Review:  The Captive Heart, a Christian historical romance, by Michelle Griep

Rated 5 out of 5 stars by Iris Chacon (plus a star in the crown of Michelle Griep, author).

Christian ladies, or any ladies, who enjoy an exciting historical romance without lurid explicit sexuality or profane language simply must treat yourselves to this novel, The Captive Heart.

At first glance, the story premise of a proper English governess shipped to the American Colonies in 1770 to become an indentured servant to a rough-living frontiersman seems stale and predictable. Wait a chapter, however, and the story begins to take surprising turns and expose unexpected conflicts (both in the outside world and in the hearts of characters).

Eleanor Morgan finds herself married to Samuel Heath, a stranger and half-Cherokee, who simply needs a mother for his 18-month-old daughter. Neither expects to have feelings for the new spouse, but an intact family unit is a practical necessity if they are to survive in Samuel’s remote forest cabin. Both together and separately, Eleanor and Samuel endure hardship and sudden revelations about themselves and about each other, and both of them grow in their faith as they are forced to rely more and more on God’s grace in their lives.

Be sure you get the title by Michelle Griep, because this catchy title has been used and re-used for years by other authors, many of them dealing in thinly veiled pornography masquerading as literature.

Griep’s The Captive Heart is thoroughly and thrillingly romantic, exciting in action and exploration of exotic Native American culture, and absolutely the sweetest, most wholesome love story you have read in a long time.

If you do not find it in your bookstore, online or brick-and-mortar, ASK for it. You do not want to skip this one. Uplifting escapist fiction like The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep is very hard to find.