Where Her Heart Lies by Carolyn Twede Frank, 227 pages. Covenant Communications, 2022. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Finished with finishing school, 19-year-old Celeste is happy to be home in the Wild West -- and is ready to get married. Celeste is set on convincing Logan to court her until he does nothing and one of her old suitors shows up, determined to win her back.
Celeste is immature, which made the whole book painful to read. Simple communication would have let the characters avoid much heartache. Furthermore, while the ending is happy, one of the decisions that Logan feels forced into making still doesn’t sit right with me. The overall message of how who you are matters more than what you have is a good one, I’m just not a fan of how the characters teach it.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

While the characters were not the normal "pretty" hero and heroine, they were painted as very normal or somewhat deformed. I got the impression the man with the turned leg was slow from his speech and lifestyle, but the way he thought about things and observations about things made him seem highly intelligent. So I felt that the characters didn't completely match themselves.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

Where Her Heart Lies is a sweet western romance set in the early 1900's. I enjoyed the story and found the characters sweet. Logan Jones is so kind and giving even though he doesn't have much. Celeste is happy to be back home after being in New York for the last few years and is excited to rekindle her friendship with Logan Jones. I wish I had read the other books because I felt at times I was missing information that I wish I knew. Overall though a great read
#WhereHerHeartLies #NetGalley

Celeste is anything but proper. After five years of finishing school, she cannot get the"west" out of her. While she knows proper etiquette and can be proper, she loves her previous simple life and craves to return to it and away from all the stuffy people in New York, Just her luck, she is deemed as hopeless and expelled from the school. Forced to return to her beloved home, she is excited to see her family and, her friend and potential suitor, Logan Jones.
Logan Jones has had a difficult life. Not only is he disabled, he is poor. But he is happy and excited to learn of the return of his dear friend, Celeste, from New York. He would love nothing more than to court and marry her, but with no way to support a family, he is resigned to only dream. That is until his brother dies and his sister refuses to inherit their father's ranch, leaving it in Logan's hands. Not really wanting the ranch, he now has a reason to accept it. The ranch would make him a wealthy man, a man suitable for a "proper" woman like Celeste.

Like the rest of Carolyn Twede Frank's stories, this is a wonderful story and I throughly enjoyed reading it. I found myself rooting for Logan and Celeste through all of their ups and downs. I am looking forward to more stories in this series!!

#whereherheartlies #netgalley

I love books by Carolyn Twede Frank, she's a great author. This story was great! I enjoyed reading it.

After reading all of the previous books in this series, I was so excited to see Logan get his own story. I loved him from the get go in book one and fell in love with him even more in this book.

I loved to get to know Celeste. We don't get much of her after the end of book one, but she is now a grown woman coming home from finishing school. Logan is no longer a teenager but still stuck in the poverty his father and brother have put him in. Watching Celeste and Logan interact with each other is the most tender thing in the world. Logan wants nothing more than to provide for her, but is stuck with few choices in how to do so. When the Circle J is left to him miraculously, he faces the choice to fight for every penny, or to go down a path that his father and bother did- a greedy, selfish, and mean life.

Celeste is smitten with Logan, but doesn't believe he feels the same, given his hesitancy toward her. So when a man she knows from New York comes to town, she has to decide how to move forward. Her decision puts them all in a most uncomfortable situation.

I loved this book. I read it so incredibly fast I gobbled it up. I really like Carolyn's books. They have such good characters and moments of tenderness. 4 Stars

What do you value most in life? What is important? What is not of value?
That is the question Celeste needs to face and answer. After spending the last five years in New York attending finishing school, she returns home to Craig, Colorado. Now she needs to decide what she values. Some choices are easy, family is important. Money is good but riches are not important. Kindness and acceptance from those around her are important. But what of entertainment, extra things, no concerns about money, the important manners and niceties of the East that she has been living with? Soon she is again interacting with Logan, a friend from the past. Even though he has practically nothing and not much of a future, she is drawn to him for his kindness and the calm she feels in presence. As their relationship grows, she wonders what her future could hold especially with Logan. Then a suitor from the East appears hoping to renew their relationship. He represents a life of ease but with an emphasis on money and status. What is important? What will she choose? Where does her heart truly lie? A fun, engaging, and thought provoking book I highly recommend. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy. This is my review and all thoughts are my own.

Celeste is almost 20 and returning home to Craig, Colorado after five years at a finishing school back east. She is longing for courtship and her attention is focused on Logan Jones who was a childhood friend. Logan has had a hard life. But he is kind and works two jobs to support himself. The plot gets more complicated when another suitor arrives. Charles courted Celeste previously while she was in school and then disappeared. She plans to give them each two weeks to see her before deciding who can seriously court her. The competition doesn't bring out what Celeste is looking for in either man.

I like the main message that money and things are less important than how you treat others. The two MC's seem very young or naive with both guessing what the other is thinking without trying to communicate. I got distracted with story details that decreased my interest in the book. Early an issue of Celeste being melancholy and not returning letters to Logan and her friend is brought up and then disappears. I found it odd that Logan is scrapping by when his sister has the means to employee or provide for him. The father's will excluding Logan from inheriting wouldn't still be in effect as it should be Stanley's will regarding his property and money (which could still be the same) but there is no mention of that. The Ponzi scheme timeline is a decade early. (The author does note this at the end, but I'd already knew the timing was off, checked and found Charles Ponzi was in jail in Canada in 1910.) I was bothered enough I almost gave up on the story a couple of times but I am glad I finished it.

This is part of a series of books the author set in Craig, Colorado and the second one I've read. The book is wholesome and clean with some kisses. Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In this charming Western romance, we return to Craig, Colorado twelve years after the events of "An Accidental Bride". Featuring Celeste McCurdy and Logan Jones, this novel emphasizes the dangers wealth can cause and the importance of remaining true to oneself.

Celeste, returns home after being expelled (!) from an East Coast finishing school. This makes her "unfinished", I suppose. Along the way, she discovers that people who demand perfect speech and immaculate manners at all times are unimportant, while those who matter don't care about such things. Logan Jones, a delightfully plain-spoken and honest young man, loses sight of himself for a short while, as he competes with Celeste's former beau Charles Weathersby for her hand. Charles is a great character; he finds himself in a curious position. While I believe the actual timeline is a bit off, the plot twist is quite interesting and one I've not read before. Logan's Dudley fixation is diverting, and Celeste's little brothers are amusing.

While the book opens with the macabre one-time spectator sport, the public hanging, this story is fairly lighthearted. The lessons to be learned here are important, though. This stand-alone book features characters from previous works. Having read only one installment prior to this one, I was not lost, although I generally read series in order.

Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an ARC of this lovely novel.

Where Her Heart Lies, by Carolyn Twede Frank, tells the tale of Celeste McCurdy as she leaves the big city to discover life in rural Colorado. Watch and see how her life changes when she meets Logan Jones!

WHERE HER HEART LIES by CAROLYN TWEDE FRANK is an enjoyable Western romance novel which takes place in Craig, Colorado in 1910.
Celeste McCurdy is not cut out for finishing school, and after five lonely years away in New York at Bennett’s school for young girls, she sets her cap at winning Logan Jones, one of the only people who makes her feel comfortable and happy, for a husband. Unfortunaely, a suitor from New York, Charles Weathersby, who has suddenly aquired a fortune, arrives on the scene, and Celeste comes up with the idea of letting each man court her for two weeks at a time.
It is a story about the importance of being yourself and not letting wealth corrupt you.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Covenant Communications. The opinions in this review are completely my own.