Image from Pump Up Your Book
Title: I, Walter
Author: Mike Hartner
Published: 2013 by Eternity4Popsicle Publishing
Genre: Historical Romance, Fiction
Click here to buy I, Walter from Amazon.com
Walter is living in tough times with his family in Elizabethan England. His father thinks things will get better, his parents are constantly at odds with each other about money, and his older brother has left home and is nowhere to be found. Walter decides he’s had enough of this life, and sneaks off to live on his own. He manages to survive by himself, and eventually finds his way onto the ship of the royal navy as a member of the crew. On one of his first trips he finds a kidnapped girl, Maria, on a defeated pirate vessel. He brings her aboard the navy’s ship to safety, and so starts their relationship. Walter continues to rise in ranks in the navy while trying to earn Maria’s fathers approval for marriage by making money and being successful. Walter meets with fortune, loss, and a lot of adventure along the way to win Maria’s hand.
Walter, to me, is the epitome of the perfect person. He is almost too good and rich in luck. Maybe this is because of his poor upbringing, but sometimes in the book I was just like, really? He succeeded again? I guess he just had good instincts and business sense. Another thing that bothered me was how he just up and left his parents one day without a word. I think this bothered me so much because I am a parent, so I would be heartbroken if that happened to me. But times were definitely different back then, and Walter did go back to his parents and make amends. Maybe that was supposed to be the one flaw in his otherwise perfect character.
I also felt that maybe this book was categorized wrong. It’s supposed to be a historical romance, but I felt like it was definitely more of an action adventure book. That’s not a bad thing, just something that I noticed. Walter and Maria were definitely in love, but I felt like it was missing that special spark and feel of a romance novel. The adventure part of the book was much better than the romance, in my opinion.
Now that the negatives were addressed, it honestly was a good book. I bet you weren’t expecting that after all those remarks, but it really is a good story. When I started the book I was planning to go to bed early, but figured I’d start I, Walter and read a few chapters first. All of a sudden it was 1:30 in the morning! The story obviously held my attention, and I really enjoyed Bart, who is a secondary character, the second in command on the ship.
If you’re looking for an adventure on the high sea, pick up I, Walter for a quick, fun, read. I can easily see this book turn into a movie one day.
My Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****
About the Author: 
Mike Hartner is a father, son, author, patriot, geek (ret), and husband. His love of all things genealogical led him to writing, and writing has now led him to fiction and a large epic saga. He lives in Vancouver, BC with his wife and son. His latest book is the historical romance, I, Walter.
Visit his website at www.accidentalauthor.ca.
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