⇒ PDF Bound Heart Frantz 9780800726645 Books

Bound Heart Frantz 9780800726645 Books

Download As PDF : Bound Heart Frantz 9780800726645 Books

Bound Heart Frantz 9780800726645 Books

I always promise no spoilers in reviews. The promise has never been as difficult to keep as it is with A Bound Heart because there is so much I want to exclaim and expound. When a book moves me this way, I am hard-pressed to remain quiet about all its many virtues. But I don’t want to ruin any of them for other readers. A Bound Heart is the kind of enduring tale on which book lovers and book clubs can reminisce for hours. Long after closing the pages upon Lark and the laird, I lay awake beside my snoring husband with an imagination full to overflow of their story world and ponderings on the ever Scottish theme of freedom. ‘Tis not the first time, Laura has left me thus. I pray it shall not be the last. (And no, I don’t actually talk like that, only while under the influence of Laura Frantz magic.)


Tags : Bound Heart [Frantz] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Though Magnus MacLeish and Lark MacDougall grew up on the same castle grounds, Magnus is now laird of the great house and the Isle of Kerrera. Lark is but the keeper of his bees and the woman he is hoping will provide a tincture that might help his ailing wife conceive and bear him an heir. But when his wife dies suddenly,Frantz,Bound Heart,Revell,0800726642,Christian fiction,Christian fiction.,Love stories,Love stories.,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,AMERICAN LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,FICTION Christian Historical,FICTION Christian Romance General,FICTION Romance Historical General,Fiction,Fiction-Christian,FictionChristian - Romance - General,FictionRomance - Historical - General,GENERAL,General Adult,United States,Virginia,historical; historical romance; colonial; williamsburg; virginia; revolutionary war; bride; Patriots; Scotland; West Indies; beekeeper; romance; love; hope; new beginnings; mystery; Laura Frantz; stillroom; laird; scottish; castle,historical;historical romance;colonial;williamsburg;virginia;revolutionary war;bride;Patriots;Scotland;West Indies;beekeeper;romance;love;hope;new beginnings;mystery;Laura Frantz;stillroom;laird;scottish;castle

Bound Heart Frantz 9780800726645 Books Reviews

Laura Frantz is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors, and she slams the ball out of the park again with A Bound Heart. The Scottish setting won some automatic brownie points from me, but the characters and plot are what truly kept me engaged. Lark, Magnus, Rory, Trevor, Mistress Flowerdew, little Larkin...they all feel like new friends, the mark of a good storyteller who can create three-dimensional people, not just characters.

Lark and Magnus win empathy almost from page one, their strengths and foibles mixing to create a fantastic lead couple. Lark in particular fascinated me, as did her career as a castle stillroom mistress. I loved learning about herbs and healing through her; if I lived in 1752 Scotland, I think I'd hang around the stillroom just to soak in knowledge. As for Magnus, he bucks the stereotypes of a Scottish laird, but maintains enough heroic conventions to make him swoon-worthy. I especially respected his commitment to faith and Scripture, and his determination to stick by Isla even though she was not often a lovable person.

As noted, the secondary characters round out the cast in a multifaceted way I haven't seen in awhile. Their personalities, walks of life, and travails underline that no matter what time period we're in, humans are much the same anywhere. Even those characters who are unsympathetic, such as Mr. Granger, aren't one-note or stereotypical. Everyone has their own motives, their own journeys, and I enjoyed everyone.

Laura's plot is familiar without being predictable. For instance, I didn't expect the characters to spend much time in Scotland, and so was pleasantly surprised when they did. I also wasn't expecting Lark's indenture to go as it did, but the accompanying events, such as her adoption of Larkin, made for a unique version of that plotline. Magnus' journey to Jamaica, and the physical travails he and Lark had to go through to get together and stay together, also hold attention and keep the pages turning.

Several location changes make for a highly interesting plot, but they can leave you a bit mentally exhausted. In addition, I didn't like how Larkin was involved with Magnus, Rory, and then Trevor throughout the book. It made her seem a bit, well, boy-crazy, which I don't mind. That's a unique and interesting flaw, especially for a Christian character. But three guys, on top of a 400-plus page plot, seemed like too much. If it were up to me, I'd have excised Rory and the smugglers' plot, as that didn't seem to influence Lark's journey much. But overall, A Bound Heart is a lovely novel, one sure to capture your own heart. I hope Laura Frantz writes more like this.
I am a HUGE Laura Frantz fan and have given all of her books before this one 5 stars. She is a master story teller and her attention to detail, especially historical detail, give all of her books incredible depth and interest. This is a sweet story, and includes all of the detail and good writing Laura is so wonderful to provide.

But Not Her Best
But, this story began to wane for me about 2/3 of the way through. It became very predictable and uninteresting. I rushed through the last part of the book to get to the end.

SPOILER ALERT!
The end seemed to me to be where she could have taken the story much earlier and had a much better finish to the book. Magnus and Lark could have wed and gone on to Jamaica, and we she could have developed a better ending with them undertaking the challenges there, working through them together.

Even though it's not her best, I still recommend it. All of her books are top notch, this one just isn't quite up to the standard of the others.
My Scottish heart loved the beginning of this book. The setting on the Isle, the Scots speech, and all of the other little cultural details painted a beautiful picture of a land my heart longs for. So the beginning third of the book was a really quick read. The endearing details along with the exciting occurrences with the smuggling, stillroom, Magnus, and Isla made for an enthralling adventure. The second third of the book was interesting as well. The journey on the ship, the uncertainty of their lives ahead, the budding romance, and the nefarious schemes kept the pace moving along quite well. I loved the addition of Larkin to the story and how he molded into Lark's life and kept her safe and from falling apart. The third and final section of the book was a bit of a stretch for me. There were things going on but they did not have the same adventure and gravity as the parts before. Along with Lark, my heart longed for the times in Scotland, which held the most appeal. Lark and Magnus' romance is a patient and distant one. Still, I wish we had more time to live within the discovery of their romance, really building up their feelings for each other so the reader can feel it along with the characters. Even though they made declarations, I wanted to infuse the other senses along with it to really experience the longing along with them. The romance did build at the very end of the book, but if it had been built a little sooner, the reader would have better felt their longing for each other all through their separation and would have been more pulled to see them back together. It is also interesting how in each of the three sections there is a man who wants to have Lark for their own but cannot because her heart belongs to Magnus. The ending was sweet, and I loved how you could really feel Magnus and Lark's feelings and commitment to each other. Their plans and position for their future was very tenuous, so I didn't really like how they were left with that future. They spent a lot of the book talking about how people die when they go to the Caribbean, so it would have been nice to have an epilogue about them living in Virginia safe and sound after their years on the tropical island. That would have made the story feel completely wrapped up. Otherwise, there were a lot of elements with Lark's stillroom work, beekeeping, lifestyles of the time in Scotland, on a ship, in Virginia, and in the Caribbean, and laws of the time that kept interest throughout the story. I enjoyed this look into different pieces of the world during such a tumultuous time.
I always promise no spoilers in reviews. The promise has never been as difficult to keep as it is with A Bound Heart because there is so much I want to exclaim and expound. When a book moves me this way, I am hard-pressed to remain quiet about all its many virtues. But I don’t want to ruin any of them for other readers. A Bound Heart is the kind of enduring tale on which book lovers and book clubs can reminisce for hours. Long after closing the pages upon Lark and the laird, I lay awake beside my snoring husband with an imagination full to overflow of their story world and ponderings on the ever Scottish theme of freedom. ‘Tis not the first time, Laura has left me thus. I pray it shall not be the last. (And no, I don’t actually talk like that, only while under the influence of Laura Frantz magic.)