Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato

Three years ago, Captain Brogan Talvis' late wife abandoned their son, leaving no clue as to the boy's whereabouts. After searching relentlessly, Brogan discovers his son was adopted by a New England shipbuilder. And the man's daughter, Lorena Huntley, acts as loving guardian to the child.

Lorena, who hides a dark truth about her family and the child, finds herself falling for the handsome captain/ex-privateer who has come to secure ownership of one of her father's ships. She is still unaware of Brogan's own secret when another man's deceit has her sailing toward England against her will.

Haunted by thoughts of Lorena in peril, Brogan is forced to choose between the boy he longs for and the woman who has captured his heart.

Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato was a sweet tale of love, forgiveness, and finding one's worth in God alone. The plot line of this novel was fairly straight forward, easy to follow, yet still interesting. There was a major twist in the plot at the end that I was not expecting, but it added greatly to the story. This twist allowed for some incredible wisdom from Lorena that is applicable to anyone's life.

The majority of the characters in this story were typical of a historical inspirational romance and did not experience much growth throughout the novel. However, Captain Brogan did experience some changes in his character and way of thinking that added greatly to his presence in the book. He was raised with completely untrue views of his own worth to God and the true character of God. I enjoyed seeing his growth and his increased understanding about self worth, strength in Christ, and true love.

The themes that Prize of My Heart emphasized were ones of living honestly instead of in deceit, understanding the real love of God, and surrendering one's life to God even when nothing makes sense. As Lorena told Brogan near the end of the book, "Surrender your plan, Brogan. Surrender your dreams to God, and let Him show you His plan for your life. ...God has had His hand on your life....God has seen the good treasure of your heart, even though you have made mistakes. He has taken what others meant for evil and turned it around to your advantage." pp 290-291. The final theme was forgiveness, even when great evil is committed against you.

Overall, I highly enjoyed the Prize of My Heart. I loved the major twist in the end, the growth Brogan experienced, and the truth of God that was spoken by the main characters. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a simple yet truth filled novel for a quiet day of rest.

I received this novel for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.