Customer Reviews

Uncertain Heart (Seasons of Redemption, Book 2)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read the Unwilling Warrior I was excited to read Uncertain Heart {Seasons of Redemption} Book Two by Andrea Boeshaar! I was not disappointed!
These are stand alone reads so one doesn't have to read book one to "get" book two.
In the Uncertain Heart we meet up with Sarah McCabe. Being young and of great courage Sarah wrestles with wanderlust. Like a lot of young ladies just.on.the.brink.of.womanhood, Sarah wants more that just what she has. She wants excitement, adventure and a true love. Who can blame her? For most young people have dreams and Sarah has a dream to be more and go to places away from her home state of Missouri.
Sarah takes the position of governess and this where Captain Brain Sinclair enters the picture . . . being "older" and very debonair he immediately grabs Sarah's attention but, of course, this was an easy endeavor for him since Sarah has fallen in love with the thought of luxury, culture and social privilege. She loves the children in her care but also enjoys the attentions and luxuries that surround her.
But then Sarah meets Richard Navis, Captain Sinclair's indentured servant on his vessel. Brian immediately recognizes the wonderful heart in Sarah. He also treats her as the beautiful, special lady that he know she is to become. Richard realizes that Sarah longs for more than he can give her, for Richard wants to be a farmer and his heart is in working the land.
However, circumstances beyond Sarah's control, cause Sarah's reputation to be questioned. Not a good thing to have a "bad" reputation in the 1800's. For a bad reputation usually meant that one could not get a good job or in a ladies case maybe not a husband. Sarah is heart broken for she loves working with the children. But Richard steps in and devises a daredevil plan to protect Sarah. But will he or Sarah end up getting hurt? Will the plan really make "things" come to light and help the truth to be revealed? A surprising plan with a surprising ending.
This 5 star book is a must read! Once again Andrea Boeshaar gives us a two-thumbs up story that will make you laugh, cry and wish for more!

*I reviewed this book for Strang Book Group*

There was something about this story that struck a chord with me. Not only was it charming and heart-warming, but it was deep when it came to answering the question... "What is love?" In some ways it reminded me of the family in "The Sound of Music," but the story went so much deeper than that. I loved the spiritual themes in the book and how it shows that we need to ask God to align our will for our lives with His will. It was a subtle point, but an important theme in the book.

I also loved how real the characters were and how complex the author made them. They weren't simplistic or stereotyped, but felt like they could be real people I'd know. I liked that a lot. The heroine was dazed by the captain and his image. I could see the temptation coming every time he got close to her. But I also felt her desire to resist him and to do the right thing, not to mention her shame at the notion that people thought more was going on than mere service as a governess.

The hero was a fantastic guy and a wonderful friend... until he allowed his thoughts to take a negative turn and jealousy to blind him. That was very well portrayed. Sheesh, I wanted her best friend to return as much as she did. That was a very touching scene and nearly brought tears to my eyes. I sensed her confusion, too, because of scriptures pertaining to love, including the most well known verse that states "love never fails." I understood how she felt like he'd failed her when he allowed jealousy to get in the way of his normal interactions with her. I can't say much more without spoiling some key points in the story, so I will leave it at that.

Uncertain Heart was a perfect title for this book. The author showed the deceitfulness of the human heart very well and it made me think about my own life. I also found the plot to be engaging, the romance to be powerful, and the characters to be lovable and complex enough to hold my interest. Did I mention some powerful kisses? Ahhh....loved those, too. All in all this was a great story and I read it in two days. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep yesterday. I highly recommend it.

If you enjoy sweet, take-me-away romances, then you'll enjoy Andrea Boeshaar's Uncertain Heart, a gentle love story set in post-civil war Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The setting in itself is a delightful change of scene from either Amish or prairie romances which, while engaging, flood the market. Bringing the heroine, Miss Sarah McCabe, to Wisconsin's largest city and a major Great Lakes shipping port, make it an interesting, yet rarely touched on setting in Inspirational fiction.
Another aspect to this was not that the city girl came to the country, but that the country girl came to the city. Sarah, a young woman with wanderlust, not only thought she knew what she wanted, but her desires came out of an indigenous desire to be part of something different than she knew growing up in Missouri.
Richard Navis and his employer, Captain Brian Sinclair know what they want too, and it's the deep, yet awkward relationships between these three, and their sharp contrast of desires, that make the interchange between them was often sharp and witty.
While the pacing of the story was not exceptionally fast, it did keep me intrigued. My curiosity piqued as to how Ms. Boeshaar would solve the characters' problems toward the end, and she kept me wondering right up to those last pages. She also left some clues pointing toward the next book in the series, clues that make me think the journey of this cast might not be completely over.
While I prefer a story with a bit more tension, I can whole-heartedly recommend Uncertain Heart to anyone wanting to settle in with a nice cup of tea while drifting away on the tide of a romantic story.

Sarah McCabe has a decision as she is torn between two men who are showing interest in her. Will it be Captain Brian (her employer) or the handsome Richard?

Pros: I really enjoyed the writing showing the duality between the forbidden being exciting but also dangerous. Real life means real consequences. The plot seemed more true to life than only showing the exciting angle. The ending plot twists were unexpected and engaging. I liked the main two characters' internal struggles.

Cons: The first part of the story followed the "The Sound of Music" plot line with Sarah and the children a little too closely for my taste, although the romance story did not follow the line. Every so often the dialogue seemed a little modern for that time period.

Overall this was an entertaining and fast paced read.



(Book provided by publisher for review purposes.)

Sarah McCabe took a temporary job as governess to the four children of Captain Brian Sinclair, a wealthy widower. "Uncertain Heart" takes place in Milwaukee in the 1862. Sarah sought independence, culture, and a career as a music teacher in Chicago.

The story revolves around her friendship with Richard Navis, an indentured employee of Captain Sinclair, the four Sinclair children, and her response to the charm, persuasion, and manipulation of the Captain himself.

The historical setting, background information, and character development are engaging. Repetitive phrases and dialog parallel to the movie scripts and plots of well known "governess" stories detracted from my expectations from Andrea Boeshaar. However, unexpected plot twists and surprises continue to establish Boeshaar's excellence in the craft of writing. I appreciated the strong unapologetic theme of integrity and gospel witness which flows throughout the novel.

Entertaining, heartwarming, and gripping.

I found this light, inspirational, historical romance to be charming and easy to read.

Sarah is a 20 year old daughter of a Missouri Pastor. She is the youngest of five and is eager to get away from the farm to live independently in the city. She traveled to Chicago for a position as a music teacher only to discover the position was filled. She secures a position for the summer as a governess in Milwaukee, with the plan to return to Chicago for another position in September.

When Sarah arrives in Milwaukee her employer has forgotten to meet her. She goes to seek out Captain Sinclair and instead meets his very trustworthy office manager, bookkeeper, Richard Navis. Richard is attractive, a Christian believer, kind and warm with a teasing sense of humor. He is immediately taken with Sarah even though he learns that she wants the city life and he can't wait to finish his business indentureship and return to his family farm.

Sarah finds her four charges to be in need of some taming but they really miss the attention and love of their extremely busy father. Captain Sinclair is a successful captain and businessman advancing his ship chandler's business. Sarah is awed by the beautifully rich home and naively falls for the suave charm of the handsome and sophisticated Captain.

Sarah develops a wonderful relationship with the children but her romantic feelings are confused between the clear friendship offered by Richard and the mixed signals from the irascible Captain. Richard is consistently helpful and faithful with his family and Sarah. But he is not beyond having feelings of jealousy creep in to hinder his view of things.

I liked how the author manages to weave prayer and scripture into natural situations in the story. The writing is very light and easy. The characters are well developed and it is easy to imagine a girl of Sarah's upbringing being lured by riches and wealth of the city and then being confused when favored with attentions of a sophisticated, wealthy man and a warm, teasing man whom she thinks she only wants as a friend.

I think anyone who enjoys a sweet and charming romance, plus the inspirational aspects, will like this book. It would make a nice light choice for a church reading group or for individual reading when you want an easy read.

This author is new to me and I was interested in reading Book 1 in this series because of its high ratings. I acutally didn't finish reading Unwilling Warrior because I wasn't drawn to the characters or storyline.
Since I also had Uncertain Heart, Book 2 I decided to give this author a second chance. I'm glad I did, I enjoyed this book.

I think you can still understand this book without having to read the first book in the series.

At twenty, Miss Sarah McCabe heads to Wisconsin as a governess for Captain Brian Sinclair's four children. There she meets Richard Navis, a Christan man who is Sinclair's indentured servant. He is also caring, sarcastic and at times I found myself laughing at what he says. She loves living in the city and is tempted with the luxuries her job offers and Richard represents everything she doesn't want in her future.

Sarah McCabe struggles with her heart and is torn between her feelings for Brian Sinclair and Richard. She is charmed by Captain Sinclair but God shows her his true character. There is real depth to these characters, I really liked that Richard and Sarah had a few misunderstandings which could have easily been solved by communicating with each other.

Lovely book with a clear Christian message. There is also an excerpt of her next book towards the end, Unexpected Love, which I'm looking forward to reading next!

While reading this book, I couldn't help but notice elements of the Sound of Music and Jane Eyre integrated into the storyline. These similarities compliment the charm of Andrea Boeshaar's book. Add to that the intriguing history of Milwaukee and the ethnic tensions that are deeply rooted in the immigrant populations, and you have a rich and riveting historical romance.

This book compares the glamour and richness of metropolitan living to the tranquility and simplicity of the country in a way that neither comes out as the clear preference. This is great because the reader is left guessing until the end which Sarah will choose because the pros and cons of both are equally represented. Sarah strives to be an independent and self-sufficient city girl, but, as Richard points out, some of her desires are selfish and shallow in spite of her loving heart. Sarah needs to reevaluate her priorities in life and examine if the wishes of her heart fit with the plans God has for her future.

I absolutely adore the Sinclair children and their relationship with Sarah and Richard. It was wonderful to see a strong male character who has an innate paternal instinct and love for children. At particular moments of this book I found myself disappointed with Sarah and Richard's decisions as they try to figure out their future, which made them feel all the more realistic. When characters are too perfect they loose their relatability, but Andrea Boeshaar evokes emotions and reactions from her readers by allowing her characters to make mistakes and learn from the consequences.

Rating: 8/10
**Thank you to Glass Road Public Relations and Strang for providing a review copy**

First reviewed here: [...]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book Uncertain Heart by Andrea Boeshaar. I must confess I went in with doubts. I realized after I received the book from Glass Road that it was book two in the Seasons of Redemption Series. As a rule I do not read series out of order, I do not like wondering how we got where we are. I do not like missing references that are clearly from previous books and I do not like the feeling of being dropped in the middle of a story. I managed to quell my urge to go buy book one before plowing into book two. I also am not a huge fan of historical novels. All that being said, I loved this book. I never felt like I had been dropped anywhere. I enjoyed the writing style, and the history. I enjoyed the words from a different time (who says "valise" anymore?) and I enjoyed the story.

The story is compelling and made me realize how far we, as women have truly come. I also enjoyed a sexy romance novel with not one hint of anything more than a kiss. Some of the scenes were steamy by my standards, and yet nobody removed a stitch of clothing. The romance between Sarah and Richard was innocent and pure, yet flirty. They fed off of each other from the first moment. It was cute and a very good example of what love should be, on his part at least. Sarah was a bit strong-willed and this caused her a number of problems had she been a little more willing to listen to people around her. I found myself rooting for Sarah and Richard finally coming together at the same time and spending their lives in Milwaukee and having a family of their own. I was trying to figure out how she would stay in the children's lives if that happened.

I wish the father had been less the bad guy. He really had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The story could have been more if he had been a bit more complex. The author tried to explain it through the mother and the grandmother, but that excuse fell flat. He was self-centered and did not seem to care much about his children one way or the other. He wasn't even a man of his word, which in the setting of the novel would have made him quite a scoundrel. Instead the author played it off like because he was rich, his dishonesty was acceptable in society.

The story was engaging and for me it was a "read it all at once" book, not unlike Karen Kingsbury. I came away with a lesson and a good feeling. I would call it a bit more than a beach read, but not too heavy. It was light and fun. I will now go out a search for additional books by this author.

I was provided this book by Glass Road PR in return for writing a review. I am not obligated to write a positive review.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provides the backdrop for this historical fiction set in 1866. Sarah McCabe desires independence and a luxurious city lifestyle. She gains this by becoming governess to widower Captain Brian Sinclair's four lively children. Sarah wins readers' hearts just as she does the children's and that of Captain Sinclair's assistant, Richard Nevis. Richard becomes her friend, but she doesn't want to pursue a deeper relationship. He plans to return to work his family's farm after his indentureship is up and she intends to become a music teacher in Chicago. She never wants to live on a farm again--she had enough of that growing up in Missouri.

The struggles and adventures make for a lively story. Will Sarah succumb to the captain's seduction? Will she and Richard learn to completely trust each other and work out their differences? Will the gossiping community accept her or continue to think the worst? Will she desert the children who love her to pursue her own dreams? Read the novel and discover the answers. Although this is the second in a series, the story stand strong on its own.