They’ll have to conquer more than the Klondike Trail to reach her father in time—they’ll have to overcome their past too.
After months of silence from her father in the Klondike, Tava Rutherford finally receives word from him. Only the outdated letter reveals that her father is ill and may be dying. Desperate to discover his fate, Tava resolves to make the journey to the wilds of northwestern … northwestern Canada. But Jess Lawmen, her ranch foreman and the man who broke her heart, insists she doesn’t go alone. Jess intends to keep his promise to look out for her—even if that means traveling thousands of miles with Tava, the woman he claims to feel just friendship for but has never stopped loving.
With their own ragtag group of travelers in tow, Tava and Jess confront one challenge after another as they join the hundreds of stampeders scrambling to reach the goldfields. But as the two of them come to face to face with their past hurts and mistakes in their race to reach Tava’s father, they will have to decide whether to cling to safety or risk their hearts for something even greater.
AMERICAN HEIRESS SERIES:
Night at the Opera
Beneath an Italian Sky
Among Sand and Sunrise
LOVE INSPIRED HISTORICAL:
A Cowboy of Convenience
The Rancher’s Temporary Engagement
The Outlaw’s Secret
The Renegade’s Redemption
Lady Outlaw
The Express Rider’s Lady
OF LOVE AND WAR SERIES:
Hope at Dawn
Hope Rising
A Hope Remembered
A Christmas Hope
more
Another perfectly written book by Stacy Henrie. She is a master storyteller and I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Jess and Tava were meant to be together. Their story is beautiful!
I love historical fiction and learning new things. I don’t always read the author’s notes in books, but in this case I recommend it!
I really enjoyed all the characters in this book. The friendships, the family ties, the communication, the strangers pulling together to help each other…all made for a compelling story I didn’t put down until I was done.
Sometimes we’re harder on ourselves than anyone else. This was a sweet reminder that we all make mistakes and deserve the chance to move on from that by forgiving ourselves — and giving those around us the opportunity to do the same.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was happy to win this book in a giveaway and though it took a while to reach the top of my TBR pile I did enjoy the book. I don’t recall having read a Yukon setting romance before so that was a new experience for me. It was interesting to see what people went through to get to potential gold. I kept wondering how any one of their group would have managed the trek without the rest of the group. They all became essential to each other.
I liked the main characters but found myself a little frustrated in the middle of the book that nothing seemed to really progress in their relationship and when something did move a little forward, it wasn’t long before something pushed it back again and the underlying cause was pretty much always their own insecurities. It started to feel bogged down a bit with lots of self recrimination. Maybe some of that could have been cut down or varied.
That being said, I did enjoy the story and was happy for the happily ever after ending. I would love to know more about what happened to the rest of Jess’s family but they aren’t the focus of this story so I can’t complain.
Sex: no
Language: no
Violence: a bit
*I won this book in a giveaway and voluntarily chose to review it.
Tava has her heart set on being with Jess and can’t wait for him to return to the ranch after some time away, although when he returns he insists that they can only ever be friends and breaks her heart. When Tava learns through an outdated letter that her dad is ill and possibly dying in the Klondike, she desperately wants to rush to his side as soon as possible. Jess insists on accompanying her and together they set out on a grand adventure. This story is told in both Tava’s and Jess’ point of view, which helps to see both sides of the story. Jess in fact has never stopped loving Tava but is afraid that mistakes from his past will ruin any potential future he may have with her. Along the way to the Klondike they meet some new friends, buy a dog, and open up to each other about their lives and feelings more than ever before. I enjoyed this book and all the characters. There is a prominent theme that through the struggles we face in life, our relationships become stronger as we face them together.
Sweet historical fiction about love and second chances.
Tava and Jess travel to the Klondike (Canada) in search of her ill father; but not without trials and drama during the peak of the gold rush. The author did a great job describing the beauty and difficulty of traveling during that time period-I felt like I was right there along side them.
Tava and Jess both have personal issues to overcome-especially Jess, before they can progress in a relationship. I loved the main character Tava and found her strong and capable of anything! I really enjoyed this clean, easy to read, historical romance.
I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.
I loved this book!! The characters had such a real and heartfelt relationship. I loved the side characters and the journey they all take together. I highly recommend this book.
A Heart of Gold by Stacy Henrie (5 stars)
A couple’s journey to the Klondike through Alaska: not in response to gold fever, but in response to our heroine’s father’s actual fever/illness and the hopes that he will be found alive.
Our intrepid couple join with new friends and learn through hardship about the underlying love they have felt for one another but have been too insecure to share.
Fascinating facts about the journey that so many people made to the Klondike and some great secondary characters.
Stacy Henrie takes history and brings it to life with clean romance mixed in. I truly enjoy her books!
*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special
This story reminded me a bit of that old animal adventure movie, The Incredible Journey. Tava and Jess embark on a journey to the Klondike to find out if her father (and his employer) is still alive and the ragtag crew they find themselves traveling with rounded out the story.
Everyone has issues to work through, but Jess’s seem heavier than usual and this rough and tough trek seemed more mental and emotional for him than it was physical. In fact, it seemed that way for most of the group and I was really hoping for a grand (and difficult) expedition. Even though their trip wasn’t as perilous as I was hoping for, Jess and Tava were both likable characters and their growth was satisfying.
Sweet and gentle, for the most part, along with redemption, are recurring threads running throughout this book and it was an enjoyable trip through the pages to take.
Content: mild romance; mild religion; talk of drinking; mild danger
*I received a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.*
I’m always up for a historical romance with great characters. This book by Stacy Henrie is one of those. I enjoyed everything about it. Especially the fact that it is set in the wilds of Alaska.
Tava is the main female lead. She’s headstrong, missing her father, and in love with Jess. Even though she will not admit it. I loved that she was willing to take the hard route and travel to Alaska, not knowing what she’d find. That would have been a hard trip. There were times of cold, not enough food and motion sickness. But there was also friendship and love. That’s what made the rough times worth it.
Jess is a good guy. He’s not about to let Tava travel to Alaska on her own. He loves her too much for that. Even though he also wouldn’t tell her that. Both of these characters are a bit stubborn. I think that was a good thing on their hard trip. But it makes the love story a bit difficult.
I loved the extra characters that these two find along their way. They really made the story come alive. The conditions that they dealt with on their trip really did need the extra people. I can’t even imagine trying to make this trip.
I loved this book! Hoping for more like this one soon.
I was sent a copy of A Heart of Gold as a gift from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Henrie has written an emotional and fascinating tale about Tava and her journey to the Klondike in Canada. Not in search of gold, but in search of her missing and ill father. Their ranch hand Jess went with Tava to help her and to fulfill a promise to her dad. A big part of the journey for Tava was not just going to find her father, but finding herself and her own heart and feelings for Jess. There is a sweetness to the story that I enjoyed and an element of forgiveness that I appreciated. The setting was definitely different and eye-opening for the physical work and effort it took for people to actually reach the Klondike. My favorite part was the historical aspect of this story, I love learning new things about the past. I received a copy of this book for free; all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Four years ago Tava thought she and Jess, one of their ranch hands, were starting a relationship, when he told her all they could be was friends. Flash forward four years–Tava receives a letter from her father who’s gone to the Klondike saying that he’s taken ill, so Tava decides to go after him because she can’t stay at the ranch not knowing if he’s dead or alive. Jess won’t let her go alone so they both set off on the long, arduous journey from Montana. Traveling with the man who broke her heart four years ago won’t be easy, but Tava doesn’t know that Jess still has feelings for her. This is going to be quite a journey for these two in more ways than one.
I enjoyed this tender love story. Jess doesn’t know how much he hurt Tava four years ago, and she doesn’t know why he suddenly put the brakes on their budding relationship, because he never told her.We find out about Jess’ background during the trip and why he thinks he’s not good enough for Tava, which he mentions quite a bit. Jess needed to forgive himself for the mistakes in his past, learn from from them, leave them there and move on or they’d hold him back from having a full and happy life.
I liked the other characters who joined Tava and Jess on their way to the Klondike. I don’t think they would’ve made it by themselves. I liked how they all worked together on the trip. I liked how the author weaves in history with the story and I learned things about the Klondike gold rush I didn’t know before. I’m not going to give any details, but I really liked the ending because it gave closure to all of the characters.
I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own.
A long journey brings two hearts home.
Tava and Jess have known each other for a long time. There was a point where there was a blossoming romance, but it was broken unexpectedly. Tava has had to pick up the pieces of her heart and move on as a friend to Jess, even though it has been difficult.
A letter comes from her father, who is trying to make money in the Klondike gold rush, that he is ill and not expected to survive. She can’t live without knowing how her father is, or not being there for him for his final days. She and Jess embark on a hard journey that have them scaling mountains and braving the rapids.
I enjoyed both Jess and Tava’s characters. Jess is tormenting himself about the mistakes he made in the past and doesn’t feel worthy of Tava. Tava is a young women who cares about the people around her. Together they are better than when they are apart. This book has them taking a physical journey, but it is the mental and emotional level that is the driving force of the plot.
The book is paced well and interesting. At times I felt that Jess focused a little much on his mistakes instead of giving himself credit for turning his life around. I think the book could have had a little less of the negative and hurtful parts of their past and concentrated more on the healing and on moving forward. That was the only part that I struggled with, but it was a minor irritation to me. It didn’t stop me from wanting to keep reading or lessen my enjoyment of the story.
Source: I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
I received an eARC of this book via the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Sweet, second-chance romance….my favorite! A Heart of Gold by Stacy Henrie is a standalone, historical romance that takes you to the rough terrain of the Klondike Trail during the height of the gold rush. This exciting, and often-times, breath-taking adventure is filled with hope, love, and laughter as Tava searches for her ill father with the man she can never have.
Octavia Rutherford, Tava for short, grew up working on her father’s ranch. Her mother died when she was young, and it was only her and her father after that. This shaped Tava into the woman we know. She’s tough as nails, but kind and gentle when she needs to be. She can do anything a ranch-hand can, most likely, do it better. Tava isn’t like the other women in town. She’d rather be in work clothes than fancy dresses, and she isn’t searching for a beau either because she gave her heart away to their foreman years earlier.
Jess Lawmen came to the Rutherford ranch when he was just a kid himself in a heap of trouble. If it wasn’t for Tava’s father, he wouldn’t be the man he is today. Jess credits him for straightening out his life. While we aren’t given the whole story up front, it’s clear to the reader this is a tortured man. He berates himself for the sins of his past and breaking Tava’s heart years earlier. He feels that he will never be good enough for her and takes the choice out of her hands. Jess is a good man, the man we know anyways. Every action he takes is in the benefit of others. He never does anything without thinking through the consequences and how it will affect those in his company, especially Tava.
The plot of the book follows Tava and Jess as they travel to the Klondike after news that her father has taken ill and may already be dead reaches them. Devastated and determined to find him, Tava is ready to set off on her own, but Jess will not allow that. He offers to go in her stead, but the stubborn Tava won’t allow that. So they find themselves traveling together. The tension between the two is palpable, and at times I hurt for one or both of them. They so clearly care for one another. I love how the author allows their story to unfold at a natural pace. The trials of the Klondike adds suspense and danger, keeping me turning the pages long into the night until the book was finished!
Overall I really enjoyed A Heart of Gold. Tava and Jess are two characters that I won’t soon forget. The excitement of the gold rush adds to the story as our travelers meet others on the trail. I liked the side characters just as much as the two main! If you enjoy historical romance, I highly recommend it.
A Heart of Gold is probably my favorite I have read to date by Stacy Henrie. I loved this historical. The details were so vivid, I felt like I had been transported back in time with Tava. I was intrigued with her story from the first page to the last page. It was a great read.
I am giving A Heart of Gold a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy a clean Historical Romance. They will not be disappointed.
I received A Heart of Gold from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
This is a delightful historical western romance. The characters of Jess and Tava are both fun and frustrating! They are both stubborn and afraid of sharing their fears. Overcoming our past mistakes is hard, but we all have them. The story of trying to survive the trials of ranching, is interesting. But I think the most interesting part of the book is the journey to the Klondike. The trials and hardships is more than I can even imagine. I appreciate the authors research and dedication to telling that story.
Rating: 4.5 stars
My thoughts about this book:
• The opening scene, in which Jess returns from a seven month trip and puts Tava in the ‘friend zone,’ caught my interest right away. My interest in this story was captivated from the beginning and lasted until the satisfying sweet ending.
• The character development of Tava and Jess was thorough and deep. The author made them truly relatable and I was totally invested in their story. Their romance touched my heart.
• The descriptions of locations and emotions were well done, easy to visualize, and to feel. I felt like I was trudging through the Alaskan wilderness with Tava, Jess, Carolyn, Felix and Archie.
• There was a smooth, coherent flow to this book. I enjoyed the writing style of this author.
• This was a clean read.
I was given an advance copy of this book by the author. My review was voluntary and my comments and thoughts were my own. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical romance and adventure.
A very cute book that I enjoyed reading very much! It’s only 4 stars because it was a little too predictable at times, but overall a fabulous book. I REALLY enjoyed the inspirational moments and the great messages and lessons learned about forgiveness and helping others the right way. I would definitely recommend it because it’s fun to read and can make you a better person while your at it!
Content- very clean, very sweet, cute romance.
This historical romance was well written and had well developed characters. I have to admit I found the journey a bit challenging but I am sure the people who traveled it in life did for sure.
I enjoyed the strength of both characters and the comfort they found in God, each other and friends a great example of what people can experience.
Well written, and well paced book. Enjoyed reading about the history and journey of reaching the Yukon during the gold rush era. Loved Jess and Tava’s story and their journey of friendship to love. This is a newer author to me, but I look forward to reading more from Stacy Henrie!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was a new author for me. I enjoyed the story and the detail she put into the story.
Jess is the foreman on the ranch owned by Octavia’s father, Quinn. She is in love with him and has to hide it after he returned from a 7 month absence and declared they could only be friends.
The ranch was not doing good financially, so Quin set out for the Klondike gold rush. When they receive a letter stating Quinn was very sick and might not make it, Tava decides to go to him. Jess would not let her go alone so they set out on an adventure.
The story line was great and described many trials and problems along the way. The characters were good. In all, it was a very good book.