Review: A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell

About the Book: In a world of wealth, power, and privilege...love is the only forbidden luxury.

“Trust was a valuable commodity at court. Traded by everyone, but possessed by no one. Its rarity was surpassed only by love. Love implied commitment and how could any of us commit ourselves to any but the Queen? Love implied singularity and how could any of us benefit another if our affections were bound to one in exclusivity? Love was never looked for and rarely found. When it was, it always ended badly.”

In Queen Elizabeth’s court where men and women willingly trade virtue for power, is it possible for Marget to obtain her heart’s desire or is the promise of love only an illusion?

A riveting glimpse into Queen Elizabeth's Court...

Born with the face of an angel, Marget Barnardsen is blessed. Her father is a knight, and now she is to be married to the Earl of Lytham. Her destiny is guaranteed ... at least, it would seem so. But when her introduction to court goes awry and Queen Elizabeth despises her, Marget fears she's lost her husband forever. Desperate to win him back, she'll do whatever it takes to discover how she failed and capture again the love of a man bound to the queen.

My Review: So the truth is, I love a good romance. Epic romances are maybe my favorite of all books, there's nothing like a huge sweeping romance to engage your mind and heart. This book is very much the kind of romance I enjoy...there's enough other story to keep it from being a straight romance, but the romance is very present and very enjoyable.

I'm also learning that I have a fascination with this sort of historical. The glimpse into court life in this book is far from favorable, yet very informative. Marget is a very likeable character, a woman who wishes only to be in a marriage of love--completely devoted to her husband-- at a time when marriages of love were not acceptable. In fact, the level of devotion the queen sought from her subjects seems so ridiculous to me. I don't think I'd really be all that interested in people fawning all over me only because of what I could do for them. The cost to the courtiers and the common people was very high.

Although it took me a few pages to get into the story, once I got into it I was sold. I devoured each page, following Marget and Lytham's love story and their struggles, the harmful fashions of the time, their desperate attempts to gain the Queen's favor, and their daily joys and sorrows. Highly recommended for fans of romance or historical fiction. (I'd like to mention that even though this book is published by a Christian publisher, it has broad appeal and there is no didactic writing in the story)

By the way, I love Siri's other work. I've read all of it except for Chateau of Echoes which I plan to find very soon. In my opinion, she's one of the best voices we have right now in inspirational fiction and I eagerly look forward to what she brings us next. You can read my thoughts on some of her other books here.

Visit A Constant Heart on Amazon.