Book Review: Prize of My Heart (by Lisa Norato)

Captain Brogan Talvis has one goal: reclaim his young son, lost to him through the trickery of his (now-deceased) wife while he was at sea. This mission leads him to Duxboro, Massachusetts, where he has commissioned a ship from the man who adopted Brogan's son and is raising little Drew as his own, with an older daughter stands in for the boy as both sister and mother. Eventually, the daughter, Lorena, is tricked upon a vessel headed to England and it is Brogan's commission to save her. Romance and secrets are present throughout this exciting story of love and family in the early 19th century.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The presence of scripture and faith elements were authentically portrayed and appropriate for the moments in which they occurred. The story itself was fast-moving, and at times very sad and others very funny. The characters were well drawn and charming, while retaining some mystery. I found myself wanting to know more about them, and rooting for the romance that was budding.

The perspective of the author allowed for us to hear the thoughts of the two main characters, which made the book move faster. Additionally, although I normally hate how much characters just don't "talk to each other" about their real issues, in this story by and large there was much less passivity than is common in Christian fiction. In fact, the times when I felt like "just tell her!" were times when it was appropriate for the character to be worried about speaking (related to the mystery elements of the story). After reading this story, I will look out for more by Lisa Norato. I highly recommend this book - 5 out of 5 stars.


(full disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House, in exchange for my unbiased review. I am not affiliated with Bethany House or the author in any way.)