Blog Tour Review: The Hatmaker's Heart by Carla Stewart


Welcome to my tour review stop for The Hatmaker's Heart by Carla Stewart!

The Hatmaker's HeartThe Hatmaker's Heart
by Carla Stewart
Christian Historical Romance
Paperback320 Pages
June 3rd 2014 by FaithWords                

Summary

For Nell Marchwold, bliss is seeing the transformation when someone gets a glimpse in the mirror while wearing one of her creations and feels beautiful. Nell has always strived to create hats that bring out a woman’s best qualities. She knows she’s fortunate to have landed a job as an apprentice designer at the prominent Oscar Fields Millinery in New York City. Yet when Nell’s fresh designs begin to catch on, her boss holds her back from the limelight, claiming the stammer she’s had since childhood reflects poorly on her and his salon.

But it seems Nell’s gift won’t be hidden by Oscar’s efforts. Soon an up-and-coming fashion designer is seeking her out as a partner of his 1922 collection. The publicity leads to an opportunity for Nell to make hats in London for a royal wedding. There, she sees her childhood friend, Quentin, and an unexpected spark kindles between them. But thanks to her success, Oscar is determined to keep her. As her heart tugs in two directions, Nell must decide what she is willing to sacrifice for her dream, and what her dream truly is.

    


My Review

The Hatmaker's Heart completely immersed me in Nell's world, not just her world at the millinery, but also the New York and London of a different time. I loved how well the talk of fashion, styles, fabrics, and accessories flowed in the story. Nothing was too much or too little. I felt a connection with Nell and cheered her on with her struggle with stuttering and trying to make it as a hat designer.

The characters in this story were wonderful! I loved Nell and her two roommates. I loved her co-workers, both good and bad. I loved her friends who ran an Italian restaurant. I loved her family, including her beloved grandmother across the ocean in England. I loved the few times Quentin was introduced in the story. I loved how her her life mingled with these other characters. Nell was such a sweetheart! I do wish she had recognized one of the men as the cad he was sooner, but she still never completely fell for his tricks. I was equally appalled with Nell at the situation towards the end and gratified with her decision. Then there was the situation with her childhood friend and I just wanted things to work out in the end so desperately.

This was a heartfelt and inspiring story about a girl trying to find her place in a world where women were still not allowed the careers they deserved, but was determined to retain her integrity and fight for what she wanted and the path she should take even when that path changed. I highly recommend The Hatmaker's Heart to inspirational and general historical fiction readers, especially if they like their books with a touch of romance.

Content: Clean (There are a few references to an affair, abuse, and murder.)

Source: I would like to thank Litfuse and the publisher, FaithWords, for my review copy, which did not affect my review in any way.


About the Author
Carla Stewart

Carla Stewart is the award-winning author of four novels. With a passion for times gone by, it is her desire to take readers back to that warm, familiar place in their hearts called “home.” She and her husband live in Tulsa and have four adult sons and six grandchildren (with one on the way!).



Giveaway

The author is hosting a Jazzy Hatmaker’s Heart Giveaway on her site. 
Go there to enter to win this:
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10 comments

  1. It sounds lovely. I love it when a book has good characters and a well developed setting. I'm going to have to read this. :)

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  2. This sound absolutely amazing! Great review Tressa!!!!

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  3. This one sounds really interesting. Thanks for sharing, Tressa - and for keeping us up to date on good, clean reads. :)

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  4. It was an interesting time-travel novel. I've never had the chance to go back and read the first book in the series, so I'll have to do that at some point.

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  5. It was a rather refreshing read as well. I hadn't really read anything with that setting before and it wasn't all about romance or extremely intense, which was a nice break. It was about this girl who was trying to hold on to her dreams in such a difficult era for women. I hope you enjoy it!

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  6. Thanks! It was a really good book.

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  7. The giveaway does look really fun! Definitely spot-on for the book. :)

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  8. Thanks, Sherry! I love coming across books that feel new to me, as in a story-line that I hadn't read before, like this one did.

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  9. I'm hoping to get this one read soon. It sounds like my kind of book! :)

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