Secrets
of a Heart by Samantha Garman
A Romantic Era Adventure
Romance
London, 1815. At the age of nineteen, Blaine Whitmore loses everything dear to him in a brutal assault on his family line. Left with nothing, he finds himself aboard a merchant ship sailing far from home. Years pass as a boy becomes a man, and yet no amount of time or distance will help Blaine forget all that he has lost. After ten years sailing the high seas, he is finally ready to restore the Whitmore name.
Felicity Canton is as lovely as she is penniless, and has been left to care for her three sisters while attempting to maintain a crumbling estate. With no hope for escape from her predicament, she is resigned to a peasant’s fate. She never anticipates attracting the attention of her wealthy and mysterious new neighbor, nor does she expect him to be her savior.
As Blaine searches for truth and doles out vengeance, he becomes increasingly captivated and distracted by Felicity’s beauty and inner strength. Does he dare confide in her the secrets of his heart? Will his future be as bleak as his past, or will he finally have a chance at happiness?
London, 1815. At the age of nineteen, Blaine Whitmore loses everything dear to him in a brutal assault on his family line. Left with nothing, he finds himself aboard a merchant ship sailing far from home. Years pass as a boy becomes a man, and yet no amount of time or distance will help Blaine forget all that he has lost. After ten years sailing the high seas, he is finally ready to restore the Whitmore name.
Felicity Canton is as lovely as she is penniless, and has been left to care for her three sisters while attempting to maintain a crumbling estate. With no hope for escape from her predicament, she is resigned to a peasant’s fate. She never anticipates attracting the attention of her wealthy and mysterious new neighbor, nor does she expect him to be her savior.
As Blaine searches for truth and doles out vengeance, he becomes increasingly captivated and distracted by Felicity’s beauty and inner strength. Does he dare confide in her the secrets of his heart? Will his future be as bleak as his past, or will he finally have a chance at happiness?
Published & Release Date:
Self-published September 26, 2013
Time and setting: 19th
century Regency England
Genre: Historical Romance
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 4 Gold Crowns
Vikki’s Musings
This book pulls at the heart strings from the first
page. I was immediately engaged by the poignant hanging of a presumed traitor,
the Earl of Grisham, while his nineteen year-old son, Blaine Whitmore witness’s
the gruesome scene. The writing is descriptive and the pain the young man feels
is palpable.
Blaine finds his way to a seedy tavern, hoping to
drown his sorrows and remove the gruesome image of his father death. He’s
attacked by two men who were paid to see to his demise. Fortunately for Blaine,
Captain Griff Hawthorne rescues him just as one of the villains brings the
knife up cut his throat. Thus begins Blaine’s life as a pirate, using the name
Sebastian Grayson.
After amassing a huge fortune, Gray returns to
England ten years later to avenge his father’s death by proving he was not a
traitor. He purchases an estate in Somerset and establishes himself as a
prosperous merchant. He meets the destitute Felicity Canton and her three young
sisters. The sisters are on the verge of losing everything because their father
has died, leaving huge gambling debts. At an engagement party of a neighbor,
where Gray and Felicity meet, they are immediately drawn to each other.
Things get much worse when Felicity finds out the
extent of her late father’s debt and is faced with the daunting task of
liquidating their assets, including selling their home. Felicity goes to Gray
and offers to become his housekeeper. When he finds out the true nature of
Felicity’s finances, he offers marriage instead. With no other options open to
her, Felicity accepts when he offers to set up trusts for her sisters. But will
the dark secrets of Gray’s past tear them apart, or will love conquer all?
This story took me on a rollercoaster ride of
emotions in the beginning. The author has a smooth writing style, which keeps
the pacing quick and the reader engaged in the first part of the book. However,
the book has a bit of a sagging middle and I found myself struggling to get
past it and on to what I believed would be a rewarding ending. I was right, and
it picks up in the last third of the story and ends up with a very satisfying
‘Happily Ever After’. This book is well worth reading for the beginning and the
end.
I particularly enjoyed Felicity’s relationship with
her three sisters and the dialogue between the sisters is witty and vastly
entertaining. I also liked the growing relationship between Gray and his new
friends. The intricate relationship between Gray and Felicity is compelling as
well.
Overall, an enjoyable read and I will consider
reading future books by this author. If you enjoy a story that gives you a
lovely look at the regency period with just enough history to titillate your
senses, then this is a book you will not want to miss. Happy reading!
Nice review, Vikki. Sounds like a fine read.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy it, especially the beginning and the ending. A bit of a sagging middle, but well worth continuing on.
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