The Captive Heart - Book Review

Michelle Griep is one of my all time favorite historical novelists and The Captive Heart just might be my favorite book of hers. I read in another review that this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, that would explain why I like it so much! (Beauty and the Beast retellings are my weakness). If you liked A Cowboy for Keeps by Jody Hedlund or The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson, you will love The Captive Heart.

Plot Summary

English governess Eleanor Morgan flees from England to America to escape her incensed aristocratic employer. Things go from bad to worse when she becomes an indentured servant and is then married off to a man she's never met. While her new stepdaughter captures her heart immediately, she is less pleased with life on the frontier and her gruff, taciturn husband.

Trapper and scout Samuel Heath never planned to remarry, especially to an English woman, but his daughter needs a mother. And he doesn't have many options; after all, who wants to marry a murderer? While tensions brew between the Cherokees and the British, the interest between Samuel and Eleanor escalates. Could he give his heart to this stiff woman and could she fall for a backwoodsman with a deadly reputation?

Personal Thoughts

I loved Eleanor. One minute you think she's docile then the next minute she flares up. I empathized with her as she learned how to survive the American wilderness. At first I thought Samuel was like a grizzly bear - huge, bad tempered, and content to sit in grumpy silence. However, I warmed up to him quickly. I loved how he softened around his daughter (who was adorable, BTW).

I'm picky about marriage of convenience tropes. The author has to get it just right for me to enjoy it. Griep knocked it out of the park. While Eleanor and Samuel were attracted to each other, they took time to get to know each other and work on their relationship.

The mystery behind Samuel's first wife and his enmity with McDivitt kept me turning pages. McDivitt was horrible; every time I thought he couldn't get worse, he did. I was interested to see why he hated Samuel in the first place. I did not expect the showdown between them, but it was the perfect ending to the story.

Notes

This book is best for teenagers and adults.

Steam Level: 💋💋💋

Ramblings Inspired by the Book

Much like Beauty and the Beast, Samuel and Eleanor had to look past appearances to see the person underneath. Eleanor thought he was gruff and untamed. Samuel thought she was unfit for frontier living. But as they got to know each other better, they discovered their assumptions were incorrect. While Eleanor had spent her life in grand English houses and didn't even know how to cook, she was stubborn and quick to learn. Samuel was more comfortable in the woods than in town, but he had a good heart and cared deeply for his daughter and eventually Eleanor.

How many times does this happen in life? We assume someone is one way when they're actually another. I have met people who I thought were like X when they turned out to be Y. It's a little embarrassing when you find your preconceived notions are wrong. That's why I've learned not to judge someone too quickly; I don't know them that well, or if I just met them, not at all.

Getting to know someone takes time. Sometimes it takes a few encounters to get the other person to open up, especially if they're introverted. But when we take the time to push past the surface and intentionally find out more about someone, it leads to a deeper relationship. It's easy to make assumptions about someone from a handful of meetings, much like what Eleanor and Samuel did; but strong relationships emerge when we become acquainted with someone instead of relying on our faulty assumptions.

For those of you who have read The Captive Heart, what did you think of it? For those who have not read it, would you? Tell me in the comments below!