U-boats on the attack.

But they find the dangers they’re hunting down are far closer than they ever imagined . . .

This. This book. I’ve read a handful of Sarah Sundin’s books by now, and this may be my favorite of hers so far. Lots of things brought me there.

First off, I LOVE Lillian’s character. Finally, a female character who doesn’t just burst into tears at any sight of trouble. As someone who personally doesn’t show her emotions easily, I related a lot to her. Lillian’s fear that she’s cold-hearted because of the way her sister treats her and the fact that she doesn’t show her emotions easily struck me very deep as well. I loved how she found at the end that just because she has strong opinions doesn’t make her any less worthy and any less of a lady. Definitely a strong female protagonist that I could root for. (And her lack of melodrama about her leg! I love it!)

Another character that grabbed me was actually Warren Palonsky. Even though he was just a side character, I went from being unsure what exactly he was about to rooting for him to help Arch succeed in his mission. I’ll try not to give away the ending, but his tragic end made me so sad . . . I may or may not have theories about how it didn’t actually happen.

I loved how she portrayed anxiety and PTSD so realistically and sensitively. I enjoyed seeing Arch work through it and eventually overcome it.

All in all, the whole cast was really well done from main characters to side characters and everyone in between. Their relationships added a good layer of tension to the plot.

And speaking of the plot! Wow! I had a hard time tearing myself away from it. The battle at sea and the battle on land against an unseen drug ring wove together seamlessly. I loved that Lillian was actually part of the active investigation. I had actually suspected the main culprit at the beginning of the book, but then the author had completely talked me out of him as the villain until . . . wham! Surprise! He was the villain all along! It was amazing.

I loved the ending, too. Life didn’t just get to go on as normal. (tries to find a way to explain without spoilers) The characters’ lives were drastically changed, but they found a way to live with a new normal (as opposed to floofy happily ever after where nothing changes and everybody gets along perfectly). I mean, I’m not against floofy happily ever afters, but I don’t think it would have fit this story, and it was a nice addition. Because real life doesn’t always tie up perfectly.

So there you have it. Anchor in the Storm is worth weighing down your anchor for a few hours and diving in.