When the Heart Heals by Ann Shorey

When the Heart Heals

Sisters at Heart - #2

By Ann Shorey

Readers are invited to travel back to 1867, to the town of Noble Springs, Missouri, for an engrossing story of love's tentative first steps and fragile future in the face of opposition. With tenderness and grace, Ann Shorey tells the story of Rosemary, a sympathetic but strong woman determined to thrive in a world that doesn't always understand. 

Courageous and unconventional, Rosemary Saxon served as a nurse during the Civil War, a service that has caused most women in town to regard her as unfeminine and downright vulgar. Although she would like to put her experiences as a nurse behind her, she must support herself. She takes a position with Dr. Elijah Stewart and a mutual attraction begins to develop. But when a sophisticated woman arrives in town claiming to be Elijah's fiancée, a heartbroken Rosemary decides to leave Noble Springs and start fresh. Can Elijah convince her of the mystery woman's deception before he loses her forever?

Ann Shorey is the author of Where Wildflowers Bloom, The Edge of Light, The Promise of Morning, and The Dawn of a Dream. She has also published selections in the Cup of Comfort series and in Chicken Soup for the Grandma's Soul. Ann and her husband make their home in southwestern Oregon.

Here's my review of this exciting Christian romance:

First of all, I would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank you” to Ann Shorey and her publisher for sending me a copy of "When the Heart Heals" to review for them. I am truly grateful for this generosity. I really appreciate the time, effort and expense it takes to make a reviewer copy available to me.

Ann Shorey’s “When the Heart Heals”, book 2 in the Sisters at Heart series, is an incredibly sweet historical romance that will transport the reader back to simpler, but more difficult times.  Although it’s the second book in the series, it reads well as a stand-alone novel.

After the Civil War, Rosemary Saxon struggled to find her place in society.  Having served as a nurse in the war, many people shunned her because of her physical contact with men was believed to have compromised her.  It hasn’t helped that her gift for herbal healing has branded her reputation as well.  Dr. Elijah Stewart also served in the war – as a physician.  His need for a nurse draws him and Rosemary together.  But Elijah’s past is chasing him down, and that past threatens to tear him and Rosemary apart.

This novel is a drama, a mystery and a romance.  Each component is solid.  The plot is thick and well-crafted.  The dialogue seems a bit forced at times, but I think that has a lot to do with the post-Civil War social standards.  The story builds well like a good roller coaster and excitedly rushes to its thrilling conclusion.  This is a wonderful book to not only read over a long weekend, but also to add to your fiction library.