Customer Reviews

Surrender the Heart (Surrender to Destiny)

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

My wife ripped through "Surrender the Heart" over a couple of nights of staying up until 4 am. I was intrigued. What was in this (and the other Tyndall book previous) that was so captivating. So, I decided to read the book. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good read. The author keeps the pace moving (the latter part of the book moves faster) and there is a good element of Divine Providence in the story. I have done a full review of the book on my site [...] (August 23, 2010). I would throw out the challenge that perhaps men ought to take the time to read "romance novels" such as Tyndall's book with their wives. Shouldn't we be interested in what interests the ladies in our lives?

I have absolutely NO problems with Christians or religious people or books. HOWEVER, when I buy a book I like to know what category it REALLY falls into. I've noticed that Francine Rivers and other Christian romance authors have particularly high ratings on their romance novels. I am glad that people enjoy Ms. Rivers' books, and this author's as well, but it really gives a skewed perception. These books are ranked high by people looking for Christian romance novels; these novels simply do NOT compare to other historical romance novels in style, content, pace, language usage, etc. These books are in a different category altogether. I now know that I need to read the reviews to find out what is really going on prior to buying books on Amazon. The summary by the publisher and Amazon don't mention the religious aspect of the novels and only the reviewers will point to the proper category of writing that these fall into. If Amazon just separated these off from regular romance novels to begin with, it would be most helpful; not only for people like me who want to avoid these novels but for people who actually want this style of writing. It's like trying to buy a mystery and finding out that you bought a horror book instead- to some people the difference might not matter, but to any avid follower of either genre, it matters a lot.

I have read every single book MaryLu Tyndall has written and she has done it again! Wow, what an adventure. She builds the suspense up until you about to burst. Then things explode. One thing I like about her books is that she is not shy about including the power of God in her characters' lives. A lot of Christian writers write books with just a word or two about God and I sometimes think they do this just to stay out of the general romance market. But Tyndall makes no bones about her beliefs and I applaud her mightily for it. This is the kind of book I want to read.
She writes so convincily that you can feel the sway of the ship and the mist of the sea fanning your face. I love her pirate stories, I truly do. Maybe she is a secret pirate herself. :) SEriously, her books are awesome and very well written and guaranteed to entertain and leave you thinking about them long after you have closed the book.

MaryLu Tyndall is a marvelous writer!! This woman can wield a pen like a cutlass, slashing out the most heart-pounding, romantic adventures on the high seas, right before our awestruck eyes! Her lyrical prose is like a sirens call, effortlessly drawing you into the story and keeping you a joyous captive of her charms! And her strong faith flows through the pages in some of the most powerful conversions and mighty deliverances, creating scenes that beautifully portray the awesome saving grace of Jesus Christ!

Marianne Denton was like a breath of fresh air from the usual "perfect in every way" heroine that we often find in a romance novel. Described as "plain and plump", she is a real girl, with real hurts, fears, insecurities and dreams. From highbrow to humbled low, her world is flipped upside down after a horrible event leaves her with the sole responsibility of a younger sister and a terribly ill mother. She must resort to drastic measures to procure her inheritance to aid in the rapidly decreasing funds of her family. Her mother's life depends upon it! Marianne's only hope comes in the form of her childhood nemesis. The boy, who lived to make her life miserable, seems intent on continuing the legacy as a man.

Noah Brenin believes he has something to prove and a great debt to pay. With tragic past regrets, that dog his every step, he is a man drowning under the heavy weight of guilt that drags him farther and farther away from an ever forgiving God. He is not the boy he once was, heartbreaking loss has a way of changing a person. But try convincing Marianne of that. Yet, his opinion of her is just as bad and just as unfounded.

Unforeseen events shine new light and begin to change long held opinions, charting a course neither imagined they would be sailing. Can these two people, hindered by their past, actually have a future together? Will they allow the Lord to replace their ashes with beauty and their fear with faith? Does God have an extraordinary destiny in store for ordinary people? If you are a MaryLu fan, this book is a must read! And if you've never had the pleasure of experiencing the kind of palpitations only she can give, well, this is a great place to start!

**And as a side note (though the man deserves a review all his own!)- Luke Heaton, Noah's first mate, ABSOLUETLY STOLE MY HEART!!!!! I didn't get nearly enough of him in this book! I have a VERY strong feeling that he will be the hero in the upcoming third book in this series (Surrender the Dawn, coming out in 2011)!! There is NO WAY MaryLu would dangle a strong, loyal, fearless, devastatingly handsome rogue in front of our faces (and hearts) like that and not give him the spotlight somewhere down the road! I refuse to believe it! This man has a story that MUST be told! And, if I am right (and PRAYERFULLY I am!), Luke's heroine has to be none other than Cassandra, Marianne's beautiful friend, with the fiery hair and emerald eyes!! Listen to me, LOL, the second book hasn't even come out yet and I'm already pining for the third! You'll understand why after you read this one ;)

I stumbled across this book in the Kindle limited time free book section, and boy, am I glad I did!! I couldn't put this book down and lost a few hours of sleep over it! :) The book starts off a little bit slow, but the author is laying the ground work for a wonderful adventure. The battle scenes suck you right into the story, you can feel the tension, and hear the boom of canons and shattering of wood.
I connected with many of the characters in this book, not just the hero and heroine.
In fact, I just finished purchasing the sequel...Amazon's marketing idea of giving away the first book in a series to induce you to buy the rest certainly works on me!

As a side note, I don't think it's fair for people to rate books poorly because they don't like Amazon's method of classifying (or lack thereof) of romance novels. I agree that Amazon should put Christian fiction in a category by itself (it would make it easier for me to find new authors to read like Ms. Tyndall) but these reviews are to be about the book, the writing, the plot, the characters, whether or not the story sucked you in; not your disappointment that you had to skip over some Bible verses and didn't get a steamy sex scene. Until Amazon categorizes books differently, look at who the publisher is...this will often indicate whether it is Christian or not even if the description does not.

This romance is a great story. It has all the elements I love - a strong heroine and hero, conflicted about their relationship, and daring action. I like the fact that Marianne isn't a stunning beauty, because most of us aren't outrageously beautiful, handsome or rich enough to do anything without thinking long and hard about the consequences. But future readers should know that this is a Christian book with an underlying religious agenda. There are no steamy sex scenes, which I was fine with as the story itself is strong enough to carry the romance without it. The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is that the prosletysing was a bit heavy-handed and I felt it actually detracted from the story.

Marianne Denton finds herself engaged to the man who tormented her when they were both children because she needs to access her dowry to save her mother and sister. Noah Brenin agreed to the engagement to please his father, but now regrets it. On the night of their engagement party, Noah decides to continue to torment her - hoping she'll break off the engagement so he won't have to damage her reputation by doing it himself.

Unfortunately, Marianne has grown a backbone and decides to confront Noah on his disrespectful behavior. She follows him to his cargo ship, where she stumbles and is knocked unconscious. When she comes to, she finds they have set sail and she is stuck on Noah's ship headed to England.

Marianne tries to sabotage the ship to convince Noah to turn around and bring her back home to care for her sick mother and young sister. However, he is determined to continue on his business. Eventually, his stubbornness and her efforts result in both of them being captured by a British warship along with two other crew members.

They stumble across information that can help save American naval officers. They fight to save themselves and other Americans during the War of 1812. And fall in love in the process...

This was the first book I have read by M.L. Tyndall and I absolutely loved it and could not put it down. There was so much action and adventure. The characters were so real - full of bravery and courage, as well as imperfections. Noah and Marianne judged each other from their experiences as children and struggle to come to grips with the reality rather than their preconceived ideas of who the other is. I would highly recommend this story and I can't wait to read other books by this author.

I've heard a lot of great things about MaryLu and her books, so when I won this book, I was looking forward to reading it. What a fun adventure! Marianne was great to get to know through the course of this book and I laughed out loud on occasion with her and Noah's banter. What fun!

The Christian content in the book was greatly appreciated. I loved watching both Marianne and Noah grow and mature in Christ. Very realistic!

I enjoyed every moment I spent in Surrender the Heart. Can't wait to see what happens in the rest of the series! Keep it up, MaryLu!! You've crafted together a wonderful beginning to this series. Very well done!

This is a great story that teaches you the value of trusting God in the times of trouble. Thank you for reminding us of our patriotism and of God's unending love for us. May God bless you as you write the stories God gives you.

If you are looking for Christian novels and love stories, you should read the novels by this author. She has written another great novel, and this one is a start of a new series.
About the plot: Marianne Denton becomes engaged to a merchant called Noah Brennin. She does not like him very much. But as the War of 1812 starts, the Brits capture Jonah's ship, and the couple finds out that they now posess some key information that could help America in this war. They are now in the decision making point: how to save America and how to save their love...

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good Christian love and action stories.