A Place in His Heart...Review

About the book:
Anglican Mary Langton longs to marry for love. Puritan Barnabas Horton is still in love with his deceased wife and needs only a mother for his two young sons. And yet these two very different people with very different expectations will take a leap of faith, wed, and then embark on a life-changing journey across the ocean to the Colonies. Along the way, each must learn to live in harmony, to wait on God, and to recognize true love where they least expect to find it.

This heartfelt tale of love and devotion is based on debut author Rebecca DeMarino's own ancestors, who came to Long Island in the mid-1600s to establish a life--and a legacy--in the New World.

Widowed Barnabas Horton needs a mother for his children.  Mary Langton wishes to marry for love and not to the young man of her father's choosing.  Already in love with Barnabas, she agrees to marriage, knowing that he is still in love with his dead wife, but hopeful he will come to love her as well.  When their lives are threatened because of Barnabas' disillusionment with the Church of England, they travel to the New World and become among the first settlers on Long Island. Along the way, they deal with infertility and learn to recognize the love they have together.

I enjoyed this story and all of its facets.  The family differences; Mary's inability to cook and care for a home, Barnabas' patience in teaching her and her growth as a wife and mother; and the fear and trepidation of traveling across an ocean to an unknown land.  There were so many secondary characters and I would love to read Jeremy's story.  As Barnabas' brother and the ship captain, he was a terrific character in his own right.

I loved the historical aspect and the research was extensive.  The novel is based on the author's own ancestors, real people who were the first settlers on Long Island.  This glimpse into the life and times of the early colonists and the ways of cooking and preparing food in the wild and the rigours of establishing a settlement was fascinating.

This was a terrific debut novel and I look forward to more.

Thanks to Lanette at Baker Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Rebecca DeMarino here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 6/14

* * * *
4/5 Stars

Comments

  1. This sounds lovely. I'm not sure why it looks familiar too.
    Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment