The series is best described as “American Girl for grown-ups.” Based on actual historical events, each of the five novels is set in a different state: Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and New York. Navigating the Heart, like the other books in the series, tells the story of a union between two nations, two missions, and two hearts.
Navigating the Heart
In the first book of the series, Astrid Skaar embarks on a rescue mission to save her father, famed Norwegian explorer Erik Skaar, who is engaged in a race to the North Pole. Her journey takes her in search of Lars Torvek, the one shipbuilder who can build a triple-hull vessel. When she arrives in the Port of Duluth, Minnesota, his employer, Sebastian Laroque, refuses to allow her to buy Mr. Torvek out of his commission. Astrid is unwittingly drawn into Sebastian's secret life that includes a political battle, polite society, a government bribe and the Ojibwe land conflict. Her hope goes up in flames when Tom Nelson, Sebastian's adversary, burns her newly constructed ship. Defeated and adrift, She seeks the counsel of her female mentors who wisely challenge her to find an inner route to faith. Astrid returns to the shipyard with newfound purpose to find Sebastian has resurrected the half-destroyed ship along with her trust. When she finally sets sail for the North Pole, her crew includes two Norwegian sailors, one romantically inclined lumber baron, a recently married Ojibwe couple and her self-appointed chaperones. Together they cut through the polar ice to rescue Astrid's father who relieved and happy, pronounces the eager couple man and wife.
