Monday, April 20, 2015

Review: One True Heart

One True Heart (Harmony - Book 9) by Jodi Thomas

Publication Date: 04/07/2015
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
ISBN-100425268411
ISBN-13978-0425268414

(Received for an honest review from Berkley)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, itunes

Jodi Thomas on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series

Harmony

1. Welcome to Harmony
2. Somewhere Along the Way
3. The Comforts of Home
4. Just Down the Road
5. Chance of a Lifetime
6. Can't Stop Believing
7. Betting the Rainbow
8. A Place Called Harmony
9. One True Heart

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.




Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas takes us back to Harmony, Texas—a small town where love blooms and secrets of the past threaten to alter the future…

Millanie McAllen is always logical. But after returning to her childhood home, she learns that some things are beyond explanation—like her undeniable passion for Drew Cunningham…

After finding success as a singer on the road, Beau Yates returns to Harmony to make peace with his dying father—only to find the woman he’s been dreaming of for years. But the secrets they discover might be too much for him to bear…

When Johnny Wheeler is charged with his wife’s murder, he turns to the only person who believes he’s innocent. Fortune teller Kare Cunningham’s life has always danced around reality—but Johnny is able to ground her like no other…

As their paths cross in new, captivating directions, the townspeople of Harmony need to learn to love and let go in order to live together in their little slice of heaven.


Thoughts:

Readers are treated to a one-two-three knockout with Jodi Thomas's latest book in the Harmony series. One True Heart features not one, but three romantic couples. Readers who love this series will love the mix of old and new characters that Thomas brings to the ninth book in the series, about a small Texas town, steeped in history and love. This series just keeps getting better and better. In the tradition of authors like Debbie Macomber and Sherryl Woods, Jodi Thomas gives readers real stories about real people that will touch the heart. A great addition to the series!

I have lately become a huge fan of Jodi Thomas and I am often surprised at how long it took me to find her books. The Harmony series is one that strikes close to heart with me. The characters always seem so easy to relate to. The have problems and issues that my best friend might have. They deal with life's ups and downs in a realistic fashion and always bring a smile to lips. Life isn't perfect and I don't want to read about perfect characters. These characters are real and that makes all the difference.

In One True Heart, readers get a real mix of romantic encounters. Thomas gives us three love stories instead of just one. I liked the way that Thomas gave each couple ample time to find each other for the first time or to find each other again. I didn't feel like any one romance out shined the other or took anything away from the other. Each one had time to blossom and grow. I was interested to see how they all fit together and I was certainly not disappointed, Thomas has a knack for making it all work out. 

I think my favorite story of the bunch belongs to Johnny and Kare. Johnny is accused of murdering his wife, Scarlett and just about everyone in town believes he did it, even his family. Kare is a fortune teller who doesn't always go with the flow. She believes he's innocent and sets out to prove it. It was interesting watching their emotions for each other grow while Johnny was in jail. It gave a unique perspective to the story that was very engaging.

Millanie McAllen is a daughter of one of the founding families in Harmony, but she has been away at war for a long time. As an Army Captain she could have come across as staunch and hard, but she didn't. I liked the romance between her and Drew and how she was able to resolve his past with the man she had learned to care for in the present. I liked her as a character and thought she added a lot to the Harmony community.

I wasn't quite as into Beau's story as I was the other two couples, but that was just a pet peeve of mine. I have a hard time putting 'famous' characters in romantic situations with the common gal. The president of a bank no less. I did like the angle of how much "Trouble" had changed since Beau knew her as a teen and that did redeem that part of the story for me a bit. Also Beau's relationship with his father was a very heartfelt part of the book. 

Bottom Line:

This a great three for one story. One True Heart takes three romances and meshes them so wonderfully that the reader can't help but smile. Jodi Thomas is a master at making her characters relatable and easy to like. This might be the ninth book in the series, but it isn't slowing down any. I hope to see many more Harmony books out there. This was one was simply outstanding!

One True Heart is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!





About the Author:


Jodi Thomas is the New York Times bestselling author of the Harmony novels, including A Place Called Harmony and Betting the Rainbow. She is a certified marriage and family counselor, a fifth generation Texan, a Texas Tech graduate, and writer-in-residence at West Texas A&M University. She lives in Amarillo, Texas.

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