The Heart that Truly Loves

by Susan Evans McCloud

What Millicent Cooper understands is that the Thatcher family, with whom she has lived since her mother's death, has left the culture and refinement of Boston for the wild Missouri frontier. And it is all the result of Judith Thatcher's introduction of the Mormon faith by four missionaries - missionaries like Nicholas Todd. Rather than live among a people with strange, alien beliefs, Millie has chosen to return to her hometown. There she encounters Elder Nicholas Todd, who treats her with a tenderness that she has never experienced before. But his commitment to a religion that has disrupted, even endangered, the life of Millie's dearest friend, Verity Thatcher, only confuses and angers her. And then there is dark, brooding Luther Fenn, who returns from his voyage at sea seeking to claim the love of his youth. Millie is torn between her conflicting feelings for Nicholas and the promise of stability a life with Luther would provide. But after Nicholas departs for England, and suddenly his letters stop coming, Millie is forced to make a decision that will affect the rest of her life.

Genres: Lds Fiction, Historical Fiction

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Charly Troff (JustaReadingMama) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was truly a heartwarming, spiritual and faith filled novel. I loved Millie, the main character, and all the side characters. I also loved the way we got LDS history interspersed throughout Millie's story in letter form, I thought it was well done and kept me interested. One of my favorite parts of the book was the writing style; Susan Evans McCloud says things in the most beautiful way, it's almost like poetry. I also love her insight into her characters; they feel so real and you always understand them on a deeper than surface level. It did feel odd, especially near the end, that it covered so many years (I think more than ten) but somehow it worked still. The ending was, of course, not unexpected, but there was a lot throughout the book that took me off guard and I loved that as well. Overall, a wonderful read.

[Saralyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on my parent's shelf. I had liked another book by McCloud as a teenager, so I decided to pick it up. I liked it fine, but it felt like an epic that had been abridged. The book covers many years in just a couple hundred pages, so it went quite quickly, but I suppose that's good for my current short attention span. A nice review of church history during the times of Missouri to the Salt Lake valley.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those "ohhhh" books that makes you feel good. The author has a very descriptive writing style. I thought her language was beautiful!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The author has a style of writing that draws you in and you can't put the book down till your done with it.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite LDS authors. Always a sweet romance.