Review: A Loyal Heart by Shelley Gray

Not Gray's Best

Amazon Description

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.

Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything.

After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda's home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip's name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.

Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He's mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.

He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn't prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well.

My Review

Shelley Shephard Gray writes Amish fiction under her full name, and historical romance with a touch of suspense as Shelley Gray. I’m not a fan of Amish fiction so haven’t read any of those, but I’ve read several of her previous historical romance novels and been impressed. I watch out for her new Shelley Gray releases, and was pleased to be given the opportunity to review A Loyal Heart.

But I have to say it wasn’t up to the standard I have come to expect from Shelley Gray (or from her publisher, Zondervan). The plot was an excellent combination of romance and suspense, but I was underwhelmed by the plot twist which revealed who was behind the threatening letters widow Miranda Markham had been receiving for the last year, and that meant the novel ended with less than a bang.

I also wasn’t impressed by the editing. There were spelling mistakes, a couple of irritating anachronisms (especially strange, as Gray’s books are usually well researched), and lots of annoying dialogue tags—which perhaps shouldn’t have distracted me, but they did. I was left wondering if I was reading a pre-proofed review copy (which I sometimes do get, but which are usually marked as such). If not, are the spelling and writing errors the fault of the author, or of the editor and publisher?

So while the plot and writing weren't up to the high standard I expect from the author and publisher, the characters were excellent. Miranda Markham blossomed as she got to know Lt Robert Truax, who was a true hero and proved that there is more than being a gentleman than being born into money and influence. I found the growing romance between the two as interesting as the suspense plot, but the romance had a better and more believable resolution.

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Whispers in the Reading Room by Shelley Gray

Excellent Historical Romance/Suspense

Miss Lydia Bancroft works in the Lincoln Lending Library in Chicago, and is newly engaged to the handsome, popular and wealthy Mr Jason Avondale, at the encouragement of her widowed and impoverished mother. Mr Sebastian Marks is a man from the wrong side of the tracks who has become rich through his club, the Silver Grotto, which offers the gentlemen of Chicago the twin evils of drink and gambling (although not the third evil of women). He frequents the Lending Library partly to better his knowledge, and partly to watch the librarian …

There is an almost unbearable sadness about Sebastian Marks in the early chapters, as we learn about his upbringing, his current employment, and his efforts to become the gentleman Lydia believes him to be, and he knows he will never be. Despite his dubious profession on not-quite-the-right side of the law, he was an honourable man who was loyal to his (few) friends and did his best to be respectable, not merely appear respectable.

The story incorporates the developing relationship between Lydia and Sebastian, the understated relationship between Mr Vincent Hunt (Sebastian’s man of business) and Bridget O’Connell (his servant), and a thread of suspense which comes to the forefront in the second half of the book. The characters were excellent, as was the plot and the way each of the characters were introduced and linked. There was also some excellent writing, and a low-key but evident Christian message.

But the focus of the novel was on the bittersweet relationship between Lydia and Sebastian, and that was its’ real strength. This could have been an almost-perfect read except for two things. There were some weird lines (e.g. the overused “he bit out” speech tag), and the ending came too fast—by which I mean the pace picked up and all the outstanding plot points were fixed in a couple of short chapters, which was out of kilter with the rest of the novel (which wasn’t slow, but wasn’t a fast-paced thriller either). These might be minor glitches but they were glitches all the same, and did affect my enjoyment of what was otherwise an excellent historical romance.

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.