The Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato

So, why did you start a blog? 
Let me tell you why I started mine.  To get free e-books.  Really.  I LOVE reading.  I figured I might as well put my fiction reading to good use.  I thought I would start publishing reviews of the books I read.  And to do that, I either needed a rather large budget, or I needed free access to these books.  I read fiction.  I tried to join a site and guess what?  They came to look at my newly formed blog and noticed I just created it.  So, in a most humiliating, yet kind fashion, I was declined.  How truly embarrassing. 
The good news is, I get free ebooks from Amazon quite often so will maybe review those instead.  I read one today.

Here's the deal: Prize of My Heart, by Lisa Norato, was a good piece of fluff to read on a gorgeous spring day.  The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the pace of the novel.  I did think she got a bit wordy in her description of places and people but overall, I enjoyed it.  (Obviously, I read it in two days and would have likely read it all at once (as is my M.O.) but alas, other things also required my attention.)
Normally, I can pretty much catch the drift of how a book will go, what events will transpire and what the end will be.  Now, since I read happy fiction, it, of course, had a great ending. But there was one event in this novel that I didn't anticipate. And I don't dare mention it for fear of spoiling it for you.

A brief synopsis:
Lorena, a young girl of suitable marrying age (although some would say she was old enough to be approaching spinsterhood) is caught between two men.  One a long time friend, and the other, a man she doesn't know much about.  She senses he is hiding something, something that makes him seem almost burdened but yet she loves the heart he shows in relation to her young charge, Drew, and she is drawn to that gentle way he has of truly loving her little man.  Trouble is afoot and there is no happy sailing.....until, that is, they could almost sail into the sunset.

Would I read more of her work?  Absolutely.  Is she my favourite author?  No, but she is new to me and I do enjoy her writing.  Would I recommend her to others?  You bet.  I'm recommending her to you! 
Here is my endorsement:  If you enjoy period pieces, happy ending romances with a little suspense, and a heart-tugging moment or two about orphans being mistreated back in the day, then this just might be the book for you.

Happy Reading.