BOOK REVIEW- THE CAPTIVE HEART

Proper English governess Eleanor Morgan flees to the colonies to escape the wrath of a brute of an employer. When the Charles Town family she’s to work for never arrives to collect her from the dock, she is forced to settle for the only reputable choice remaining to her—marriage to a man she’s never met. Trapper and tracker Samuel Heath is a hardened survivor used to getting his own way by brain or by brawn, and he’s determined to find a mother for his young daughter. But finding a wife proves to be impossible. No upstanding woman wants to marry a murderer.    AMAZON  5 STARS

Love this story; it's a keeper.  I wasn't sure that was going to be the case when it first started out.  It started out in a somewhat harsh and dramatic way.   Intense, sometimes dark and the action just kept coming.   I had to give Eleanor a lot of credit.  She was often shaking in her shoes but she kept trying and trying.  She felt that she just kept failing over and over.  She had such a hard, unloved life prior to this adventure.   Something  Eleanor and Samuel had in common; although they didn't know it yet.  Eleanor's father was a selfish, uncaring man who made her life hell before kicking her out. At least Samuel had experienced some love and happiness for a short amount of time in his life.  But that has been a long time going and the hits have just been coming against him right and left.  He has an enemy, who wants to erase him from the earth and take everything he loves.  This villain is greedy, sneaky, evil and quite mad in his quest.  Samuel never knew exactly when or how he would strike next and as the reader, neither did I.  Made for great tension and glancing over your shoulder moments.  That's not to say that there weren't any other really good people who played into the story.  Inoli, Samuel's best friend was one of the really great people in the story.  So was Samuel's daughter Grace, a whirlwind of action and sunshine, most of the time.  I wish I could add more to tell you how great this story is but I don't want to ruin it for readers who will be reading this book.  This story just had so much richness to it, emotional at times, and times that one or the other or both were fighting for their lives.  
Please don't let it hold you back because God is mentioned and leaned on in this book.  It's a darn good story. 
Hang on for a rough ride before Eleanor and Samuel get their HEA. 


In moments of crisis Eleanor leans on her short prayer: My precious Lord; My only hope; My Saviour, how I need you."  It's a heartfelt cry and became a favorite of mine as I read the story.

At the end of the book is a Glossary of some of the Indian words used in the story.  I liked that and it was helpful.  A couple of Historical notes added depth to the story too.  6 questions were also added at the end of the book.



I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.