My Heart's Desire: A Sweet and Clean Small Town Historical Romance

Wendy Lindstrom

Apr 2015 · Rustic Studio Publishing

About this ebook

 From New York Times bestselling author Wendy Lindstrom comes a deeply moving story of heartbreak and the courageous journey of learning to love and trust again.

 

He Is The Only Man Who Can Protect Her—And The One Who Can Hurt Her The Most.

 

Desperate circumstances set Faith Wilkins on the run and straight into Sheriff Duke Grayson’s protective arms. Faith believes they can build a good life together, but their friendship is built on lies because the truth could get them killed. Will giving her heart to the dutiful lawman lead to more broken dreams if her shocking secrets are revealed? He is the only man who can protect her and the one who can hurt her the most.

 

“Grayson Gold!”—Harriet Klausner

“The characters practically leapt from the pages, they seemed so alive.”—Dafna Yee

 

*New Cover—same great book! My Heart's Desire is the Clean & Wholesome edition of Kissing in the Dark (Grayson Brothers series)

Completely and professionally re-edited for your reading pleasure.

Ratings and reviews

My Heart's Desire is another delightful book in the Second Chance Brides series. Having previously read Kissing in the Dark, I was excited to see how the author would address some mature topics forming the foundation of the story in a "sweet edition", and I was not disappointed. The author creates a wonderful story of a man's struggles between right-and-wrong, black-and-white, and love-and-honor and a woman's struggle to rebuild her life after trauma and loss and does so without including any "sensual" aspects of any of the relationships. My Heart's Desire is just that - a man and a woman fight to balance their personal struggles with their heart's desire for each other. The author uses wonderful imagery throughout the story to create a picture of the characters. This book introduces more primary characters than other books in the series - as Faith moves to town with two children and four "aunts" - but the author creates a family unit that makes it easy for the reader to fall in love with all of them. I really love how the names of Faith's aunts are flowers and creates a tie-in to Faith's plants in the greenhouse. The names also create an image of the beauty and strength and delicacy of the aunts. At one point, Duke compares himself and his brothers to different types of trees. This additional tie in to nature creates an image of stature and strength in the Grayson men. The Grayson wives are also compared to the seasons of the year -- and around all of the imagery of nature is Nancy Grayson, the matriarch of the family, and the epitome of mother earth with her grounding influence. This imagery of nature and its healing properties and its nurturing growth is a wonderfully-pleasing way to create a mental picture of the key characters and their journeys in this story. Throughout the story, Duke's strength is drawn from his black-and-white view of right and wrong. Because of these strongly held views, he continues to find himself struggling to find a balance between his view of right-and-wrong and situations in which he finds himself in a grey area influenced more by emotion than fact. This struggle makes it difficult for Duke to accept what he finds to be unacceptable situations with Faith and her family. His sense of honor battles with his love for Faith and her family. His emotional turmoil over feeling the need to choose one or the other makes for a compelling story for our hero. Faith's secrets lie in her past but threaten her future in Fredonia and with Duke. Her childhood influences her view of right-and-wrong and her "shades of gray" view of the world drives her actions and decisions as she strives to create a new life for her children and her aunts. As a reader, you are drawn to Faith's strength, and her vulnerability, and her compassion, and her love for family. You mourn and celebrate with Faith and Duke as they navigate their way through trials and tribulations with the hope of finding love at the other end. My Heart's Desire also dedicates a good portion of the story to getting to know Adam, Faith's teenage brother, and Rebecca, Radford's daughter (we initially met her as a young child in Twice Loved). Their budding friendship is sweet to see and also lays the foundation for what we know are future books that focus on their love story. While this story represents the last of the four Grayson brothers to find their happily-ever-after, there is so much more to look forward to from Wendy Lindstrom and Fredonia, New York.

After reading the first book in this series, it was wonderful to see Percival (yes I love that name!) Stanley, Earl of Markham, because he had seemed such a rake and had even gamble his sister away! But an encounter in the first few pages made him think, "I hadn't realized...I mean, I never intended to cultivate the reputation of a rake." Like his father, he had a weakness for women but he was not incapable of forming an attachment! When these thoughts come to a realization, he decides he does not want to be seen that way and it really changes his life. Lady Clarissa, the sister of his once best friend, has just ended a ten year bethrothal to a man that ended up marrying Markham's sister. She is determined to stay clear of men and live as she wants. Unfortunately, she unwittingly test that determination on a man who sees her as a challenge and a wager begins that could ruin her. When Markham hears about the wager, he claims they have been secretly courting and will announce their betrothal soon. As fate steps in, it seems he may want to make the lie a truth as his attraction grow! Just when I think I have read my favorite book by this author, she writes another that takes it's place! Her writing is so wonderfully eloquent and descriptive that I fall in love with the characters and my emotions become so engaged! I highlighted so many lines and paragraphs in my kindle, it seems I should have just highlighted the entire story! Prepare to be captured by a swoon-worthy hero and a stubborn heroine that will keep your attention until the last page!

I have loved reading about the Grayson Brothers! She gives us examples of good, honest, family-based men - something much needed in this age when men are floundering to understand what 'being a man' should be all about. Not everyone has a good example of manhood in their lives. Those people -- both women who want to understand better what characteristics to look for when considering a man for a life partner, and those men seeking to be an honorable, upright, worthy Man -- can find the good values and life-living modeled in Wendy Lindstrom's books about the Grayson families!!! Thankyou Wendy! My only wish would be for you to package/present the books in a way that would draw more men to read them, so they can gain this experience!!!

About the author

Wendy Lindstrom is the RITA award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of the Grayson Brothers family saga, a captivating series of feel-good, emotionally powerful novels with characters you'd want as friends, neighbors, and lovers. Her books are unforgettable, heartwarming stories about enduring friendships, family bonds, and romantic relationships between strong, complex characters living in a charming small town in America. 

Fans of uplifting, binge-worthy historical romance will love Miss Lindstrom’s popular Grayson Brothers series, a #1 storewide bestseller on Barnes and Noble, and a New York Times and USA Today bestselling series. Romantic Times has dubbed her "one of romance's finest writers," and readers rave about her enthralling characters and the "awesome underlying emotional power" of her work. The Grayson Brothers series is a must-read for those who love stories that uplift and warm the heart. Her Second Chance Brides series is for the reader who prefer a sweet and clean read (same books as the Grayson Brothers series without the love scenes).

For more information about the author, her books, and to get the behind-the-scenes scoop at her Rustic Studio—a world much like the Grayson Brothers world—visit her website at WendyLindstrom.com and subscribe to her wonderfully engaging newsletter where she shares pictures and personal stories about her beautiful water-garden and the amazing wildlife at her Rustic Studio, along with her insights on writing, her passion for great books, and many other personal topics.