A Heart’s Salvation is the debut novel from Dana Christy. What is so unique about it is that it reminded me of “Safe Haven” by Nicholas Sparks (who just so happens to be one of my favorite authors)! In A Heart’s Salvation you have a girl running from her past of abuse and ending up in the arms of the man who will save her. And of course they fall in love.
Book Blurb
After a year free from pain and anguish, Madison is once again jolted back into reality as her past catches up to her. On the run for years, she is forced to return home desperate for help. As despair grips her mind, she encounters a handsome young actor, Jackson Hunter, who is determined to get to know the complicated beauty, Madison Skye. Feeling an immediate connection to her, Jackson refuses to accept her emotional disconnect and offers her a way to escape her past. Although fearful of her attraction to him, Madison accepts his help with intentions on leaving him before her past finds her once more. Unable to fight their growing bond, she is forced to decide between running, or finally allowing herself to feel true love before her past and present collide. Fated to meet, and destined to be together, can their love endure the dark turmoil of Madison’s tortured past?
As a word of caution, this is NOT a clean novel. Please use your best discretion as to whether you’d want to read this or not. Without further ado, let’s get down to what I loved, and what I really didn’t like so much….
Pros –
1. I loved the storyline. Like I said above, it was a lot like Safe Haven in so many ways.
2. I feel like all the characters were well developed. You got a good mix of looks and personality. You also got a look into what made them the way they were.
3. The very first chapter got my attention hooked and the story (for the most part) kept me hooked.
4. Each chapter brought about new bits of info that kept me wanting to read.
5. The end of the novel leaves you hanging slightly. What I mean is you want to find out how things went, but it’s not that big of a cliffhanger that you couldn’t just imagine it on your own.
Cons –
1. There were many, and I mean MANY, errors. Some were misspelled words, missing words, capital letters on words that didn’t need it, added words, et cetera. Editing definitely needs to be checked.
2. I felt like the paragraphing was messed up. Especially during dialogue, there’d be paragraphs with multiple speakers, which made it a tiny challenge at times to figure out what was going on (who was saying what).
3. I didn’t feel any strong connection between Madison and Jackson. The author wrote of their attraction, but I really didn’t feel it as I read it.
4. After Madison and Jackson finally did sleep together, it seemed to be the main focus of the book for a while. In other words, after their first sexual encounter, it seemed like they just had one after another and the storyline paused.
5. The climax wasn’t as much of one as I would have anticipated. The “problem” character didn’t have as much of an oomph as I would have figured.
6. After the climax things just leveled out. And you really never know what happens to the “problem” character. There’s a plan discussed, but we don’t know for sure how it turned out. If there’s a sequel someday, that should address the problem.
A few minor details that could be added into the “cons” section (for me anyway) is the price of the kindle edition. It’s $9.99 – way on the steep end. Also, the cover image doesn’t portray the novel a whole lot.
Overall, the story itself is a good 4 or 5 stars. However, I gave this novel a “3” because of all the cons.
*I received a free copy of this novel. The above is my honest review.*
If you are interested in purchasing this full-length eBook, you can click here: https://www.amazon.com/Hearts-Salvation-Dana-Christy-ebook/dp/B015X16D4C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1486745154&sr=8-3&keywords=A+Heart%27s+Salvation