An Awakened Heart

by Andrea Renee Cox

This series was a highly anticipated one for me. However, it fell short of my expectations.

What I liked:

The theme of discovering and then pursuing God's calling on one's life was beautifully depicted.

Elise was incredibly protective of her sisters and two orphaned children. This mothering spirit is a precious thing, and it was sweetly written.

The heroism a side character showed toward Elise was breathtaking.

What I disliked and content advisory:

The use of an analogy of a drunken man by a Christian character seemed inappropriate to me. Alcohol use and drunks were present in several scenes.

Prostitution was a large theme, though it was handled fairly well. What was hard to swallow about it, though, was that one character told his young niece she should “go sell [herself] like all the other girls” were doing. This was quite appalling behavior.

There was an awkward moment when two people were supposed to be praying over their God-ordained mission. Instead of communing with God about the mission's concerns and future, the lady ogled the man. The man caught her doing this and made the moment even more awkward by quizzing her about it. This was incredibly disrespectful of God, particularly since both characters had seemed to be trying their best to follow God's call and be devoted to His work prior to this moment. It was also disrespectful to the lady (by the man), because he put her in a very awkward situation by asking her if she wanted to kiss him. That seemed really strange for the moment and the era to me. It seemed really inconsistent with the goals of both characters as well, and it was a pivotal moment that switched the focus of the story from following God's call on one's life to pursuing romance before God's call. The shift in perspective did not change back for me from this point forward.

Two extended and passionate kissing scenes disrupted the flow for me. These were also a main reason why the shift in focus seemed to stick around for me.

There was a lewd scene that included the groping of a woman and a subsequent groin shot in self-defense. I found these things unnecessary and inappropriate.

There was a threat of “hacking off” someone's fingers.

There was a mention of the “hardness” of a man's muscles.

Two expletive phrases were used.

What disappointed me the most was that this book had nothing to do with an orphan train. It did not seem to be placed in the correct series since it did not introduce the idea of an orphan train. I can see how the mission work the leads were doing could possibly eventually lead to the creation of an orphan train, but that possibility had to be completely conjured up in my own imagination, because it was not even hinted at during any of the scenes. I was puzzled as to how it would fit into the series since it didn't seem to be connected other than possibly giving background information on some of the characters that will appear in the first full-length book in the series.

In summary:

Though there were things that hampered my enjoyment of this book, there were reasons to appreciate it as well. I liked the deep faith thread through the first eight or nine chapters. The compassion in the leading lady was wonderful also. I hope others enjoy this book much more than I was able to.

I was not compensated for my honest review.