A Heart Most Certain

Some books get reviewed because I promised a publisher or author I would review it if they would give me a free copy. Some get reviewed because I’m trying to get a ton of reviews done and am going through a big series. But then there are books that get reviewed because they have to be reviewed. They are so good they require you to review them. That’s the case with A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears.

Book: A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears, Bethany House Publishers, 2016
Genre: Historical Fiction
Target Audience: Adult Women
Subjects: Charity, Romance

She’s from a poor family. Her dad is the town drunk, her mom is ill and dying. She is trying to solve her problems by getting engaged to one of the most influential men in town – the mayor’s son. Getting involved with him and his family comes with expectations though. His mom, leader of the quilting group, puts the pressure on Lydia to be the one to solicit donations from the rich miser of the community. Lydia knows what’s at stake, so she sets out to be the one to succeed where everyone else has failed. One rejection, two rejections, three rejections, it doesn’t matter how many rejections she faces. She knows she has to succeed and is determined to do just that. The problem is Nicholas isn’t who she thinks he is. He isn’t who anyone thinks he is. He’s an extremely generous man, pouring himself out for the hurting of the community, but not in socially acceptable ways. Finally, he gives Lydia a challenge that requires them to reach out to the needy together and soon, each one is faced with some difficult choices that could uproot everything they thought they had been seeking.

I was so excited about this book! I had no idea what to expect, not having read much from the author before. I really liked the theme. It was all about what charity really means. Lydia and those in her circle think it means preaching in bars on the evil of alcohol or sewing a few beautiful quilts to help some poor people. Nicholas however, thinks that it means trying to help prostitutes find a way out of the lifestyle they are trapped in.  He thinks it means employing them as his maids. He thinks it means dressing as a poor person himself to deliver needed supplies to the poor. He thinks it means taking orphans into his home.

But along with the theme of what charity actually looks like, it also focuses on overcoming past mistakes and guilt. One character in the story is almost entirely motivated by guilt and has to find a way to overcome that past.

I highly, highly recommend this book! And now I want to find as many books as I can by this author! Anyone who dares to write a book challenging the mindset that the church’s job is to stay nice and clean and safe while doing charity instead of opening up their own homes and building relationships with those trapped in horrific sins is an author I want to read more of! 
Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale:5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi