The Heart's Desire

Rating:
Summary: First in a Series
Review:
The Heart's Desire
Anna Furtado's debut historical romance novel, The Heart's Desire, is set in England during the post-Norman Medieval Period, the early Renaissance. Henry VI is on the throne, and in the small township of Willowglen, Catherine Hawkins, the local spice merchant and herbal healer, is about to encounter the meaning of the book's title. As she prepares for the annual Harvest Faire, Catherine notices a young noblewoman, Lady Lydia Wellington, staring at her from across the street. She is both captivated and confused. "That grey-green gaze had probed into the depths of her soul and left her overwhelmed with puzzling emotions." [P.1] Soon they meet which leads Lydia to ask her aunts, the Ladies of Briarcrest, if she may remain after the Faire and learn more about herbs and spices from Catherine. Lydia and Catherine begin working together and a friendship is forged which promises perhaps more. Along the way, the reader meets Sarah, Catherine's amiable and spunky young assistant, Isadore, a cleric with both a secret and an obsession, Lord Wellington, Lydia's self-serving father, and the irrepressible Ladies of Briarcrest, Beatrice and Hilary. Through various trials and tribulations inherent in the genre of the historical romance, the reader is pleasantly swept along as each new conflict appears, as each new impediment to possible happiness occurs, and as the two heroines find purpose and resolve they never knew they had.
Furtado has created a novel that is rich and vibrant in its authenticity. Having spent two years researching the period to insure the accuracy of the setting and the events, quite remarkably, she has reconstructed a vivid interwoven tapestry of everyday life, the social mores, and these unconventional women of the times. The descriptions of the ordinary workday scenes and of the beginnings of the "enlightenment" in Catherine's Willowglen Township provide the reader with the opportunity to become part of the story, and this is especially important when reading an historical romance. The timeframe in which the action takes place must be again brought to life, dusted off, and given new insight and vigor. Furtado manages rather effortlessly to accomplish that. The section headings, no chapters here, inform the reader as the plot progresses through the use of place and time. It reads similarly to diary entries.
The characterization is written succinctly and compactly, yet the reader never feels that Catherine and Lydia have been slighted in their increasingly dynamic evolution as determined, intelligent, and independent women. There is a good deal of internal dialogue for both of these characters, which, at times, seems repetitious. Occasionally, the diction of the period reads a bit imperiously. However, neither of these points detrimentally affects the storyline. The antagonists in this novel are not the typical mustache-twirling villains. They are not so stereotypical as to be nothing more than cartoon figures, which all too often people the pages of this genre. In fact, all the characters who live their lives on these pages are credible individuals with the same kinds of plausible hopes and aspirations as do those of us living in the present.
The Heart's Desire is Book One in a series entitled The Briarcrest Chronicles. The conclusion of this novel will very skillfully segue into Book Two.
Furtado has a vision for this historical romance series, and her first published novel more than promises an admirable foundation. It strays somewhat from the formulaic historical genre, but this surfaces to be one of Furtado's strengths. The Heart's Desire uses an intriguing and innovative approach with wonderfully vital and fascinating women. This will surely compel the reader to enthusiastically, if not impatiently, await the next installment.





Rating:
Summary: Review of The Heart's Desire by Cheri Rosenberg
Review: This captivating novel by new author Anna Furtado, "The Heart's Desire," is a delightful tale about two women who fall in love during the early Renaissance. The year is 1458 and Mistress Catherine Hawkins, who owns and runs "The Shoppe of Hawkins & Hawkins" in Willowglen Township, England, is getting ready for the Feast of St. Remi. Catherine, a truly extraordinary woman and purveyor of herbs, spices, and fine linens, is a well-known and respected member of the Spice Vendor's Guild. She is well educated and has extensive knowledge of herbal medicine.

On the eve of the Feast of St. Remi, Catherine lays eyes on the most beautiful woman she has ever seen...she is at once smitten. Unbeknownst to her, this woman-Lady Lydia-is captivated by Catherine as well. Lydia, devises a scheme whereby she can get to know Mistress Catherine better. Catherine and Lydia are aware of their love for each other, but both are too afraid to reveal their hearts' desire. Not understanding her intense feelings makes it harder for Catherine to profess her love for Lydia. Lydia yearns to express her love for Catherine, but she too is afraid of offending her, and of losing her friendship. Will the women realize their dream?

Furtado has done her homework. "The Heart's Desire" reads as if it were written with a quill dipped into ink, made visible by candlelight, at a small shop, on a quaint cobblestone street in England. Everything from the tone of the book to its language is impeccable as this historical novel takes you back to the fifteenth century. From the very first page, to the last, you feel enamored to these brave women, as they fight circumstances beyond their control. I cannot emphasize how well written Furtado's novel is and how much I enjoyed it. I was sorry to finish reading it. The characters are so real that I felt I had actually made their acquaintance. The Heart's Desire is the first installment in the Briarcrest Chronicles with book two hopefully on the horizon. I highly recommend the book to all you romantics out there.


Rating:
Summary: "A Wonderdrous Tale in the Days of Ole!"
Review: What if it was feasible to have your heart's desire? Would you take the chance?

Going about her daily life, one woman never places much thought on the questions. That is until she meets a woman who invokes feelings of wonder in her. What do these feelings mean? Should she allow herself to act on them? Each woman finds themselves puzzling over the same questions. As they interact with each other daily, feelings start to grow stronger and stronger. Will they allow themselves the chance at love? Are they each other's heart's desire? And just who is the person that wants one of the women for themself? Will this person pose a threat to the women's happiness? Can their chance at love be strong enough to overcome such a threat?

Told in the days of ole, the story takes the reader on a wonderful journey of life, love, heartbreak, danger and the overwhelming question of: "Will love conquer all?" Noted as the first in a trilogy, The Heart's Desire can only be a great beginning to what should be a fantastic series.