3 out of 4 stars
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Fire in the Heart by Lesley J. Mooney was staged in Scotland. The story begins with Rianna, who just turned eighteen and for the first time, her strict father allowed her to go out alone to meet with her friends, Annie and Jenna. On her way, she met Lord Rowan McClaron and found him overbearing because of his impertinent attitude. Events led to another and she was pressured into courting him by her father. Her heart was in great turmoil as she was in love with Gregor, whom her father didn’t approve of because he was part Austrian with nothing to offer as a suitor plus he wanted her to marry a true Scotsman. Eventually, Rowan and Rianna got married and she grew to love him because Rowan was passionate and obviously in love with her.
Married for seventeen months, Rowan’s urgency for a child began to make him impatient and his attitude changed towards her as months grew into years because he blamed her for their fate. In a bid to get away from Rowan and his horrid moods, she went to visit her parents and ran into Gregor. One thing led to another and they made love. Soon after, she discovered she was pregnant! Who is the father? What would become of Rianna if the baby doesn’t have the McClaron birthmark as Rowan has proven to be ruthless?
Lesley has given us some food for thought in this engaging read as she has managed to weave the themes of love, pride, murder, and mystery so effortlessly. She has done a great job developing the characters in the book as she gave them flesh and made them relatable. I particularly liked Rowan and was hoping he’d learn to share his personal troubles that plagued him with Rianna so she could understand the reason for his mood change rather than letting his pride get the best of him.
One of the points I picked from this book is that parents have a great role to play in their children’s lives. Rianna’s father shouldn’t have interfered with her love life. He should have let her make her own decisions and make her own mistakes. I actually felt like he sold her out because of what he stood to gain from Rowan, business wise. Tristan, Rianna’s son, who was once gregarious and fun-loving, became dispirited because of his parents' squabbles. He became edgy and was not concentrating on his schooling as he used to. I was really sad for him and I implore parents to take caution when it comes to their kids. They are watching you! Set the right example for them and give them the right environment to grow to their full potential.
There was really nothing I didn’t like about the book aside from the errors I encountered. The errors ranged from lack of punctuation to misspelled words. I believe the book would benefit from a thorough round of editing. Bearing this in mind, I rate Fire in the Heart 3 out of 4 stars. If not for the errors I would have given it a perfect rating.
I recommend this book to those who like romance sprinkled with murder and mystery. It is a good book to pass the time with. It has some sexual and violent scenes so I do not recommend it to children. If you are looking for an action-packed book, this is not the book for you.
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Fire In The Heart
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