This Heart of Mine
(Whiskey Creek #8)
by Brenda Novak
First
love. Second chance?
As
the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the
handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she
finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate
not to lose him
especially
once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive
when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating
next.
Unfortunately,
there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison,
Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and
get to know her son. But Jacob's father isn't exactly welcoming.
Riley
doesn't trust Phoenix, doesn't want her in Jacob's life. He is, however, ready
to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea
that he's about to find both!
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This
Heart of Mine is Phoenix and Riley's story, which
starts out with Phoenix getting released from jail after spending 17 years
behind bars for a crime she did not commit.
While incarcerated, she gave birth to Riley's son, Jacob, but was never
able to hold her baby, so when she gets released, that is her top priority
- getting to know her son. Riley is hesitant to let Phoenix into Jacobs
life, but being the great father that he is, allows it to happen. As Riley spends time with Phoenix, he realizes
that the love he had for her in high school is still as strong as ever, but can
he convince Phoenix of that?
Also, we get to see another side of Whiskey
Creek and its citizens, and quite frankly, it made me angry and upset on how
some of them treated Phoenix. She has
not always had an easy life, with her murder conviction and her mother's hoarding
problem, but even after serving her time, Phoenix is still judged by the town
folk. Phoenix does not let this deter
her though from getting her life back order and I really admired her for the
actions she took. She is a very strong
woman that I instantly liked and cheered on as the story progressed.
Although there is not a ton of romance in This Heart of Mine, it is still a lovely
story that kept me turning each page hoping for the best, not only with Phoenix
and Riley's relationship, but that Whiskey Creek would give Phoenix the second
chance she so deserved.
Brenda Novak has done it once again by giving us,
the readers, an amazing story of love, sacrifice and second chances. But most of all, she has given us a story
that is relatable and realistic. What I
really like about the Whiskey Creek series, is that you don't have to read them
in order or necessarily any of the previous stories to know what is going on
during the current book.
If you want to read a story of love, second
chances and forgiveness, then I would recommend This Heart of Mine.
4 stars
It
was a shocking experience that jump-started Brenda Novak’s bestselling author
career.
“I
caught my day-care provider drugging my children with cough syrup and Tylenol
to get them to sleep while I was away,” Brenda says. “It was then that I
decided that I needed to do something from home.”
However,
writing was the last profession she expected to undertake. In fact, Brenda
swears she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. In school, math and science
were her best subjects, and when it came time to pick a major in college, she
chose business.
Abandoning
her academic scholarship to Brigham Young University at the age of 20 in order
to get married and start a family, Brenda dabbled in commercial real estate,
then became a loan officer.
“When
I first got the idea to become a novelist, it took me five years to teach
myself the craft and finish my first book,” Brenda admits. “I learned how to
write by reading what others have written. The best advice for any would-be
author: read, read, read….”
Brenda
sold her first book, and the rest is history. Many of her novels have won or
placed in contests such as the National Reader's Choice, the Bookseller's Best,
the Write Touch, the Award of Excellence and the Beacon Award for Published
Authors.
Brenda
and her husband, Ted, live in Sacramento and are the proud parents of five
children—three girls and two boys. She juggles her writing career with her
children’s softball and soccer games, field trips, carpool runs and homework
sessions.
When
she’s not spending time with her family or writing, Brenda is usually working
on her annual fundraiser for diabetes research—an on-line auction held at her
website May 1st – May 31st. Her youngest son, Thad, has diabetes, and Brenda is
determined to help him and others like him. She also enjoys traveling, watching
sporting events and biking--she rides an amazing 20 miles every day!
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