Review: To Win Her Heart

Last month I ran a guest post by Karen Witemeyer in which she talked about how she got the idea for her latest release, To Win Her Heart. After you finish my review, I hope you’ll go back and read the post here.

Back copy blurb: After completing his sentence for the unintentional crime that derailed his youthful plans for fame and fortune, Levi Grant looks to start over in the town of Spencer, Texas. Spencer needs a blacksmith, a trade Levi learned at the his father’s knee, and he needs a place where no one knows his past.

Eden Spencer has sworn off men, choosing instead to devote her time to the lending library she runs in the town her father founded. When a mountain-sized stranger walks through her door and asks to borrow a book, she’s reluctant to trust him. Yet as the mysteries of the town’s new blacksmith unfold, Eden discovers hidden depths in him that tempt her heart.

Eden believes she’s finally found a man of honor and integrity. But when the truth about Levi’s prodigal past comes to light, can this tarnished hero find a way to win back the librarian’s affections?

“After two years, they’d finally cut him loose. Gave him a new suit of clothes and everything. Funny, though. The shame of the convict stripes still clung to him, as if tattooed horizontally across his skin.” What a great opening for Karen’s book. Can’t you just see the permanent black and white stripes? Understand Levi’s relief at being set free, yet feel his trepidation over his future? There is so much information packed into those four sentences.

Karen has a way of crafting stories that slide the reader into the shoes of her characters. Male or female, they’re strong, yet have an interesting vulnerability that leaves you cheering them on in their attempt to achieve what they want in the end.

For Eden, her reticence to trust a man’s attentions after being hurt leaves her resigned to a life of spinsterhood. But she doesn’t curl up in a corner of her house, unless it’s with a book. Levi’s physical problem guides his life as a young man—in the wrong direction. Now, the consequences threaten to ruin his future. Still, he knows what he wants and he doesn’t let his past stop him. But, will they be able to attain their goals together?

My favorite character was Levi—a physically strong man with a gentle heart of pure gold! He fights so hard to keep people from finding out about his physical problem and the past that shames him.

This book had such a sweet ending—a “sigh” factor—that has nothing to do with romance. Enough said. You’ll  have to read To Win Her Heart and see what I mean.  🙂 

Karen included two secondary characters who deserve a story all their own. In fact, she’s running a “Fan Fiction Challenge” on her website through June 30, 2011. Check it out and see if you can write an epilogue that gives Chloe and Duncan a “happily ever after.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: This book came to me free from the publisher with the hope that I would mention it on this blog. There was no requirement for me to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.