Children’s clothing designer Mary Wade Kimball’s soft spot for animals leads to a hostage situation when she spots a briar- entangled kitten in front of an abandoned house. Beaten, bound, and gagged by the two thugs inside, Mary Wade loses hope for escape when a third villain returns with supplies.Discovering the kidnapped woman ratchets the complications for undercover agent Brett Davis. … Davis. Weighing the difference of ruining his three months’ investigation against the woman’s safety, Brett forsakes his mission and helps her escape, the bent-on-revenge brutes following behind.
When Mary Wade’s safety is threatened once more, Brett rescues her again. This time, her personal safety isn’t the only thing in jeopardy. Her heart is endangered as well.
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Plenty of surprises, danger, and romance, and a reminder that God doesn’t always work things out for us the way we expect. The characters seem like real people, with their strengths and weaknesses. The plot moved along and kept me interested in finding out what would happen next.
A great read! My favorite character was Gigi – loved her spunk and sass! A wonderful story overall!
The sparks that fly between these characters are electrifying. I did not want to put this book down. The author keeps you wanting to see what happens next and I am definitely going through withdrawals now that I have finished it.
A book that starts with a kidnapping is always going to be interesting! This book was a quick read, perfect for a lazy day of reading. The characters were interesting and the pacing was good. I liked the interaction between the characters. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Rescued Hearts is yet another great book written by Hope Toler Dougherty. I have read several of her other books and have become a huge of hers. I was excited to have the opportunity this one and I was definitely not disappointed. I enjoyed Mary and Brett’s story. I thought they had wonderful chemistry from the start. The mystery and suspense kept me hanging on to the end. I had to find out what would happen with the two. It was full of action, adventure, and danger. I never knew what the following scenes would be like. It was tale that I could not have predicted.
I am giving Rescued Hearts a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy clean, inspiring, romantic suspense. They will not be disappointed.
I received Rescued Hearts from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.
Mary Wade Kimball stops to rescue a kitten and quickly becomes the kidnap victim of two despicable and desperate men and it is only with the help of an undercover agent that she is able to escape. These actions, however, reveal his true identity and Brett Davis finds himself at risk also. Suddenly, these two total strangers are forced to trust each other in their race against death.
Rescued Hearts tackles some heavy subjects, including human trafficking and illegal drugs but the multi-faceted characters and intriguing plot overshadow these unsavory elements. I liked both Mary Wade and Brett but it’s Brett’s grandmother, Gigi, who stole my heart. She has the wisdom that comes from age and experience and a deep, unquestioning faith that shines for all to see. She also has a spine of steel and I was especially impressed with the strength that she shows during an intense rescue scene!
Fans of romantic suspense will surely enjoy Rescued Hearts because Hope Toler Dougherty has a knack for placing realistic characters into incredible situations and making it all seem possible!
I received a copy of this book from the author via Celebrate Lit Tours. These are my own thoughts.
Evil didn’t win today!
One would have to wonder if Mary Wade would have stopped to rescue the kitten had she known all that would result from that action. Perhaps yes, perhaps no – I would imagine she considered that more than once. That one decision brought her into a world of physical and emotional abuse, kidnapping, shootouts, car chases and even more mystery.
I loved the well-developed characters, even laughing at times, particularly at GiGi, Brett’s grandmother. She brought some lighthearted moments into that feeling of foreboding, that sensation that the criminals weren’t done yet! I was reminded that ministry can take so many different forms, including crocheting with cancer survivors.
This digital copy was received through Scrivenings Press and CelebrateLit. It was previously made available by Mantle Rock Publishing and Hartline Literary Agency. The impressions and comments are my own and were in no way solicited.
This is fun, suspenseful read! I enjoy reading books set in North Carolina with realistic plots!
Love the book cover. Look forward to reading and reviewing the author’s books in print format.
Recommend the book.
Rescued Hearts by author Hope Toler Doughtery is a Christian contemporary suspense romance novel. The cover is dark and threatening with a small kitten waving its tale in warning. I knew immediately this would be no light, sweet romance.
This is the story of Mary Wade (“two names”) Kimball. At the opening of the book she is biking home after a pedicure and hears a cat crying because it is tangled. She stops to rescue it and WHAM! Mary Wade finds herself kidnapped. Wow, what a beginning to a book. It captured my attention immediately.
Brett Davis is the hunky undercover agent working the case that has Mary Wade herself tangled in with two bad men. He abandons his missions to save her and the book takes off on a twisting and turning tale.
I enjoyed the author’s style of writing. It flows along at a nice even pace. Her characters are well defined and relatable. I especially enjoyed the spunky grandmother? The conversations were smooth and sounded genuine. There were a few surprise twists and turns to keep it interesting. The ending seemed to pave the way for another book. When you read the story you will understand my reasoning.
I would recommend this to any adult that enjoys contemporary fiction. Because of the attempted rape subject, “medicinal” use and keeping alcohol in the home, I would not recommend this for teenage readers. It receives 4 stars from me. Celebrate Lit provided a copy, but these are my honest words.
“You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Hmm, maybe not, but you sure can increase the chances of a reader picking it up if it has an enticing look to it. I chose Rescued Hearts by Hope Toler Dougherty first because of the irresistible cover. The kitten, the rundown cottage, and sinister clouds produce just the right effect.
Mary Wade Kimball is house-sitting when she stumbles into an undercover operation and finds herself kidnapped by two fiendish characters. What happens next is incredible, but works for this romantic suspense novel.
Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t really connect with the characters until about 40% of the way through.
Once I got that far, I began to enjoy the novel much more, and the relationship, or possible relationship, between Mary Wade and Brett Davis. Brett has been hurt before and is super cautious, confusing Mary Wade. Mary Wade tries hard to forget him, but circumstances conspire against her.
Gigi, Brett’s grandmother, is a wonderful source of support for Brett. She is a great cook and has a sharp mind and impeccable timing. She’s a card well-played.
I liked the end but wasn’t really comfortable with the settling of one of the problems. It seemed a little simple, give the amount of time spent on setting up the conflict.
Still, a fun read all in all. The road to true love is never smooth. Try an afternoon with Rescued Hearts and be ready for a bumpy ride.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher through Celebrate Lit. All opinions are my own. No positive review was required.
I love a good mystery. Suspense keeps me intriqued. I found both in Rescued Hearts and couldn’t put it down. Do you ever get a book like that? I find I’ve had a lot lately!
Confession #1: I’m a total cat lover and have rescued my fair share. I would have rescued the cat too.
Confession #2: The blonde bimbo impression. I’ve done it. She did amazing. Much better than I could have.
Confession #3: I love Brett’s family! Can they adopt me? I mean the matchmaking is on point.
Confession #4: I’d never make the first phone call so another reason Mary Wade and I would get along amazingly.
No clue what I’m talking about? NO idea what a gorgeous cabin in the woods has to do with anything? Check out this book from your library or purchase it at the store and you’ll know. You also are going to want to make sure you have uninterrupted reading time. Because it’s that good. There are lots of secrets kept in this book. Lots of notions that get challenged and hearts that have to be cracked open piece by piece. It moves at a fast pace but not so fast that you’re missing important clues. Definitely a good read in my opinion.
I received a copy of this book to facilitate my review. All opinions are thoughts are my own and not influenced in anyway.
I recently started reading Hope Toler’s books and so far they’ve been a delight.
The world of Mary Wade and Brett was a really interesting one; from kidnapping to running during a hurricane, to dodging bullets and criminal… interesting, intriguing, lip-biting suspect and action.
Their first meeting was scary but I admired how Mary Wade took it in stride. Her name was one of the most unique names “Mary Wade” I’ve read in books. I admired her straight and tenacity even when oppositions came. She pursued what she believed in and that was amazing. I liked her faith in God, it wasn’t perfect but I liked that she was trying daily.
The attraction between her and Brett was sweet. I loved how he protected her and loved her. I liked how his presence in her life influenced changes in her life. Very kind and compassionate man who put others firsy before himself.
Theirs was a beautiful story spiced with love and happy endings.
I received a copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.
I loved the twists the author cleverly puts in throughout the story to add an element of intrigue . Mary Wade is out for a bike ride when she discovers a kitten trapped . She can’t just ignore it, so she goes to help it. Unfortunately she stumbles upon a place that may look deserted, but is surprised when someone kidnaps her and throws her in one of the rooms of the abandoned house. The minute Mary Wade realizes she is in danger, I could feel her heart beating faster and faster. The men who have her are not very friendly and horrible things run through Mary Wade’s mind. I did like that she was a very strong and intelligent person. She didn’t seem to ever really panic and I loved that the author didn’t make her a helpless woman.
I did like the surprise of the third man who seemed to be the leader. Brett is not happy at all that there is a strange woman tied up in the house. It does complicate things for him since he is an undercover agent. Brett was a very well written character with determination and a knack for getting out of tough situations. Will he risk blowing his cover to rescue Mary Wade? The action is good and kept my attention. I liked the references to their faith and especially liked Brett’s grandmother. She is a feisty woman who secretly plays a little matchmaking between Brett and Mary Wade. The story will definitely keep your attention as Brett and Mary Wade try to keep one step ahead of the men who kidnapped her. I did find the ending a bit of a surprise. There seemed to be another plot going on at the end that didn’t really fit with the overall story. The book was good, but a little disappointing to add the extra story at the end.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.