BOOK REVIEW: The Sailor without a Sweetheart by Katherine Grant

Katherine Grant’s The Sailor without a Sweetheart is an angsty, steamy, second-chance Regency Romance set within the context of Britain’s (half-hearted?) attempts to end the slave trade.

Nate Preston is a captain in the Royal Navy whose remit is to capture foreign ships transporting enslaved people and free them. However, he is back on land, waiting for a court martial trial for being too vigorous in the pursuit of such ships.

Amy Lampugh is a twenty-eight year old gentlewoman seen by one and all as a spinster, destined to serve as nanny/governess to her younger sister’s children. She suffers from a goiter (enlarged thyroid and symptoms of hyperthyroidism) that has left her feeling older than her age and afraid she looks older too. 

Six years earlier, Nate and Amy (pre-illness) were in love. When Amy’s father refused permission for them to marry, they decided to elope. But on the night that they’d planned to run away together, Amy didn’t show up, breaking Nate’s heart. Knowing Nate would be away at sea for months at a time, she realized she had no resources to fall back on if her father disowned her, which he certainly would.

Now, Amy and Nate find themselves thrown together at her sister’s house, an estate near Portsmouth. Nate and his uncle are in Portsmouth to await Nate’s trial. This unexpected reunion forces them to confront the fact that they still have strong feelings for one another. But with so much heartbreak in their past, with Amy’s chronic illness, and with Nate’s career hanging in the balance, can they find their way back to one another?

This is the fifth book in The Prestons series, following The Charmer without a Cause. This is a delightful series with historical depth!