The Heart of a Vicar by Sarah M. Eden

The Heart of a Vicar by Sarah M. Eden

This author is one of my favorites. She’s a gifted storyteller with a strong voice.

Let’s begin with the summary:

Young love is all too fleeting, as Harold Jonquil painfully discovered years ago when Sarah Sarvol, the niece of a neighboring landowner, captured his heart. After an idyllic few weeks in the throes of blossoming love, reality intervened. They could have no future. Following their disastrous parting, Harold attempted to push aside thoughts of love and regret, but Sarah has never left his heart. Now, years later, he has achieved his lifelong aspiration of becoming the local vicar. However, the role proves more difficult than he imagined. He feels hollow and uninspired—until the most important person in his past returns, challenging him as no one ever has.

When Sarah’s ailing uncle summons her back to the family estate in England, there is only one person from her past she is reluctant to see again: Harold Jonquil, the only man who has ever claimed her heart. But when she comes face-to-face with her former beau, she hardly recognizes the aloof and dull man before her. She is determined to help Harold rediscover the passion he once felt toward his chosen profession. Soon, despite their exasperation with each other, they cannot deny the stirring of feelings long buried—but is it too late for second chances?

And now, my review:

I love revisiting these characters and have enjoyed the other books in this series that I’ve had a chance to read. One element I don’t see in Sarah’s work is melodrama or an overly sentimental writing voice. She writes historicals (genre), but without elements that keep readers at a distance from her characters’ true emotions. You feel along with them, and you aren’t bombarded with clichés and overly dramatic emotional descriptions. I believe there can be deep emotions in fiction, but as a reader, I value when the author presents them in a way that allows readers to feel them. Sarah’s work does that.

Her vicar character is such an interesting hero. He doesn’t see his value. He isn’t even sure about who he is. While’s he’s trying to be what he thinks he’s supposed to be, he’s failing and suffering. His coping mechanism for all the rejection and searching in his life is climbing. Loved this trait. He’s also an introvert who becomes overwhelmed by people. So many of his traits were relatable.

He’s noble, but like an eagle, he can’t see his own strength.

One element I thought was conspicuously absent, especially for a vicar, was a God aspect. It would have been very satisfying to see God brought into this vicar’s character arc and have him find his way via a true relationship with God. Instead, he is told to have faith in himself. That was unfortunate. There was a passage about peace in the church building and about helping people, but nothing about Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Perhaps this was a publisher’s choice or perhaps this was in keeping with Anglican vicars during that era—a distance from the God they seemed to serve.

The heroine only wants to belong. She is an outcast in her own home. But the Jonquils make her feel welcome. I loved their involvement in this story, how they brought warmth and hope to a despairing situation.

People around the hero, including himself, condemned things about him that weren’t condemnable. How often do we do that? Play the part we think we should, condemn the things/people God does not? Harold’s growth arc was interesting to watch, including how people around him treated him differently when he began to see himself differently.

Highly recommended!