Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Prize of My Heart Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2012) by Lisa Norato

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A life-long New Englander, Lisa Norato lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century. She was born into a close-knit Italian family that hungered as much for the things of God as they did for lasagna. After church, the family spent Sunday afternoons gathered in fellowship around a never-ending feast that featured her grandmother's homemade spaghetti and pizza.

From the time she learned to read, her mother impressed her with the joy of getting lost in a good book. She passed novels along to her as early as age thirteen, but it wasn't until many years later that Lisa felt compelled to write one herself.

She first discovered a love of writing when assigned to write and illustrate a children's book at the art college she attended. She balances writing with a career as a legal assistant specializing in corporate law. When not creating stories, she enjoys domestic pursuits like precious time with her dog and family, cooking, baking and eating vegan, reading, her Bible, her favorite television shows and crocheting.

Lisa is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Rhode Island Romance Writers (RIRW) and American Colonial Christian Writers.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An unsolved mystery separates ex-privateersman Captain Brogan Talvis from his lost son--his only living relation, his only family. Shortly before her tragic demise, his wife abandoned their infant to strangers, refusing to reveal the child's whereabouts. Now, three years later, Brogan has discovered the boy at the home of a shipbuilder's daughter, Lorena Huntley.

Lorena guards a dark secret about her young charge. She finds herself falling for the heroic captain who has come to claim his newly built ship, unaware his motive for wooing her is to befriend the boy he plans on reclaiming as his own--until the day anothers evil deceit leaves her helplessly shipbound, heading toward England.

As the perfect opportunity to reclaim his son unfolds, Brogan is haunted by thoughts of Lorena in her dire circumstance, and he is forced to make a heartrending choice between his child and the woman who has begun to capture his heart. But only his unselfish sacrifice can win him the greatest prize of all--love.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Prize of My Heart, go HERE.


My review of Prize of My Heart:


I am generally not a fan of high seas, pirate tales, but since I have not read a book by Lisa Norato before, I decided I wanted to read Prize of My Heart.  I was really drawn to the cover of this book.  It is a beautiful cover and I have found that very often the cover truly is a reflection of the story within.

As soon as I started reading this book I knew it was going to be one that I was going to love.  I can usually tell very quickly whether or not I will like a book and I was able to tell that this was going to be good.  It was Lisa’s writing.  She has a nice, natural flow about her words that simply tell a good story, one that I want to read.

Prize of My Heart had a very nice balance to it as well.  There was plenty of romance, of course, but there was also some adventure and suspense, but not too much.  The secrets being kept were enough to throw in some surprises for the reader to stay interested.  So, overall, this was a terrific book.  I am pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to finding more books by Lisa Norato.




This book was provided for review by Bethany House.