Reviews for This Heart of Mine (O'Malley Saga Series #4)

The average rating for This Heart of Mine (O'Malley Saga Series #4) based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-12-14 00:00:00 Timothy Hoff I was simultaneously so angry and sad reading this book that I was on the verge of giving it a low rating. But I reconsidered because I realized that it is far far better for a book to move me in any way, even if it is in anger or sadness rather than joy and contentment, than to bore me to tears, which is what happens with most of the romances I start these days, never to finish. Basically, my main problem with this book is that there is a love triangle where the heroine has to choose between two big fat jerks. They both let her down. They both betray her. One was slightly less jerky than the other but guess who she ends up with? Still, this book managed to wrench some tears out of me and it is not that often I get so invested in characters or their story so for that, I will say that it was at least an okay read. Definitely not the best Bertrice Small I have sunk my teeth into, but not the worst either. The best parts of the book were the main female character, and the historical fiction centering on real life monarchs of the sixteenth century. The impossibly named Velvet de Marisco Gordon is one of those strong resilient heroines that Small could spit out in pretty much all her books, really refreshing when there are so many doormats and martyrs in contemporary romance books. I loved her as I do most of Small's heroines. Just really kick ass, adventurous, resilient, and so modern in her outlook on men, love, and life. She is a survivor. Like so many times, Small introduces her when she is a bit of a spoiled, headstrong chit of a girl and allows us to get to know her as she matures and evolves into a truly admirable, strong heroine rising up to the challenge when the going gets tough instead of wilting like a fragile flower. The men in the book are the ones who are cowards taking the easy way out, hurting Velvet in the process. She was so much better than the love objects she was given a choice of that this was the most maddening part for me. As to the historical fiction part, I am one of those readers who relish it, especially the whimsical way in which Small writes it. This is so not Wolf Hall but still I delighted in it because Small describes and writes about Queen Elizabeth, James Stuart, and Henri de Navarre, as well as their courtiers, like they are old friends of hers. You can really see the passion and joy she has for history. I feel like if someone had encouraged her, she could have written a straight historical fiction. There is a short episode in the book alluding to the doomed romance between real life historical figures Walter Raleigh and Bess Throckmorton. I could just see Small itching to develop that story. The snippets she gave us were so poignant I really wish she had researched and written a book about them, perhaps even a non fiction book. Aside from the European courts, Small was as usual fantastic in writing the harem part of the book. While a lot of romance books describe these sort of situations in a very racist or at least racistish way, pitting the supposedly savage, dark sheikh with the civilized, beauteous European woman, Small always approached this subject matter with delicacy and an understanding light years ahead of her contemporaries. Akbar, though a sixteenth century Indian ruler with a harem of hundreds, is far more educated, civilized, tolerant, and tender than the other hero of the piece, the brutish, impatient, stubborn, and arrogant Scot Alex Gordon. Certain passages describing his views on religious tolerance, and his respectful treatment of Velvet as an equal partner, really made me like him, which made his horrendous about-face all the more devastating. Overall, This Heart of Mine was an okay read. At 576 pages, it tended to drag on, especially towards the end. There was a sixth and seventh act that were really unnecessary, and the villains of the piece really did not get their comeuppance, which is a pet peeve of mine. Fans of Small's Skye O'Malley series would probably like it. I don't regret reading it but I will not be re-reading this again.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-08 00:00:00 Daniel Stafiej There are six books in the Skye O'Malley series; too many words, too much gratuitous unimaginative sex, too little story, getting progressively worse through the series.