Review: A Heart's Disguise by Colleen Coble

Book Description 

" In the aftermath of the Civil War, a young woman searches for her lost love at the edge of the West. The Civil War has destroyed Sarah Montgomery’s marriage before it’s even begun. After Sarah receives word that her fiancé, Rand Campbell, has been killed fighting for the Union, her brothers and ailing father persuade her to pledge herself to Ben Croftner—despite her strong misgivings. But when Sarah finds out that Rand is in fact alive—and that Ben Croftner knew it—she indignantly breaks off the engagement and goes in search of Rand. But Ben Croftner does not take rejection lightly—and a single woman with a sick father makes an easy target. When Sarah is abducted by her treacherous fiancé, Rand finally comes to her aid . . . only to reveal that he has been posted at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and intends to take her there as his wife. But could Sarah leave her dying father’s side for the love of her life? And what plans are forming in the jealous heart of Ben Croftner?"

The author's note at the beginning of the book states that this is the fist series that she ever wrote and they have not been in print for nearly ten years.  A Heart 's Disguise is book one of six in The Journey of the Heart series.  It is under a hundred pages long and a very fast read.  I think it has the makings of a good story, but I am not a big fan of books that are divided up so much.  It seems as though they rush through the story and  just when you are getting into it, they cut off in hopes you will purchase the next one in the series.  I also think  that splitting a story into 6 separate books causes the consumer to spend a lot more money then necessary to get the complete story but I see that Amazon has a set of the whole series as one purchase available for preorder.....

That said, this could be a fantastic story by the time it is finished.  It has interesting characters and a good plot, complete with hints of danger, love, and mystery.  I absolutely loved this (talking about how it can be hard to see God's plan in our lives), "She was doing some embroidery work, and I looked up at the underside of the hoop.  The yarn was all tangled and gnarled.  A real mess.  But when I climbed up beside her and looked down on what she was working on, it was a beautiful garden.  That's the way our lives are.  We're looking at the picture from underneath, but God is working out a specific plan from above."

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance to FTC regulations.