Search - Dawn in My Heart

The reader should be aware that despite the fact that the novel is labeled Christian fiction, it includes some foul language and some rather descriptive sexual encounters. There is also some terminology used to describe some things that seems incorrect or confusing such as labeling carriage drivers as tigers, etc. I have read many novels within that specific era and was surprised to come across so many descriptive terms that I did not recognize and practically needed a dictionary for. As for the story, basically two unsaved souls are forced into an arranged marriage. Neither are happy about it and thier sarcastic disdain is evident from the beginning. A terrible secret is discovered on thier wedding night and the brutality of the husband lingers with the reader throughout the story making his later conversion and affection for his wife, unsettling. When the wife's salvation and affection for her husband finally comes, it seems rushed. It was as if in one afternoon she went from still hating her husband, and planning to run away with another man, to passionately loving her husband forever. The believable connection for the reader just wasn't there!

I really enjoyed this Regency. It is very refreshing from many other Regencies in that the characters have a lot of depth. The two main characters start out as non-Christians, who agree to a marriage of convenience, each for their own selfish reasons. The author portrays how each character lives according to their sinful desires. I felt that the whole book is very clean and nothing is done without taste. Some things are alluded to, such as “producing an heir”, but very tastefully. The hero and heroine start to have a thread of attraction for the other, but it easily falls apart when tested. It is a good picture of how without a foundation in Christ, human love is often selfish and needy and easily falls apart with testing.

The hero, Tertius, has previously spent time in the Indies. A lover who he has spurned has put a curse on him. I especially liked the portrayal of the grip the curse has on him, showing how real spiritual warfare is. God is the only power stronger than the curse that grips Tertius. Then Tertius has a great test where he has to be patient and loving with his wife while she continually treats him rudely. This is the same way he used to treat others. Finally, in God’s time, our heroine is brought to the Lord as well, and she and Tertius become the man and woman God intended them to be.