MY HEART BELONGS ON MACKINAC ISLAND

BARBOUR REVIEW CREW

IS PROUD TO PRESENT

 

MY HEART BELONGS 

ON

MACKINAC ISLAND 

Maude's Mooring 

My Heart Belongs Books

ABOUT THE BOOK
Moor your heart on Mackinac Island along with resident sweetheart Maude Welling, an heiress trying to prove her worth by working incognito as a maid at the Grand Hotel. Meet Ben Steffans, a journalist posing as a wealthy industrialist who has come to the island to uncover a story about impoverished men pursuing heiresses at the famed hotel. Will a growing love between Maude and Ben be scuttled when truths are revealed in this Gilded Age romance? (from Goodreads)

THE AUTHOR
 Carrie Fancett Pagels is an ECPA bestselling and award-winning author of Christian historical romance. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn't "cure" her overactive imagination! She resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which is perfect for her love of history. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time!  AUTHOR'S WEBSITE


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MY THOUGHTS

With times today being so hectic and stressful, being able to visit Mackinac Island is like a retreat.  It's like entering a peaceful and quiet place to rest and take in the beauty.  The author gave a historical fiction account of Mackinac Island in 1895.   This was when the Grand Hotel, a truly lovely site, was almost new.  The author's descriptions of the places and the characters were vivid.    I didn't quite get what the scandal of looking for a wife was though.   Why was this a possible story for a Detroit journalist. ?  Men look and have looked for ages, for women who had money with the intent on marrying into riches, just as women have done.  Where's the scandal? We are given the character Maude Welling and her father.  They have not only a home she loves but and Inn called "Winds of Mackinac".    Her father wants to move and start a farm in the lower part of Michigan.    I don't quite understand either why Maude took a job secretly at the Grand Hotel unless to show him she could make it on her own.  I'm not sure why she just didn't tell him.  It seems like most of the characters have some sort of secret they are hiding.  Some have more than one.  I like books that have a realistic approach to them, that I can relate to in some way.  I didn't find some of this book to be something I could relate to.  Usually you have at least one character that you really like, that you really want the best for.    There was a lot going on in this book.  Perhaps if the connections of the characters had been expanded upon a little more, it would have had a little more appeal to me. For instance,  What was keeping Maude on the Island? Was it her love life, which was an up and down affair.  I felt at times she needed to find someone else.   Ben was asked to find out what was keeping Maude on the island  but that topic wasn't ever answered.   I liked the time period, the setting,  the descriptions of places like the Grand Hotel.  You could almost feel the breeze blowing the mist from the lake onto your face.  You could picture the clear blue water and feel a peacefulness, but I felt the book lacked much of a plot.  Maybe a future novel going more into the characters personalities and answering some of the questions would be interesting.   A lot of questions brought up but never answered.   I had previously read My Heart Belongs in Ruby City Idaho and loved it.  This book just didn't give me that, I want more feeling.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to review it.

I would give this book 3 STARS. 

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