About the book
Returning soldier Dylan Hart heads to Texas to finally meet pen pal Holly Lynch. When he arrives, he's shocked to discover the plucky beauty he fell in love with has kept a very big secret. Scarred emotionally by his past, Dylan is deeply hurt that Holly didn't trust him with such a vital truth about herself. When he's hired as a cowboy on her family's vast ranch, he's committed to staying in town. And as he slowly reconnects with the woman whose letters once saved him, he'll have to take a look inside his heart to discover what matters most.
This book will be released in January 2015
I received this book from Ms. Calhoune in exchange
for an honest review which I have gladly provided below
My Review
“Heart of a Soldier”
by Belle Calhoune is a book that I received gracious from Ms.
Calhoune in exchange for an honest review, and I really don't think I
can do justice to this absolutely fantastic story that resonated with
me so deeply that I am humbled to have received an early copy of this
book. To be honest, the heroine Holly, is the one that I connected
with unlike just about any other heroine that I have read about in a
very long time. Sure there have been others that I have connected
with in one way or another but this seemed to be so much deeper, and
so I might be a bit bias on my thoughts because of that.
This book continues 'the
roses' story, which we got a little glimpse of in “Reunited with
the Sheriff” for this is Holly's story. Holly I must be honest is
a character I hoped to see but frankly due to her circumstances, I
really doubted that we would for it just didn't seem to match a whole
lot of the romance idea of an ideal heroine for a book. Personally I
thought she would have made the ideal heroine (and I was right) but
maybe that is because I could understand part of her issues. I am so
glad that both Ms. Calhoune and Love Inspired took that step forward
with something so out of the norm for this was an absolutely
beautiful story.
Holly is a woman who have
faced a great of hurdles in life and while she could have turned
angry, cold and bitter, she was in fact a warm and such a giving
woman who seemed to understand things differently. I could
understand her thinking and her fear completely and thought it was
wonderful that through it all she had a sense of humor about her,
even if it was cover up for other feelings. She wasn't so determined
to be right that when things are pointed out to her that she wasn't
willing to listen, even if she didn't like listening to the truth.
Dylan is a man with some
secrets of his own who is searching for something he is not quite
sure of though. His spur of the moment decision, in a manner of
speaking, takes him on a path that he wasn't prepared for in the
slightest. Regardless what he tells himself at first for sticking
around, I have to say that I actually so enjoyed Dylan's honesty at
least with himself. Here is a man who may have been making excuses
in the long run but at the same time he was trying to take things
easy for he didn't know what he could handle and didn't want to hurt
anyone in the process. I think regardless how he reacted at first, I
fell in love with him on page 43 (regular print) when he admitted to
himself what the barrier to the truth for him was. How many other
people would actually admit that and in my opinion and limited
experience, not many would.
I have to say that
through the ups and downs, the unexpected surprises, and well the
predictable events, this is a book that I found myself crying through
while laughing and cheering characters on. The romance is something
that is not easy which made it seem so realistic on both parts.
Granted letters helped a great deal in a lot of ways for the
limitations that each had were not glaring in the others face, which
allowed a deeper connection. I loved the old fashion snail mail
letters being the connection that brought the two of them together in
the first place, for it is such a lost art it seems with email now a
days.
I so hope that all who
read this book, enjoy it as much as I did. This is a book that I
will be keeping for a long time until the pages are falling out
because I have read it so much. I truly hope that we see more of
'the roses' in future books for there are still two more who need
their own happy endings.
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