Saturday, April 10, 2021

Book Review and Giveaway: A Heart's Forgiveness


There's nothing worse than a conniving snake who seeks to steal what is rightfully yours.  Madeleine is put into dire straits when she is led to believe that she is near penniless.  With an infant left to her care and two servants who are more like family, she escapes what could be a disastrous future to go cross-country to New Mexico.  There, she finds friendship and safety . . . for a short time.  A Heart's Forgiveness was a really good book.  I liked the characters and I liked seeing how Jeremiah changes in the story (can't say much - a little bit of a spoiler).  I loved seeing the love between baby Pearl and Madeleine's intended Philip.  The theme of forgiveness is shown several times in this book - in a very real way.

Thank you to Celebrate Lit for allowing me to request, receive, read, and review this book.  Keep reading to learn more and to enter a great giveaway!

About the Book



Book:  A Heart’s Forgiveness

Author: Lena Nelson Dooley

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: April 6, 2021

Accepting an ad for a mail-order bride was supposed to solve her problems.

It’s 1890, and Golden, New Mexico, is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when Jeremiah Dennison’s good friend and mentor finds himself in need of a nurse, Philip places an ad for a mail-order bride—despite Jeremiah’s protests.

Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. What she finds in Golden is nothing like what she expected, especially not Philip, her expected husband-to-be.

But just as she begins to win over Philip—and Jeremiah himself—the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden…and tarnish her character beyond redemption.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author



Lena Nelson Dooley has been an author for 36 years. Her 51st book released in June 2020. Raised in Arkansas, she married a Texan 56 years ago. They have lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for decades. She is an active member of ACFW and one of the founding members of the DFW local chapter. She’s often been a speaker for other writers’ groups and conferences, both as a keynote speaker and a workshop teacher. Her fans love reading her books filled with characters who grip your heart.

 

More from Lena

The Story Behind A Heart’s Forgiveness

I’ve been a lover of history for decades. In college and graduate school, all my elective courses were history. Of course, I chose the countries and eras I wanted to learn about. When I began writing novels, my first one was a contemporary story. After that, at least 75% or more of my novels have been historical, all the way from 1805 through the early 20th century.

One of the hallmarks of my historical novels is the authenticity I write into the stories. Because of the amount of research I’ve done over the years, I’m kind of an expert in 19th century history. My characters and their stories are completely fictional, but the other things in the book are mostly true. I search until I find what I need to know or until I reach a complete dead end.

A Heart’s Forgiveness is set in two places—Boston, Massachusetts, and Golden, New Mexico. It’s a Mail-Order Bride story. This is another type of story I like to read and I like to write. Finding a different reason for both the man trying to get a wife that way and a woman who needs an answer to her serious problems is a fun way to start the story. In this book, the bride and groom don’t meet until several chapters, even though he knows about her. And then I added another twist I think you’ll like.

There is also a very bad villain. One who doesn’t deserve to be forgiven. I didn’t plan that from the start of the book, but I realized much later in the book that God wanted her to forgive him. That one act of obedience, undeserved forgiveness, affected the lives of others in the novel. And isn’t that just like God. None of us really deserve forgiveness, but He freely gives it to each of us who will accept the gift.

I’m what’s called in the industry a seat-of-the-pants author, more or less. I do have the complete outline of the story in my head. When I sit down to write, I know where I’m going, but I don’t have every single scene plotted out as some authors do. And I pray a lot. During the time I’m writing a book, God drops ideas into my mind. Not just while I’m writing, but other times, too. That’s the exciting thing about writing. This keeps it fresh for me.

When you’ve finished reading this story, I hope you’ll let me know what you think of it. I really like getting reader feedback.

Blog Stops

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, April 10

A Novel Pursuit, April 10

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, April 11

Debbie's Dusty Deliberations April 12

Reviewingbooksplusmore, April 12

lakesidelivingsite, April 13

Texas Book-aholic, April 14

Inspiration Clothesline, April 14

Inklings and notions, April 15

Betti Mace, April 16

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 16

For Him and My Family, April 17

deb's Book Review, April 18

Simple Harvest Reads, April 18 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, April 19

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 20

Jeanette's Thoughts, April 20

Connie's History Classroom, April 21

Vicky Sluiter, April 22

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 22

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 23

Maureen's Musings, April 23

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Lena is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Link for giveaway: https://promosimple.com/ps/10a50/a-heart-s-forgiveness-celebration-tour-giveaway

7 comments:

  1. This sounds absolutely amazing! I think we all could learn a little more about forgiveness!

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  2. I like stories about single moms. The blurb sounds good. Thanks for the chance.

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  3. Thank you for featuring me and my book. And thank you for your kind words about the story. Authors really appreciate sincere reviews.

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  4. Excellent review, Ava! Sounds like a must read. Thank you for hosting.

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  5. Wasn't this just a fantastic mail-order bride story?! It's been awhile since I read one and this did just a trick to get me obsessed again.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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