A Fresh Voice in Historical Romance!While Lydia King’s reasons for joining the Teaville Moral Society might be suspect to some members, her heart is in the right place. Because of her father’s debts and her mother’s persistent illness, her best chance at a secure future and curing her mother is to impress the politician courting her. Her first task–to ask the town’s wealthiest man to … man to donate–seems simple enough . . . until he refuses.
Despite appearances, Nicholas Lowe wants to help others, but prefers to keep his charity private. When Lydia proves persistent, they agree to a bargain, but Nicholas still intends to do things his own way. Neither predicts what they’ll learn about true charity or foresee the complications their actions will bring to the town, forcing Lydia to decide where her beliefs and heart truly align.
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My first thought is WOW! I liked “A Heart Most Certain” from the beginning to end. This is not a fluff romance, it is a book with substance, and it stays with you. It is a book that has a distinct message, yet I did not find it preachy.
The main characters are- Lydia King, 22 years old. She loves to read, she is persistent, tenacious, and brave. Her family is poor due to her father’s gambling, she is considered a lady and keeps herself neatly attired. She attends church regularly and is a member of the Teaville Moral Society. She is willing to marry without love to obtain a secure future for herself and possibly help her sick mother
-Nicholas Lowe, I’m not sure of his age but I’m guessing he’s in his upper 30’s. He is very a very wealthy business owner. A widower. He is stubborn, does things his way. He also likes to read and attends the same church as Lydia. Though no one has ever seen him put anything in the red velvet bags they pass for donations. What he does with his money is no one’s business.
Lydia is tasked to get a donation from Mr. Lowe but he steadfastly refuses. Lydia does not give up. This leads the pair to strike a bargain and work together. There are good things that come from working together but also some dangerous things. I can’t say more without giving spoilers but both learn from each other.
The Teaville Moral Society marches and sings against the Red Light district but does not get its hands dirty. (You can tell them they need to quit their sinning ways but don’t try to help them in any way or even speak to them, less you soil yourself.)
Nicholas tries to actually help those that want to leave, and get away from the life they were forced into.
Melissa Jagears has filled this book with well-written characters. I look forward to reading more Teaville Moral Society books. (I have a sneaky suspicion the values of the Moral Society will have changed a bit from this book) I think the message in this historical fiction holds true to today’s society as well. How do we, as a people help those in unfortunate circumstances? Do we step in and get our hands dirty? Do we donate to a cause? Or do we just ignore and let things continue the way they are?
I’ve been a fan of Melissa Jegears ever since I read the first book in her Unexpected Brides series. While A Heart Most Certain tells a different type of story, it’s no less poignant, gripping and a deep pleasure to read. I was touched by the giving hearts of the characters, aghast at the injustices that they fought and captivated by the tender romance.
Lydia King and Nicholas Lowe are engaging characters and utterly compelling. They both have valuable things to teach one another, but it takes quite some time for them to realize it. Lydia is brave, but not unrealistically so for the time period of the story. She’s no simpering miss, but rather a determined young lady, who wants to do right by her family, but also can’t ignore the plight of those in her community. When the conflict between reputation and being a true help to those in need becomes apparent in her interaction with Nicholas, she must decide what is really important – yes, reputation is everything, but what good is a stellar reputation if she faces potential danger and misery in her future?
Nicholas is used to being able to use money to solve many plights and problems, except for his own – for him, while used to the betterment of many in his community – money is a way of absolving himself from his past mistakes. Lydia puts a wrench in his anonymity with her persistence and also makes him questions his own methods – how can he help those trapped in sin in his town, but be unwilling to reach out to the members in his church who need to be shown a different way – a way other than being hypocritical of the very people he and Lydia are trying to help.
The interaction between Lydia and Nicholas is dynamic. Opposites in many ways, they also challenge each other. Their more serious conversations cause the reader to think and reflect on their own lives, while their humorous moments are sure to bring a smile to the reader’s face.
While this story does have a lovely romantic thread, the highlight is most assuredly the in-depth look at the plight of the women and young girls who are forced into prostitution, yet can find little help when they are delivered from it. Though the subject matter is sobering, the narrative is never heavy-laden or without hope. Other themes are touched on as well, including the double standard between the behavior and judgement of men and women, especially as it relates to social activities and marriage. The unfairness of it all made me truly admire people who fought for those in need despite adversity and judgement. I appreciate how far things have come since then, but this story has left me with the reminder to stand up for injustices, to speak up when something is wrong. In addition, Melissa highlights the need of Christians to fight disillusionment with the church, that supporting the body of Christ is important and necessary to the kingdom.
The tenderness of this story’s ending speaks to Melissa’s skill as a romantic historical fiction writer. Readers who love a heartfelt happily-ever-after will be eager to reach the culmination of Lydia and Nicholas’s journey, while at the same time eager to visit Teaville once again. Highly recommended for readers looking for a historical romance, with a poignant message at its core.
Well written, realistic characters. They weren’t perfect and that was perfect. I feel like this book/story had a realistic problem too. Sometimes I feel like historical fiction tends to throw in a mystery to the story, which is nice, but in some ways it’s too many murders/almost deaths/etc. This one was realistic and made sense. I feel like this story had pride and prejudice similarities, some of which I saw and appreciated. There were probably more that I didn’t catch.
A Beautiful Story! I love it when you finish a book and realize that you have returned from a different time and place – where you were transported straight into the story. It was delightful watching Lydia and Nicholas fall in love, not only with each other, but with their Savior as they took a deeper look at their motives and what is truly important in their lives. A Heart Most Certain is a beautiful love story!
As with most Christian historical novels, there is a love story and then there is a spiritual theme. I loved how these aspects played out in A Heart Most Certain! The love story began with a young woman who was anxious to prove herself to her future mother-in-law. Maybe determined would be a better word for it? Well, the man she was sent to collect a donation from was not easily convinced of the need to part with his money; but she was persistent and equally rewarded. You see, Nicholas Lowe was a man known for holding tightly to his pocketbook and never, ever had he ever donated to the Teaville Moral Society…or his own church, to boot! Yet, Nick wasn’t your average tightwad. He wanted to teach Miss King a lesson, and decided to do so by granting her three wishes.
Three wishes.
How romantic, eh? These wishes led to hiding their identity and social standing to give to the poor, making plans to set-up a library for the town and helping women escape the red light district (or, giving to the needy there). With the reality of how many people lived under dire circumstances and without hope in the forefront of Nick and Lydia’s adventures, you can imagine the attraction between the two wasn’t fast-paced. Their minds were on other things, not to mention that Lydia still had an understanding with Sebastian, so things were confusing at best. As time went on and Lydia’s story unfolded, it was almost like a historical fairytale. He was the rich bachelor no one could catch and she the poor girl who was going to be forced to marry a man she didn’t love (a.k.a. Sebastian) so her family wouldn’t be tossed out on the street. As “practical” as the characters were, the whole book had that sense of “too good to be true” factor to it that kept you turning the page to see what happened. Yet, the spiritual theme was so strong it didn’t feel unrealistic. When an author can accomplish that, you just sigh in satisfaction. I’ll let you read the book to find out for yourself how it ended, but until then, here are some quick facts about the book…
Lydia King – Daughter of an abusive gambler and sick mother who was nearing the end of her life; in need of a future, and the politician courting her was her best bet. Unfortunately, he (Sebastian) had a mother who needed to be impressed. As head of the Teaville Moral Society, Sebastian’s mother sent Lydia on a wild goose chase of securing a donation from the town’s richest man and probably its greatest tightwad. Desperate to please yet caught between what she wants and what she needs to do, Lydia must choose what she will do with her life…marry a man she doesn’t love for financial security? Or, strike out on her own as the town librarian and live alone because she can’t have the man she loves?
Nicholas Lowe – Teaville’s richest bachelor, widower and Secret Santa so to speak. No other man did more good and received no credit for it…on purpose. Then again, no one in Teaville hated hypocrisy more than Nick. Maybe that’s why he stayed away from church and tithing and gave in secret? In addition, Nick was distrustful of women because of how the relationship with his dying wife ended, yet, God had changed his heart enough that he wanted to help women no one else would bother with. If anyone found out, it would ruin his reputation…but in the end, he would be more concerned about them than himself.
Bridging Historical with Modern Life…
What motivates you to do good works? As I read Lydia and Nick’s story, this question kept coming up and I think it’s one of the most important aspects anyone can take away from this book. I remember finishing the chapter where Lydia went to her pastor’s wife for help and discovered that the lady she looked up to for so long was taking a break from “doing good works” to focus on her relationship with Christ; this lady admitted that all the good things she had done in the past were done for the wrong reasons. She wanted to rectify that. At that point, I think Lydia felt confused. Was everyone doing good things for wrong reasons? Was there not one person she could depend on? I think a lot of people feel the same emotions today, and for me, that’s what made this book click. Watching fictional characters grow and play out their beliefs can help you understand why you make the decisions you do, and more importantly, learn to make better ones each day.
Conclusion: The number one reason why I loved “A Heart Most Certain” was simply this – the story. Melissa Jagears wrote a story that was so unique, I couldn’t predict what would happen next; it was enjoyable; I smiled as the characters experienced joys, disappointments and situations that would eventually cause Lydia and Nick to fall in love; and finally, a spiritual theme that isn’t written about often in Christian fiction, but was done here, very well. This novel will be a favorite of mine for a long time, if you can, I highly recommend you find yourself a copy! Five stars! *I received a free copy from the author in a giveaway. I was under no obligation to give a positive review, all thoughts are my own true feelings!*
It turned out better than I thought. When I first started reading this story it wasn’t my cup of tea, I told myself I would stop reading it and move on to another series but I kept reading and reading until the end. Glad I hung in there with this one.
Ms. Jagears did an incredible job of taking a highly sensitive, difficult subject and keep it clean, heart-wrenching, and reflective. I loved how she brought out different aspects of the same problem in each of the main characters, which encouraged me to look deeper at the issues within my own life and consider where I might be blind to shortcomings and failures. The storyline was rough-and-tumble and action-packed, and the side characters were varied and appropriately delightful or not. I will definitely pick up more books by this author.
A rare find, revealing a side of life in the Old West that is not often spoken of, written with wit and compassion.
There was a good story, not just plot repeated over and over.
This book is amazing! It is so rich with truth, and believable and sometimes painful character growth. A Heart Most Certain deals with very real issues during a very tough time period for dealing with those issues. I was so impressed with both Nick and Lydia. They were both wonderful characters who had some flaws that needed to be dealt with and they did so in a realistic way. Change wasn’t instant. It came about over time and through some real struggle as they wrestled with the truths that they were presented with and how they had previously been thinking and living. I loved that this aspect of this book was so real. I also appreciated Ms. Jagears’ demonstration of God’s love and grace through her characters and that reaching hurting people with that love can be difficult, but those people are so worth it. I also loved the dynamic between Nick and Lydia and seeing their relationship change and grow over time. Everything about this book was just so well done and put together. Such a great book and so worth the read in my opinion.
Really enjoyed reading!
I liked this story very much. Couldn’t put it down! Hard to imagine this story ever happening in real life, but fiction novels don’t have to be realistic. I like spinners of fine yarns and tellers of tall tales!
Loved it.