Book Review

The Bound Heart by Dawn Crandall

One accidental kiss from Lawry Hampton. That was all it took to throw Meredyth Summercourt’s world upside down. Determined to marry the ever-elusive Vance Everstone, she simply doesn’t have the time or desire to fall for her best friend Lawry Hampton. 

– The Bound Heart by Dawn Crandall.

 

My Review

The Bound Heart is Lawry and Meredyth’s story. I have to say, sometimes I wanted to gently tell her to please to wake up and see Vance for who he is and let him go! (To borrow a phrase from a good friend, sometimes I wanted to purse whomp her…forgive me!) But Lawry, well, he is another thing all together. Here is Lawry on page one:

He stared at me with those rich , ocean-blue eyes. I could tell they were taking in every unspoken cue.  – The Bound Heart

Vance is just nasty in this book * spoiler alert: he redeems himself in The Cautious Maiden (book 4).

later on Meredyth says.

Lawry Hampton was a lot of things, but a coward was not one of them. – The Bound Heart

Meredyth is imprisoned by the past and she remembers an incident when she was 19 years old which she regrets, feels guilty for and she feels it is up to her to put things right.  Then in 1891 in Back Bay, Boston Massachusetts, Meredyth must come to terms with her past, and wrestle with her fears and regrets, or they will affect her future and her happiness. She is  determined to marry Vance Everstone. He unexpectedly returns and turns her world upside down. Ok, I will just say it now, I did not like Vance in this book one bit, he is all villain.  A handsome villain, but nasty nonetheless. The little orphan girl named Wynn almost steals the show, and I loved Lawry’s heroic part in her life!

Melted my heart, and I think I fell in love with Lawry way before Meredyth did. It takes her a while to realize how strong her feelings for Lawry are. But I do not want to spoil the story for you, there are twists and turns in the plot that keep you guessing right to the end. I love Dawn’s books and lament that it took me so long to discover them. To be honest, I read the first three back to back.

You can read my review of book 1 here

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Dawn Crandall:

Dawn Crandall is an ACFW Carol Award-nominated author of the award winning series The Everstone Chronicles, which consists of four books: The Hesitant Heiress, The Bound Heart, The Captive Imposter and The Cautious Maiden which released October 4th, 2016. Apart from writing, Dawn is also a mom of two little ones and serves with her husband in a premarital mentorship program at their local church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  A graduate of Taylor University with a degree in Christian Education and a former bookseller at Barnes & Noble, Dawn Crandall didn’t begin writing until 2010 when her husband found out about her long-buried dream. It didn’t take her long to realize that writing books was what she was made to do.

Dawn is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the secretary for the Indiana ACFW Chapter (Hoosier Ink), and an associate member of the Great Lakes ACFW Chapter. She is represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher. My opinions are my own.

Melony Teague is a Freelance Writer and Columnist who lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The Biographer for Portraits of Giving (2014-2016), Aurora Sports Hall of Fame (2015 -2017) and teaches seniors in her community how to write their personal story.