A Heart Worth Stealing - Review

A Heart Worth Stealing

By: Joanna Barker

Expected Publication: May 2nd 2023 by Shadow Mountain

288 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--Sowerby, England, 1802

Miss Genevieve Wilde—a magistrate’s daughter and independent heiress—is determined to meet life’s challenges all on her own, just as her late-father had taught her. So when her father’s pocket watch is stolen, she will do anything to get it back, especially when the local authorities prove incompetent.

Upon reading an advertisement in the paper, she takes a chance and contacts a thief-taker to find the watch. It’s a choice Ginny regrets when former Bow Street officer Jack Travers arrives on her doorstep. He is frustratingly flirtatious, irritatingly handsome, and entirely unpredictable, and Ginny wonders if she’ll be able to resist such a man.

But after Ginny discovers that the missing watch is just a small part of a larger, more frightening plot against her, she needs Jack’s help more than ever. To protect her home and her reputation, the two enter into a risky charade—pretending Jack is her cousin so he can begin his investigation, starting with the household staff. As they work together to unravel the mystery, Ginny finds herself falling fast for her charismatic thief-taker, leaving her heart in just as much danger as her life.

Joanna Barker has become an auto-read author for me in the historical fiction genre. I haven't read anything by her that I've been disappointed with. I tend to stalk NetGalley for any new releases by her, which is how I stumbled upon A Heart Worth Stealing.

Genevieve's father passed, leaving her his estate. He has an older daughter that is Genevieve's half-sister. Most people would have expected him to will his estate to his oldest daughter. Since she's married, her future is more secure than Genevieve's. However, Genevieve and her sister have a strained relationship. Genevieve feels like everyone is expecting her to fail. And it seems like someone out there might be going out of their way to ensure that she does.

I don't read too many mysteries. Certain authors seem to do it well enough that keep me guessing. But it frustrates me to figure out the "twists" before they are revealed. And unfortunately, I felt like the villain of A Heart Worth Stealing was pretty obvious. It wasn't until a small part at the end of the book that I even remotely questioned whether I was right.

I did enjoy learning more about the concept of a thief-taker. I love how historical fiction teaches history in a way that makes it entirely fascinating. Reading historical fiction has taught me so much. I would have never known these small pieces of fact or history without finding stories that discuss them. I don't know that they make a huge difference in my life, but I find it fascinating, nonetheless, and it helps me to see how learning history through literature is so much more enjoyable than the history text books forced upon our children in school.

As always, the love stories are what I read for. I might have found Jack and Ginny's story a little cheesy, but it wasn't too cheesy. I can't fault too much. I wasn't cringing or rolling my eyes.

A Heart Worth Stealing is one I blew through. I didn't want to put it down. During one of the busiest months of the year, I read this book in like two days, I think. I liked the relationship between Ginny and Jack, but I loved the side story of the relationship between Genevieve and her older sister. The mystery was too easy to figure out, but I wasn't reading this one for the mystery. A Heart Worth Stealing gets 4 Stars. Have you read A Hearth Worth Stealing? What did you think? Let me know!