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West by Southwest #1
Changes of the Heart
A coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous. Buying the 1920s farmhouse south of Phoenix, where the rumors of John Dillinger’s gang hid out in the 30s, is supposed to be Grace Evanheart’s way of escaping an old romance. When she finds an ancient diary with a map under the bedroom’s floorboard, the rumors solidify into fact. She doesn’t know who to trust with the news; Micah Stevens, the handsome deputy and the great-grandson of the original landowners with whom she’s attracted, or Jerry, the young historian who seems too intent on learning about her new home. Micah seems convinced their paths cross exactly at the right time and in the right place for them to fall in love. Now he just has to convince Grace of the same thing before suspicions of his real motive have her running again.
- GenresRomanceContemporary
268 pages, Paperback
Published February 11, 2016
About the author
Debra Erfert
20 books110 followersDebra Erfert lives in the southwest desert city of Yuma, Arizona with her husband, a retired police lieutenant, where the average summer temperatures are well above 100 degrees--truly hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. After raising two Eagle Scout sons, she now spends her time writing and shooing her polydactyl cat away from her keyboard. She's an award-winning artist who discovered she could use words to create pictures instead of just oils.
January 21st The Royals of Monterra: IT TAKES A SLEUTH, a mystery NOVELLA was released by Kindle Worlds. Her romantic mystery, CHANGES OF THE HEART is available for pre-order until February 2nd, 2016. She has a full-length novel, the first book in a trilogy WINDOW OF TIME, released in January 2016. RELATIVE EVIL, a romantic suspense, was published by Xchyler Publishing. Her short story, THE MEASURE OF LOVE, came out the winter of 2014 in Michael Young’s ADVENT ANTHOLOGY III. She also had a short story included in the VALUE STORIES FOR A YOUNG WOMAN anthology, published by Walnut Springs Press. Her short story, SCARED STIFF, was published in TOTALLY CLICHÉ.
January 21st The Royals of Monterra: IT TAKES A SLEUTH, a mystery NOVELLA was released by Kindle Worlds. Her romantic mystery, CHANGES OF THE HEART is available for pre-order until February 2nd, 2016. She has a full-length novel, the first book in a trilogy WINDOW OF TIME, released in January 2016. RELATIVE EVIL, a romantic suspense, was published by Xchyler Publishing. Her short story, THE MEASURE OF LOVE, came out the winter of 2014 in Michael Young’s ADVENT ANTHOLOGY III. She also had a short story included in the VALUE STORIES FOR A YOUNG WOMAN anthology, published by Walnut Springs Press. Her short story, SCARED STIFF, was published in TOTALLY CLICHÉ.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
July 14, 2016
I'm not sure why I finished this book. Probably because there wasn't any one thing tragically bad and there were hints and glimmers of interesting story (that always seemed to be just on the edge of panning out). Unfortunately, it didn't come together in the end and left me with a vague sense of being cheated.
This is most obvious with Grace and Micah. They seem to be actual characters at first, but the sense of them as actual, potential people never quite gels. I wanted to buy Grace as a young woman finally coming into her own, but she kept doing stupid, childish things. I'm not sure how a woman makes it to age thirty without having the sense God gave fence posts, but the author would have us believe that Grace managed just that. She resists making police reports of attempted rapes (yes, multiple), seeing a doctor for a sprained wrist, and being drugged, and being knocked in the head. It's like she's a twelve year-old stuck in the body of . . . a twelve year-old. And that's before you even get to her jumping to conclusions faster than a frat boy in one of those movies.
Micah isn't any better, though it's more subtle with him (possibly because he isn't the viewpoint character). He does some pretty outrageous things for a deputy sheriff, starting from the first time he meets Grace. Frankly, none of the professional men make any sense in this book, whether the hunky doctor or the rather convenient family lawyer, or the guy getting his "MBA in History" (note to the author: MBA means Master of Business Administration and I've never heard of one with a "history" flavor. If you mean "Masters in History", that's something else, entirely).
That said, the author does pull off some charm in the storytelling, which may be why I stuck it out to the end. Heaven knows the pieces don't add up to much, but the scenes are evocative and the characters are lively enough if you don't focus too much on the particulars. I suppose it also helps that the central mystery is creative (if as wildly unreasonable as any of the other story details).
A note about a new tag: I've started a new tag with this book because this is the second "chaste" book with the same problem. "Missing-faith" is a tag to indicate those books where religion seems to have been removed from the story. In this one, the characters even reference God, and something like fate/destiny. But they do so in the complete absence of any expression of actual faith or religion. The lack is noticeable and I'm puzzled why this seems to be a thing. Like most writing, the general is expressed in the details, like, for example, when a kitchen doesn't "smell like a yummy dinner" but rather "has the rich scent of gravy with a touch of pumpkin spice hinting at dessert". So this is like having a character walk into a kitchen just before dinner is served only there's no scent at all. Also no sounds or sights, just an empty room and a plate of plain rice where God should be...
This is most obvious with Grace and Micah. They seem to be actual characters at first, but the sense of them as actual, potential people never quite gels. I wanted to buy Grace as a young woman finally coming into her own, but she kept doing stupid, childish things. I'm not sure how a woman makes it to age thirty without having the sense God gave fence posts, but the author would have us believe that Grace managed just that. She resists making police reports of attempted rapes (yes, multiple), seeing a doctor for a sprained wrist, and being drugged, and being knocked in the head. It's like she's a twelve year-old stuck in the body of . . . a twelve year-old. And that's before you even get to her jumping to conclusions faster than a frat boy in one of those movies.
Micah isn't any better, though it's more subtle with him (possibly because he isn't the viewpoint character). He does some pretty outrageous things for a deputy sheriff, starting from the first time he meets Grace. Frankly, none of the professional men make any sense in this book, whether the hunky doctor or the rather convenient family lawyer, or the guy getting his "MBA in History" (note to the author: MBA means Master of Business Administration and I've never heard of one with a "history" flavor. If you mean "Masters in History", that's something else, entirely).
That said, the author does pull off some charm in the storytelling, which may be why I stuck it out to the end. Heaven knows the pieces don't add up to much, but the scenes are evocative and the characters are lively enough if you don't focus too much on the particulars. I suppose it also helps that the central mystery is creative (if as wildly unreasonable as any of the other story details).
A note about a new tag: I've started a new tag with this book because this is the second "chaste" book with the same problem. "Missing-faith" is a tag to indicate those books where religion seems to have been removed from the story. In this one, the characters even reference God, and something like fate/destiny. But they do so in the complete absence of any expression of actual faith or religion. The lack is noticeable and I'm puzzled why this seems to be a thing. Like most writing, the general is expressed in the details, like, for example, when a kitchen doesn't "smell like a yummy dinner" but rather "has the rich scent of gravy with a touch of pumpkin spice hinting at dessert". So this is like having a character walk into a kitchen just before dinner is served only there's no scent at all. Also no sounds or sights, just an empty room and a plate of plain rice where God should be...
April 25, 2016
This is one of those books where the idea of the story is much better than the execution. Grace gets dumped by her long-time boyfriend and decides she wants a change by starting a new job and buying an old 1920s farmhouse. It’s a fixer upper and she’s excited to take on the project. She unexpectedly finds an old journal that holds a treasure map! Okay, so that sounds like a fun read, right? Maybe it was just me, I know I’ve read other reviewers who really enjoyed this one, but I did not connect with this one at all.
For a good chunk of the book Grace comes across as a petulant child. Her dialog and reactions to extreme situations is completely lacking emotion and realistic behavior. Keep in mind, the entire book covers about a five day (more or less) period. In that time, Grace is attacked by snakes (twice), spiders, runs into a sticker field, sprains her wrist, is drugged and almost raped, almost ran over, attacked again, has a burglary, has a fall and subsequent cancer scare (because after 24hours of random falls and attacks she thinks her headaches are from…cancer?), hurts herself bowling, gets attacked again, gets stuck in a storm, someone breaks into her barn (again), her dog gets killed and she’s attacked (again), more attacks and her boyfriend gets shot. I probably forgot some stuff in there, but seriously the fact that most of this stuff happens in just 2-3 days makes it all seem so comical.
So, my main quibble is the fact that after she is targeted and the perp carries out a premeditated plan to drug and rape her, she brushes it off and doesn’t want to press charges because she’s worried about what he’ll say about her. I get women not wanting to report rapes, I really do. But, here’s a good opportunity for the author to show the importance of reporting them, if for no other reason than to STOP him from doing it to someone else. The fact that Micah, a police officer, does nothing to encourage her and fails to do his job by reporting it himself is inexcusable. Within twelve hours the guy attacks her again, he is arrested because there are actual witnesses, but gets out on bail. She runs into him in the store and has no real reaction, takes no extra precautions and of course he attacks her a third time. She decides she doesn’t want to ruin his MBA changes and decides again to not report it. And get this, what does her BFF do to show her love and support? She shows up unannounced with a blind date (who she actually likes) and forces Grace to go on a blind date. Seriously? Your best friend is almost raped and attacked twice in a twelve hour period and you think a blind date is a good idea???????
Between all these accidents and attacks there is a romance, kind of. Guys seemed to be drawn to Grace for some reason and fall for her pretty quickly. The main love interest, Micah, is okay. I didn’t like that he thought he could just do whatever he wanted to Graces house whenever he wanted. He was always showing up unannounced, or even when she wasn’t home. He’d let himself in and go through her stuff. It was creepy. But, I guess its okay because he is literally there to save her all the time.
There is also the mystery of the treasure. Look, I get that she bought the farm and legally anything on the land is hers. But morally? Wouldn’t the right thing to do is give that “treasure” to Micah? The house and land has been in his family for over a hundred years. Grace has owned it for less than a week. At least split it with them or something.
Anyway, the pacing was just off on this one. Half the accidents/attacks should have been taken out. Have the story take place over a much longer time period, maybe a few months instead of a few days. Really take the time to develop Grace and have her actions be more realistic. As it is, instead of enjoying a fun romantic mystery I just found myself rolling my eyes and reading to see just what else could happen to Grace.
Content
Romance: Clean
Language: None
Violence: Mild
Religious: None-very mild
Source: Review copy
For a good chunk of the book Grace comes across as a petulant child. Her dialog and reactions to extreme situations is completely lacking emotion and realistic behavior. Keep in mind, the entire book covers about a five day (more or less) period. In that time, Grace is attacked by snakes (twice), spiders, runs into a sticker field, sprains her wrist, is drugged and almost raped, almost ran over, attacked again, has a burglary, has a fall and subsequent cancer scare (because after 24hours of random falls and attacks she thinks her headaches are from…cancer?), hurts herself bowling, gets attacked again, gets stuck in a storm, someone breaks into her barn (again), her dog gets killed and she’s attacked (again), more attacks and her boyfriend gets shot. I probably forgot some stuff in there, but seriously the fact that most of this stuff happens in just 2-3 days makes it all seem so comical.
So, my main quibble is the fact that after she is targeted and the perp carries out a premeditated plan to drug and rape her, she brushes it off and doesn’t want to press charges because she’s worried about what he’ll say about her. I get women not wanting to report rapes, I really do. But, here’s a good opportunity for the author to show the importance of reporting them, if for no other reason than to STOP him from doing it to someone else. The fact that Micah, a police officer, does nothing to encourage her and fails to do his job by reporting it himself is inexcusable. Within twelve hours the guy attacks her again, he is arrested because there are actual witnesses, but gets out on bail. She runs into him in the store and has no real reaction, takes no extra precautions and of course he attacks her a third time. She decides she doesn’t want to ruin his MBA changes and decides again to not report it. And get this, what does her BFF do to show her love and support? She shows up unannounced with a blind date (who she actually likes) and forces Grace to go on a blind date. Seriously? Your best friend is almost raped and attacked twice in a twelve hour period and you think a blind date is a good idea???????
Between all these accidents and attacks there is a romance, kind of. Guys seemed to be drawn to Grace for some reason and fall for her pretty quickly. The main love interest, Micah, is okay. I didn’t like that he thought he could just do whatever he wanted to Graces house whenever he wanted. He was always showing up unannounced, or even when she wasn’t home. He’d let himself in and go through her stuff. It was creepy. But, I guess its okay because he is literally there to save her all the time.
There is also the mystery of the treasure. Look, I get that she bought the farm and legally anything on the land is hers. But morally? Wouldn’t the right thing to do is give that “treasure” to Micah? The house and land has been in his family for over a hundred years. Grace has owned it for less than a week. At least split it with them or something.
Anyway, the pacing was just off on this one. Half the accidents/attacks should have been taken out. Have the story take place over a much longer time period, maybe a few months instead of a few days. Really take the time to develop Grace and have her actions be more realistic. As it is, instead of enjoying a fun romantic mystery I just found myself rolling my eyes and reading to see just what else could happen to Grace.
Content
Romance: Clean
Language: None
Violence: Mild
Religious: None-very mild
Source: Review copy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2016
Grace and Micah first meet in a frightening tumble of limbs and misunderstanding that left me smiling and anxious for more. As we see their relationship develop the only thing I was a little uncomfortable with was the fact that Micah was going into her house, while she wasn't home, without permission. And when Grace wasn't putting a stop to this immediately it didn't sit right. She just met him. Yes, he's a police officer. But there are bad people in the world and they come with all different professions. I really like Micah and had zero creep vibes from him since the beginning but the fact is, it's not his house. Boundaries need to be respected no matter how well intentioned people may be. So when she finally put her foot down with telling him that he can't just show up and move things in, fix things, or drop paint by without asking her first I was happy.
Grace's relationship with her best friend, Chelsea, was something I was especially happy of. Here we have a healthy friendship where two people love and help one another. There's no codependency and it's lovely.
The only things that I 100% didn't like:
1. The melodrama of Grace after she heard some of a conversation between Micah and his father. She snuck away without a word. Drives to Chelsea's house and because her friend changed her hair and clothing style all the sudden goes on to say, "my best friend was gone. I had nowhere to go." She's literally right in front of you. Hair and clothes don't change that. You just turned around and ran away again because you're being a bit crazy. It was just a little too over the top for me.
2. Charlie. Micah adopted him for Grace as a surprise to protect her after Jerrys physical and sexual assault and her house being broken into. So that lovely 1yr old lab was adopted for protection. I hate when any animal dies but I really didn't care for how I felt after he'd been killed. I was sad, obviously, but was also feeling a bit mad.. like ok, guess he served his purpose.
I liked that I was surprised by who the bad guys breaking into her barn and house turned out to be. That was a nice little something.
Overall I was left feeling very satisfied. This was a good read. I'm giving it 3.5 stars. The only reason it's not getting a 4 is because I probably won't reread it. To me this is a HEA one read. Sometimes that's just what I need. Debra Erfret has found herself a new reader.
I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Grace's relationship with her best friend, Chelsea, was something I was especially happy of. Here we have a healthy friendship where two people love and help one another. There's no codependency and it's lovely.
The only things that I 100% didn't like:
1. The melodrama of Grace after she heard some of a conversation between Micah and his father. She snuck away without a word. Drives to Chelsea's house and because her friend changed her hair and clothing style all the sudden goes on to say, "my best friend was gone. I had nowhere to go." She's literally right in front of you. Hair and clothes don't change that. You just turned around and ran away again because you're being a bit crazy. It was just a little too over the top for me.
2. Charlie. Micah adopted him for Grace as a surprise to protect her after Jerrys physical and sexual assault and her house being broken into. So that lovely 1yr old lab was adopted for protection. I hate when any animal dies but I really didn't care for how I felt after he'd been killed. I was sad, obviously, but was also feeling a bit mad.. like ok, guess he served his purpose.
I liked that I was surprised by who the bad guys breaking into her barn and house turned out to be. That was a nice little something.
Overall I was left feeling very satisfied. This was a good read. I'm giving it 3.5 stars. The only reason it's not getting a 4 is because I probably won't reread it. To me this is a HEA one read. Sometimes that's just what I need. Debra Erfret has found herself a new reader.
I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2016
There were many ways in which I quickly identified with Grace Evanheart, the first-person voice of this story. She decided on a change in her life, bought an old farm house out in the country, and. even though the power was not yet turned on, moved in as it was starting to grow dark. Her idea of starter furniture was plastic, the type you inflate. Thanks to the author’s description, I could picture her as she set about pumping it up in the glow of flashlights while pondering how long it would be before the stink of newly unfolded plastic dissipated.
Turned out there was quite a story to that old house, and the novel revealed it piece by suspenseful piece.
The first person who started providing Grace with information on the history of the house was the grandson of the former owner, Micah Stevens, who also happened to be the local deputy sheriff. Unaware the house had been sold, and fearing the worst when he saw the play of flashlight beams through the windows, he met the new owner when he made a grand entrance law enforcement style.
I enjoyed watching the relationships develop between the characters. Micah showed his attachment to the old family home by being almost too helpful to Grace, who definitely was not graceful. She ended up spending more time in hospitals than the normal person. Then Jerry developed an interest in Grace, leaving her wondering if she should encourage a relationship with him. Add to that, strange happenings around the house and barn threatened Grace’s peace of mind and eventually her life.
Then there was the old diary of Micah’s great-grandmother which Grace decided to read before turning it back over to the family. It gradually revealed clues to why sinister forces might have an interest in the house and a motive to get rid of her. The story kept me guessing just who might be behind the threat to Grace’s home and her personal safety.
The story was well-written, suspenseful, had good character development and a twist at the end that caught me by surprise. It is a clean romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and highly recommend it.
Turned out there was quite a story to that old house, and the novel revealed it piece by suspenseful piece.
The first person who started providing Grace with information on the history of the house was the grandson of the former owner, Micah Stevens, who also happened to be the local deputy sheriff. Unaware the house had been sold, and fearing the worst when he saw the play of flashlight beams through the windows, he met the new owner when he made a grand entrance law enforcement style.
I enjoyed watching the relationships develop between the characters. Micah showed his attachment to the old family home by being almost too helpful to Grace, who definitely was not graceful. She ended up spending more time in hospitals than the normal person. Then Jerry developed an interest in Grace, leaving her wondering if she should encourage a relationship with him. Add to that, strange happenings around the house and barn threatened Grace’s peace of mind and eventually her life.
Then there was the old diary of Micah’s great-grandmother which Grace decided to read before turning it back over to the family. It gradually revealed clues to why sinister forces might have an interest in the house and a motive to get rid of her. The story kept me guessing just who might be behind the threat to Grace’s home and her personal safety.
The story was well-written, suspenseful, had good character development and a twist at the end that caught me by surprise. It is a clean romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and highly recommend it.
April 10, 2016
This book was so much fun to read. It had history with stories of John Dillinger staying at the farm house, the mystery of who kept breaking into Grace's house, the danger of a date gone horribly wrong, romance between Micah and Grace, along with moments that you can't help but smile at.
Not everything in the book is perfect. There were some spelling errors and Grace goes through a lot more than any one person could probably handle in such a short span of time, with Micah always showing up to save the day. However, these events only made me like Micah more and look forward to their happily-ever-after.
Readers should also be aware that this is not a "Christian" book in the way one might expect from the tag line on the cover. There is a message about God looking out for us, but this doesn't show up until the end and then only in a couple scenes. There is also a lot of kissing (some detailed), which might make some people uncomfortable, and one or two swear words.
I still really enjoyed this book. The writing is pretty good and the characters are a lot of fun to read about. If you're looking for something to read this summer, I would definitely suggest this.
I received this book through I Am a Reader, Not a Writer in exchange for an honest review.
*Second read through*- I was in the mood for a sweet romance, and when I saw another title that remind me of this one, I searched through my kindle for it. It was just as good the second time around.
Not everything in the book is perfect. There were some spelling errors and Grace goes through a lot more than any one person could probably handle in such a short span of time, with Micah always showing up to save the day. However, these events only made me like Micah more and look forward to their happily-ever-after.
Readers should also be aware that this is not a "Christian" book in the way one might expect from the tag line on the cover. There is a message about God looking out for us, but this doesn't show up until the end and then only in a couple scenes. There is also a lot of kissing (some detailed), which might make some people uncomfortable, and one or two swear words.
I still really enjoyed this book. The writing is pretty good and the characters are a lot of fun to read about. If you're looking for something to read this summer, I would definitely suggest this.
I received this book through I Am a Reader, Not a Writer in exchange for an honest review.
*Second read through*- I was in the mood for a sweet romance, and when I saw another title that remind me of this one, I searched through my kindle for it. It was just as good the second time around.
April 9, 2016
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. *There are some spoilers in this review.
Although I thought that this book began okay it was not long before I became disenchanted with it. I felt like the plot was just a little to extreme to be believable.
The heroine has her heart broken and so she makes a big life change. She moves to a new home and is awoken by an intruder who was unaware the property had been sold and was trying to protect the home from squatters.
Although there is an instant attraction between the two I just felt like the relationship moved to quickly from attraction to love to be believable in the time frame given in the book.
I also felt that an experience she had on a date with another man where he drugged and attempted to date rape her was approached a little to carelessly. I think this could be really triggering for any one who has been sexually harassed or assaulted. The heroine continues to experience a lot of violence and danger from both her attempted rapist and other persons. With her attempted rapist, however, she does not easily relent on calling the police to help with the issue????
The relationship while cute did not have enough dialogue to really make me believe they had fallen in love and combined with the lackadaisical approach to date rape I had a harder time finishing the book then I had hoped.
Although I thought that this book began okay it was not long before I became disenchanted with it. I felt like the plot was just a little to extreme to be believable.
The heroine has her heart broken and so she makes a big life change. She moves to a new home and is awoken by an intruder who was unaware the property had been sold and was trying to protect the home from squatters.
Although there is an instant attraction between the two I just felt like the relationship moved to quickly from attraction to love to be believable in the time frame given in the book.
I also felt that an experience she had on a date with another man where he drugged and attempted to date rape her was approached a little to carelessly. I think this could be really triggering for any one who has been sexually harassed or assaulted. The heroine continues to experience a lot of violence and danger from both her attempted rapist and other persons. With her attempted rapist, however, she does not easily relent on calling the police to help with the issue????
The relationship while cute did not have enough dialogue to really make me believe they had fallen in love and combined with the lackadaisical approach to date rape I had a harder time finishing the book then I had hoped.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2016
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
A coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.
Buying the 1920s farmhouse south of Phoenix, where the rumors of John Dillinger’s gang hid out in the 30s, is supposed to be Grace Evanheart’s way of escaping an old romance. When she finds an ancient diary with a map under the bedroom’s floorboard, the rumors solidify into fact. She doesn’t know who to trust with the news; Micah Stevens, the handsome deputy and the great grandson of the original landowners with whom she’s attracted, or Jerry, the young historian who seems too intent on learning about her new home?
Micah seems convinced their paths cross exactly at the right time and in the right place for them to fall in love. Now he just has to convince Grace of the same thing before suspicions of his real motive have her running again.
MY TAKE
This is such a fun story. And, my goodness, what a roller-coaster ride! Poor Grace has so much happen to her from the moment she takes possession of the old farmhouse. The book is full of interesting and endearing (and psycho crazy) characters. There's a fun mystery that runs through the story and leaves us with a fun twist at the end.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars, rounded up.
I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
A coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous.
Buying the 1920s farmhouse south of Phoenix, where the rumors of John Dillinger’s gang hid out in the 30s, is supposed to be Grace Evanheart’s way of escaping an old romance. When she finds an ancient diary with a map under the bedroom’s floorboard, the rumors solidify into fact. She doesn’t know who to trust with the news; Micah Stevens, the handsome deputy and the great grandson of the original landowners with whom she’s attracted, or Jerry, the young historian who seems too intent on learning about her new home?
Micah seems convinced their paths cross exactly at the right time and in the right place for them to fall in love. Now he just has to convince Grace of the same thing before suspicions of his real motive have her running again.
MY TAKE
This is such a fun story. And, my goodness, what a roller-coaster ride! Poor Grace has so much happen to her from the moment she takes possession of the old farmhouse. The book is full of interesting and endearing (and psycho crazy) characters. There's a fun mystery that runs through the story and leaves us with a fun twist at the end.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars, rounded up.
I received a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
May 17, 2016
Grace Evanheart is starting over--she had a bad romance so she quit her job, bought an old farmhouse and moves on. During her explorations of her 1920 something house, she finds an old map and a diary that states John Dillinger’s gang hid out there in the 1930’s. The farmhouse has been empty for a long, long time. So a local young deputy, Micah Stevens, has been keeping an eye on it. Sparks fly between the two in an accidental meeting. It turns out that Micah is the great-grandson of the original owners of the homestead and he was not aware that the house had been sold. Grace has to decide if the sparks between her and Micah are real or if he is pretending interest in her just to get to the treasure that is rumored to be buried on the farm. There are many adventures for Grace and it seems like Micah is always there to rescue/bail her out.
A good romance laced with a trace of history and some adventure. The book was clean--no smut, sex or foul language.
A good romance laced with a trace of history and some adventure. The book was clean--no smut, sex or foul language.
March 26, 2016
4.5/5.0
“Changes of the Heart” is a very endearing story of a woman who at all costs attempts to be independent and just can’t quite pull it off.
Read full review in the 2016 May issue of InD'tale Magazine.
“Changes of the Heart” is a very endearing story of a woman who at all costs attempts to be independent and just can’t quite pull it off.
Read full review in the 2016 May issue of InD'tale Magazine.
December 10, 2016
I enjoyed this book very much. It wasn't just a drab romance with out any twist and turns. IT was a pleasure to read.
May 17, 2017
Grace Evanheart seems to bounce from one accident to the next as she tries to get away from the heartbreak of being dumped by her boyfriend David after two years of being together. Is she really just a total klutz or is there something else going on? Fortunately there are friends along the way to lend a helping hand, one even of the canine persuasion.
The romance is clean and sweet and yet totally heart-throbbin. Passion aplenty with lots of tingles and turning to puddles of goo but no inappropriate touching, clothes being removed or bedrooms being entered other than to place a patient who has passed out on the bed. Warning: sexual assault is dealt with in this story.
Suspense - yep! Plenty of that as well. I gave up counting how many times Grace was in danger and I liked that she rescued herself some of the times. It didn't always have to be the big strong hero although these lines had me laughing:
Grace: "Micah, how did you know I was in trouble after you went into the diner?"
Micah: "I'm getting very familiar with the sound of your scream."
In fact she rescued him once! I was a little surprised by who the bad guy was at the end of the story (not sure that the reader really could have figured it out from what was revealed previously in the story) and there were some lose ends that weren't really wrapped up to my satisfaction regarding the sexual assault but hopefully justice will ultimately be served on all the bad guys in the story (maybe there will be sequels?)
Language - Grace's best friend Chelsea has a persona designed to irritate her mother which includes cussing but only about 3 or 4 cuss words actually appear in the book and she is a changed person (Grace thinks aliens have taken over her friend) by the end of the book when she falls in love with a man who doesn't like the cussing.
Religion - a little bit of talk about God and divine intervention vs. coincidence near the end of the book. The tagline on the book is "A coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous." Also Grace wonders if she really did get a miracle when she prayed for one as a child regarding her mother's cancer. "I prayed for a miracle. I thought my prayers weren't answered, or that the answer was a continuous no, but could I've been looking at it wrong? Could the answer to my prayers have been that my mother lived long enough - she had lived - long enough?"
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet, uplifting story that will keep you interested and turning the pages.
The romance is clean and sweet and yet totally heart-throbbin. Passion aplenty with lots of tingles and turning to puddles of goo but no inappropriate touching, clothes being removed or bedrooms being entered other than to place a patient who has passed out on the bed. Warning: sexual assault is dealt with in this story.
Suspense - yep! Plenty of that as well. I gave up counting how many times Grace was in danger and I liked that she rescued herself some of the times. It didn't always have to be the big strong hero although these lines had me laughing:
Grace: "Micah, how did you know I was in trouble after you went into the diner?"
Micah: "I'm getting very familiar with the sound of your scream."
In fact she rescued him once! I was a little surprised by who the bad guy was at the end of the story (not sure that the reader really could have figured it out from what was revealed previously in the story) and there were some lose ends that weren't really wrapped up to my satisfaction regarding the sexual assault but hopefully justice will ultimately be served on all the bad guys in the story (maybe there will be sequels?)
Language - Grace's best friend Chelsea has a persona designed to irritate her mother which includes cussing but only about 3 or 4 cuss words actually appear in the book and she is a changed person (Grace thinks aliens have taken over her friend) by the end of the book when she falls in love with a man who doesn't like the cussing.
Religion - a little bit of talk about God and divine intervention vs. coincidence near the end of the book. The tagline on the book is "A coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous." Also Grace wonders if she really did get a miracle when she prayed for one as a child regarding her mother's cancer. "I prayed for a miracle. I thought my prayers weren't answered, or that the answer was a continuous no, but could I've been looking at it wrong? Could the answer to my prayers have been that my mother lived long enough - she had lived - long enough?"
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet, uplifting story that will keep you interested and turning the pages.
July 31, 2018
Changes of the Heart - a review by Rosemary Kenny
At first glance a Mills & Boon-type cozy mystery - boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back and they all live HEA - Changes of the Heart by Debra Erfert is anything but!
After being jilted, artist Grace Evanheart decides a complete break with her old life is the best remedy, thus causing her to uproot and move to an old farmhouse in Arizona, where with a new job and a new home she can start afresh...so far so good, but not for long. A breakneck storyline begins immediately and doesn't pause as the timeline is only a very few days long.
Hapless and sometimes hopeless-seeming, 30 year old Grace is either the unluckiest person on the face of the earth, or so stupid she isn't safe to be left on her own - you decide as many reviewers love her personality, even though, being so accident and attack-prone, why even one man (deputy sheriff Micah Stevens, who may or may not have a hidden agenda as the grandson of the previous owners), let alone more - local historian Jerry, a lawyer and even the hunky local doctor - finds her irresistible, is beyond this reader's ken.
Of course it could be something to do with the rumoured buried treasure hidden somewhere on the farm, as revealed when Grace's botched DIY efforts reveal Grandma Stevens' diary that just happens to have a map of the treasure's location, apparently hidden by John Dillinger and his outlaw gang when they supposedly hid out from the law there in the 1920s?
Why not get your own copy of this tremendous novel, Changes of the Heart by Debra Erfert and become your own Miss Marple - you'll be so glad you did!
At first glance a Mills & Boon-type cozy mystery - boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back and they all live HEA - Changes of the Heart by Debra Erfert is anything but!
After being jilted, artist Grace Evanheart decides a complete break with her old life is the best remedy, thus causing her to uproot and move to an old farmhouse in Arizona, where with a new job and a new home she can start afresh...so far so good, but not for long. A breakneck storyline begins immediately and doesn't pause as the timeline is only a very few days long.
Hapless and sometimes hopeless-seeming, 30 year old Grace is either the unluckiest person on the face of the earth, or so stupid she isn't safe to be left on her own - you decide as many reviewers love her personality, even though, being so accident and attack-prone, why even one man (deputy sheriff Micah Stevens, who may or may not have a hidden agenda as the grandson of the previous owners), let alone more - local historian Jerry, a lawyer and even the hunky local doctor - finds her irresistible, is beyond this reader's ken.
Of course it could be something to do with the rumoured buried treasure hidden somewhere on the farm, as revealed when Grace's botched DIY efforts reveal Grandma Stevens' diary that just happens to have a map of the treasure's location, apparently hidden by John Dillinger and his outlaw gang when they supposedly hid out from the law there in the 1920s?
Why not get your own copy of this tremendous novel, Changes of the Heart by Debra Erfert and become your own Miss Marple - you'll be so glad you did!
May 22, 2017
Wow a lot can happen in five days as that's the period that the book actually covered from what I could gather. Grace who is the main person in the story comes across an immature and not all there, in my opinion. After running away from a bad relationship she buys an old farmhouse and has lots of bad and strange things happen to her. How she reacts to and handles these events is odd. Throw in tales of John Dillinger, attempted rape, drugging, animal attacks, accidents, a hidden diary, secrets and mystery. Not to mention lots of strange behavior from the men pursuing her. A lot of action and suspense, but a little disjointed to read. I received a reader copy and voluntarily chose to review it.
June 4, 2018
4 stars
I received a free copy of Changes of Heart by Debra Erfert and this review was given freely.
Unlucky in love and danger prone artist Grace meets Deputy Micah when she buys Micah's grandfather's house. This novel has one dramatic or danger filled scene after another some of which include attempted date rape, snake attacks, a stabbing, a sand storm and a shooting. Realistic characters, a loving family,a gangster's hidden treasure, a protective dog, and a double romance are some of the reasons to read this full length suspenseful romance.
I received a free copy of Changes of Heart by Debra Erfert and this review was given freely.
Unlucky in love and danger prone artist Grace meets Deputy Micah when she buys Micah's grandfather's house. This novel has one dramatic or danger filled scene after another some of which include attempted date rape, snake attacks, a stabbing, a sand storm and a shooting. Realistic characters, a loving family,a gangster's hidden treasure, a protective dog, and a double romance are some of the reasons to read this full length suspenseful romance.
January 12, 2018
I enjoyed this sweet romance with a bit of mystery. I was completely or mostly surprised when the end came and it wasn't who I suspected. Well done. At one point about 3/4 of the way It was a bit choppy and disjointed, however, other than that I loved the storyline. Finding an old diary and treasures. I will say I did not like the couple icky parts but that's just because of my fear and it was not the spiders. Nice job Debra!
December 22, 2017
I really liked this book
I caught my attention from the first page and never let me down.
I like the story and the way it was developed.
I like the characters and some characters I do not like.
Grace goes through a lot and it is good to know that both of us are accident-prone.
This book is a combination of adventure, hope and mystery and I enjoyed reading it.
I caught my attention from the first page and never let me down.
I like the story and the way it was developed.
I like the characters and some characters I do not like.
Grace goes through a lot and it is good to know that both of us are accident-prone.
This book is a combination of adventure, hope and mystery and I enjoyed reading it.
June 23, 2017
A wonderful, witty love story
This was my first book from this author, but it certainly won't be my last! Debra spins a tale that is both witty and well written. I didn't want to put it down! I want MORE!!
This was my first book from this author, but it certainly won't be my last! Debra spins a tale that is both witty and well written. I didn't want to put it down! I want MORE!!
September 9, 2019
The writing style is amateurish and very unconvincing, it sounded like a teenager diary . The characters are supposed to be adults but they act immaturely. And the catastrophic events were unbelievably rapid and the heroine reaction to these events is like someone with a mental disability.
December 6, 2025
Great read. Wonderful story and fun characters. Planning a night together was great but with visitors and phone calls stopped that from happening especially when he fell asleep before the night started. Will be reading more from this series.
June 5, 2018
From loss and despair to finding love and a new family, but not without hiccups - and lots of action - along the way. Loved it!
September 30, 2026
Good and well-written story with interesting history. Sweet romance between MIcah and Grace as well as moments that made me smile.
July 7, 2017
Debra Erfert's Changes of the Heart was a good, clean, easy read. There were good guys and bad guys, romance and mystery, treasure hunts and history. Grace moves away from the city to an old farmhouse outside of Phoenix. But the house comes with a deputy sheriff and a lot of history and secrets.
January 5, 2020
Micah and grace ran into each other by accident. When Grace's life was in danger micah was always there and even got her a dog as a friend. The ending was sad but happy.
August 24, 2019
Although this is classified as "inspirational," there is very little faith element in it. It is clean and wholesome. The premise and the characters' actions are all rather far-fetched, but it was enjoyable enough that I could overlook the unbelievability.
April 27, 2016
So I got it book via some contest on Goodreads. It was sent over a month ago with a request that I post reviews at least on two platforms. Being a book nerd that I am, I was thrilled to be a part of this. But as it happens, the book was not a complete enjoyment. I am a sucker for Romance novels, and my quick romance fixes are met through Mills and boons and for longer ones my favourite is Nora Roberts. But this book, though I urged myself to like it, it didn’t leave me satisfied. The only thing that kept me going was the suspense. So the book starts with 30 year old Grace moving to a secluded farm house post break up with her boyfriend. There she meets Micah, a deputy -- and also the grandson of the person who owned the land. Few pages down, circumstances bring them together. It would be difficult to talk about the book in details without revealing any spoilers. There are very few – or rather – no aspects of the book that I could say I enjoyed (even the Mills and Boons I have read, are better than this). I have just about began to tolerate Grace and her best friend, Chelsea’s, teenagers-like behaviours when this happened: Grace got sexually abused, but DIDN’T REPORT it out the sheer fear that the assaulter might say “things” about her. Really? Today, when many women are struggling to speak up about such incidences, the author could have sent a positive message by making Grace report it and in turn giving the feeling of empowerment to the girls/women who read the book. Also what I failed to understand is, Micah, inspite of being a deputy, does nothing to encourage her file a report. Another thing I found silly was Grace getting hyper when she starts having headaches – fearing that it is cancer! And another place (out off many) I rolled my eyes was when Grace goes over to Micah’s place to meet his family and faints when she sees Micha’s nieces and nephews are either as old as him or older than him. “He was born late” explains Micah’s mother. Really, wasn’t it obvious that Micah was a miracle for his parents’? And there’s nothing to FAINT on this! Also, Grace’s melodrama is too much to handle when she like a teenager runs away after hearing Micah and his father’s one-sided conversation. From there she goes to Chelsea’s place, but runs away from there too. Why? Beacuase Chelsea has changed her hair colour and appearance. Uff! There's nothing much to talk about the plot, because there's none – expect if see at the suspense revolving the treasure. It could have been better if it were written in the Mills and Boons format: short and crisp. I had many eye rolling moments while reading this...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2016
This is my first time reading something by this author. I was pleased for the most part and had a hard time putting it down. I liked the story line. It contained everything from mystery/suspense to romance to humor. It was clean (only a very non- graphic attempted date rape scene) and a couple mild, though unnecessary, swear words. The poor MC and all her accidents were crazy. Toward the end, the volume of accidents did get to be a little ridiculous and I was glad nothing else happened or it wouldn't have been as believable that so many terrible things could happen to one person in such a short amount of time. Micah (he was a real man in every sense of the word) and Grace's best friend were my favorite characters in the book. Sadly, Grace was one of my least favorite characters. I didn't like that she ran from her problems instead of sticking around to talk them out. Her angry reaction to Micah's help around her house and the no date thing (especially when he spent almost every day with her) were a little over the top also. The poor guy always felt he had to apologize for something. Those were the main reasons I didn't give the book a 5. The tone seemed to change about 70% of the way through the book. I can't put my finger on exactly what was different though. I thought I knew who-dun-it, but was surprised at the end. It was a fun read and I would recommend this book for older teens on up. I would like to try other books by this author. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2016
Grace Evanheart wants a fresh start after a breakup from her boyfriend. She buys an old farmhouse on 7 acres of land an hour south of Phoenix. She meets Deputy Micah Stevens, who is also the grandson of the original owners. He is helpful, selfless, and good looking, and though Grace didn’t come seeking a relationship, she finds herself attracted to him. Grace continues to learn more about the history of her new property, but there are anonymous others who also seem interested, bringing danger and suspense to the new homeowner.
This book was not what I thought it would be based on the cover. I expected a sweet, faith focused, charming, romantic novel. It did have some charm and clean romance, but it also had mystery, suspense, humor, and an unexpected ending. It did keep my interest, but there were a few unbelievable parts. For one thing, there’s a lot that happens to this girl in a very short time! And Grace’s reactions were sometimes rather rash and overdone. And I’ve got to say that one thing that bugged me was that she meets an oncology doctor, and he ends up being the doctor that treats everything for the main characters for the rest of the book. I don’t work in the medical field, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works—don’t specialists typically stick to their specialty, at least in a hospital?!
Over all I did enjoy this book. I give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was not what I thought it would be based on the cover. I expected a sweet, faith focused, charming, romantic novel. It did have some charm and clean romance, but it also had mystery, suspense, humor, and an unexpected ending. It did keep my interest, but there were a few unbelievable parts. For one thing, there’s a lot that happens to this girl in a very short time! And Grace’s reactions were sometimes rather rash and overdone. And I’ve got to say that one thing that bugged me was that she meets an oncology doctor, and he ends up being the doctor that treats everything for the main characters for the rest of the book. I don’t work in the medical field, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works—don’t specialists typically stick to their specialty, at least in a hospital?!
Over all I did enjoy this book. I give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 7, 2016
While this book had a good premise, the execution of it just did not work for me.
"Changes of the Heart" was a story of a young woman, Grace, recently jilted and looking for a new life. She buys a farm in rural Arizona, a farm full of charm, snakes, spiders, and folklore. She meets handsome deputy sheriff Micah whose grandfather used to own the farm and sparks fly. Suspense builds as Grace is thrown into one situation after another where her life is in danger (from an attempted date rape - which was conveyed without glorifying details - to violent storms, snakebites, and burglars. A lot happens in this book.
And that's part of why it didn't work for me. So much happened throughout the story that I never had the opportunity to get attached to the characters. I felt as if I was being thrown about in a whirlwind trying to imagine how all these ill-fated events could happen in just one short week. By the end, I was rolling my eyes....not another trip to the hospital!
I will say there was a twist toward the end that I did not see coming. But even with that, there was so little mention of the character involved that I had a hard time remembering who the character was. No wonder it was a surprise! I'm not sure up until that moment of the story the character had any lines.
So while the skeleton of the story had promise, the execution didn't pan out. Not one I would recommend.
"Changes of the Heart" was a story of a young woman, Grace, recently jilted and looking for a new life. She buys a farm in rural Arizona, a farm full of charm, snakes, spiders, and folklore. She meets handsome deputy sheriff Micah whose grandfather used to own the farm and sparks fly. Suspense builds as Grace is thrown into one situation after another where her life is in danger (from an attempted date rape - which was conveyed without glorifying details - to violent storms, snakebites, and burglars. A lot happens in this book.
And that's part of why it didn't work for me. So much happened throughout the story that I never had the opportunity to get attached to the characters. I felt as if I was being thrown about in a whirlwind trying to imagine how all these ill-fated events could happen in just one short week. By the end, I was rolling my eyes....not another trip to the hospital!
I will say there was a twist toward the end that I did not see coming. But even with that, there was so little mention of the character involved that I had a hard time remembering who the character was. No wonder it was a surprise! I'm not sure up until that moment of the story the character had any lines.
So while the skeleton of the story had promise, the execution didn't pan out. Not one I would recommend.
March 15, 2016
Great book with twists and turns that kept me reading till the end!!!
I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to get a dose of AZ history along with some healthy, clean romance and some suspense. I did get a little annoyed with the Grace because she was always getting into trouble and Micah was always saving her, though there were a few times when she grew a backbone and fought back. I also didn't understand the whole experience with Jerry. It seemed like it was put in just to create a scene for Micah to help Grace and then he continued as an annoyance, but not really anything to further the plot. I truly expected him to be involved in the whole mystery of the missing gangster/bank robber money, but in the end he wasn't and I was a bit disappointed with that.
I did enjoy the twist at the end and the fact that Grace got to save Micah for once. The twists and turns in the book were fun and kept me reading all the way to the end. I was sad about Charlie. Once again, someone else had to save Grace and that frustrated me, but it also made sense. I also loved Micah's family and wished we could have seen more of them.
This really was a great book with good suspense and engaging characters. I highly recommend it.
I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to get a dose of AZ history along with some healthy, clean romance and some suspense. I did get a little annoyed with the Grace because she was always getting into trouble and Micah was always saving her, though there were a few times when she grew a backbone and fought back. I also didn't understand the whole experience with Jerry. It seemed like it was put in just to create a scene for Micah to help Grace and then he continued as an annoyance, but not really anything to further the plot. I truly expected him to be involved in the whole mystery of the missing gangster/bank robber money, but in the end he wasn't and I was a bit disappointed with that.
I did enjoy the twist at the end and the fact that Grace got to save Micah for once. The twists and turns in the book were fun and kept me reading all the way to the end. I was sad about Charlie. Once again, someone else had to save Grace and that frustrated me, but it also made sense. I also loved Micah's family and wished we could have seen more of them.
This really was a great book with good suspense and engaging characters. I highly recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2016
Overall, I liked this story which was quite entertaining. But oh my goodness, if a real person got into as much trouble as Grace found herself in time after time, he or she wouldn't have survived! Most of the characters were well-written but I feel that with as much time the author invested into Jerry's part of the story, he should have been connected to the real threat in some way. Did he actually have a motive for physically attacking Grace time after time? Like most of the other readers who reviewed this story, I felt that justice should have been done. But then again, justice is rarely served in real life. Another thing that bothered me a little was when Grace made the decision, along with her soon-to-be mother-in-law to go back to her house to look for the treasure even after she knows someone is trying to kill her. I know that fiction often calls for characters to act foolishly to move the plot along but I SINCERELY hope that no real person with half a brain would EVER do that. I appreciated seeing the relationship between Grace and her best friend as well as the doctor friend who takes such good care of her. And since I'm from Arizona, I liked that aspect of the story, too. A fun read!
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