St. Michaels Harbor - Paperback

by Hannah Westley (Author)

Two souls so strongly connected that nothing can separate them, not distance, death, or time. It's a strong bond that those two souls will always search for each other; this is the premise for the three-part series RETURN TO YOU, starting with the first novel, ST. MICHAEL'S HARBOR.

It follows Hope, a young woman who lives in St. Michaels, Maryland, in 1813. The town still shudders with the effects and threats of war from the British. Struggling with grief after typhoid claims her mom and siblings, Hope crosses paths with the Piscataway-English worker, Jacob, whom her father hires to work in the family shipyard. Caught off guard by the comfort, safety, and love his presence offers, a unique relationship ignites. Jacob binds their two souls together in an ancient Native American ritual, pledging always to return to her in this life or the next.

But Hope's father plans for her to marry Simon, a greedy local whose only intention in marrying Hope is to gain ownership of the family's prosperous shipyard. Jacob gains favor and status when he proposes a plan to save their small town from an impending attack by the British. The city famously fools the British by hanging lanterns in the trees, diverting all enemy fire overhead, and missing the town completely.

Overcome with jealousy, Simon plots to have Jacob killed, and Hope's Father blackmailed, hoping that her father will have no choice but to demand that she marry Simon to save his and the shipyard's reputation.

Will Jacob and Hope's love prove strong enough to break through their time's deep-rooted racial norms and societal expectations? Or will they be forced to break apart?