Ship of Dreams by Donna Jones Alward

 

Publisher: Harper360

On Sale Date: March 31 2026

Pages: 384

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

1912; Hannah and Louisa are two young women and best friends who just boarded the biggest ship of that time period; the Titanic. Hannah is hoping her troubled marriage with her husband Charles, which got in trouble after her Charles was untrue to her, and after she got a miscarriage, will heal again. She hopefully can tell him she is expecting a baby again.

Louisa is a free spirited single women who is all into women's (voting) rights and is escaping her arranged marriage in England. On the Titanic, she meets the rich and handsome bachelor Reid and a romance starts between them. She meets the richest first class passengers like Margareth Brown. Things take a darker turn though when rumour spreads that expensive jewels from the first class passengers are missing. It seems someone opens the clasps of expensive necklaces and bracelets. Later on we learn this was the work of Louisa, who has no plan of what she will do when they arrive in New York, as she now escaped her marriage back in England that her father planned for her.

But all of a sudden everything falls apart when the Titanic hits the iceberg. On the deck of the ship, Hannah has to say farewell to Charles and Louisa to Reid, and both women do not know if the other survived until later on when they are reunited on the Carpathia. And they make plans for what to do after they arrive in New York..

I really liked the storyline of Ship of Dreams. During the progress of the story I started to like it more and more. The storyline is just fabulous, entertaining, and the end was without any loose ends. The characters are just as good as the storyline. You can totally picture Hanna and Louisa and the other characters on the Titanic in that specific time period. The part before the Titanic hits the iceberg is very movie like romantic and dramatic. I really liked all the first class things that where mentioned, the famous first class passengers that they've met and the storyline of the stolen jewels that popped up in the story all of a sudden. The part after that was, which was to be expected, very dramatic. As an expecting mother Hannah had to say farewell to her husband and Louisa to her love interest. Their time on the Carpathia was very moving, and the part after that too.

Overall, a very entertaining and captivating novel with interesting main and side characters that is a joy to read, recommended!