A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell
March 1st 2011 by Bethany House Publishers
Paperback, 384 pages
Review Copy
Mini-Review
The elegance of Madame Forza's gown shop is a far cry from the downtrodden North End of Boston. Yet each day Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana enter the world of the upper class, working on finery for the elite in society. The three beauties each long to break free of their obligations and embrace the American dream--and their chance for love. But the ways of the heart are difficult to discern at times. Julietta is drawn to the swarthy, mysterious Angelo. Annamaria has a star-crossed encounter with the grocer's son, a man from the entirely wrong family. And through no intent of her own, Luciana catches the eye of Billy Quinn, the son of Madame Forza's most important client.
Their destinies intertwined, each harboring a secret from their families and each other, will they be found worthy of the love they seek?
Mini-Review
I knew right off the bat when accepting this book that its author was very popular and widely known for her great romances in the Christian market, however this being my first Siri Mitchell novel, A Heart Most Worthy and I had some problems.
The setting of the novel, the historical background and most importantly the plotline, were all great. Mitchell's historical details were beautiful along with her cast of characters that filled every space for different personality's and depth to her plotline. What was hard for me was the mode of narration chosen for the novel, the second person was used with a mix of the third-person and a stream-of-conscious voice (the use of the character speaking directly to the reader) so while I was trying to connect to the story and the characters themselves, I felt almost interrupted by the voice speaking to me, as it seemed to just pop out from nowhere and say "You see there reader, look at that"!
Along with the use of the unique narration, I felt there was just to many story lines going on and nothing to really anchor me to the book, while all the personalities were engrossing, I felt lost trying to get to know all of them because all three girls seemed to blend together with none of the stories having the main plot. However, that being said I can say Siri has a very lovely prose to her writing, her words are tender and very romantic and while this book didn't work for me in particular, Im looking forward to trying a different novel from this author.
Rating
A Hearts Most Worthy can be enjoyed by all readers and is recommended to those who love historical fiction, wholesome romance and contains: Immigration, mild violence and romance.
2.5/5- Christian Historical Fiction
Thanks to Bethany House and the CFBA for Review Copy
Cfba reviews coming this month.........................
Hey Tina, thanks for visiting my blog! Siri Mitchell is a favorite author of mine, so I'm looking forward to reading this one. Since this one wasn't your "cup of tea," as the saying goes, I'd recommend trying her previous book - She Walks in Beauty. The single narrator may make a difference for you. :)
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see how having the narration switch while trying to keep up with three different women and their stories would be a lot to deal with while reading. I'll be interested to see what you think of another of her books since this was the first one you've read by her!
ReplyDeleteO yah, I could see that being very difficult to ignore. Thanks for sharing your honest review/take.
ReplyDeleteWell, even if this one didn't really work for you, I think it is great when you can still find appreciation in the prose.
ReplyDeleteI've very picky with narrative voice too. Though I think it is great to explore different styles of writing, you can't help your preferences sometimes.
Hi Tina --
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for taking the time to write and post a review of my book. This is the first time I've written from the omniscient perspective. It fit the era and tone of the story. While I enjoyed it, I'll be back to first-person narration in next spring's release, The Messenger. If I had been looking for one main character to pull me through the story, I would have driven myelf crazy too! In true ensemble novel style, all three girls share the main character role equally.
Many thanks and happy reading!
-Siri