A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears

A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Received from Bethany House to Review
Genre; Christian Historical Fiction



Book Description:  Lydia King knows what it's like to be in need, so when she joins the Teaville Moral Society, she genuinely hopes to help the town's poor. But with her father's debts increasing by the day and her mother growing sicker by the week, she wonders how long it will be until she ends up in the poor house herself. Her best chance at a financially secure future is to impress the politician courting her, and it certainly doesn't hurt that the moral society's president is her suitor's mother. Her first task as a moral society member—to obtain a donation from Nicholas Lowe, the wealthiest man in town—should be easy . . . except he flat-out refuses.
Despite appearances, Nicholas wants to help others but prefers to do it his own way, keeping his charity private. When Lydia proves persistent, they agree to a bargain, though Nicholas has a few surprises up his sleeve. Neither foresee the harrowing complications that will arise from working together. When town secrets are brought to light, this unlikely pair must decide where their beliefs—and hearts—truly align.


My thoughts:  I always appreciate a historical fiction book that teaches me while I am reading it. Author's who do their research bring more to the books that they write.

A Heart Most Certain takes place in 1905. The main character, Lydia, is a young woman who wants to bring her family out of financial hole her father put them in with his gambling. Her mother is ill and doesn't have much longer to live. She is in a desperate situation and determines that the only way out is to marry for money. She has a politician who is willing, but feels she needs to win over his mother.

Trying to impress her future mother-in-law, Lydia tires to talk the richest man in the city to donate to the Temperance Society. He is not an easy conquest and she finds that it takes more to talk him into a donation. This creates a friendship and mutual respect between Lydia and Nicholas where she learns the true meaning of charity.

This reminded me of how all of covered under the Grace of God. Nicholas introduces her to the "unsavory" element of the community, the ladies who are prostitutes. Just being in the same room with them would shun her from polite society. I appreciated the lessons she learned about love, compassion, and forgiveness. She also discovered that not all of the women chose the life they were forced to live. It reminded me to examine the prejudices that I may be carrying around. The book was beautifully and compassionately written about what the Savior would do if her were in the slums.

This is a clean romance. The nature of the book has innuendo, but it is done with taste and discretion . I read it in one day. That is saying something because it is 388 pages. This book is well worth the time to read.

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Visit Melissa Jagears at: 

http://melissajagears.com/