In Massachusetts 1815 a man searches desperately for his son…
It was three years ago that young Captain Brogan Talvis’s now-deceased wife told him she’d given their son to someone else to raise and delightfully declared that he’d never find him. But he couldn’t make it through growing up in a cold orphanage without gaining determination. After searching relentlessly he believes he’s finally found his Ben in the guardianship of a New England shipbuilder.
Lorena, though only nineteen years old, acts almost as a mother to little Drew who is just as much a part of her family as she is, despite the dark truth of his arrival. When Captain Talvis becomes a guest at their home, she finds herself drawn to him. Not only is he ruggedly handsome, but his loving manner toward Drew touches her.
Both are holding secrets from the other, yet they find that there is something between them.
But how can Brogan end up with both his son and the woman he’s deceived?
Prize of My Heart starts off with a cleverly disastrous first meeting between Brogan and Lorena. We’re introduced to a smart, independent heroine and a masculine, passionate, hot-headed hero – ingredients for a winning historical romance.
Yet with the right ingredients, I still wished there was just a tad more charm, wit, and romantic pull.
However, Prize of My Heart provides a rather large twist near the middle that took me unaware, and though I didn’t believe the love story aspect as much as I’d like – it’s fast and largely attraction-based, plus as much as Lorena is admirable, sometimes she can come across as a little TOO saint like – I do think it can be a fun read for historical romance fans in the YA genre. This isn’t technically YA, but it’s certainly appropriate and both the leads are young enough to still connect with that audience. It’s Christian-focused also, so I’d still recommend it to fans of those categories of reading.
Thing is, it just wasn’t as great as it could have been, in my opinion. Could’ve used way more humor and a tighter plot, I think.
Sincere, heartbreaking confessions made for a sweet, unexpected end to Prize of My Heart, though. That’s why I can still recommend it. Just maybe adjust your expectations a little for a nice digression instead of a Jane Austen fan’s dream novel.
*I received a copy of Prize of My 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.
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