I have a soft spot for historical fiction, it's one of my literary loves - so it's no surprise how much I loved this book. Very rarely do I read a book that I fell inlove with and thought of long after I finished. I read this while in the hospital, and it helped bring me into a new world of war, spies, and seas.

I highly reccommend for it's endearing, well-written characters. As well as it's well researched historical atmosphere. Thank you to Netgalley!

Hold Fast opens in England, in the year of our Lord, 1803 . . . a time when diplomacy is failing and war appears to be imminent between historic enemies Britain and France. Nevertheless, Captain Thomas Grey of the British Royal Marines tenders his resignation. He wants to accept a job in America and leave his career in naval intelligence, where he was the head of station in Malta and spied upon the Barbary pirates, who were wrecking havoc on merchant ships of all nations. But, as his ship returned to England from North Africa, it was attacked by a French warship and his wife, who was traveling with him, is killed. A year later, mourning and depressed, Grey finally decides to head for Boston and start his new life. Fate intercedes again however, and war is declared between the two old antagonists shortly after the vessel sets sail, and it too comes under fire from a French warship. It’s repulsed with the assistance of Grey, who’s lost none of his fighting skills with sword, rifle or pistol.
They put into port at Oporto, Portugal for repairs and the formation of a convoy for a safer voyage across the Atlantic. A couple of days later, while waiting in town, Grey is approached by an Irishman named Branson, who works for the French Intelligence Services as a recruiter. He assumes that Grey is disillusioned with his country, and offers a large sum of money for information. Grey agrees—not because he’s a turncoat—but because he sees an opportunity to help the English war effort and extract some revenge from an old enemy at the same time.
And so begins a rousing action-adventure tale, full of fighting, suspense, revenge, treachery and heroism, as well as some actual history. This novel will educate at the same time it entertains the reader and leave everyone looking forward to the next adventure of valiant Captain Thomas Grey!

Yowsa! This is a swashbuckling historical thriller that adds a terrific hero to the canon. It's 1803 and Captain Thomas Gray's wife was killed when the ship they were sailing on was attacked by a French ship a year earlier. He's meant to go to Boston to work but finds himself caught up once again in the British-French conflict. He's once again on ship attacked by the French but this time he finds himself in Portugal where a French- Irish group tries to recruit him to work against the Crown. This leads him to penetrate the Napoleanic government. But wait, beyond the serious history (and some cameos from real people), he's gambling, dueling, and sailing. It's complex (but not too much so) and highly entertaining in a way I honestly didn't expect. The storytelling pulls you in and the writing pulls you along. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

Too much James Bond, and too little Patrick O'Brian for my tastes. I think publishers do authors a disservice by advertising all historical naval thrillers as heirs to the Aubrey & Maturin series when that's a standard that's impossible to live up to. A decent book, just not the one I was hoping to read.

Espionage and the high seas is what Hold Fast holds for its readers. Deep in the Napoleonic Wars, Thomas Gray, former Marine and current agent in His Majesty's Secret Service, has decided to chuck it all in. The tragic loss of his beloved wife has changed his perspective and he feels that it's time for a new start.

As he begins his journey to a new life in Boston, he's made an interesting offer to spy for the French government when he's mistaken for a disgruntled English officer. Gray sees an opportunity to not only gain intelligence for the British, but a bonus comes about when he's put in the path of the Frenchman who is responsible for his wife's death.

Definitely action-packed, this had the feel of a Georgian-era James Bond, which is an excellent thing in my book. I believe that this is the first in a new series but I'm uncertain on that. If it is though, I'm more than eager to ship out with Thomas Gray again if a second book is forthcoming. Out in May.

For any novel involved the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy, and/or the Napoleonic Wars, comparisons to Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series are both inevitable and, often, unflattering to the newer book. J.H. Gelernter's historical spy adventure, Hold Fast, is one of the few that can come out of such a comparison with its head held high.

Hold Fast's hero is one Captain Thomas Grey, formerly of naval intelligence, and recently a widower. The loss of his brilliant and beloved wife provides the emotional drive for the story, as Grey is consistently motivated by his desire for revenge against the French captain whose ship was responsible for her death. In search of that revenge, as well as the possibility of a major intelligence coup against Bonaparte's France, Grey abandons his plan to retire to Boston, goes undercover in enemy territory, survives torture as well as plenty of duels and battles, and generally James Bonds around France. It's an exciting, swashbuckling tale from start to finish, and well worth the attention of fans of C.S. Forester, Bernard Cornwell, and of course Patrick O'Brian (with the note that it spends far more time on land than at sea, and bears more of a resemblance to Maturin's espionage escapades than Aubrey's naval battles). I can only hope it's the start of a new series, and that I'll be able to read more of Captain Grey's adventures in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for the advance review copy!


Content warnings: Violence, death, war, torture, sexual assault.

Full disclosure here: I am a big, big fan of the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien, so I have very high standards for this particular genre of fiction. So, how does this book stack up against an acknowledged classic?

When we meet our protagonist Thomas Grey, he has just resigned his post with British naval intelligence. His wife died in tragic circumstances, and he plans to leave the country and start a new life in the United States. The ship he is on is attacked by French privateers, and the ship is forced back towards Europe to make repairs. While in Portugal, Thomas is approached by a French agent, offering money in exchange for information on the British fleet. This takes Thomas to Paris, and we follow him as he both tries to find out French war plans and pursue his own personal campaign of vengeance.

O'Brien fans who love the intricate. loving details about sailing ships will probably be disappointed. There is some naval action, but most of the story takes place on land. The action sequences are well written, allowing one to visualize clearly what is going on. Thomas Grey is an appealing character, confident and brave, but also capable of introspection and doubts about his true motives.

So, my verdict? Not perfect by any means, but an excellent debut book, and look I forward to reading more of this author's work.

A spy story set in 1803 a time during the wars between Napoleon and his staunchest foe: England. It is a period in which the French dictator is wrapped up in formulating plans to cross the English Channel and conquer the British. Thomas Grey is an agent of the fledgling English secret service. He has just lost his new wife in a contretemps with a French warship. One shot was fired from the French ship which killed Thomas' wife and no one else. She was traveling with her husband and was hidden by him in a hold of their vessel for safety's sake. Thomas was devastated by the loss and while dreaming of revenge against the captain of the French man of war decides to resign his position with the secret service.
His resignation is not accepted by the head of the service and he is charged with infiltrating the French high command and obtaining secret information regarding Napoleon's plans to invade England. The author than gives us a well researched story about Thomas' infiltration of the French high command to obtain the information. The plot is somewhat marred by an overabundance of killing people in a style reminiscent of a James Bond novel and includes interludes in which he makes love to some willing ladies also a trait of an Ian Fleming James Bond novel.
Mr. Gelernter does leave an ending geared to setting Thomas up for his next adventure albeit somewhat reluctantly. It is the description of another period in world history that would be the draw for the reader to go ahead with additional interest in books about Thomas Grey.

Wow! Wow!Wow! Every once in a while I read a book that I know will take the book world by storm and , like here, will be the first of a great series. Hold Fast is historical fiction at its finest-well written, complex( but not too complex) , great characters and a real sense of history without being heavy handed. Obviously, an homage to O’Brian and Fleming ( the author says so in his afterword), it just great. If you like historical fiction that will thrill you , this is the book for you. Can’t wait to read the next one.!