Heiress: My Review

Heiress (Daughters of Fortune)

About the Book:

The beautiful heiress daughters of newspaper magnate August Price have been given everything their hearts desire. But what if they want only to be loved--without an enormous price tag attached? When one daughter pursues a desirable marriage, she secures for herself a comfortable and glamorous life. But among the duties of privilege, will she also find the happily-ever-after she seeks? Her sister rejects the trappings of wealth, choosing instead to build a new life on the still-untamed frontier. Will she find happiness in independence or discover that she's left her heart behind in New York's glittering society? Set in the opulent world of the Gilded Age, each woman discovers that being an heiress just might cost her everything--including the chance for true love.

My Comments:
Two sisters, raised in New York City during the Guilded Age, make different choices, each seeking success as she understood it.  Esme is her father's daughter.  She wants to be in the news business, and is even contributing anonymously (and without her father's knowledge) to her father's newspaper.  Jinx wants to marry a rich man, but her father won't let her marry until her older sister does, and Esme keeps rejecting suitors.  Finally, their father arranges a marriage for Esme, but things don't go as planned.  Esme ends up out West running a newspaper and Jinx ends up in an unhappy marriage.  Eventually both girls find God and happiness.

While my summary makes the book sound trite and ordinary, it wasn't.  I found it to be a well-written novel with characters of real depth.  While Esme was my favorite of the two sisters, I liked watching Jinx grow from a self-involved girl to a woman of depth.  Unfortunately, like much growth, it came at the expense of pain.

It appears to be the first book in a series, but there were no unresolved plot lines.  In short, a well-written historical romance set in the early 1900's.  Grade:  B+

I'd like to thank the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book.  Unfortunately I don't remember when I was supposed to post on it, so I'm doing so now.  

My Review: My Foolish Heart

My Foolish Heart (Deep Haven)

About the Book:

Unknown to her tiny town of Deep Haven, Isadora Presley spends her nights as Miss Foolish Heart, the star host of a syndicated talk radio show. Millions tune in to hear her advice on dating and falling in love, unaware that she’s never really done either. Issy’s ratings soar when it seems she’s falling in love on-air with a caller. A caller she doesn’t realize lives right next door. 

Caleb Knight served a tour of duty in Iraq and paid a steep price. The last thing he wants is pity, so he hides his disability and moves to Deep Haven to land his dream job as the high school football coach. When his beautiful neighbor catches his eye, in a moment of desperation he seeks advice from My Foolish Heart, the show that airs before his favorite sports broadcast. 

Before he knows it, Caleb finds himself drawn to the host—and more confused than ever. Is his perfect love the woman on the radio . . . or the one next door?

My Comments:

This is a cute Christian romance that seems to have multiple personality disorder at times.  Isadora is an agoraphobic and the parts relating to that are serious.  She is in a lot of emotional pain and has allowed that pain to confine her to her house.  She is the host of an internet radio show and as the blurb above states, falls for one of her callers, who lives right next door.  Those portions of the story have the reader smirking, knowing more than the characters.  Toward the end of the book it becomes very preachy, with the main characters realizing they need to act as their faith tells them to act in order to obtain peace and well-being here on earth.  Need I tell you it has a very happy ending?

In a lot of ways there was just too much happening.  I never really doubted how the story would end, but I guess I expected to see more of the process; instead there were a lot of players and sub-plots and it seems that despite a few roadbumps, things just got good very quickly and without much effort. It just seemed improbable. In short, it was a fun read, but nothing exceptional.  Grade:  B-

I'd like to thank the publisher for providing a review copy for this blog tour.  

My Foolish Heart: Contest!

Susan May Warren is thrilled to announce the release of her latest Deep Haven book, My Foolish Heart!

Read what the reviewers are saying here.

To celebrate this charming novel about a dating expert who's never had a date, Susan has put together a romantic night on the town for one lucky couple. One grand prize winner will receive a Miss Foolish Heart prize package worth over $200!

The winner of the Romantic Night on the Town Prize Pack will receive:

* A $100 Visa Gift Card (For Dinner)

* A $100 Gift Certificate to a Hyatt/Marriott Hotel

* The entire Deep Haven series

To enter just click one of the icons below. But, hurry, the giveaway ends at noon on June 16th. The winner will be announced that evening during Susan’s Miss Foolish Heart Party on Facebook! Susan will be chatting with guests, hosting a book club chat about My Foolish Heart, testing your Deep Haven trivia skills, and giving away tons of great stuff! (Gift certificates, books, donuts, and more!) Don't miss the fun and BRING YOUR FRIENDS!