The Heart's Appeal (London Beginnings, #2)

by Jennifer Delamere

[phyllish]

The Heart’s Appeal had such a wealth of history contained within its pages. I loved that Julia spent part of her childhood in one of the orphanages run by George Müller. Adding to the story the probable impact of being raised in this manner by such a man of faith was a great touch.

This story is a great mix of faith, history, and romance. The love the author has for the Lord and for history shines through bright and clear.

I really appreciate that the author didn’t attempt to take the easy road in the conflict of interest Michael experienced because of his attraction to Julia and the fact that he was obligated to assist the man who was trying to shut down the only medical school open to women. Additionally, during this conflict, more details about what was involved in being a barrister were shared.

Reading this book gave me a much greater appreciation for Women’s Suffrage than I had before. I have known of the inequalities between men and women but didn’t really understand the implications in the way that I do now.

While I hesitate in describing this book as “gritty”, that adjective comes to mind. Julia and Edith go to the slums of London to help and to gain medical experience in a clinic there and the circumstances and events that take place reveal deplorable conditions. With this book being about aspiring doctors, there is also quite a bit of discussion about diseases and the treatment of conditions that has the potential to affect people with weak stomachs (which would be me!) The entire story is not this way, but I felt this was worthy of mention so you would perhaps carefully pick the time when you read this. :)


This review was originally posted on Among the Reads

You can read Jennifer's guest post at AmongTheReads.net


I would like to thank Celebrate Lit for giving me this item. My opinion and review were not influenced by this gift.