Where Her Heart Lies
by Carolyn Twede Frank

Expected Publication Date: 03 Jan 2022

Synopsis:
"After five years of finishing school in New York, Celeste McCurdy is ready to wash her hands of the snobbery of big-city life and be free of thoughts of Charles, the overly charming suitor who left her without a word. It’s time to return home to her small Colorado town. Despite her failed relationship with Charles, Celeste yearns to marry, and she knows just the man to handle her heart with care: her childhood love, Logan. Poor and endlessly kind, he is the polar opposite of the type of men she knew in New York.

Logan Jones has been dealt a difficult hand in life, forever fighting to make ends meet in his desperation to avoid the pitfalls of wealth that poisoned his family. But when his longtime friend returns to town, Logan finds a compelling reason to accept his unwanted inheritance. Because even as Logan and Celeste are drawn together, a complication arises: Celeste’s former suitor has come for the woman he let go of and Logan won’t give her up without a fight. Torn between two men, Celeste must determine where her affections lie or risk losing a love that’s true."

Review:
Sweet historical romance, easily readable. Set in 1910s Colorado. Young Celeste McCurdy, recently home from New York City is ready for love. She decides that Logan Jones, her childhood love, is the man she wants. But then, her former NYC beau Charles arrives in town. Celeste has two men fighting over her and now, she must grow up and decide which man is the one for her. Well-written characters.

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book was alright. There were a couple of plot points that left me a little confused, but it was decent. There were just some things that I couldn't envision happening. I did although enjoy the redemption that came and how the characters stayed true to who they were.

Another sweet historical romance set in Craig, Colorado, in the early 1900’s. I did not enjoy this story as much as the previous stories. I just didn’t feel a connection between Logan and Celeste, the main characters. It isn’t a bad read, the story was ok, it has a good message, money doesn’t buy happiness. I enjoyed revisiting the characters from former books. It is a clean wholesome story. I give it a 3.5, but rounded up to 4. If you enjoy clean historical romance, give it try.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked this book. Logan is such a sweet character and has had a very hard life. I did like seeing his growth as a character throughout the book. Celeste seems a little bit immature and indecisive but is still likable. Overall I enjoyed the book.

4.5*  Beloved characters from Frank's Craig, Colorado series return in the spotlight for this story with a beautiful message.  The historical tidbits woven in made it more intriguing, and the character arcs stood out as the highlight for me.   I appreciated the reminder to identify where my heart lies and be true to that in all my decisions!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

The year is 1910. To put this in context, my parents were born in 1906 and 1909 and yes, I’m a senior citizen. For some of you, this is set in the 'olden days'. The first picture of my dad is on horseback with Grandma supporting him and Grandpa holding the bridle. 1910 isn’t all that long ago.

I love historical western stories. And I’m sorry. I just couldn’t love this one.

Logan is the younger brother of a man about to hang. Part of the time Logan works at the livery stable, and he also does the rural mail delivery by horseback. Logan doesn’t watch the hanging. His brother deserved it but that doesn’t mean Logan feels good about what is happening. I liked Logan from the beginning. Born with one leg shorter than the other, he knows his limitations but does not let it stop him from what he needs or wants to do.

A young woman returns home to Craig, Colorado after almost five years in a finishing school back East. She is finished with it, and it is finished with her. Celeste never felt like she fit in there (they agreed), but as the days go by, she is not sure she fits in Craig either.

The story is: Girl loves boy. Boy loves girl. Boy is poor but doesn’t have to be. Old East suitor shows up in Craig and girl … Our boy, Logan, gets a bit of what my dad would have called “The Big Head” when he decides to accept what has been given him. Girl doesn’t like that.
------------
And frankly, I was bored.
I never found Celeste engaging. I liked Logan but Celeste? I didn’t dislike her; I just didn’t like her. And I found out I didn’t care much whether she eventually fit in. I didn’t care if she married Logan or the Weathersby fellow. At 51% in, I started skipping through the book. I read the end. It’s a nice ending.

Not every reader will have this reaction. Some will, no doubt, enjoy it. I just didn’t.

I received a complimentary e-ARC* copy of "Where Her Heart Lies" from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Rating: 2 stars.
Cover rating: Very good.
Publish date: January 3, 2022.

#WhereHerHeartLies #CarolynTwedeFrank #NetGalley
e-ARC* — electronic Advanced Reader Copy.

This is one of the better western romance I’ve read.
The beginning has a short climax that did let me down, but only after I was drawn into the story.
The characters were well developed including enough backstory so the story could flow. The Charles character surprised me.
If you like western romance, this well worth the read.

Of you like western romance, this is your book. Also, if you've read the other books that take place in the town of Craig you will be excited to see Logan get his own story.

I enjoyed this sweet western romance, the characters were well developed and it was fun to revisit others from the series! It was a great balance of learning more about yourself and what's important in a relationship. I hope there will be more to come!

I really enjoyed this book once Charles Weathersby came on the scene. He really helped set the plot in motion. Once I saw his boss’s name I was super curious at how his business in the town would turn out! I thought the way this love triangle was handled was fresh and not overly dramatic, like they often tend to be. This book has more of a slow, meandering pace after an exciting beginning, but picks up about halfway through.

This was a sweet western love story set in the early 1900s. Celeste was struggling to find her place in the world., but she always felt at home with Logan. He’s hesitant to court her because he feels he has nothing to offer. When her old beau comes to town a rivalry ensues.

As Logan’s fortune changes he begins to change also. Is he still the man she fell in love with?

The theme of “who you are is not as important as what you have” was very prominent in this story.

I felt like the sudden changes in Logan were very uncharacteristic for him, but he does do some introspection and realizes his error.

Celeste was very headstrong and changeable. They both could have been better in communicating their feelings and concerns.

Overall a pleasant tale of friends to more.

#WhereHerHeartLies
#CarolynTwedeFrank
#NetGalley

I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed the beginning but as soon as the men started fighting for her and Logan started acting out of character I wanted to throw my book. Which I wouldn't do because I was reading it on my phone. I shouldn't throw all my books now should I? I thought Logan changed too much during that time to be believable but I was glad it was short lived and it all turned out okay. Celeste was a believable character to me. I've felt that feeling of not being able to pick which man is right for me so I could understand her motives and uncertainty when an old bow came back into the picture. I just wish it hadn't escalated so badly as it did.
Spoiler alert: I don't think I would be comfortable marrying a guy who was employing my ex boyfriend. But I hope they make it work out for them.

Where her Heart Lies is a sweet story of Celeste, who has been away at finishing school for the past five years. She returns and looks forward to seeing her old childhood crush, Logan. Logan delivers mail and works at the livery, but he doesn't have very much money, which discourages him when Celeste comes back. She's used to finer things and he doesn't think she would ever like him, his right leg is shorter than his left leg, causing him to limp everywhere. When an old boyfriend comes to town, he's very discouraged, but he already knows he loves her. Charles, the other suitor, has a lot of money, so Logan doesn't know how he can even compete for her affections. He doesn't know that he has already won her heart, but he agrees to take on the family ranch, since his brother was hung months ago. Celeste tries to court both of them, but she already knows who her heart belongs to. Great story I enjoyed reading!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. I have read previous titles by this author in the series and was excited for this title; however, I didn't like this one quite like the others. Logan and Celeste were ok characters individually but together as a couple I didn't feel they had good chemistry. This was a clean romance which I really appreciate. Overall a good message in the novel but one where the characters need a bit more editing.

I was excited to get an advanced copy of “Where the Heart Lies” by Carolyn Twede Frank. I enjoyed reading the other books in this series set in the small town of Craig Colorado in the early 1900s. I fell in love with the character of Logan from the earlier books in this series and was thrilled for him to get a story of his own.

The plot of this story was good and I really liked the overall message that money and possessions is not as important as the kind of person you are.

I liked Logan, one of the main characters in this story. He is sweet and kind and really loves people. He goes through an identity crisis in this book but returns to his true self in the end. I did not really care for Celeste, the heroine of this story. She is very immature. She is wishy washy and gets upset when everything doesn’t go exactly how she imagined it should. My dislike of the character made it hard to want this love story to work out.

Overall it was a good story. I enjoyed revisiting some of the characters from past books.

Celeste is divided between two men. This is her story about what she really wants in her life. Her choices. We all make them, this story was sweet.

I wanted to really like this story based on the description, but unfortunately the characters and storyline just fell flat for me. Also, it seems as if this story is part of a series, which I haven’t read before, and was still able to read this book but perhaps reading the others books first would helpful.
The author tried really hard to write a love story between Celeste and Logan but neither seemed ready for a relationship. There was a foundation of friendship between them for many years but with their age difference there wasn’t a romantic relationship previously. Celeste was in no way attractive as a character and not someone that I would encourage into a relationship. She tried to just force her interests and attentions on Logan, hoping he’d pick up on her interest in him, and then would get mad like a toddler if he said the wrong thing or went against her plan. She wasn’t patient, used silent treatment at the drop of a hat and was too inconsistent. One moment she doesn’t care about being educated or refined and having money, but then cares about her appearance and Logan’s even though she knows what he does for a job. She thinks she’d be fine living off of Logan’s salary (almost nothing), and then wonders how he’d support a family and is upset when he actually does something to have money to take care of her. There were too many dramatic swings for the characters. Logan also didn’t seem like a hero, he liked Celeste for no reason, and put up with her finicky ways and never stood up for himself. Also, his swing towards the end fits in with the storyline but not consistent for his character.
Overall I think there is a good base for a story but it could use some character development or storyline editing. I wish I could rate it higher, but felt like I had to give an honest opinion. Love stories that are hard fought and hard won should leave the reader with a happy heart and that just wasn’t the case this time.

Where her heart Lies is a sweet western romance.

Celeste struggled to find her place in the world. Not fitting in at the finishing school back East, she returns home hopeful to find her place. Logan has a good heart, and no money to his name. The book has some twists and turns the couple faces as they learn more about who they are and where they belong. While I liked it, I struggled to feel a strong connection between the two until the end. Logan made some unexpected choices. Celeste had a lot of character growth. In the beginning she seemed naive and too unsure of herself to get married, but she grew and made better choices. It was a good book with themes of kindness and seeking out the things in life that really matter.

3.5 stars.

Some parts are very sweet and the pace gets moving in the second half but overall, the story is a bit flat and the characters are not very attractive.

I learned that the author wrote more books with the same characters previously, so if someone is following the series it is probably quite nice to meet the same characters (like Lucas and Kate) again and follow the life of their daughter. But as a stand alone book it has an interesting premise but also falls a bit flat.

The heroine Celeste who battles the melancholy is 19 year old but is quite immature for her age at least in those days, not the modern times. Some of her actions and thoughts were very teenage like (although Logan was not much better). She is also quite emotional and does not seem to have any plans for the future apart from being married so she sets her cap on the closest male character. But Logan who is supposed to be older, masculine and attractive, is not described any better. So much attention is focused on his deformities and his lack of experience with women (never been kissed) that is hard to find him attractive. You would think that he could have slept with a town prostitute at least.... He is also described as someone very well liked and good hearted but that leads the reader to believe that he is not very fully up there, not very bright. So their chemistry between them felt somewhat forced.

There is nothing really happening 2/3 of the book and then it gets interesting but quickly turns into a bit of disaster of a cliche about money changing a person's character. The ending is abrupt and for someone who is hard working with very limited education, Logan manages to pen a beautiful letter to Celeste to win her heart back. The letter and the beautiful handwriting was probably unrealistic given the circumstances.

I found Kate and Lucas most likeable in the whole book so perhaps I read a wrong book.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange of the honest review.

I am honestly not sure how I feel about this book. I was excited to start it because I saw that it was about Logan but it kind of fell flat. Where Her Heart Lies is written by Carolyn Twede Frank and it follows along with some of the old characters from a few of her books. However, honestly I am not too sure how I feel about this book.
Celeste honestly got on my nerves, she was kind of wishy washy to me. I really wanted to like her and she did grow on me a bit at the end. However I did enjoy Logan, he was such a nice guy. I loved his character and how he considered those around him, but it was sad when he started to spiral. I usually love the characters in books but this one fell a bit more flat for me.
I was interested in seeing who Celeste would choose, it was fascinating to read about her interactions with her former suitor and Logan. I did feel as if it was a bit drawn out though, because even Celeste had the feeling that Logan was right for her. However I wanted to see how the book would end so I ended up finishing it. I was really sad that I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped.
I know that this is only my opinion so if you like love triangles and enjoy historical romance, this may be the book for you. Where Her Heart Lies is a clean historical romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.