About the Book
Book: The Engineered Engagement
Author: Erica Vetsch
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: July 8, 2025
A hidden genius, an ambitious shipbuilder, and a daring deception—can she prove her worth without losing her heart?
Eli Kennebrae plans to revolutionize cargo transportation on the Great Lakes. But his grandfather’s meddling obligates him to an arranged engagement. Though Josie Zahn is kindhearted and strikes his interest, Eli needs an engineer for his ship, not a fiancée.
Josie has admired Eli for years, but to him, she’s just “one of the Zahn girls.” Worse, society expects her to marry, not pursue her passion for mathematics and engineering. If she could only get Eli’s attention, she could help him achieve his goals.
Then “Professor Josephson,” a brilliant mathematical mind, provides the analyses to make Eli’s ship design a reality. As Eli finds unexpected kinship in the professor’s work, he remains unaware of the truth—Josie is the genius behind the numbers. When deception and ambition collide, will Eli see Josie for who she truly is before it’s too late?
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MY REVIEWThis is one of the best bride stories I've read this year. The author has a way of using descriptions that transport the reader to 1900s Minnesota, making it come to life.
The characters reveal both their flaws and their strengths. Josephine is confused by her unique gift in mathematics and working with blueprints, as well as what God's plan for her life is. There is intrigue, danger, betrayal, but also a heart-warming romance. I loved her grandmother's humor, but also her faith in God, which she shares with Josephine. Eli, I liked from the beginning his drive to succeed and his ability to forgive.
I received a complimentary copy from the author; a positive review is not necessary. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Best-selling, award-winning author of The Debutante’s Code, first in the Thorndike & Swann Regency Mystery Series, Erica Vetsch loves Jesus, history, romance, and sports. When she’s not writing fiction, she’s planning her next trip to a history museum.
More from Erica
One of the most frequently asked questions an author gets is “Where do your ideas come from?” The truth is…all over! But for me, the main place that story ideas start is in a museum. I see an artifact or object or hear a story as I wander a museum, and I begin to wonder about the people who used the object or survived the events that led to their story being in a museum.
The Engineered Engagement was inspired by a tour of the Great Lakes cargo ship the Meteor. The Meteor is a whaleback and is on display in Superior, WI, just across the harbor from Duluth, MN where the story is set.
I first toured the Meteor when I was eleven years old…awhile ago now. But many years later my husband and I took our kids to tour this amazing piece of engineering. The design, which is characterized by low rounded hulls, decks, and deckhouses looks decidedly odd and different from other ships. This design minimized the wind and water resistance encountered in more traditional hull shapes. The creator/design engineer of the whaleback was a Scotsman named Alexander McDougall who was a ship master and seaman on the Great Lakes.
The first whaleback hit the lakes in 1887, and over the next 11 years, 43 more joined her. One of the largest whalebacks was the steamer named the Frank Rockefeller. This ship was later renamed the SS Meteor. The Meteor hauled iron ore and sand for much of her career, and she is the only whaleback that remains.
As I toured the ship, learning nautical terms and all but feeling the rolling of the deck beneath my feet, I couldn’t help but admire Alexander McDougall for ignoring the critics, the snide remarks, and the jeers that always accompany a design pioneer and creating anyway. Looking for a better way to make something or do a task should be admired. He was tenacious, and I wanted to imbue my characters, Eli Kennebrae and Josie Zahn, with that same tenacity.
The Engineered Engagement involves ship building and hydrodynamics. Now, I know nothing about either of these disciplines, but I did glean some information, hopefully enough to make my characters, Eli and Josie, sound like they do. Ah, the joys of writing fiction! And while Eli and Josie are loaded with brains and tenacity, I also wanted them to have real emotions, to care about each other. One of the joys of writing fiction is getting to live through the eyes/hearts of your characters and feel what they feel. The Engineered Engagement was a joy to write.
If you are interested in Great Lakes shipping, I highly recommend the Duluth Canal Camera, https://www.duluthharborcam.com/p/canal-park-cams.html
And if you are interested in learning more about the SS Meteor, I recommend this site: https://superiorpublicmuseums.org/ss-meteor/
Blog Stops
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 20
Worthy2Read, August 20
Melissa’s Bookshelf, August 21
Texas Book-aholic, August 21
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 22
Devoted To Hope, August 22
Artistic Nobody, August 23 (Guest Review from Marilyn)
Simple Harvest Reads, August 23 (Guest Review from Mindy)
For Him and My Family, August 24
Books You Can Feel Good About, August 24
Inkwell Inspirations, August 25
Pens Pages & Pulses, August 25
Stories By Gina, August 26 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, August 26
She Lives To Read, August 27
Inklings and notions, August 27
Bizwings Book Blog, August 28
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, August 28
Little Homeschool on the Prairie, August 29
Locks, Hooks and Books, August 29
An Author’s Take, August 30
Books Less Travelled, August 30
Book Looks by Lisa, August 31
Blossoms and Blessings, August 31
Holly’s Book Corner, September 1
Pause for Tales, September 1
Devoted Steps, September 2
Life on Chickadee Lane, September 2
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Erica is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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