A Place in His Heart

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A Place in His Heart
Rebecca DeMarino
Revell

Anglican Mary Langton longs to marry for love. Puritan Barnabas Horton is still in love with his deceased wife and needs only a mother for his two young sons. And yet these two very different people with very different expectations will take a leap of faith, wed, and then embark on a life-changing journey across the ocean to the Colonies. Along the way, each must learn to live in harmony, to wait on God, and to recognize true love where they least expect to find it.

This heartfelt tale of love and devotion is based on debut author Rebecca DeMarino’s own ancestors, who came to Long Island in the mid-1600s to establish a life–and a legacy–in the New World.

Judging from the cover and title, I admit I was expecting a full-out romance from this book. In fact, the main reason I got it was because I learned the story was supposed to be based on the author's real-life ancestors, and that was just too cool to pass up reading, if you ask me. So I was more willing than usual to take a chance on reading a romance in this case (and I also don't find too many books that take place during this era, either)

Well, the thing I was most surprised about was how little romance there was- surprising considering that the characters get married very early in the book and a lot of authors would use that as an excuse to push the envelope when it came to sensual content in a novel. Aside from a few kisses (and the heroine struggling with the fact that she can't seem to get pregnant) there wasn't really much that might bother sensitive readers. So that was a nice surprise. That being said, there were some things about this book that didn't hit all the right notes for me- first of all, I wasn't expecting time to go by so fast! In one chapter we had the characters' wedding, and then the next chapter took place over a year later. There were a few (longer) skips like that, which didn't bother me once I got used to it, but it was unexpected. There were some sweet scenes (especially with Mary's relationship with her stepsons- probably my favorite parts of the book) and Mary herself was such a nice, motherly character that I really liked her. I did have a hard time liking Barnabas, though. I understood he had a lot of things that caused him to struggle, but sometimes I wanted to knock him over the head for not grasping how much Mary loved him and what a wonderful woman she was!

Even if I didn't always find A Place in His Heart a stunning debut, it was a pleasant read and recommended for fans of the era as well as those who enjoy historical fiction in general.

Rating: 7

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

And author Rebecca DeMarino is also hosting a wonderful giveaway! I suggest you check it out here.

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