Tattered Innocence is the story of Rachel Martin and Jake Murray, both a little broken by their personal lives. Rachel, needing an escape from her life, sets out of find a job that will take her anywhere but here. She applies for a job as first mate on Jake’s boat, the Smyrna Queen. Rachel is not impressed by Jake at their first meeting, he seems rude and standoffish. Not one to let an opportunity pass though, she hopes for the best and does end up getting the job, mostly due to Jake’s lack of other options.
Jake is coming out of a long term relationship/engagement himself and basically has no idea where he’s going now. His fiancée, Gabrielle, has decided she wants a different life in Arizona while he’s left heartbroken and alone on the other side of the country. In comes Rachel, and the rest is history. Kindof.
I did not think I’d enjoy this book, I would say on the list of things I would normally not choose to read, Christian fiction is pretty close to the top, right below biology text books and possibly emails from my boss. I didn’t hate it though, actually. The story didn’t get too preachy, but there were definitely “God’s plan” references, etc. which I didn’t mind too much because they were not on every single page, but some people might not even want that which is perfectly fine, to each his own! Rachel and Jake are not by any stretch “perfect” and that makes them real and likable. Rachel was sarcastic in the face of adversity, which is good, I don’t think I’d be the stoic type either. She made the best of her situation and it worked out for her. I will admit, I did not like Bret and didn’t understand her inability to get over him initially, but I was glad she came to her sense. Also, the sailing term glossary was a bit daunting, but I skipped it and don’t think I missed out on any nuances because of that.
The only semi-frustrating thing I found with this book was I felt it was too wordy at times. Yeah, you definitely did get the whole picture, but sometimes I felt like no one could just DO anything; it always had to be accompanied by a lot of adjectives and adverbs. Lots of ads, basically!
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this book and glad I gave it a shot. Jake and Rachel aren’t my typical fare, and maybe the freshness of it made me like it more, but whatever, that’s fine! Give it a read if you like new adult type romance, Christian fiction or just need a light read.
(reviewed 9 days after purchase)