Skip to main content

To Win Her Heart


To Win Her Heart is a Christian historical fiction novel by Karen Witemeyer.

When the burly Levi Grant shows up in 1887 Spencer, Texas to be hired for the town blacksmith position, everybody is taken off guard by his large size - including Eden Spencer, daughter of the town's founder. His halting speech leads people to quickly believe he is more brawn than brain, but Eden is surprised when Levi starts turning up at her lending library, reading avidly. The two pieces just don't fit, and Eden can't help but find herself interested to know more.

But Eden has sworn to never be a fool again after her disastrous engagement five years ago. She has resolved herself to be a spinster, and find happiness in her library, charity work, and love of the Lord. Yet Levi's eyes are kind and her attraction to him deepens into friendship...

Levi Grant is glad he has a chance to start over after being released from prison. His was an unintentional crime, but the guilt and shame he feels from it still lingers. During his incarceration he found God, and is looking to make a new life in Spencer, Texas - and he dares not to hope that the pretty and slowly less guarded Eden Spencer might be returning his feelings. But how would she, a lady of good standing, react to finding out about his violent past?

Alrighty! So, I've heard about Karen Witemeyer's books before - that they mix great historical romance with humor and lightheartedness - and I am happy to report that is exactly what I found in To Win Her Heart! Both the title and the cover don't really do the story justice, in my opinion. So often I feel this way when it comes to this genre. Cheesy titles can turn more people off than interest them, and that is just a shame. For me, please ignore the rather corny title and trust me when I say that To Win Her Heart transcends it!

First off - Levi is instantly charming with his impressive masculinity but sweet gentleman demeanor. He's not written an eye-rolling way at all (a problem I sometimes run into in romance novels), but is actually genuinely likable and convincingly attractive. Witemeyer's writing has a delicately flirty air about it and a wonderful self-awareness that already had me having fun within the first twenty pages! I mean, this man (Levi) has a love and caring for animals and a hobby of reading novels, both of which only causes me to love him even more - as well as the story! And again, all of these personality details feel organic and believable rather than cloying. Oh my!

It's easy to forget about our female heroine, Eden, in the wake of all this male hotness - but Eden is definitely her own person - perhaps sometimes a bit stuffy, but she is more guarded than anything else. The fact that she loves novels is always a plus! By the end I definitely loved her, too.

To Win Her Heart features a sizzling attraction and burgeoning romance between our two leads that is hampered by secrets and things left unsaid, causing the story to be a heartrending, moving tale. I absolutely adore the characters, especially Levi (I can't help myself) and found that Karen Witemeyer brought an amazingly lovely human element to To Win Her Heart, an element that exposes hypocrisy, judgment and cruelty along with compassion and redemption.

The moments of pure honesty pierce through the historical richness and brought tears to my eyes - this is a fantastic read for lovers of historical romances, especially those of us who are Christians and appreciate a love of the Lord to permeate the pages as well! A suspenseful and breathless climax brought the beautiful romance to a head, and in the end my arms were covered in goosebumps.

To Win Her Heart is an inspiring, joyous, touching novel!!!

*I received a copy of To Win Her Heart from the Bethany House Book Reviewers program, which you can check out here. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.

***BIBLIOPHILE ALERT! I have been reading like an even crazier book addict than usual this year, and apparently three reviews a week can't keep up pace with me! Because of this, for the entire month of July I will be having FIVE reviews a week! That's right! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday! So, please remember to check back here more often during July - and come August I'm planning on returning to three reviews a week. Keep the schedule change in mind, and don't miss any reviews! :)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200