An antique locket with the power to inspire everlasting love unites the five stories in this stunning collection of historical and contemporary inspirational romance novellas!In Heritage of Love, Danica Favorite takes us to the Chicago world’s fair, where a chance encounter will spark an opportunity for true love, if only the young couple can first overcome polite society’s rigid rules . . . … society’s rigid rules . . .
Stacy Henrie tells the story of a sheriff desperate to escape the matchmaking efforts of the women in his small town, only to discover that his attempts to sidestep them may lead to eternal love and happiness in By Any Other Name . . .
Tina Radcliffe’s Forget Me Not paints the picture of a charming antique store, where love will blossom when two strangers learn the secret about a long-ago hurt and a love that never died . . .
In The Lost Locket, Terri Reed introduces readers to two people who have given up on love and will fight their undeniable attraction until it may be too late . . .
And in Winning the Fireman’s Heart, Sherri Shackelford shows us two long-time friends forever searching for the perfect mate, until a gesture of kindness reveals the love that’s always been waiting for them . . .
About the Authors:
Danica Favorite
A self-professed crazy chicken lady, Danica loves the adventure of living a creative life, and loves to explore the depths of human nature and follow people on the journey to happily-ever-after. Though the journey is often bumpy, those bumps are what refine imperfect characters as they live the life God created them for. Oops, that just spoiled the ending of all of Danica’s stories. Then again, getting there is all the fun.
Stacy Henrie
A USA Today bestselling author, Stacy has published more than a dozen inspirational historical romance novels and novellas. Born and raised in the West, where she currently resides with her family, Stacy enjoys reading, road trips, interior decorating, chocolate, and most of all laughing with her husband and kids.
Tina Radcliffe
Originally from Western New York, Tina left home for a tour of duty with the Army Security Agency stationed in Augsburg, Germany, and ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and later moved to Colorado. A freelance writer for over twenty years, Tina is an RWA Honor Roll member, a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist, two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist, and a 2014 ACFW Carol Award winner. She currently resides in Arizona, where she writes fun, heartwarming romance.
Terri Reed
Terri’s romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publishers Weekly Top 25 and Nielsen’s Bookscan Top 100; have been Amazon Bestsellers and featured in USA Today, Christian Fiction Magazine, and Romantic Times magazine; have finaled in the Romance Writers of America’s RITA contest, National Reader’s Choice Award contest, and American Christian Fiction Writers’ Carol Award contest.
Sherri Shackelford
Sherri is an award-winning author of inspirational, Christian romance novels for Harlequin/HarperCollins. A wife and mother of three, Sherri’s hobbies include collecting mismatched socks, discovering new ways to avoid cleaning, and standing in the middle of the room while thinking, “Why did I just come in here?” A reformed pessimist and recent hopeful romantic, Sherri has a passion for writing. Her books are fun and fast-paced, with plenty of heart and soul.
more
I enjoyed the stories in this collection and seeing the locket pass from one character to another. The first two stories are historical, and the last three are contemporary. I liked the setting of the first story, with an eligible society daughter interested in seeing more exhibits than the horticulture one deemed acceptable to young ladies, and her unlikely friendship that springs up with a cowboy from the Wild West show. However the dialogue was pretty stilted, the insta-love unrealistic, and the characters repeatedly fixated on his partial Native American heritage.
The collection vastly improved with Stacy Henrie’s novella which had vibrant characters, interesting banter, and a compelling narrative. The small-town sheriff thought he was corresponding over a year with the lovely lady he met at the Chicago World’s Fair, but it turns out that he mixed up her name with her plainer sister’s. They don’t discover the misunderstanding until she arrives to marry him, and a marriage of convenience results. I’m always intrigued by how a couple falls in love while in such close circumstances but also withholding- or attempting to 😉 His bride fits right in, helps him with his duties and befriends the neglected youngster he has been reaching out to. Their blossoming romance based on friendship develops sweetly and some dangerous outlaws bring action to the plot.
The first contemporary story by Tina Radcliffe was fun and quirky with the antique shop passed down to a niece who learns that her aunt’s long-ago broken relationship with the owner and landlord of the building it’s in has put the future of the shop at risk. The building owner’s nephew who is also his lawyer comes to town to foreclose but ends up solving the mystery of the relationship and falls in love with the town himself. I appreciated the genuine and friendly nature of the main characters and their friends in the tight-knit community. The retro vibe was fun and I loved how in her antique shop the objects of an older era are valued instead of disregarded or discarded.
The next story by Terri Reed has a doctor and a nurse who work well together professionally sparking a friendship outside of work and discovering their chemistry and attraction for one another. I liked how well they respected each other and the fun they had together. The conflict of the plot is that Penny has a hard time trusting her own heart to love and Brad is only in the town on a temporary contract, with his next job already lined up in Chicago. Even though they alternate between closeness and avoiding each other, they are honest about their feelings and I appreciated that they allowed each other space to figure out their own hearts and futures.
The final story is another fun one with a creative premise- Logan, the attractive fireman who always keeps relationships short has a pact with his best friend Georgie who is a girl to attend all weddings as each other’s date. She has a tomboy sense of humor and isn’t a twig, and is about ready to give up on finding love. She wins a drawing for a wedding dress complete with a trip to NYC with her groom-to-be and a photo shoot, so Logan volunteers to be her stand-in groom so she can claim the dress. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and also some tender and vulnerable ones as they are drawn into situations that make them realize how much they care for each other, and not just as friends. A perfectly wonderful friends-to-lovers romance!
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions expressed in this review are my own)
What a fun collection of novellas all tied to a single heirloom locket passed down through generations, sisters, and friends! The first two stories take place in 1890s and the following three stories are contemporary. Each novella is well-crafted with fun characters. I love how the five stories flow together though written by five different authors (I’ve read a couple of novella collections that are designed this way and loved every single one of them).
Danica Favorite (Heritage of Love) paints a story of Violet, a young and emotional and somewhat flighty woman, who is bent on seeking adventure and the loyal, thoughtful, kind Johnny Little Bear who is a half Lakota horse breeder temporarily working in the Chicago Fair to save enough money to rebuild his father’s ranch. Violet is given a silver locket by a mysterious stranger that promises true love to the wearer of the locket and the couple’s romance begins.
Stacy Henrie (By Any Other Name) continues the legacy of the locket as Violet gives the locket to her practical, not-as-pretty, quiet younger sister Iris. Iris travels to be a mail-order bride to Rome who is a sheriff in Idaho but their encounter is fraught with misunderstandings and hurt. It’s a fun marriage of convenience story and how they fall in love, with their uniquely shared interests and their being a team together, is tender and sweet.
Tina Radcliff brings us to present day Colorado (Forget Me Not) as Maddy wears the locket, inherited from her great-aunt. Maddy is a fun, tender-hearted antique shop owner and Gabe is the hot-shot big city lawyer come to evict Maddy from her store on his great-uncle’s demand. There is a nice subplot of Maddy’s great-aunt and Gabe’s great-uncle’s long-lost romance within the story and a whole lot of fun and funny dialogue amongst the characters. The themes of forgiveness, mercy, and sacrificial love are prominent in the story.
Terri Reed has Maddy’s sister Penny wearing the locket (The Lost Locket) as she adjusts to life back home as an ER nurse. She’s been hurt and labels herself with “attachment issues” though she’s a warm, loving woman with so much to give. She ends up working the night shift with Brad, an ER doc who has also been burned by love before. Their romance is slow and sweet and so gratifying when they realize that they can make their relationship work.
In the final story, Sherri Shackelford (Winning the Fireman’s Heart) weaves Georgie, Penny’s best friend, and Logan together in a hysterical scenario-gone-wild story with hilarious banter. Georgie now wears the locket, “on loan” from her best friend Penny who believes Georgie will get a chance at true love, too, one day. Georgie has a big heart and dreams but doesn’t think that she is marriage material and prefers to hang out with her friend Logan, who’s always been by her side. Logan is a firefighter who can’t seem to commit to any long-term relationship due to restlessness. A whole series of newsworthy incidents later, we have a smile-worthy romance between two great friends who have known each other all their lives.
If you enjoy a heart-warming collection of fun novellas, this one is definitely for you! I received a copy of the book from the authors and was under no obligation to publish a review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Legacy of the Heart was such an enjoyable novella collection! The first two stories were historical and the last three were contemporary. I liked the continuity that the locket brought to the collection, yet, I also appreciated that the novellas were each unique in the way the locket played into the plot.
All of the stories were fun to read and I liked each one. I really enjoyed By Any Other Name, which was a historical novella. I thought that this marriage of convenience story was especially sweet and it tugged at my heartstrings.
My favorite contemporary story was Winning the Fireman’s Heart. I loved the way these two main characters, who were best friends, fell in love without even realizing it at first. Very fun!
This is definitely a good collection to grab hold of for fans of sweet and inspirational romance!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Legacy of the Heart
by Danica Favorite, Stacy Henrie, Tina Radcliffe, Terri Reed, Sherri Shackelford
An antique locket – can it bring love?
Can an heirloom locket have the power to bring about true love? A locket ties the five stories in this collection together. It first appears when a stranger at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago gives it to Violet. It is given to her sister next and then shows up in our present time in the hands of another pair of sisters and their friend.
I enjoy novella collections that have a common thread woven through them like this. The authors did a great job with the continuity of the theme. I was impressed by the way the characters who were introduced in one story were so naturally and seamlessly carried into the next as the main character. I also appreciate that though the locket could have been treated as a magical object, it was not. In many of the stories it was emphasized by the characters that the locket couldn’t have this power – love comes from God. Yay!
Each of the stories was enjoyable. Several of my favorite romance tropes were used. Marriage of Convenience (By Any Other Name), Best Friends to sweethearts (Winning the Fireman’s Heart), and Enemies to Lovers (The Lost Locket).
Heritage of Love by Danica Favorite addressed prejudice against the “Indians”. One of the things that I liked that the author brought out was the way that those who experience prejudice aimed at them often develop prejudices themselves. It was also interesting to see how even at that “modern” time, women attending the World’s Fair were expected to stay in the garden exhibits and were discouraged from attending any of the others.
By Any Other Name by Stacy Henrie was a touching twist on a Mail Order Bride – in this case, Sheriff Rome had already met and was corresponding with Ivy when he realized his need for a bride. There was a twist at the beginning that I was not expecting at all.
Forget Me Not, by Tina Radcliffe starts out with a bang, literally, and is a delightful story about secret identities, scorned lovers, antiques, and cupcakes.
The Lost Locket by Terri Reed was about Madeline’s sister, Penny. Both she and Brad first appeared in Forget Me Not. This was a very sweet story of this nurse and doctor falling in love but not wanting to admit it even to themselves out of fear and the way it would change their life plans.
Winning the Fireman’s Heart by Sherri Shackleford had me laughing out loud. With a slightly uncouth fireman (seriously, he belched in Ginger’s presence without even trying to cover it up – yuck!) with a protective nature and his best friend who had always felt herself lacking, especially in her appearance, this story was funny and touching at the same time.
Read the full review of Legacy of the Heart by Danica Favorite, Stacy Henrie, Tina Radcliffe, Terri Reed, Sherri Shackelford with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net
I would like to thank Prism Book Tours for giving me a copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
Legacy of the Heart is a collection of five novellas. These novellas include:
Heritage of Love by Danica Favorite – a clean historical set at the World’s Fair in Chicago, IL with Violet and Johnny.
By Any Other Name by Stacy Henrie – a sweet western involving a bachelor Sheriff Rogers.
Forget Me Not by Tina Radcliffe – an interesting story involving Maddy and Gabe.
The Lost Locket by Terri Reed – a fun tale of Nurse Penny and Dr Brad.
Winning the Fireman’s Heart by Sherri Shackleford – my favorite of the five stories. Georgie and Logan finds love right where they least expect it.
I enjoyed all five of these stories. I did find them predictable but I did not care. Such a good, sweet, clean, and romantic book. I give Legacy of the Heart 4 1/2 stars. It is most definitely worth a read.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
4.5 Stars
This is one novella collection you may want to read in the order the stories are laid out. It’s the best way to follow the locket’s progression.
With love at first sight, a marriage of convenience, enemies to love, and best friends to more, there is something in this collection for every romance reader. Plus it’s a nice combination of historical (first two novellas) and contemporary (last three stories).
A fun collection from five fabulous authors, Legacy of the Heart allows each author to weave the locket into their own novella. A few of them also do an excellent job of introducing the holder of the locket in the next entry.
The fact this collection is just the right length to be read in one setting was a huge plus for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love novellas. They are a great break between longer reads and usually introduce me to an author I have not read yet. But some of the collections today take me days to get through.
Each author in Legacy of the Heart lends her voice and style to the overall collection that has a strong cohesion with the introduction of the locket. A definite must-read from lovers of novellas, lovers of romance, or lovers of a great story collection.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.