Rescued Hearts by Hope Toler Dougherty
Published by Mantle Rock Publishers on September 2nd 2017
Genres: Christian, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense
Pages: 320
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Children’s clothing designer Mary Wade Kimball’s soft spot for animals leads to a hostage situation when she spots a briar- entangled kitten in front of an abandoned house. Beaten, bound, and gagged by the two thugs inside, Mary Wade loses hope for escape when a third villain returns with supplies.
Discovering the kidnapped woman ratchets the complications for undercover agent Brett Davis. Weighing the difference of ruining his three months’ investigation against the woman’s safety, Brett forsakes his mission and helps her escape, the bent-on-revenge brutes following behind.
When Mary Wade’s safety is threatened once more, Brett rescues her again. This time, her personal safety isn’t the only thing in jeopardy. Her heart is endangered as well.
As part of the Litfuse Bloggers Program, I was able to join in on the Blog Tour for Rescued Hearts by Hope Toler Dougherty. I had never heard of this author, but the summary of the story really piqued my interest so I joined the Blog Tour for the book and was excited to read it! (Side note: the author’s other two books have just been added to my wish list.)
Rescued Hearts was a quick read – I picked it up and read it cover to cover in one airline trip! It was not an “edge of your seat” read or anything, but it was definitely interesting enough to keep me turning pages until there were no more to turn.
The main characters to the story are Mary Wade Kimball and Brett Davis. Mary Wade is independent and works hard at designing clothes for children, and especially for the poor and needy. She loves Jesus and appreciates her life as it is. While she has a great career, she also struggles with feelings of guilt for following her heart and what she believes is God’s plan for her instead of the path her parents wanted her to follow. She has a strained relationship with her parents because of these feelings.
Mary Wade is out for a bike ride when she discovers a trapped kitten. She goes to help the kitten when she stumbles upon a house that appears abandoned. She is completely surprised when someone kidnaps her and throws her in one of the rooms of the deserted home. Two of her captors, Skeet and Dusty, are not very kind and Mary Wade can only think the worst will happen.
Brett is not happy at all that now they have a woman tied up in the house. It complicates things for him as he is working a case as “Doc”, the third captor. He is an undercover agent who has agreed to help Mary Wade escape and keep her safe if she is willing to trust him.
I love the chemistry between Brett and Mary Wade. The other characters (the noisy neighbor and Brett’s grandmother, Gigi) add even more depth to the story line. This is an inspirational story and both Mary Wade and Brett rely on their faith in God to get them through life’s events in a very realistic way. Just when things are seeming like they are settling down, the action gets even more intense. 
Rescued Hearts starts big and keeps you guessing until the end. I enjoyed the author’s style of writing – it was fast paced and kept me on my toes. The characters were well written and each one was interesting on their own.
Hope Toler Dougherty holds a Master’s degree in English and taught at East Carolina University as well as York Technical College. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, she has published articles on topics ranging from gardening with children to writing apprehension and writes for SeriousWriter.com. She has three published novels Irish Encounter, Mars…With Venus Rising, and Rescued Hearts.
She and her husband live in North Carolina and look forward to visits with their two daughters and twin sons. Hope shares her belief in God “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” through her actions in real life and the words in her stories. Visit her at hopetolerdougherty.com.
I received a copy of this book without cost from the publisher through the litfuse bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own!
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