23453182Title: A Heart Revealed

Author: Josi S. Kilpack

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Publication Date: April 2015

Genre: Adult Fiction/Clean Romance

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

 

 

Synopsis can be found here.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review:

 

Amber Sterlington is the rage of the season in London and has her choice of men. That is until an unforseen circumstance arises. Amber is forced to flee to Yorkshire where she is cast away from good society and now it is more important than ever for her to find the best possible match – not necessarily one for title and fortune as she had been previously looking for.

Thomas Richards is tired of all of the silly girls in London. He is sent by his mother to find a wife but none of them catch his interest. That is, none except Amber Sterlington. But she is too proud, too cold, too spoiled to give him a thought. Isn’t she?

I was pleasantly surprised by this Regency clean romance.

Remember friends, this is a clean romance so no smut.

Amber is a really hard character to like at first. She is super mean to the servants thinking she is above everyone. Even her sister feels the brunt of her cold and calculated behavior. She is probably one of the most unlikeable heroines in romance I have ever met. So she has a really far journey to travel from page one to the end. And she does it marvelously. I don’t want to give too much away but Amber is banished to the countryside, losing her place in society, her family, her friends and her stake in any available man. The chain of events that she suffers is a huge challenge to her character, forcing her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew. I really like Amber by the end and her character arc is very genuine and organic.

Thomas is just a very nice guy who you can root for. He’s not typical romance hero alpha male. He’s intellectual and kind. And like most men, quite taken by Amber. But he’s the only one that tries to get to know the real Amber, and not just fall in love with the pretty face (though he does that too!)

The story spans months and the plot moves slowly, gently unfolding. I didn’t mind it, though you should be warned that Thomas and Amber do not have a ton of screen time together, not until almost 3/4 of the way through the book. This didn’t bother me because Amber had such huge growth to accomplish, I didn’t think she would be even open to Thomas as a person before the time was right. That said, I do wish the ending was a bit more drawn out with more Thomas and Amber time. I think the romance is sweet and warm and I would have liked to see more of them together.

Overall, A Heart Revealed reminds me of an older, less rushed romance. It reminds me a bit of Lizzy and Darcy and how long it took them to get together. (She did hate him remember?) It reminds me that life and love cannot be forced. Perfect for the rainy weekend I read it during, cup of tea nearby.

Rating 8 Cookie Worthy