A Daring Venture

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A Daring Venture
Elizabeth Camden
Bethany House Publishers

As a biochemist in early 1900s New York, Doctor Rosalind Werner has dedicated her life to the crusade against water-borne diseases. She is at the forefront of a groundbreaking technology that will change the way water is delivered to every household in the city--but only if she can get people to believe in her work. 

Newly appointed Commissioner of Water for New York Nickolas Drake is highly skeptical of Rosalind and her team's techniques. When a brewing court case throws him into direct confrontation with her, he is surprised by his reaction to the lovely scientist.

While Rosalind and Nick wage a private war against their own attraction, they stand firmly on opposite sides of a battle that will impact far more than just their own lives. As the controversy grows more public and inflammatory and Rosalind becomes the target of an unknown enemy, these two rivals will face higher stakes than they ever could have known. 

     I'm always drawn to Elizabeth Camden's books because of the unusual historical twists her stories take-they always center around forgotten or obscure historical events/occupations. Unfortunately, I feel like of late I haven't been enjoying her novels as much. The historical settings haven't disappointed me yet, but the characters and plots of her last couple of books haven't really worked for me. A Daring Venture and I certainly got off on the wrong foot; it started off with a shot of insta-love (never a favorite of mine) and when the characters were already kissing by chapter four, I had a bad feeling that this book and I weren't going to get along.

     In the end, things got better for us. Thankfully, that early kiss wasn't a sign that the story would be full of kissing, and the instant attraction did set up for the ultimate conflict of the book. Still, I never really "shipped" Rosalind and Nick. I liked them well enough by themselves, but I always seemed to like them less when they were together. I also wasn't a fan of the conflict between the characters (not just Rosalind and Nick) throughout the novel. This is definitely a personal preference; it just happened to be a type of inter-personal conflict that stresses me out and makes me angry, and so I had a hard time enjoying the novel because of it.

     While this book ultimately wasn't a favorite of mine, once I got past the first hump, I got more invested in the story. Still, if I would be to recommend it, it would be more for the historical context than anything else.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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