Bestselling author Amanda Cabot takes readers back in time to the 1880s Texas Hill Country in her new historical romance novel, A Stolen Heart. This is the first book in a brand-new series packed with tension, mystery, and a tender love story that readers won’t soon forget.
Cimarron Creek seemed like an idyllic Texas town. But as soon as former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford stepped onto its dusty streets, she noticed a deep-seated resentment of Northerners—like her. That won’t get Lydia down, though. She looks forward to the day when she reunites with her fiancé—until she discovers her fiancé has disappeared without a trace and has left behind a pregnant wife. The handsome Cimarron Creek sheriff urges Lydia to trust him, but she is having a hard time trusting anyone in a town where secrets and suspense prevail.
Cabot weaves an elegant tale of pure love amidst heartache. With an absorbing plot and engaging characters, A Stolen Heart is a springtime showstopper fit for every historical romance reader.
I’m usually hesitant with historical romance, but Stolen Heart might have changed my view on them and stolen my heart (pun intended). I will be more excited to pick up my next historical romance if it’s anything like this one. The first time I sat down to start reading this book I lost track of time and I was well into it before I realized an entire day had come and gone, and yet I still didn’t want to put it down. Personally, I was already hooked during the first chapter when it gave a little hint on what was to come then twisted everything upside-down and completely confused me to where I thought the storyline would lead. Stolen Heart held suspense, murder, mystery, mischief and lots of sweets to balance out its darker elements with of course sprinkles of good old-fashioned romance throughout that makes your heart skip a beat. I was intimidated by the family tree and the map that was presented in the beginning pages of this book, thinking it was going to be a lot more intermingled and more complicated than it was, but was gladly disappointed. It was a simple, fun read and if it’s not obvious yet, I loved this book. I even used a pickup line from the book on my husband and although it wasn’t exactly the same reaction as in the book I still got a smile and a kiss out of it. One of my favorite quotes besides the pickup line and one that I thought summarized the romance in this book was when Catherine stated “Mama told me there are two kinds of love. One is when a woman gives her heart to a man. That’s good, but she said it’s even better when he steals her heart. That’s the kind of love that lasts a lifetime.” I’ve had a book hangover now for a few days and am hoping by writing this review, I’ll get some of the giddy feelings that I got when reading this book out in order to move on with a clean slate to the next book. I have moments throughout the day when I smile and reminisce on certain scenes and just how perfectly some scenarios aligned to get to the ending. For me, the beginning was an “oh snap” moment, starting off with a bang and drawing you in, then the end was a “mic drop” moment building up the suspense to a boiling point to blow you away at the finale. I gave Stolen Heart a glowing five star review and will be adding Amanda Cabot to my list to watch. I will be looking for opportunities to recommend this book and look forward to what she comes up with next. Speaking of what’s next with this author; a bonus in the book is at the end is a preview of her next book covering Catherine’s journey. I’m excited to see how she will top this one and I think she picked the perfect bachelorette to cover since I so desperately wanted to see her have a love interest in this one after all she went through with both love and life throwing stones at her. Pickup Line Quote I Tried Out: “It’s too beautiful an evening to waste talking.” “What did you have in mind?” His smile widened. “This.” (Big ole romantic, smooch to follow)