A Love So True

Evelyn Wisely had a heart for the unfortunate, and David Kingsman will do what he can to help her in any way she needs. After arriving in Teaville to begin the sale of the A.K. Glass company for his father, he has always done what his father has asked in hopes that one day he might just be proud of him, but so far that hasn't happened. It seems that nothing that David does is good enough for his father, who manages the family business and is wealthy beyond comparison.

Only David didn't hope to get his heart involved with Evelyn Wisely who runs the orphanage in town and tries her best to work with the soiled doves in Teaville to provide them with a way out of prostitution in the Red Light District. All her efforts to garner support from the local businesses seems to be in vain as no one wants anything to do with helping them because to do so would shine a light on them. For now, they are content that Evelyn does all the charity work involving them, because despite their reputations they believe that she will never marry because she purposely pushes all eligible men away from trying to court her.

For both David and Evelyn, they are running from their pasts and feel that the good they both do in the present will somehow make up for their short comings. What they don't realize however is that neither of them has anything to fear from their pasts. It is only by working together and exposing the truth that they have kept hidden that will not show how weak they are, but how strong they can be when they are willing to allow others to help them achieve the goals they have in life. Is it possible, that God has brought them together to accomplish more than what they would have been able to achieve on their own? Time will tell.

I received A Love So True by Melissa Jagears compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Net Galley. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. Sometimes the best thing about historical novels like this one is the fun historical facts readers uncover in the process like in the Author's Note section. Readers will uncover what is really wrong with Baby Hope at the conclusion of the book even though you try to figure it out while reading the novel, I was off by a long shot on this. This is the second novel in the Teaville Moral Society Series with A Heart Most Certain being the first. I really love how well David and Evelyn work towards the greater good and show just what a servant's heart really looks like. I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

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A Love So True by Melissa Jagears

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A Heart Most Certain

Sometimes, you read a novel that stirs something within your soul that needs to be challenged. Changed even. As a long time Christian, I needed to be pushed and pried out of my humble comfort zone, and the novel A Heart Most Certain by Meliisa Jagears did just that. In the first novel in the Teaville Moral Society, I was so moved that I wasn't at all rushed to finished this novel. It was if the voice of the Holy Spirit was present throughout the entire novel and challenged me in my own views of how I see the world through my own eyes instead of Gods.

1905, Teaville, Kansas takes us into the heart of Lydia King who is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Like most women, her parents wanted to ensure a right match for her so that when they passed on, she would be well cared for. Her father wanted it for strictly selfish reasons, as he gambled away all of his meager earnings in hopes for the one big win, that unfortunately never came and instead pushed the King family deeper into debt. With the threat of losing the family home, Lydia is hopeful that a marriage to Sebastian Little, a well-known up and coming lawyer, and whose father was the town's mayor and his mother, heads up the Moral Society. A group dedicated to running the houses of ill repute out of Teaville and quench the saloons and gambling establishments.

Now if Lydia is able to garner a small sum for the town's wealthiest resident, Nicholas Lowe to pay for two sewing machines so that the Moral Society can make quilts for the poor in town to keep them warm this winter. Unfortunately no one has been able to pry one cent from the man, and Lydia is bound and determined not to let a simple "No" sway her. Perhaps Mr. Lowe just needs to understand how important it is to the town's poor. After all, he barely pays his tithes to the church as a good Christian man should. If he did, perhaps they would have enough money to pay for the machines out of the church fund. However, Lydia knows her time is short with both trying to win Mr. Lowe to her worthy cause in her mind while her mother is slowly dying and there is little they can do. Why does money always have to be the answer to what troubles the poor?

I received A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Net Galley for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free eBook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest and unbiased personal opinion. I absolutely LOVED this novel and so thrilled that more are scheduled to come in this series. I love the challenged Lydia must face both with what she perceives is true charity and what is really is. The chemistry that develops between her and Nicholas is worthwhile to see and makes you truly rooting for them the whole time. It really has changed how I now view the homeless in my own city and drives me out of my comfort zone of merely supporting those charitable causes through monetary efforts. It means so much more to get your hands dirty and see how these lifestyles affect those who have no hope in this world. For me, well worth each and every 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about A Heart Most Certain, Melissa Jagears or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears

You can find Melissa Jagears on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on A Heart Most Certain, please visit Bethany House Publisher's website. 

A Bride at Last

Even though Kate Dawson, knew this day was coming, it still caught her by surprise. She had known Lucinda Riverton has been sick for quite some time and it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to her illness, and she made arrangements to have Kate take on raising her only son Anthony when that time came. She even wrote to the boy's father advising him of the circumstance, but Kate believed that to be a man named Richard, who she had helped Lucina and Anthony escape from his violent ways. Now it turns out that Lucinda has been married to a man named Silas Jonesey who has arrived to hope to make amends with Lucinda and restore their relationship. But when he gets there, Lucinda has died and she failed to tell him that he has a son. To make matters worse, Richard arrives in time to attempt to collect Anthony who he had used in the past as a pick pocket to make a little money on the side. Yet no one is considering what Anthony wants in this matter, and with Kate being unwed, it is unlikely a judge will rule in her favor to keep Anthony.

Anthony solves the issue when he runs away without anyone's knowledge and now it is a race against time to see who can find the boy first. In order to sway the odds a bit in his favor, Richard goes to see the judge just prior to the ruling on Anthony's fate, and since he is the only one there, the judge rules in his favor. Seems he might have not been as forthcoming to convincing the judge to postpone the trial while they attempt to locate Anthony. Even while Kate struggles to find him, she finds herself at the hands of the school board when they believe she is acting in a way contrary to what the town would like to have in a school teacher. Being seen arriving late to school and other questionable conduct, she is put on notice to straighten up otherwise they will be forced to find another teacher and she will lose her job. But what is more important finding Anthony or keeping her job?

I received A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review aside from a free copy of this novel and the opinions contained in this review are strictly my own. Christian Western Romances have long been my favorite genre and it's been quite some time to have such a treat as this one. It showcases once again the struggle women had when faced with certain circumstances and keeping up ones reputation and propriety even though Kate isn't doing anything wrong. It is that perception that women had to struggle against during the late 1800's as some were willing to answer ads as a mail order bride and found themselves with men who were less than respectable. I never realized the outcome of the children who were forced to grow up as orphans, most being given away to those who might be able to raise them or placed in orphanages. The only other option was living on the streets. This is another great look our the historical past and how some had to make a go of things when the odds were stacked against them. I'd rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars. This is the 3rd book in the Unexpected Bride Series!

For more information about A Bride At Last, Melissa Jagears, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

A Bride At Last by Melissa Jagears 

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Can Silas and Kate overcome their rocky start and experience healing—and possibly love? Discover the answer in Melissa Jagears' new book, A Bride at Last. Neither Kate nor Silas is prepared for the secrets and past hurts that have yet to come to light as they attempt to prove nine-year-old Anthony's paternity to the court. Can their wounded souls bind them together or will all that stands between them leave them lonely forever?

Celebrate the release of A Bride at Last by entering to win a $100 Memory-Making giveaway and RSVPing to Melissa's August 4th author chat party!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A $100 gift card to Netflix (for a family movie night), Shutterfly (to create a family memory book), or TablePlayGames (for a family game night)
• One copy of A Bride at Last

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 8/4. The winner will be announced at Melissa's 8/4 A Bride at Last Facebook author chat party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Melissa and fiction fans, as well as for a chance to win some great prizes!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 4th!

A Bride for Keeps

The last thing that Everett Cline wants right now is for another woman to step foot off the train looking for marriage from him. After three unsuccessful attempts to finding a wife to help him on his farm, and all of them not working out in his favor he has lost interest in finding anyone who will marry him. After his failed attempts at finding love through mail order brides, first one married someone else before getting off the train, the second one died before arriving and the third took one look at what he was asking her to help with on the farm, and opted for someone else. Now his sister Rachel is involved with a friend who believes she is just the right woman for Everett. But when Julia Lockwood arrives in town, she turns just about every head there is, women and men.

Julia Lockwood answered Rachel's request to marry her brother Everett in hopes of alleviating the constant demands of men wanting her for her beauty and what they hoped she could provide as the wealthy daughter of a prominent businessman from Boston. Not afraid of hard work, Julia hopes she can provide just what Everett is looking for, someone to help him out on the farm. She has already seen what her looks can do to a man that wanted to be a part of her father's business and insisted on getting it from Julia despite her attempts at refusing his advances. Now assured that besides having more than her beauty robbed of her, she's hoping she can convince Everett to marry her to ensure men won't be looking at her for anything more than being someone's else's wife. She isn't looking for love and hopes she can convince Everett she isn't one to run away from anything.

But since both Everett and Julia have been burned by their pasts, they will do whatever they can to put up false fronts that will do more than build walls around their hearts. It will also keep them from learning to love and forgiving those that have hurt them instead of making one another pay for someone else's mistakes. Yet what will it take for either of them to become truly honest and work to heal those painful pasts and teach each other what God truly wants from unconditional love? Will it take the risk of losing one another to make them appreciate what they really have or will they simply fade away into the sunset and suffer in silence with their dark mistakes?

I received A Bride for Keeps by debut author Melissa Jagears compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Bethany House Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This is such a believable novel for me when you consider the challenges of being a mail order bride. There is no courtship and at times even those marriages are often worse than remaining single and alone. I found Julia's story to be just what I would expect and loved Everett's challenge at trying to keep his promise to refrain from taking advantage of Julia just because he is married to her, despite her beauty. She works hard to prove herself something we all try to do to earn our way into God's good graces, such is the story of Julia trying to earn Everett's favor. It simply doesn't work. This is the first novel by Melissa Jagears and it certainly won't be her last. For those of you that love a great Western Romance, this one is guaranteed to capture your heart. I rate this a 5 out of 5 stars and it has found a permanent home in my library. Melissa Jagears is now on my MUST READ list!

For more information about A Bride for Keeps, Melissa Jagears or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears

You can find Melissa Jagears on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on A Bride for Keeps on the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Book Tour, please click here. 

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (October 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764211684
• ISBN-13: 978-0764211683
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1 inches