A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears - a book review

This is a full sized novel in the Teaville Moral Society series.  It is set in the early 20^th century. 

We first meet our heroine in the fall of 1905. Lydia King is a spunky young lady with a heart for helping others.  When her parents financial situation becomes increasingly bad, she feels her only hope in keeping them all out of the poorhouse, is to make a financially advantageous marriage.  In order to impress her demanding future mother-in-law, she must perform a nearly impossible task.  Her mother-in-law is the president of the moral society and tasks Lydia with obtaining a donation from the wealthiest man in town. The problems start when he says no. 

Faith is a strong thread throughout the book but there are also secrets and deceptions, political corruption.

This is from the publisher’s website:

“Lydia King knows what it's like to be in need, so she joins the Teaville Moral Society hoping to help the town's poor. But with her father's debts increasing by the day and her mother growing sicker by the week, she wonders how long it will be until she ends up in the poorhouse herself. Her best chance at a financially secure future is to impress the politician courting her, and it certainly doesn't hurt that his mother is the moral society's president. Lydia's first task as a moral society member--to obtain a donation from Nicholas Lowe, the wealthiest man in town--seems easy . . . until the man flat-out refuses.

Despite appearances, Nicholas wants to help others but prefers to do it his own way, keeping his charity private. When Lydia proves persistent, they agree to a bargain, though Nicholas has a few surprises up his sleeve. Neither foresees the harrowing complications that will arise from working together, and when town secrets are brought to light, this unlikely pair must decide where their beliefs--and hearts--truly align.”

The author deals with many Christian doctrines in a subtle way.  This is definitely a Christian historical romance but isn’t at all “preachey”.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

You can read an excerpt HERE 

Learn about the author, Melissa Jagears  HERE

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House and Baker
Publishing Group through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears - a book review

I liked the concept of this book.  Two emotionally scarred people coming together and trying to make a life with each other.  We get little dribs and drabs of information throughout the book intended to give us insight into their characters.  I think it would have been more effective to reveal their back stories earlier on.  As it was, I found myself getting very frustrated with trying to guess why they had such trouble committing themselves.  It took practically the whole book before we finally understand Julia’s position.  I found myself wanting to yell at her, “Just get over it and give the guy a chance!”   All that being said, I liked the faith aspect of the story and how the author shows us how Julia learns to be a rancher’s wife, all of which is foreign to her.  I think the author does a good job of showing us how Everett’s feelings develop and how he struggles to respect Julia’s ‘wife in name only’ declaration.

This is what the publisher says about it:

“Everett Cline will never humiliate himself by seeking a mail-order bride. Not again. He's already been jilted by three mail-order brides and figures a wife just isn't in his future. However, a well-meaning neighbor hasn't given up on seeing him settled, so she goes behind his back to bring yet another woman to town for him.

 Julia Lockwood has never been anything more than a pretty pawn for her father or a business acquisition for her former fiance. A mail-order marriage in faraway Kansas is a last resort, but she'll do anything to leave her life in Massachusetts and the heartbreak she's experienced there.

Although Everett doesn't see how a beautiful, cultured woman like Julia could be happy sharing his simple life, he could really use a helpmate on his homestead. Determined to prove she's more than just a pretty face, Julia agrees to a marriage in name only. Faced with the harsh realities of life on the prairie and hesitant to explore the tentative feelings growing between them, can Everett and Julia ever let each other in long enough to fall in love?”

I think I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn’t been so wordy and if it hadn’t taken so long to get to know the characters. That being said, I didn’t find reading this a laborious task.  There are some books that I have to force myself to finish but this wasn’t one of them.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from BethanyHouse through their book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”