I'm not really a historical fan per se, however, this was a good, wholesome book that anyone can read - including your mother. I gave it to her to read and review and a couple of things stood out to her. She said that this had a very Christian theme to it. Very spiritual and that's what struck her as being important the most. She enjoyed this immensely not having to worry about sexual content nor language.

After reading Amanda Cabot's Texas Dreams trilogy, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her latest release, A Stolen Heart.- first in her Cimarron Creek series.

A Stolen Heart is a winsome story, full of intrigue and fun. The characters are likeable, lovable, and mysterious. The Texas Dreams trilogy is still my favorite, but Cimarron Creek is quickly moving up the ranks!

I can't wait for Book Two, A Borrowed Dream, to come out!

Lydia Crawford has been promised marriage by Edgar Ellis once she can get to Cimarron Creek, Texas. The big BUT is that he's left town and left behind his pregnant wife. The sheriff takes pity on Lydia and puts her up with his great aunt, Bertha. Every now and again, she runs into the sheriff and sparks fly between them. Now that Lydia has come to town, Cimarron Creek is experiencing a crime spree that has the people questioning whether or not Travis was the right man for the job.

Amanda Cabot has written some of my very favorite books and this one meets her high standard of quality writing. While Cimarron Creek may be a fictional town in Texas, the setting is easily imaginable. The people are typical of any small town and the mystery of the crimes is quite believable.

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and some special confections for your next party.

Amanda Cabot is a must-read author for me and her latest novel did not disappoint in the least!  "A Stolen Heart" is book #1 in Amanda's newest historical romance series, Cimarron Creek Trilogy.  This series begins with Lydia traveling to Texas to meet up with her fiancée and begin a new life.  However, Lydia is a Yankee, from Syracuse, NY, and she is snubbed on the stagecoach and begins to question her plan.  Lydia knows that she loves Edgar and she knows the area he went to and his desire for independence, meaning he wants them to have their own business as he does not want to be working for someone else.  However, that is all Lydia knows and then when she arrives in town, she finds out from the town sheriff Travis that he is not there; however, his wife is. 

I was immediately drawn into the book in the first few pages and just wanted to keep reading!  Lydia is so sweet and naïve and being a Yankee myself, growing up not far from Syracuse, I loved that I could picture her home so well, even if it was a different time period.  There was such a mysterious feel and adventure as well as Lydia does not really have a set plan and of course with Edgar's disappearance there is so much more unknown there. I love all the characters and their stories and lives intersecting. Amanda does historical romance so well, she brings the characters to life and brings the small town and the time period to life.  The sneak peak for book #2 at the end has me eager for that to be released!

I really enjoyed this story, set in 1860s Texas! It reads smoothly and is interesting from start to finish. I loved Lydia's sweets shop and her relationship to Aunt Bertha. Travis is a nice, manly sheriff, and their romance is sweet and realistic. It was a nice surprise for me to find a strong mystery thread in the story, with a mysterious person attacking people, stealing items, and engaging in other criminal mischief.

I loved that the romance wasn't all touchy-feely sensual, but was about two mature adults coming to care for each other in a way that wasn't merely physical lust. I also was glad to find no profanity or crude speech as well.

The one thing that bugged me was that someone forgot that measles patients were always subject to quarantine. :)

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

Cabot’s new trilogy set in the Texas hill country makes for a great new series.

When Lydia Crawford steps off the train the train in Cimarron Creek, she expects to meet her future husband. Instead she meets the sheriff, who informs him that her husband to be is missing. And then tells her that his wife is frantic with worry. Although Texas is known for its friendliness, just a few years after the civil war people still hold grudges and suspicion against any northerner in their presence. Alone and in a new place, will Lydia be able to start over? Or should she just return back home?

Amanda Cabot’s novels are always entertaining and seem to put the main character in very awkward situations. This remains the case for Lydia when she finds that the man she loves in married to someone else. Then romance appears for this character in someone who would be an unlikely fit. This is pretty much her formula, but one that works very well. It is similar to her Texas Crossroads series, but set in the 1880s rather than present day. If you like Texas historical fiction coupled with romance, this is a new series for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

I really enjoyed this book by Amanda Cabot. I was surprised at how it kept my attention to the very end. It was a sweet story with many twists and turns, romance, mystery and everything that makes a book interesting to read.

I enjoyed the book from start to finish. I will be reading more from this author whose writing talents clearly came through in this fun-to-read novel.

I received an e-book copy from NetGalley for my review. All thoughts are my own.

See my review via the link.

A great historical romance based in the great state of Texas. Amanda does a great job developing characters well AND drawing you in to this story. I wouldn’t mind trying some of her bakes. One of the quotes I love in this story exclaimed, "Mama told me there are two kinds of love. One is when a woman gives her heart to a man. That's good, but she said it's even better when he steals her heart. That's the kind of love that lasts a lifetime.". In this book there were characters I felt like I wanted to be friends with and there were some I am really glad I don't know. There was a surprise that really made me want to cry and over all I was really impressed with this great read. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is book one in the Cimarron Creek Trilogy, what a great place to start. I love the authors style and how she develops her characters. I was thrilled to learn this was a start of the series, for I wanted to learn more about some of the characters in her story.

Lydia Crawford, a yankee, finds herself at the mercy of southerns when she gets to Cimarron Creek, Texas and things are not what she expects. She is a determined, beautiful woman with nowhere else to go. Lydia must learn to trust men, especially when many strange things are happening in their nice little town.

Travis Whitfield, the handsome sheriff, must find all the clues to the many different mysteries and twist and turns taking place in his town and in his life. He is not expecting the beautiful Lydia Crawford to completely change his way of thinking.

I loved the many different personalities in this novel and all the mysteries, romance, family, forgiveness and friendships that are in it. I look forward to reading more from this series.

A Stolen Heart is an absolute delight. The characters are dynamic, and the plot has the right balance between mystery and romance. While the overall story is fairly lighthearted, A Stolen Heart does include a hefty dose of prejudice and its inevitable and unfortunate effect on everyone involved. Lydia Crawford is an outsider because she’s from the North (the Civil War is just too recent), and Opal Ellis is looked down upon because she works in a saloon, married a northerner who has mysteriously disappeared, and is pregnant. While small-town residents can be welcoming, curious, and friendly, they can also be known for their unforgiving gossipmongering, relentless judgment, rampant jealousies, and fickleness. And Cimarron Creek, Texas, is no exception.

What I love most about A Stolen Heart is that the author, Amanda Cabot, doesn’t overload the story with the standard mystery and romance clichés. Of course, the tried and true clichés are there, but Cabot wields them sparingly and beautifully. The mystery aspect is well constructed, and the romance between Lydia and the town’s sheriff and lawyer, Travis Whitfield, is sweet without becoming too sappy. The pace becomes quite brisk in the last few chapters, leaving the reader heartbroken, aghast, outraged, and hungry for more.

While all the characters are well developed, I have to admit that Abe Whitfield (Travis’s father) is one of my favorites. Yes, he’s cantankerous and full of bad attitude and prejudice, but his development as a character is wonderful to behold.

A Stolen Heart is fast paced and exciting, and the sweet shop Lydia opens will have the reader hankering for some fudge and chocolate creams throughout the entire book.

Mystery, romance, and chocolate: a decadent combination!

I thought this was going to just be a clean historical romance, which it was, but there was also a mystery in the little Texas town of Cimarron Creek.

When I read books like this one and the setting is a sleepy little town, I imagine myself living there and enjoying life at a slower pace then what I live in now. No the town isn't perfect, there are petty crimes and more, but the thought of everyone knowing each other and the sense of community that is often missing in today's world calls to me.

Lydia is spunky and while she may have come to town for one reason, she does manage to find her place despite being an outsider. I enjoyed watching her find her place by opening a confectionery store, and how everyone in town seemed to gravitate towards the candies. I do wish the author had provided recipes at the end!

Travis has his own issues with his father and his father's attitude towards Northerners, like Lydia. But luckily he doesn't let that hold him back from realizing that maybe finding a special woman isn't such a bad thing.

The story has some humorous moments and some nail biting moments especially near the end as the story reveals who the culprit is behind everything. There is maybe a clue or two left along the way, but I didn't put it all together and I was almost right in suspecting the right person. Close but no cigar.

I look forward to reading the next book which is Catherine's story.

another masterpiece by ms cabot. love her work. thank you for the honor of reading...and sharing...it w/ others

What do you do when you are hated simply because of where you are from? You do everything you can to contribute to the community you are now calling home and trust God for the outcome.

A Stolen Heart by Amanda Cabot was not your typical historical romance and I loved it! The moment Lydia Crawford (our heroine) steps off the stagecoach in Cimmarron Creek she is in for one surprise after another. She is hated by the locals (accept for a few) because she is a Northerner. She has come to be reunited with her fiancee, only to find out he's missing and left a very pregnant wife behind. But that's not the only mystery going on in this quaint little town. People's homes and businesses are being robbed, someone is poisoning livestock and a woman has been raped - but the sheriff, Travis Whitfield, can't figure out who the culprit is. So much going on!

Of course Travis and Lydia are drawn to each other and you know (and hope) right away that they will have a happy ending, but the author has so expertly woven in other backstories and mysteries going on that while you are rooting for Travis and Lydia, you are eagerly waiting to find out more about the other characters and happenings in town.

I loved the character of Mrs. Henderson - Aunt Bertha - and how she "adopted" Lydia and supported her in making her way in a town that was hostile towards her. The underlying theme of trusting in God is clear throughout this entire story. If you like historical romances with a good mystery, A Stolen Heart would be a good book to put on your "to read" list! I can't wait for the next one in this series.

When Lydia Crawford travels to Cimarron Creek in post-Civil War Texas, she expects to be greeted joyously by her fiancé and married within a few days. Instead, she finds his pregnant wife wondering where he has gone. Discouraged but with nowhere else to go, Lydia accepts the reference of the local sheriff, Travis Whitfield, and begins boarding with his elderly aunt. The two women decide to open a candy shop even as half the men in the town want to marry Lydia while the other half reject her as a Yankee. Meanwhile, the missing tavern-keeper is not the only mystery plaguing the town.

A Stolen Heart is the first book in Amanda Cabot’s newest series. The setting was one of the first things I noticed. Only a decade had passed since the Civil War, and like many Southerners, the residents of Cimarron Creek refused to let go of the past, which makes Lydia’s job as a Northern newcomer and shopkeeper all the harder. The novel did not dig too deeply into the historical setting, but used the customs and culture of the time to frame a lovely romance between Lydia and the local sheriff. It was obvious from the beginning that the two of them would fall in love, even though two of Travis’s friends set their sights on Lydia the moment she stepped off the train. Travis and Lydia were a cute couple to watch fall in love. Both had initial misgivings about marriage, but they let God and their love for each other overcome their fears, showing character growth. And, yes, I’m giving that away because A Stolen Heart literally speaks romance in the title, so the ending is obvious. Something that is not obvious from the title is the mystery that helps bring them together. There are at least two missing people in the town along with some unexplained vandalism, and since it is the Sheriff’s job to solve the problem, the characters find themselves in the middle of the problem early on. The development of the mystery and the ultimate solution were intriguing and satisfactory. And can I just say that I loved the prose itself? It dragged me into the story and kept me involved from the beginning, banishing thoughts of finishing the other books I was already in the middle of until this one was finished.

I recommend this book to fans of sweet historical romance. A Stolen Heart is another fantastic novel from Amanda Cabot, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell Reads, via NetGalley. All opinions are expressly my own.

Amanda Cabot’s Cimarron Creek Trilogy begins with “A Stolen Heart”. Lydia Crawford is a Northerner…this she knows because of the way she is treated by the Southerners she encounters as she travels to Cimarron Creek, Texas to reunite with her fiancé, Edgar. Even though it is fifteen years since the Civil War ended, feelings still run high in the south. When Lydia steps off the stagecoach, she immediately meets Marshal Travis Whitfield. She finds that her intended has vanished and that he has left behind a pregnant wife. Lydia is stunned by this news and needs to find a place to stay and a means to support herself. The Marshal is part of one of the founding families of the town. He takes Lydia to his Aunt Bertha who welcomes her with open arms and insists that she stay with her.

Marshall Whitfield is having troubles. Even though the town is small and for the most part has no crime to speak of, there have been a few instances lately that are troubling. In light of Edgar’s disappearance, these small infractions are beginning to add up to a miscreant in their midst. Not only that, but the town’s citizens are full of secrets. Travis comes to care for Lydia, but with her experience with men, she is not the trusting sort when it comes to affairs of the heart.

I enjoyed this book as I do all of Ms. Cabot’s offerings. This particular novel has it all, romance, mystery and murder. Will Travis arrive at the truth before something more occurs? This book will keep you reading to the very end…you will not want to put it down.

This is a Historical fiction with a twist. This is a story about Lydia Crawford , a schoolteacher from Syracuse, New York who comes to Cimarron Creek thinking she will be marrying Edgar. No one likes her because she is a Northerner or like some call her a carpetbagger. When she comes to Cimarron Creek she finds out that Edgar is missing and he is also married and his wife is expecting. She has no where to stay so the Sheriff ( Travis) finds a place for her with his Aunt Bertha Henderson. Lydia and Aunt Bertha hit it off well and become close. Unsolved mysterious start to happen around town and fingers get pointed. Will they find out who is causing these crimes? Will Edgar be found? Will Lydia find love? This is a wonderful book full of surprises. Can not wait for the second book in this Trilogy.

A Stolen Heart is a book that reaffirms that good can come out of bad circumstances and that God can use all things for good.

Lydia Crawford is a teacher that is engaged. Her fiance has left New York and headed to a town in Texas to prepare for her arrival. When she arrives in Cimarron Creek, Texas, she finds her fiance is missing from the town but that he has married and going to be a father. Despite those circumstances, she decides to stay and make Cimarron Creek her new home.

The sheriff sees the beautiful Lydia get off of the stagecoach and decides to befriend her and welcome her to his town. He arranges for her to stay with his lonely aunt. Once the single men get a look at Lydia, they all compete to try to get her to wed them. After being hurt, Lydia has no plans to marry but God just may have other plans for her.

Lydia and the Sheriff's aunt develop a strong relationship and become partners in a confectionery store. Lydia finally feels like she has found a home, but a string of strange and illegal occurrences have her and the sheriff working together to try to find the culprit.

A Stolen Heart is a book that features romance and mild suspense. I loved the town and the characters in it. It is a cute book with a great ending.

A Stolen Heart is a well written Christian historical romance with a touch of intrigue. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

A wonderful story set in 1880 Texas. Lydia Crawford has to work to gain the trust and understanding of the town, she realizes that she has a long road ahead of her. It takes a turn for the worse when she realizes that her fiance is missing and already married.
I liked the spunk of Lydia as she had to adapt to her surroundings and learned who she could trust. This was a great book that I had to work hard to not skip to the end to confirm what happened.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher, but the review is my own.