A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears

A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears ISBN-13: 9780764217517 Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Bethany House Publishers Released: Aug. 2, 2016

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Lydia King knows what it's like to be in need, so when she joins the Teaville Moral Society, she genuinely hopes to help the town's poor. But with her father's debts increasing by the day and her mother growing sicker by the week, she wonders how long it will be until she ends up in the poor house herself.

Her best chance at a secure future is to impress the politician courting her. The moral society's president is her suitor's mother, and she challenges Lydia to prove her usefulness by obtaining a donation from Nicholas Lowe. He's the wealthiest man in town, but he flat-out refuses to help.

Despite appearances, Nicholas wants to help others but prefers to do it his own way, keeping his charity private. When Lydia proves persistent, they agree to a bargain, though Nicholas has a few surprises up his sleeve. Neither foresee the harrowing complications that will arise from working together. When town secrets are brought to light, this unlikely pair must decide where their beliefs—and hearts—truly align.


My Review:
A Heart Most Certain is a Christian romance set in 1905 in Kansas. The historical details were a vital part of the plot. The author researched how the church at that time generally dealt with prostitutes. Lydia initially shared this opinion because she needed to keep a respectable reputation; it's all she has. Due to events in his own life, God has opened Nicholas' heart to helping ex-prostitutes but he does so in secret.

Nicholas teaches Lydia about creating relationships with those you're helping and viewing them as people. Lydia helps him see that he needs the help of fellow Christians even if there are hypocrites in the church. Both are better people for having met the other, and they shared a passion for helping overlooked people.

But Nicholas is reluctant to love another woman after his wife's betrayal, and Lydia is being pressured into marriage with a man that she doesn't love or respect. Lydia was very brave, and I sympathized with her struggle to make the right decisions as that wasn't always clear.

There were no graphic sex descriptions despite plenty of characters who were prostitutes. The minor amount of bad language was given as "he cursed" instead of the actual bad words. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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