Guest Review: Constant Hearts by Donna Hatch

Constant Hearts by Donna Hatch, 2011, 45p
Alisa's Rating=5 stars, Clean Romance

The scandalous Lady Amelia Dasherwood would rather thumb her nose at the society who shunned her for getting a divorce, but must now face those who rejected her in order to solicit aid for a forgotten orphanage dear to her.

Newly returned from the horrors of war, Dr. Reed St. Ives plans to make a new life as a country doctor and forget Amelia ever existed--after all, she broke his heart when she married another man. Yet she keeps invading his thoughts and showing up when he least expects her. If only he could find a cure for his own heart.

When fate reunites them, the last thing they want is to face the heartbreak that tore them apart years ago. Amelia must choose between honoring her family’s wishes to deny her heart again, or declaring herself and risking Reed’s rejection. Placing her heart at his feet would take the most courage of all. (Goodreads)

She'd been a fool to think herself over him.
She'd been a fool to imagine he'd still care for her after all these years.
But most of all she'd been a fool to reject him when he'd wanted her.

Amelia, known to Reed as "Amy," has the voice of an angel, the face of a goddess, and a heart full of compassion. Six years ago Reed found this combination irresistible. But that was before she dumped him and broke his heart... and married an Earl.

After a public and scandalous divorce, Amelia has finally re-entered society to raise money for an orphanage. She did not expect to run into Reed again and to fall for his infectious charm all over again. An innocent game of hide and seek turns into an unexpected reunion with Reed and she discovers that six years felt like a lifetime ago, but the pain felt like it just happened. Her plan is to avoid Reed and focus on raising money for the orphanage, but her Aunt Millie has other plans.

When Amelia confesses her love for him, Reed decides that since he can't forget her and move on, a better plan would be to court her and discover that they had both changed too much over the past 6 years to ever suit... and then leave her to go set up his doctor practice in the country and leave her with a broken heart. The more time he spends with her, the less appealing the plan to break her heart is. In fact, he finds that he wants to protect her from pain... not cause it. And he realizes that if he walks away from this second chance, his heart will break forever.

Clean romance. I found that this short novel kept my attention the whole time, and I didn't want to put it down!

So, I've been on vacation this past week which is why there have been several guest reviews. I wasn't sure if I would have time to work on getting my own reviews up or not and I didn't. I'm on my way home now and I have lots of blog tours coming up so you will definitely be hearing more from me personally (although I have enjoyed hearing from my guest reviewers and they will definitely be back!). 

Guest Review: Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson, 2010, 350p
Alisa's Rating=5 stars, Clean Romance

Sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!
 
Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be. (Goodreads)

I haven't had a chance to read this yet but my sister Alisa has and after reading her review, I want to add it to the top of my pile, but that's currently a very crowded spot so this will need to wait a little longer.  

This book was a pleasant surprise! I wasn't excited to read a book about 16 brides -- I thought it would be too confusing to follow, but we only really learn about 5 (6 counting Ella's mother) of these brides and their stories!

Mr. Hamilton Drake is a cheat and a fraud, but unfortunately the women of St. Louis don't know that. So when he organizes the Ladies Emigration Society to help women acquire land in their own name in Nebraska, several women join. They are all without husbands - widows of the war, divorced, estranged...

Caroline Jamison didn't have a happy marriage, and she finds herself disowned by her family because she married "the enemy" and three of her brothers died in the war. She is a true southern belle who lives by the mantra: "No rule had been made that a gentleman wouldn't break for a determined southern belle."

Ella Barton was married to a man who constantly berated her and made her feel unwanted. She doesn't see herself the way others see her.

Zita Romano is Ella's mother and joins her to go out west for their own land.

Sally Grant was beaten by her husband and so she divorced him. She is young and forthright and not interested in marriage again.

Hattie Raines (Gates) accidentally joins the group when she is trying to escape a bad situation. She lets the others think she is widowed... which works until her husband finds her and she is forced to face the demons she is trying to run from!

Ruth Dow is the widow of a general who she loved deeply. It has been three (or maybe four?) years since his death, and she is still mourning him. But her 14-year-old son Jackson could sure use a strong man in his life.

When these women get to Plum Grove they learn that Mr. Drake has tricked them into coming to Nebraska to be brides for some men who are paying him. Half of the women go on to Cayote to meet the men who want to get married, but the other half decide to stay in Plum Grove and take their chances at creating a homestead. In Plum Grove they also get a second chance at love!

Matthew Ransom is a widower with a 14-year-old daughter, Linney. It has been several years since his wife, Katie, died but he is still haunted by her death and his part in it.

Lucas Gray is a successful rancher who has never married... and as the story progresses we learn more about why he has never married.

Jeb Cooper arrives in Plum Grove on the same train as the "brides." He is a large, one-handed man with a heart of gold!

These men of Plum Grove help the women set up their homestead and get their own second chances at love!