The Loyal Heart: Lone Star Hero's Love Story #1 By Shelley Shepard Gray

I received this book from Litfuse Publicity and the author for no charge in exchange for my honest review of this book. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Description:

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.
Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything. 
After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda’s home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip’s name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.
Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He’s mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.
He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn’t prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about
Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well.

My Thoughts:

The Loyal Heart is the first book in Shelley Shepard Gray's latest series, Lone Star Hero's Love Story, and it is superb. As a huge fan of Shelley Shepard Gray's Amish Fiction, I knew I had to read this book and so glad I did. I am also a huge Historical Fiction fan and love the Civil War. Shelley Shepard Gray writes with authority on The Civil War, Reconstruction, the United States during this time, loss and grief, and the effects the war had on everyone.  I could NOT put this book down once I started. This book really grabs you and keeps you guessing. The characters in this book are real people with messy lives and I love that! These characters are totally relatable. Of all the characters I think I really enjoyed Robert Truax. His newly found faith and his loyalty to his unit, especially Phillip and Miranda Markham are really inspiring. Robert's life changed drastically when he joined the war and he worked hard to become a good man. I just really enjoyed his character and how he interacted with all the other characters, good or bad.  I really loved that I learned more about the Civil War and the reconstruction afterwards. I don't feel like I can do this book justice, but it is a great one and I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian Historical Fiction, you will not be disappointed. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series, I am impatiently waiting! Shelley Shepard Gray is on my Top 10 Must Read Authors, no matter what genre she writes! I give this book 5+ STARS.