The Captive Heart

GIVEAWAY!!!

CRAMER, DALE
THE CAPTIVE HEART

The epic story of a n Amish community in peril

Ravaged by disease, preyed upon by ruthless bandits, the Bender family's second year in Mexico has taken a grievous turn. Faced with impossible choices, the expatriate Amish discover, more than ever before what it means to live by faith and not by sight.

But it's Miriam who must make the hardest choice as her heart takes her on a new and dangerous course. Domingo. "He is gentle," his sister said, "until someone he loves is threatened." Is Miriam that someone?

"Cualnezqui," he often calls her -- the Nahuatl word for Beautiful One. The chiseled native has proven himself a man of principle, grace, and power. Yet is he the pearl of great price for whom Miriam would sacrifice everything, or is he merely a friend? Tormented by conflicting emotions, she's haunted by vivid dreams: Dressed in the coarse cotton pants and the shirt of a peasant, she stands on the precipice of a sun-washed ridge searching desperately for Domingo. Domingo the fierce. Domingo the protector. Domingo the forbidden.

Inspired by actual events!

My Review:

The Wild West meets the Amish? Wait a minute does that mean this is a Western or an Amish romance? Actually -- it's both and definitely unlike any other Amish book I've read. For one, it's laced with a sinister undercurrent not to mention gritty prose that left me shuddering. If you're familiar with Westerns, you'll know that there's nothing worse than ruthless bandits and the kind they have in Paradise Valley are definitely more ruthless than most. Their evil is such a stark contrast to the peace-loving Amish and that made the emotions churning in this reader's gut more violent then the kind found within the book's pages. Definitely a nail-biting read.

This is the second book in The Daughters of Caleb Bender series but it was easy to follow the plot threads. Cramer did a good job of setting the scene and dealing with backstory so a reader who hasn't read the first book could easily pick up where Paradise Valley left off.  And while there is resolution at the end of The Captive Heart it's clear that there is much more to come. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Giveaway Opportunity:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of The Captive Heart, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. Please remember to put the title in the subject line so I can easily spot your entry.  Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday January 8.  Offer open internationally. Good luck!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".