Review: Loyal Heart

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An impossible choice…love or family loyalty.
Book I of a brand new series from Anna Markland, The Von Wolfenberg Dynasty.
Sophia falls in love with a guest at her brother’s wedding, but he is an envoy sent by her father’s enemies.
Brandt intends to return home as soon as his unwelcome obligation to attend the wedding is fulfilled. It quickly becomes apparent he’ll be lucky to leave the celebrations alive.

Genre: historical romance

Publishing date: May 2016

Mature content: yes

Review:

I received a copy of this book from the author, in exchange for an honest review, and I can honestly say that I liked it. It is an entertaining short story, but I'm partial to medieval romance so I may be a bit biased there. Because it's short, it does not take a long time to read, but you also can't expect fully developed characters and a lot of detail. 

This is my second book by Anna Markland (read my review of Dark Irish Knight here) and I find that I like her straight to the point writing style. I found the historical side a bit more credible in Loyal Heart, because the games of arranged marriages and constantly changing political alliances are age-appropriate. I'm not so sure about the romance, as I found it a bit less convincing. And I felt I was left in a kind of cliffhanger at the end, which never fails to annoy me. Hence the four stars, and not the five. 

Loyal Heart is book one in a brand new series (The Von Wolfenberg Dynasty), but some of the characters have been portrayed in other books by the same author. I didn't feel I was missing out, though I may go back and read them because I was curious about how some of the other couples got together, especially Sophia's father and stepmother.

 

All in all, it's not absolutely amazing, but will not take a lot of your time and is the ideal companion to enjoy on a lazy spring afternoon.  

Happy readings,