Her Black Little Heart by Selah March [Het Review]

Her Black Little Heart by Selah March [het ebook review]

Misfits are the underlying theme of story which isn't covered enough in romance. The hero and heroine of Her Black Little Heart are misfits. Outcasts. Outsiders. Adam Brewster, a doctor, is a stranger to the little village of Chop Gate. Leda Cavendish is a rich widow living alone with her son in her estate while the village below swirls with gossip about her wicked ways. Leda has summoned Adam to her estate to care for her ill son. I would give this novel a B.

Its refreshing to see a romance where people are truly outsiders. Usually its because a virgin widow is too much of a bluestocking to go outside or a rough, but lovable sea captain can't face society after the losses he saw at a sea. With the xenophobia and intolerance of the townspeople Adam and Leda can't actually fully become true citizens of the village. This influences both of their personalities, and is a way that they both can connect.

This is a historical romance, and it is written like one. It has all the earmarks of a historical: old time-y syntax, rustic servants like Mrs. Maggs, and a moor. I swear to God, that I would find a moor in a historical set in Egypt. Though, this romance turns some conventions on its head. Leda was a widow with a child, but she doesn't hate her first husband. She's a worldly woman with no qualms about what she wants. Adam is a good doctor. He's nice to Leda from the start, and even with their verbal sparring, one can tell that they enjoy each other's company. Another refreshing point, an author who uses banter to up the chemistry, and not replace it.

On the technical/craft note, this was well-written and there is actual effort to make this sound like it is in the 1820s. Its nice to read an ebook where the character's name doesn't change midway through and the sentences aren't awkward jumbles of prose.

There were things that didn't work. There were times when Leda seemed a little bi-polar. Crying over her son one minute and then pawing at Adam the next. A little more explanation, not an info dump mind you, about the ways and ideas of the 1820s might have shed a little light on Leda's mindset and her behavior. I think that some people who prefer a traditional historical with a virgin and a rake might be disappointed, but those who want a little variety in their historicals will be pleased with this offering from Selah March.

Her Black Little Heart is a historical tale that takes the reader out of the respectable parlors of London and onto an estate where a strong woman and a good man may just have found love and the will to leave their critics behind in the dust. You can buy the book at Amber Heat.