Review: To Capture Her Heart

To Capture Her Heart
By Rebecca DeMarino
The Southold Chronicles, #2
Revell, 2015


Summary

In an uncertain time, she faces a choice that will change her life forever.

It is 1653 and Heather Flower, a princess of the Montaukett tribe, is celebrating her wedding feast when a rival tribe attacks, killing the groom and kidnapping her. Though her ransom is paid by an Englishman, she is bound by her captors and left to die--until she finds herself rescued by handsome Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren.

Still tender from her loss, Heather Flower begins to heal in the home of the Hortons, English friends of her people. Torn between her affection for Dirk and her longtime friendship with Ben Horton, Heather Flower must make a difficult choice--stay true to her friend or follow her heart.

Exploring a unique slice of history, Rebecca DeMarino transports you to the wild land that would eventually become Long Island, New York.


My thoughts

Southhold, Long Island

The colonial era is my favorite period of history and Rebecca shines at breathing life into Long Island’s history during those difficult times. Also adding a lot of realism is the fact that Rebecca draws this series from her own family history, that of her ninth great-grandparents, Barnabas and Mary Horton. Barnabas and Mary were lead characters in the previous book and it was great to see how their lives and family had progressed.


The theme of God's provision is seen, characters are well developed, and I especially enjoyed a Native American heroine. A love triangle kept me guessing for the longest time, but I wished for more romantic tension between Benjamin, Heather and Dirk – and that more of Heather’s personal thoughts and feelings had been expressed. 

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the first book, A Place in His Heart. Some parts moved slowly, there were a lot of characters to keep up with and, while the historical detail was very interesting, the plot wasn’t strong. I’m still glad I read To Capture Her Heart because the historical aspect was rich, and I look forward to the next book in this series. I recommend To Capture Her Heart to all who enjoy stories set during America's colonial days.

Thank you to Revell for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Rebecca DeMarino is the author of A Place in His Heart, book one of The Southold Chronicles, a series inspired by her ninth great-grandparents, Barnabas and Mary Horton. She inherited her love of baking and gardening from her mother; a love of horses, reading, and writing from her dad; and the wanderlust gene from both parents. Rebecca lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Tom.

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