Enchanting the Heiress by Kristi Ann Hunter

Enchanting the Heiress
by Kristi Ann Hunter

ISBN-13: 9780764235276
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: March 1st 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Harriet Hancock likes to make the lives of those around her better without them having to ask for help. Her friend Sophia Whitworth has ideas of her own on how to make life more fulfilling for Jonas Fitzroy, her brother and stable hand. Sophia asks Harriet to be his patron so he can deleop his artistic talent. When Harriet discovers his natural way with words, she hatches a plan that would benefit them both.

Holding a grudge against Harriet for her meddling in Sophia's life, it is only because of his sister that Jonas agrees to approach Harriet about a possible artistic project. What he doesn't expect is for her to request his help writing a book. As they work together, they start to see each other in a different light. But when the truth of Harriet's schemes is revealed, she'll find her good intentions for once have gone too far.


My Review:
Enchanting the Heiress is a Christian historical romance set in 1818 in Newmarket, England. It's the third book in the series. You don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one, though characters from her previous novels do appear in this story.

Harriet likes helping people, and she tries to do it in a way that doesn't insult or obligate the helped person. Her friend Sophia asks Harriet to encourage her brother's artistic talent only after she'd already told her brother that was Harriet's intent. Jonas avoids relationships because they require effort and risk. He only helped others (caring for a sick groom's horses) if he benefited (as it's a way to keep busy). The only way to justify his lack of care for others was to judge Harriet for "meddling." He heavily criticized her efforts to help others throughout the story, not suggesting better ways to help but saying she needed to leave people completely alone. I didn't like how Jonas was self-righteous, assumed the worst about Harriet, and tore Harriet down all while she kept trying to build up his confidence in his artistic skills.

Harriet was pressured by her father to travel the world like her mother and grandmother dreamed of but never did. She hates traveling, but her father made it clear that he expected her to travel anyway. So she's lying to him, sending him letters about her made up travels in hopes he'll eventually be satisfied. Obviously, this deception comes to light and she has to repair several relationships. I liked how she learned from her mistakes and kept reaching out to people rather than giving up. Jonas might help her appreciate the small joys in life, but she deserved a man that shared more of her interests and fully appreciated her. While Jonas did change his attitude enough that he's not mean to her, they still seemed very mismatched to me.

Jonas liked to memorize Bible verses but tended to quote them out of context. He realized that he'd started using them as weapons and ought not do that. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting historical romance.


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.