Official Review: My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley

[IsabelMay]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley" by Andrea Boeshaar.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley: Lily's Dilemma by Andrea Boeshaar takes us back to 1816. After her father's death, Lily has to find a way to look after her younger brothers. She is far from pleased to find out that her beloved home suddenly has a new owner, Captain McAlister. Despite their awkward start, sparks begin to fly. But, when he needs to leave for business, she is left with a debt and has to choose between her heart and a loveless marriage to an old man who happens to be the epitome of evil. The choice she makes between a man who can give her love and a financially stable one will not only determine her future, but also her brothers'.

When it comes to historical fiction novels, it is virtually impossible to achieve absolute historical accuracy. However, any history buff or just someone who enjoys reading such novels will know whether the author did their research or not. I was pleased to see that the author spent her time exploring Virginia's history as well as local customs and fashion, perfectly balancing fiction and history. A part where Lily is all but welcome to play chess with her male companions is one of the examples where it can be seen that women held an inferior position to men at that time. Despite the fact that she is a skilled player, the men are not delighted to have her joining them. One of her bigger problems is money. Women mostly could not take control of family finances back in the 19th century, so they were expected to find a wealthy husband.

Lily is also an example of a typical Mary Sue. She hardly thinks or does anything wrong, being close to perfect in the first part of the book. The only time when she shows her bold side is when someone speaks ill of her family or land. I could not help but notice how her character develops throughout the book, it is agonizingly slow. She somehow still managed to become a believable character by the end. I believe it took such a long time because the beginning is filled with long dialogues when characters interact during meals and games. Therefore, some places lack description while others are too long and I found it hard not to skim. The story is written in the third person and the author uses a colorful language, creating vivid images. I could not spot any mistakes, it is well-edited and well-formatted.

I have to admit I was quite skeptical when I saw it was not only historical, but also Christian fiction. Books which blend those two genres are commonly preachy and focus more on spreading Christianity than on the story itself. It was refreshing to see that this was an exception. Christian values are not imposed on the reader. All references to their songs, God and Jesus blend smoothly into the storyline. Nothing is forced, it is very similar to inspiring quotes as it stresses that doing good and believing in it is the key to enjoying life.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Slow-paced for the most part and lacking in character development, it is still a touching story of Lily and Mac as they try to overcome numerous obstacles and live the life they desire. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a hint of clean romance.

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My Heart Belongs in the Shenandoah Valley
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Like IsabelMay's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Zelinda]

Thanks, IsabelMay, for an interesting review. I was taken with your description of the book as Christian Historical writing and how well you analyzed that piece of it.

[Murmuring Letters]

Thank you for your detailed review and for not giving out too much of the story, just the basics. I really liked that you described the main protagonist and how her position as a woman in the 19th century was far from the ideal one. It's a shamethat her character development is so slow but perhaps it is due to the fact that she couldn't really change so much as a woman of her position and at that time? It sounds like a very interesting story, though and I'll be happy to read it.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

What a difficult choice our protagonist has to make, especially as her choice also affects her brother. You've managed to arouse my interest. Thank you for your review.

[Amagine]

Even though it sounds like a nice and warm romance story, I don't know how I feel about the lack of character development in the story. I might give it a read anyway.

Great Review! ?

[kandscreeley]

I do like books set around that time period. It's so different from what we have today that it's interesting to see how they lived. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a pretty good book.

[Job Njoroge]

I am not a great lover of slow paced books but am drawn to it because of it's accuracy. As a historian I know books may not be fully accurate but just show that they did their research. Thanks for the great review

[Mindi]

As a lover of historical fiction, this sounds like a book I may have to check out. Thanks for the well-written review!