Longing, Change, and Love Deferred ~ A Review of A Bound Heart by Laura Frantz

When I found out that one of my favorite authors, Laura Frantz, was releasing a new novel with a highlander hero coming to Colonial America, I let out a peal of delight. I admit that part of that reason was because I was in the throes of penning my own highlander-come-to-the-colonies novella, and I wanted to see how a popular author like Ms. Frantz handled it, but largely, it was because she always, always comes through with a marvelous story. A Bound Heart is no exception. Spanning the Atlantic Ocean from Scotland's craggy shores to Colonial Virginia and the Jamaican Islands, Ms. Frantz weaves a story the longing for home, of change when the future isn't ours to control, and especially of love deferred.

In A Bound Heart, the author not only touched on a spectacular tale of romance, peril, and adventure, but she delved into another era of history I've long enjoyed studying, that of the indentures that came to the new world for so many reasons and were "bound out" for so many more. In A Bound Heart we find characters from various stations of society, all bound together as prisoners from Scotland. First their is the Laird of Kerrara--Magnus Macleisch--and what a hero he is. He is conflicted, intelligent, and oh-so-handsome. His love interest, Lark McDougal, lives in a humble croft with her granny, but she has long had links to life in the Macleisch castle and brings life-saving healing to the people on her island. Another character who I really liked was "the captain" - Rory MacPherson. Rory was a dangerously intriguing character, handsome and devilish. Below is a spoiler about Rory.

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SPOILER ALERT: Don't read this if you haven't read the book yet. But if you have, go ahead. 
I'd like to know your thoughts. 

I feel like Rory was very complex, and he brought something really special to this story, even though we all knew he wasn't right for Lark. I was sad to hear that he was killed at the end. Unless...does Ms. Frantz have a sequel in mind? Is it truly the last we've heard from the notorious captain? I really have no idea, but if this were my book, I'd definitely bring him back for some redemption.

OKAY--END OF SPOILER.

GET THE BOOK HERE