True to Her Heart Angels of Mercy: Angels of Mercy

Rating:
Summary: A prickly mass of opinions -- highly recommended
Review: For the first time, her beauty and charm failed to win Lucinda Harrowby what she wants. Revealing her quick temper and quicker tongue, Lucinda's opinions of the war effort lie directly opposite the opinions of wealthy businessman Jeffrey Bancroft. Indeed, he accuses her to be "one of those strong-minded females who wish they were men." He prefers her to be decorative and expensive, not sincere in her willing to work. Lucinda joined Florence Nightingale's nurses to flee her cruel relations and her disappointment in Jeffrey. Now he's coming to the warfront to help raise money for the troops, and needs to see the troops' needs.

Jeffery believes he needs a docile wife who will accept his opinion as her own. Yet he can't resist this intelligent spitfire who attempts to treat him with a crisp, no-nonsense approach. He's at a loss to understand how such a prickly mass of opinions can be so attractive. Something about her intrigues him even as she drives him to quarrel every time they meet. She pushes him beyond the limits of his normal behavior, leaving him to sneer and to pick up their disagreements of the drawing room even in a hospital.

As he comes to appreciate Lucinda as more than the sum of her beauty, Jeffery eventually recognizes the value of her quick brain and willingness to work hard. Jeffrey had known strong willed, outspoken women before. The wives of the millworkers, for example, were strong because they had to be. He had come to believe that a rise in a woman's station in life meant that they don't have to be strong -- that the men in their lives could afford to form their opinions. As his relationship with Lucinda flourishes, however, he finds himself reevaluating many of the tenets that had hitherto guided his life.

In TRUE TO HER HEART, Martha Schroeder captures the fire of the women who served under Florence Nightingale, appreciating the difficult conditions imposed by serving in a hospital as well as imposed by the era. Watching her characters reevaluate their priorities and values even as they fight their mutual passion proves to be a remarkable delight. These striking characters will live in the reader's imagination long after the final page is turned. The descriptions of women's challenges to find their own ways and opinions are uniquely portrayed against the nursing background provided by Florence Nightingale. Indeed, Schroeder's graceful pen creates an intriguing and highly emotional tale that comes highly recommended.