Customer Reviews

The Heart of a Hero (Harlequin Historical, 444)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is also the first Harlequin Historical I found to be a keeper. I've enjoyed many, but thought this one was better than most. I almost didn't buy this and left it at the used book store because the cheesy cover, but glad I remembered the old saying about not judging a book by its cover.

Anyway, the book is well written and great about a man who has overcome many hardships and turned out to be a great man, yet the town hasn't seen it or accepted him. The new school marm does, and a friendship soon begins. Yet the new schoolmarm wants to be accepted in the new town and has to be careful of getting involved with him due to how the town sees him, plus any man because she was ran out of her hometown due to gossip basically and the fear that she did something wrong, too. She innocently goes to dinner and gets introduced to a man expecting to be set her up with her and he assumes they're courting after that and is near relentless. I'm glad she finally showed some backbone and excused herself at one town event because if she didn't, this would have been a 4 star for her just going along with it and not ever taking action.

I loved the character developement and how the hero fell for her. It was nice to see that she helped him to show the town folk that he was capable of taking care of the kids, when nobody else but an old friend of his thought he could. I enjoyed them finally getting together and the whole story. It was a great read & hope you give it a try.

I've read books by this author before, and was delighted to see another wonderful story by Judith Stacy. This story, of a man returning to his small western hometown which did not appreciate his returning, shows us a touching story of redemption and forgiveness. Jess, basically a good man, struggles against great odds to save his sister's children. The heroine, Sarah, has come to town with secrets of her own, and her struggles against her attraction for Jess make this a compelling story. Judith Stacy gives us people we'd love to have as friends, and a setting we'd like to visit. This book was a delightful read. Thank you, Harlequin!

The is a sensativly done tale of a man's search for redemption and his relationship with a town's refusal to except him. Jess Logan has only been out of prison for a short time when he returns to raise his sister's children. Due to a tragedy when Jess was twelve, he and his sister lived seperate lives. His sister, Cassie was raised by a family, but poor Jess was passed from one disinterested family to another, soon garnering a reputation for a troublemaker. The town is unwilling to forgive Jess's past transgessions and the rumor that he is a hired killer. They try to take the children, eight year old Maggie and her younger brother Jimmy, who has not spoken a word since his mother's death. Sarah Wakefield has arrived in town to take Cassie's place as a schoolteacher, she is the only one willing to give Jess a second chance, only she has a secret to hide. I truly found this an enjoyable read and I recommend it for all lovers of western romance.

Jess Logan has a deep sense of responsibility and family and wants to do all he can for his sisters' children.

I loved the way Maggie turned to her unknown Uncle Jess and gave him her unconditional love. But Jess sure had a lot to learn about little Jimmy and ended up needing Sarah Wakefield to show him how to understand the little one.

Ah, but then Jess fell in lust with Sarah and began a slow burn for her. This caused oh, so many complications! He wasn't even aware when lust turned to love and poor Sarah was afraid of becoming a wanton with dire results.

Wonderful angles to the story to keep it interesting [especially Jess's little secret] and moved along with enough gentle tension that it became hard to put it down.

I am still a bit confused on how easily these characters give into temptation given the age they live in. Not that it is an impossibility but I still think they had a much stronger moral fiber [or fear] than is portrayed.
Still a great story and will definitely recommend it for a good read.

I enjoyed the story even if a whole lot of nothing really happened. The characters were likable and the story moved along at a good pace. I would recommend it as a good library or used bookstore read.

THE HEART OF A HERO is another great read by Judith Stacy! The storyline will keep you engrossed and the characters are endearing!