BOOK REVIEW- HEARTS MADE WHOLE

BOOK REVIEW- HEARTS MADE WHOLE-1865 Windmill Point, MichiganCan She Forgive the Hurting Man Who Costs Her the Role She Loves?  After her father's death, Caroline Taylor has grown confident running the Windmill Point Lighthouse. But in 1865 Michigan, women aren't supposed to have such roles, so it's only a matter of time before the lighthouse inspector appoints a new keeper--even though Caroline has nowhere else to go and no other job available to her.  Ryan Chambers is a Civil War veteran still haunted by the horrors of battle. He's secured the position of lighthouse keeper mostly for the isolation--the chance to hide from his past is appealing. He's not expecting the current keeper to be a feisty and beautiful woman who's angry with him for taking her job and for his inability to properly run the light. When his failings endanger others, he and Caroline realize he's in no shape to run the lighthouse, but he's unwilling to let anyone close enough to help. Caroline feels drawn to this wounded soul, but with both of them relying on that single position, can they look past their loss to a future filled with hope...and possibly love?  AMAZON

Caroline has had responsibility thrust on her shoulders from a very early age.  She can hardly remember any times when she was as carefree her twin brothers and just had a time of fun.    There  was just so  much to do as the eldest daughter.  Even when her father was alive, she had gone from just helping her father some of the time to be the one mainly in charge of the lighthouse.  Her father's worsening rheumatism, made it almost impossible for him to operate the stairs leading to the top.   Then he is killed in a tragic accident on the water right in front of his children's horrified faces.  
Ryan was trying to live one moment at a time, running from massive pain in his body and the pain from memories of the war.   Once he was an honorable man before the war and before this unrelenting pain.  Alcohol and pills were the only thing that he  could count on to dull it. This was a really good way to show a hero that wasn't perfect. 
This book did a good job of showing the prejudice towards women but also those who were beginning to stand up for women too.  Someone was being a stalker, bringing all kinds of threats and dangers to Caroline and her family.    Someone pretty much hidden in plain sight, but that makes for a good mystery part of the story.  There is romance in this story, with all the challenges that come with it.   

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.