I have really enjoyed all of the books in the “my heart belongs” series and this one is no exception. I love that there is a focus on God, you don’t see that often enough these days.

The characters are endearing, brave, well developed, and well written. Even though the book is part of a series it can be read as a stand alone book. The book is full of intriguing plots, sub-plots, characters, and settings. The author does a nice job of mixing fiction and non-fiction together without making the book historically inaccurate. The author does a great job of describing the island of Mackinac, she really captures the beauty of the island. I have visited Mackinac island numerous times throughout my life and I could picture the all the different places on the island that the author uses throughout the book.

I got an ARC of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

This book was absolutely precious! I loved every moment of Maude and Friedrich/Ben's love story. It was sweet, but left no doubt that they cared for one another and admired each other greatly. Even the secondary characters were easy to fall in love with, and I especially enjoyed revisiting a few of the characters I had met in other books by Carrie Fancett Pagels. This one left me with a smile on my face!

**I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in return for my honest review

Ever since I heard Carrie was writing this story, I've been waiting anxiously to read it. I love all of her books, and Mackinac Island is a place I've always wanted to visit. Add in the fact it was being released in my birthday month, and I couldn't have been much happier!

The writing in this book makes you feel as if you are on Mackinac Island with Maude, her family, and friends. All of the descriptions of the various locations are amazing!

Several of the characters have issues they are dealing with throughout the story, and it is refreshing to see them turn to God in their crisis moments. The romance between Maude and Ben has some humorous moments, as does the relationship between Maude and her younger brother, Jack, who is a daredevil and an imp.

It was a pleasant surprise when Mark Twain visited the island in the middle of the story. The author has a wonderful explanation in her notes about the idea to incorporate The Prince and The Pauper in her story.

I look forward to reading Carrie's next story in this series, which will feature Maude's BFF.

Ben Steffans and Maude Welling meet by the docks as she’s running from the man she was supposed to marry and his new wife. Ben is intrigued by her and the quiet strength he recognizes upon their first meeting, but is only on the island for a story, one that could prove costly for everyone involved, even Maude. ‘My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island’ blends the beautiful scenery with wonderfully developed characters, guiding the reader on a journey of discovery and forgiveness that will not soon be forgotten.

I really liked this story. I found the father as unreasonable as the daughter believed and cheered on her plans. I found the characters realistic and was sad when the story ended and I couldn't hang out with them anymore! The island and its culture were well painted with the author's words.

An enjoyable lighter read, fun and engaging. Maude wants to prove she can run a hotel by herself; Ben, to prove himself as a serious journalist. The two of them have a truly interesting little romance as they get to know each other through some unique situations. I have to admit to particularly liking Maude’s incorrigible little brother, who has dreams of being an Olympic runner. I also loved the old small-town feel, with the soda shop on the corner and everyone knowing everyone else, and I liked that both characters have a solid belief in God and that blessings for meals are specifically detailed.

What I didn’t like so well was that several times character motivations were obscure (especially for Robert’s character) and led to actions I didn’t fully understand the meaning of. Then there were several plot strings left dangling at the end; after the resolution for Maude and Ben, the story wraps up hastily. I particularly wanted more details of the will...”the will, the will, the will” throughout and then...the will? It wasn’t explained very well.

The book had a very interesting premise. Maude, a woman who is in line to run the family business with her soon-to-be-husband has her plans changed when her soon-to-be-husband comes back as somebody else’s husband. Maude’s father is only willing to hand her the reins if she is married but with the change of plans she concocts a new plan to prove herself capable.
Ben Steffan, a journalist undercover as a wealthy man, is writing an expose on men running after wealthy heiresses. Both of them have secrets to hide.
Although the book was well written in terms of descriptions I didn’t take to the plot as well. The story seemed slow with the occasional flare of interest. The descriptions however were very well written. I was invested to see it through as I wanted to see where their deception would lead them and was glad I did as the story ended well for both of them.
Thanks to Netgalley and Barbour Publishers who provided me with a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion

From what I've read, this book is a part of a series. I haven't read any of the other stories in the set, so I would say this can stand alone.

Do I dare admit that I hadn't ever heard of Mackinac Island before hearing about this book? I thought maybe it was a fictional place, but have since discovered that it's anything but made up and now, it's taken a place on my bucket list of places to visit. Pagels does a great job of bringing this island to life.

The story starts out with an immediate heartbreak, which bonded me to the island's sweetheart, Maude, from the get-go. A slight mystery blankets the plot, while a growing romance starts to blossom, but it's the characters that truly won me over. The unique situations they each found themselves in and the scrapes they work themselves out of really caught my interest, especially with Maude's younger brother, Jack. I loved the way the relationships were all inner-connected and the way the characters worked through issues to arrive at the ending.

This is a great read for those who enjoy Historical Fiction with a dash of mystery and romance. I felt like I was sitting in the island breeze and savoring a phosphate, and really enjoyed my stay within the pages of this book.

Content: mild romance; mild+ religious elements.

*I received a copy through Netgalley, which didn't influence my opinion in any way.*

Prince and the Pauper references, and the beautiful place of Mackinac Island, where Somewhere in Time was filmed, and you have a perfect place for romance. Ms. Pagels creates a sweet romance, and describes the island vividly. I have always wanted to visit the Grand Hotel, and in this book I had a brief vacation there.

This Christian historical novel contains great descriptions of the island but the story itself is predictable in places.

My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

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Story Notes

Carrie Fancett Pagels newest venture into the Gilded Age may leave readers a bit lost and a lot bored with a complicated plot that falls short of being a great story.

I’m not a fan of taking someone’s hard work and bashing it to pieces but for the sake of others who might happen upon this book I will try to tell what is so dis-likable about this story. This story begins with a standard sort of plot – girl is not seen by her father as having the ability to do the job she desires to do so she sets out to prove him wrong; and a young man is trying to make a name for himself in the news reporting world and seeks a scandal tell all that will give him the break he desires. To this Ms. Pagels added mysterious happenings with the girl’s uncle, love lost by both main characters, and a little boy who wants to run as far and as fast as he can to get away from his families troubles. This is a great plot that has many opportunities for an author to create such a wonderful story of love, trust, forgiveness and peace and although I believe this was Ms. Pagels goal, there was so much frivolous content that I found myself setting the book aside multiple times so I could read other, more interesting stories. Maude is both a strong and weak character, lacking backbone in some passages and making a great stands in others. Likewise, Ben has fits and spurts where he is a strong character and others that follow in which he lacks the “yumph” needed to do what is right or necessary. It is this and many other like reasons, such as uber complicated family situations, that I found this book hard to finish and, honestly, was glad to have finished. I would not have wanted either of these characters for friends or I might have done them both physical harm over their lack of intelligence or gumption. My favorite character was Ada Fox, a subcharacter who would have been much better used as the main character to give the story its needed strong heroine. Her practical and honest way of thinking and speaking made the story bearable to read and made me wish Ms. Pagels had written more about her instead. So I will not be recommending this book to others nor will I be adding a hard copy to my shelves as I cannot do either in good conscience. Perhaps Ms. Pagels will do better with her next foray into the world of fiction – I pray it will be so as this was most unfortunate.

I received this E-book free of charge from Barbour Publishing/Barbour Books via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation from either company for this review.

The story follows the life of Maude Welling. She will become a wealthy woman when she receives her inheritance, the family owned Winds of Mackinac Inn, upon marriage. The only problem is Greyson Luce has married someone else once he returns to Mackinac Island. Now what will she do? Ben Steffan, Or Friedrich Konig (his undercover journalist name) is trying to write a story but ends up discovering himself in the process. Maude’s father, Mr. Welling, rediscovers and old friend in Mrs. Ada Fox, who is secretly Adelaide Bishop the most wealthy businesswoman in America. She is running another hotel, The Grand, on the island.
The story is easy going and interesting to read the specifics of the 1800’s. I loved hearing how they dressed and the ways they felt proper to do back in those times. I also enjoyed hearing Freidrich use German language from time to time. I studied German in school so that was fun to remember what words translated to in English.
I have actually visited Mackinac Island, Michigan when I was a child and was excited to read a book about a place I visited. I love the fact that the only transportation on the island is by horse and buggy or bicycle. And that is still the way it is today.
I will have to say that even though it is categorized Christian Fiction. I did not feel like that was the main focus. It was more of a secondary thought and God was mentioned in passing.
The story was slow moving and was confusing at times. This was my first book by this author and look forward to reading her other books.
I received a copy from the publisher, Barbour publishing, via NetGalley. Thanks Barbour! All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

My Heart Belongs Belongs On Mackinac Island where you have the best historical stories story. This book makes you vision the best historical story. this book Makes you vision deep dark detail the community, the garments, the feeding etc. Now that is an incredible author. that is an artist. The author setup such boundless mysteries throughout the book and then as well she writes some major twits and turns - this is one major book - this is one major book - up and down - side to side - but there were health problems over doing the money thang, fortunes, love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control - GOD is leading the pack - there when they ca;; - Amen ?

This was such a wonderfully written story. From the very beginning I found myself attached to Maude’s character. I could see myself standing next to her while she waited for her beloved to arrive, and trying to comfort her when she saw him with another woman. In fact, I felt as if I was on Mackinac Island throughout the entire story. I could see the Grand Hotel, the Winds of Mackinac Inn, and even the doctors office. Carrie paints a vivid picture of life on the island. So beautiful in fact that I would love to visit it!

In addition to the beauty of the island, there is a lot going on in the book. People pretending to be someone else, a young lady hiding the fact that she is working somewhere, a mysterious love, and some family property in jeopardy. You learn that appearances can be deceiving, and just when you think you know what’s going on, along comes a twist that you didn’t see coming. Or at least I didn’t! The story is fast paced, and it is important that you pay attention to even the smallest details. They may give you clues to what unfolds later in the book! I caught them after giving it a second glance.

Historical fans will certainly like this book, but I think even modern days readers will find they enjoy it too. All the parts of the stories will hold your interest, cause you to gasp and laugh, and keep the pages turning until you reach the end! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Firstly thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

I have read a couple other My Heart Belong books this year all set in the west and more westerns. It was refreshing to have a different location and era. I really loved the story. It made me want to go there and see the island and to also taste some of the famous fudge.

Maude wants to run the inn that has been in her family for generations but her father thinks she needs to be married. When the man she hoped to marry breaks her heart she sets about trying to prove herself to her father. On the flip side Ben is posing as a wealthy industrialist when he is in fact a journalist who is trying to expose how men come to the island pretending to be rich to snare a heiress at the famous hotel. Ben is really struggling with his assignment as he feels more comfortable with the locals than the wealthy. He has a story that has scarred him.

As both Maude and Ben seem to be coming closer there are issues arising they need to deal with.

I loved the different area of America which I haven't read about before. The places are real with the story fiction, and we get a feel of what it would be like to live on the island. Also what it is like when you live year round on a place where in the summer the wealthy will come and stay at The Grand or other Hotels. It then becomes very much a division of the people. There are also other issues that both Maud and Ben have to deal with, which added to the story.

I really loved the story and have heard Carrie will be writing about one of the other characters in an upcoming book.

Well, Carrie Fancett Pagels has given me the travel bug....I'd never heard of Mackinac Island and now I'm dying to visit there and see the buildings and scenery. Maude had every right to love the apparently enchanting island and to do everything within her power to keep her family's inn safely within the family and the Mackinac Island community. It was my desire initially to become a journalist for a newspaper so I read with intrigue of Ben's position as spy to cover a story with such authenticity.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in the My Heart Belongs series. The book is full of such vivid description that I felt as if I were actually walking along with the characters. I felt such compassion for Ben and Maude. Both of them seemed to be in positions where they felt they were at risk of losing so much. Maude feared losing the inn and her home and Ben feared being discovered at the Grand Hotel.
I give this book a rating of 5 stars and highly recommend it to readers.
I received a copy of this book from netgalley and Barbour Books. All opinions of this review are mine and mine alone.

I don't read historical romance that much but do love carries books..not everyone will have the same opinion. cause we all have our likes..but if you like historical romance you will like this one

I wanted to like this book. I love the cover and love Mackinac Island. The author is very good at conjuring up images in the readers mind. I could easily picture everything in the book. The descriptions are superb. The language seems to be language of the time which helps set the book in its time period but i wasn't expecting this. It's a little hard to follow. There is so much dialogue. So much time is spent on little conversations that I started to wonder what they had to do with the plot. I struggled to remember what was going on in the big picture because so much time was spent on each little thing. The beginning moved along ok but the farther I got it seemed like the book moved slower and slower. It's not a book you can read if you have interruptions (like kids...) or distractions. Meh.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher and netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Carrie Fancett Pagels aptly transports us back in time to 1895’s Mackinac Island, Michigan, in My Heart Belongs in Mackinac Island:  Maude’s Mooring.

Maude Welling, her father and her little brother Jack are all still grieving the loss of their mother/wife, though each in very different ways. Maude is more determined than ever to take over the reins of Winds of Mackinac Inn, her father is just as determined she won’t and Jack is determined to become the fastest runner in the United States.

Ms. Pagels descriptive language leaves you feeling the sounds and sights of Mackinac Island, from the grandeur of The Grand Hotel to the impoverishment of the maids. As you read, you feel as if you have truly stepped back in time to a very different life and era. Plus, interspersed throughout the book are tidbits and gems of mystery, love and betrayal.

I enjoyed reading another of the My Heart Belongs collection, and the fact it was written by Ms. Pagels made it even more enjoyable.

I received this book from the author through NetGalley and Barbour Publishing. However, I was under no obligation to post a review.
I also posted my review on FB, B & N and CBD.