Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden

Anna O’Brien loves her job as the map librarian at The Library of Congress. And like any good librarian, when she stumbles upon an error in the records of a Navy ship, she endeavors to right the error–at the consternation and frustration of the Navy. Her quiet and humble existence is her life–one she is happy living. Then she meets Luke Callahan, an outspoken and charismatic congressman from Maine who pushes his way into the safety and comfort of her map room. The attraction on Luke’s part is almost instantaneous. Anna and Luke are opposites in so many areas of their lives but Anna comes to consider Luke a friend and turns to him to help solve the mystery of what really happened to that Navy ship.

There is a lot going on in this book–they mystery of the ship, the politics Luke’s involved in as well as his family history, Anna’s best friend and her job–but all of it keeps the story moving. A little twist in the historical romance genre, Luke proclaims his love fairly early in the book but so many obstacles are thrown in front of them, you keep turning the page, keep hoping something will turn the tide to bring Anna and Luke together in the end. There are a lot of politics in this book but it’s necessary for the story line. I’m fascinated by Washington DC and the one time I’ve visited it was only for a twenty-four period so I never made it to The Library of Congress but after reading Beyond All Dreams, it’s on my list for my next visit.

****Bethany House Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I was not compensated in any way for either a negative or a positive review.