"The Captive Heart, " by Dale Cramer

"The Captive Heart, " by Dale Cramer

Ravaged by disease, preyed upon by ruthless bandits, the Bender family's second year in Mexico has taken a grievous turn. Faced with impossible choices, the expatriate Amish discover, more than ever before, what it means to live by faith and not by sight


But it's Miriam who must make the hardest choice as her heart takes her on a new and dangerous course. Domingo. "He is gentle," his sister said, "until someone he loves is threatened." Is Miriam that someone?


"Cualnezqui," he often calls her--the Nahuatl word for Beautiful one. The chiseled native has proven himself a man of principle, grace and power, yet is he the pearl of great price for whom Miriam would sacrifice everything, or is he merely a friend? Tormented by conflicting emotions, she's haunted by vivid dreams: Dressed in the coarse cotton pants and shirt of a peasant, she stands on the precipice of a sun-washed ridge searching desperately for Domingo. Domingo the fierce. Domingo the protector.

Domingo the forbidden.


This is the second book in "Daughter of Caleb Bender" series.   As it was a year ago when I read book one, it did take a couple of chapters to familiarize myself with the characters and that was a shame.  It would be nice to read one book after another.

The book had it's high and lows and the drama did keep you wanting to read more.  If I had a negative comment it would be the ending of the book.  Without giving the story away, I had thought there would be closure on the main characters, but you will have to read the next book to see what happens next to them.

I will say, this book does stress how the Amish abhorred violence and showed how deeply they lived by their religion.  It is worth reading, but do read book one first, "Paradise Valley."

Stars out of 5 : 4 If you love reading about the Amish, you will love this book.  Would recommend reading the first book first though.  Just a shame about the ending with this book though.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.


Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".