2015 Reading Challenge: A Popular Author's First Book
The cover might have changed (improved!), but the blurb is still the same:
In the aftermath of the Civil War, a young woman searches for her lost love at the edge of the West.
The Civil War has destroyed Sarah Montgomery’s marriage before it’s even begun.
After Sarah receives word that her fiancé, Rand Campbell, has been killed fighting for the Union, her brothers and ailing father persuade her to pledge herself to Ben Croftner—despite her strong misgivings. But when Sarah finds out that Rand is in fact alive—and that Ben Croftner knew it—she indignantly breaks off the engagement and goes in search of Rand.
But Ben Croftner does not take rejection lightly—and a single woman with a sick father makes an easy target. When Sarah is abducted by her treacherous fiancé, Rand finally comes to her aid . . . only to reveal that he has been posted at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and intends to take her there as his wife.
But could Sarah leave her dying father’s side for the love of her life? And what plans are forming in the jealous heart of Ben Croftner?
It’s hard to review this novella. I usually read the book descriptions when I request a book for review and have often forgotten it by the time I come to read the book. But this time I hadn’t, because the book description was right there in the front—which was a shame, because it wasn’t a teaser. It was a plot summary.
Publisher fail.
The result was a novella where I kept waiting for something to happen. And waiting. And waiting. The writing was good, and the characters had potential, but the two plot twists in the story (Rand being alive, Ben hiding that from everyone, and Ben trying to kidnap Sarah) were covered in the book description, which took away any suspense the story might have had. This is the first of six novellas in the series, being released each month for the next six months. After reading the description, there’s no point in reading this novella. I’ve signed up to read and review the whole series, but I won’t read any more of the descriptions. Maybe that way I will be surprised and enjoy them.
Amazon is already offering a 6-in-1 volume which goes on sale in September (at only $14.99 for the paperback, compared to $6.99 for this paperback). If you’re interested in reading A Heart's Disguise, I’d suggest waiting until then and not reading any of the book descriptions or reviews in the meantime.
Thanks to Thomas Nelson and Litfuse Publicity for providing a free ebook for review.
In the midst of end-of-war celebrations, Sarah discovers her betrothed was keeping a devastating secret in Colleen Coble's A Heart's Disguise. Will Sarah leave her dying father’s side for the only man she’s ever loved? And what plans are forming in the jealous heart of Ben Croftner?
Celebrate book one in Colleen's A Journey of the Heart series by entering to win a Kindle Fire and RSVPing to her May 5th author chat party!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A Kindle Fire
- A copy of A Heart's Disguise
- A copy of A Heart's Obsession (blog tour coming in April)
- A copy of The Inn at Ocean's Edge (blog tour coming in April)
Thank you Iola, for this great review. As I was reading, I was thinking ... "Hmmm - so what is the point of reading this book? I already know how it turns out." Then I saw your summation. Oh dear, what a shame; however I will probably buy the whole series of Novellas when they come out, and not bother to read any synopsis'
ReplyDeleteI'm about to start reading the second in the series, and it doesn't have the same problem (yay!).
DeleteEven so, once I get engaged in a story I want to keep going until the end. I'm getting free review copies, so am prepared to waiting for the next instalment. If I was paying ... I'd wait for the 6-in-1.