My Review - To Capture Her Heart

3 out of 5 stars

TO CAPTURE HER HEART is the second in the Southold Chronicles, and though I liked it better than A PLACE IN HIS HEART, I found the story moved slowly and didn’t fully grab my attention.

Heather Flower, an Indian princess’ happiness has been cruelly ripped away by an opposing tribe. On her wedding day, her intended is killed in front of her eyes and she is kidnapped and later left to die. When Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren rescues her—and treats her with such tenderness and compassion on the long journey home—she finds herself drawn to the man, even though she is mourning the loss of her fiancé. When she is delivered into the hands of Benjamin Horton, an Englishman her people have long been friends with, she feels safe and protected. Heather knows that Ben has always felt affection for her, and her people would be pleased if she was united with him, but she is mourning the loss of her beloved and her minds continues to drift to the Dutchman that treated her with much kindness.

As time wears on, Heather finds herself torn between two men and the wishes of her family. She cares for Ben deeply and would never want to hurt his feelings or wound her relationship with his family, but her heart’s desire remains with Dirk.

TO CAPTURE HER HEART was an enjoyable read with fascinating characters, but its slow pacing, and at times, the lack of real emotion from the parties involved worked against it. Actually what I enjoyed most about this book was the new portrayal of Barnabas Horton, one of the main characters from book one. While reading A PLACE IN HIS HEART I developed a strong dislike for Barnabas, and in the end, felt like he was undeserving of Mary’s affection. Book two portrayed him as a changed man and a loving husband. In TO CAPTURE HER HEART, I felt sorry for Ben. He was a great guy who’d already missed his chance at love once before and you don’t want to see that happen again. But the chemistry between Heather Flower and Dirk was definitely their even though their scenes together were few and far between. I guess maybe in the back of my head that was one of the problems I had with the plot. Heather Flower is portrayed as being absolutely devastated by the loss of her fiancé. Then how could she have develop such a strong attraction to Dirk during those first few days of rescue? She should’ve been in shock and withdrawal, going through the motions, not falling in love. I think it would’ve been more believable if her marriage had been more along the lines as an arranged marriage so that her heart could easily be affected by her rescuer. That’s just my opinion.

Book provided for review purposes.

Available July 2015 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.