Customer Reviews

Secrets of the Heart (Mail Order Bride, Book 1)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was disappointed in the writing style of this book. I have read quite a bit of Christian fiction and sad to say a lot of it is mediocre, even though I always hold out hope for another Lori Wick, Francine Rivers or Beverly Lewis to come along. This book had a good plot premise but fell flat. It seemed a bit far-fetched to start off with having Mrs. O'Leary of Chicago Fire fame being one of the characters, and while I understand the concept of historical fiction, this took some big liberties. The dialog is too saccharine and trite, especially the endless 'mommy, mommy' by the little boy; and there is far too little depth in the descriptions of people and circumstances. I finished it, hoping it would get better but it was just too juvenile for me. Perhaps a teen audience would appreciate it better, although I can't say it seems like it was intended to be that way.

Al & Joanna Lacy are very prolific Christian fiction writers, and I have been looking forward to reading their work. Secrets of the Heart was such a big disappointment, however. Although the basic plot is imaginative and the characters are endearing, the entire book was lacking in several ways. First, the authors took half the book just to give the background to the major storylines: Kathleen being reunited with her daughter and Tom and Kathleen finding happiness together. The background leading up to Kathleen's problems was just too involved and detailed, so much so that the first part of the story detracted from the rest of it. Second, the "meat" of the story was sketchy and left a lot of gaps. Perhaps if the authors had not spent so much time developing the background that this part of the story would be better. Also, Kathleen and Tom's characters were not as well-rounded as they could have been. Tom especially is not a particularly interesting character. It was hard for me to empathize with him when I knew virtually nothing about him. Finally, the ending just sews up all to neatly. Even though I was glad of the way it ended, a lot of gaps in the story and "fast forwarding" occurred before I got there. On the plus side, the lesson that Kathleen learns about forgiveness and God's love is the major strength of this book. Secrets of the Heart should probably best be categorized as young adult fiction, but even teenagers would have trouble with parts of this book.

I received this book as a gift, and don't usually read this type of book. I am into mystery. Now, I am into this author. I was first so interested in the story line, that I almost missed the big message it was trying to get through; allow God in to your life and you will be able to handle anything that comes your way.

Personally, when I read a fiction book, I like to be able to believe that the people and events in the book COULD be true even though I know it is fiction. This book was a big disappointment in that respect. I really don't recommend reading it if you want to read really good historical fiction.

First of all, the authors took way too long to develop the background of the story; the background actually ended up being a detraction rather than a support for the plot, because later the authors had to make up for lost time by rushing through the really important parts.

Second, I agree with the reviewer who said that putting Mrs. O'Leary in the book was stretching it a bit. I think the book would have been better if the authors were content to use a historical setting, instead of going all out like they did and trying to put famous people in as buddies of the main characters.

The third, and most annoying, reason that this book is not exactly believable, enjoyable Christian fiction is that the characters are not at all consistent. I feel that not only did the authors not stop to figure out just how their characters' personalities should be, they also tried to write about individuals and classes of people they don't know much about. For instance, take the rich and snobbish Maria Stallworth. When Kathleen is looking for a job, Maria warmly takes her in, goes above and beyond the call of duty to help her, and even calls Kathleen "dear." Definitely a sweet and charming lady! But, when she gets mad at Kathleen later, she turns into a cold, cruel, sneering snob- and pretty much stays that way for the rest of the book. Talk about erratic! No, the characters really aren't well developed at all, and therefore it is difficult to really like any of them.

This is really only a good book if you want a light read to pass the time, and nothing else will do. For that purpose, it is amusing enough. But I don't recommend it for someone looking for interesting, believable Christian fiction.

The main moral of this book is that there is no obstacle so big that a rich husband cannot solve it for you. Marry your boss's son or find a rich guy in the personal ads but, whatever you do, get yourself a rich husband...or two. Because God is good - He'll help you find a rich husband. It was a very lame book and was Christian because there is a very heavy-handed gospel presentation: Kathleen's rich, Christian husband is disappointed in her unbecoming attitude of unforgiveness towards her previous in-laws, who stole her child. She realizes that he's correct and prays the sinners prayer and is magically full of love and forgiveness for the people who so horribly wronged her. And, of course, her child is restored to her, immediately following her prayer and they all live happily ever after.

I have three daughters and sure wouldn't want them to read this book. I think my girls are better of know that happiness doesn't always come in the form of a husband, not all good husbands are rich, and not all problems magically resolve when you come to Jesus. The truth is that Jesus will never leave nor forsake us, whatever our circumstances.

This mail order bride story begins with a strange set of very sad events. Kathleen loses her whole family in a housefire. Destitute, she drops out of her last year of high school and becomes a cleaning woman. As predicted, the son of the millionaire family she works for falls madly in love with her over the strong objections of his snooty parents. A marriage and a child later, the parents accept everyone but Kathleen. Granddaughter Meggie is the apple of their eyes, and when Peter is killed violently, they determine to take their granddaughter away from her mother. They and their money succeed with the use of bribes to the judge. They arrange for Kathleen to have none of Peter's funds and she is forced out of her home and into poverty and loses her child as well. Heartbroken and destitute, Kathleen moves to a room and works for several people, living in pure squalor. Meantime the snooty, rich conniving parents have Meggie. Devastated, grieving and worn out, Kathleen learns of a mail order bride ad, and she answers and finds herself traveling from Chicago to Nevada to become the bride of a gold miner just getting started. However, he has a small son Caleb, who needs a mother. While Kathleen is a loving mother, this makes her miss Meggie even more and she is obsessed with getting enough funds to fight her wealthy ex-inlaws for custody. God blesses the efforts of her husband, and within months they are millionaires and have the funds to fight. What they find when they return to Chicago contains huge surprises, a few teary moments, and the reader will understand this is, indeed a different ending to another book in the series of Mail Order Brides. Thanks Lacys for another page turner.

I bought this book because it was cheap and I wanted to try new authors (besides Lori Wick). This book was an easy read, a nice escape from the reality of school and work. I will buy other books by Al & Joanna Lacy because I think they have potential. However, I did not care for the development of this story. In the beginning of the book, I kept wondering about the sequence of events. By the end of the book, I still wondered about the time spent on the fire danger and how it all fit into the plot. I would have liked to see more of the book written about Kathleen and Tom instead of so much time spent on the fire danger and her time before becoming a mail order bride. The step son seemed a little too mature for a 6 year old. I felt it was unrealistic how quickly he began calling Kathleen Mommy, especially considering his strong feelings against calling her Mommy when they first met. The way they forgave and helped the Stallworth family was encouraging...I have to wonder if I would be able to forgive so easily and give so much to the people treated me so badly. I recommend this book if someone is looking for an easy read to escape from reality for a time.

Basic love story with too much religious emphasis. Unlikely ending....I couldn't even finish it.