The Lieutenant’s Nurse
Eva Cassidy climbs aboard the steamship SS Lurline with a new name and plans for a fresh start. Recently enlisted as an Army Corps nurse, she is going to join her boyfriend Billy, who is stationed at Pearl Harbor. Hoping to put her troubled past in Michigan behind her, Hawaii seems like the perfect place to start over.
Crossing the ocean on a steamship is not what she expected. The food is sumptuous, the views glorious, and the passengers, including some fellow nurses, are warm and friendly. The most unexpected, however, is the instant connection she feels to the mysterious Lt. Clark Spencer. A friendship quickly turns into something more profound, and Clark confides that he fears an attack on American soil is likely.
Upon landing, Eva tries to forget about Clark but is unable to keep her thoughts from returning to him and their time on the ship. Also troubling her is his warning of a Japanese attack; everyone else says it would never happen, but could they be wrong?
Ackerman has a real talent for writing vivid descriptions and compelling characters. The reader is drawn in alongside Eva on the SS Lurline and experiences her wonder at seeing Hawaii for the first time. These beautiful scenes are sliced through as the attack begins, with the unflinching descriptions of falling bombs and wounded soldiers in the military hospital. Eva is a complex heroine, and even briefly mentioned characters are engaging and add to the story. I’m usually not a fan of romances, but I couldn’t put this one down. Highly recommended.
