Book Review + Giveaway: Shipwrecked Faith by Danielle Grandinetti

Danielle Grandinetti writes award-winning 1930s historical romance filled with mystery, suspense, and hope. She is a second-generation Italian-American rooted in Midwest traditions. Fueled by tea, books, and the creative beauty of nature, her stories explore love and belonging in hard times.

Connect with Danielle by visiting daniellegrandinetti.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

<i>Shipwrecked Faith</i> is another marvelous work of historical fiction from Danielle Grandinetti. If she wasn’t on my favorite authors list before, she is now.

Sadie left a difficult situation in her hometown, ostensibly to work and send money back to support her family. When she gets word that her father is ill, she knows it’s time to return.

Kellan has grown up under his cousin’s protection after his parents died. As he’s gotten older, he’s realized his cousin is not a nice man, and he’s finally turned evidence over to the police that will get his cousin locked up for a good long while. But as he’s making his escape, Sadie stumbles into his path, chased by some of his cousin’s henchmen. He puts himself in harm’s way to protect Sadie, and once he knows of her situation, he promises to see her safely home.

Sadie and Kellan are both wonderfully written characters. Each has things in their past that they’ve tried to run from. But in spite of past challenges, neither of them has let life make them hard or bitter. Kellan reaches out to save Sadie from her pursuers even at the expense of his clean getaway from his cousin. Sadie clearly has reason not to trust easily, but she finds herself drawn to Kellan and willing to trust that he will keep his word and get her home safe from Chicago. I think they bring out the best in each other, and they both rely on faith to help sustain them.

The secondary characters were well written, too. At first it looked like Marjorie, one of Sadie’s sisters, was going to be thoroughly unlikable. But when life happened to her, and once she and Sadie had a chance to hash things out between them, I liked her a lot better. My heart did hurt for her, losing something she saw as her best option in life and having no idea how things would turn out next. It hurts to lose something you’ve set your eye on, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Marjorie. (Ellis, I hope! There were some sparks flying there, for all she insisted she didn’t like him and wanted nothing to do with him.)

I love that Grandinetti’s books include actual historical events. I always learn something when I read her stories! I had never heard of the wreck of the SS Wisconsin. Kellan and Sadie’s harrowing escape from the sinking ship had me biting my nails waiting to see if they’d come out okay. Grandinetti also writes a good description of the impact of the stock market crash as it unfolded on small communities and small banks, and how that affected people’s lives differently.

This was a five-star book for me. I’m excited that it’s the first in a new series, and I’ll read them all!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from JustRead Publicity Tours and the author. I was not required to leave a review. All opinions are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.