Deep in the Heart [Kindle Edition]

Staci Stallings (Author)

Book Description

Just out of college and completely alone in the world, Maggie Montgomery has one shot left to save her life from an abyss of poverty and hopelessness. Clinging to the last shred of fuel and hope, she arrives at the mansion of Texas billionaire Conrad Ayers. Although Maggie is clearly not what Mr. Ayers and his wife have in mind for a nanny, they agree to hire her temporarily until they can find someone more appropriate to fill the position. However, Maggie's whole world is about to be up-ended by two way-over-scheduled children and one incredibly handsome hired hand. As she struggles to fit into a world she was never made to fit in, Maggie wonders if she can ever learn to become a perfect version of herself so she can keep the job, or is she doomed to always be searching for a life she can never quite grasp?

Keith Ayers despises his life. As the son of Texas billionaire Conrad Ayers and the fiance to a Senator from Texas' daughter, it looks great on the outside, but inside, he is dying. He would vastly prefer to manage and train his father's racehorses. However, everyone else thinks that is beneath him. He needs to get into industry and build on his father's success. Suffocating under the constrictions of his life, he meets Maggie who begins to teach him that wealth and power is not everything in this life. But can Keith defy the most powerful men in Texas to follow his heart?

"Staci Stallings... Christian fiction at its best!"

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci’s stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That’s what keeps Staci writing and you reading.

Product Details

• File Size: 531 KB
• Print Length: 352 pages
• Publisher: Spirit Light Books (September 7, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005LVVIIG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,319 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unbelievable Intersection of Lives March 20, 2012

By Mary C. Findley

Format:Kindle Edition

This is the third contemporary romance I have read recently, and the second by a Christian writer. Normally I don't read this genre because the stories tend to focus on the self-centered "sufferings" of a heroine who doesn't have any real sufferings. I have been blessed, however, to find two out of three gems in the genre.
You know Maggie Montgomery has seen real trouble from the very beginning. But you also know she's learned to "pray without ceasing" in the most down to earth sense. Don't make the mistake of thinking this is "The Nanny" with tacked-on Christianity. This is no comedy. Grab your box of tissues and follow Maggie through her stunning discoveries and what people discover about her, themselves, and her God. Who becomes her only real friend? Someone who's totally off-limits. Who does she teach to pray? Not just the sweet little four-year-old boy she cares for. Whose lives does she change? Almost the entire rest of the cast of the book.
I thought the scenes at church were a little strange. They never met a single church member. Didn't even shake hands with the pastor or say his name. Some of the sermon illustrations were application rather than strictly correct interpretation, but the points made were easy to understand. The focus was on Maggie's living faith, and that shined clear. Romantic tension seesaws through everything, but was a little repetitive in the way was portrayed sometimes.
The characters were well-rounded, even the secondary ones. Plenty of internal and external conflicts keep the reader going and guessing. It's an excellent read with a resolution of so much more than just the impossible romance.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it, but probably not for everyone April 19, 2012

By Sue Reviews

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have had the joy of reading 3 of Stacy Stallings books over the last few months. I have found each to be creative, interesting, and engaging. I plan to make my way through most of her novels. There aren't as many talented authors in the Christian Fiction genre and I'm happy to see the author emerging as one of my favorites. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. This is a story of real people, with burdensome life experiences and what each chooses to make of their lives. I love reading a book with a main character who is such a strong person, loving, kind, and gracious. I also enjoyed seeing God transform the lives of the others in this book.

That being said, I do want to say that I don't believe this book would be for everyone. If you aren't already a Christian, I think you would find the approach to faith to be heavy handed. I say this because some of the authors other novels are a bit softer in their approach and I think you would enjoy them and grow by reading them regardless of your faith. This book is a lot more outspoken in faith messages. It screams what it is to be a Christian. For me, I loved that about it. I am mentioning this because I think there are christian fiction novels that are written in such a way that you could hand them off to somoene else and they'd be a great tool for witnessing because it's not hitting you over the head with it. I don't think this is one of those books.

Would I give this to a young adult? Probably but only with conversation. This book has some deep themes and the description of the "hero's" lifestyle before faith is such that I think it would require conversation.

Overall, if you are into Christian Fiction...I say "Two Thumbs Up"

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I Loved Deep in the Heart March 19, 2012

By Cindy

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

What does forgiveness have to do with hurt, anger and scars from the past too ugly to be revealed? How can love wrap itself around grudges, secrets and the quest for monetary wealth until it's the only thing that matters? Searching only for a job and a roof over her head, Maggie shows up at the door of the Ayers mansion alone, penniless and utterly dependent upon the mercy of the rich family too concerned about their own fortune to have compassion on such a thing as a human soul. How could they know that their lavish quest for worldly goods and social status is about to come crashing down around them at the selfless love and kindness of the lowly woman hired as their nanny?
Deep in the Heart is a gut-wrenching, tear-jerking story of forbidden yet undeniable romance between the one who has it all and the one who has nothing. And yet, which is which? Is it Keith, the handsome son of one of the richest men in Texas with racehorses to tend, a beautiful fiancée on his arm and a future of wealth and power at his fingertips? Or could it be Maggie, the girl with no money, no family, no home and yet possesses a heart of peace and fulfillment, brimming with love for others and for her God?
Once again, Staci reaches `deep in her heart' to spill emotion onto the pages that pulls you into her story with a grasp that will not let go. Your heart will ache along with Maggie as she falls hopelessly in love with the man she can never have and along with Keith as he seeks to fill the void in his heart with things that can never satisfy. What twist of irony awaits Keith and Maggie that causes their pasts to collide with their futures in a way they never could have predicted?
Deep in the Heart is Staci Stallings at her finest. The memory of the anguish and joy poured out by her pen will remain in your heart long after the final page has been turned.

More About the Author

A stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids and a writing addiction on the side, Staci Stallings has numerous titles for readers to choose from. Not content to stay in one genre and write it to death, Staci's stories run the gamut from young adult to adult, from motivational and inspirational to full-out Christian and back again. Every title is a new adventure! That's what keeps Staci writing and you reading.