Surrendering All But Her Heart by Melanie Milburne

Surrendering All But Her Heart by Melanie Milburne

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


I gobbled this book down. Seriously!  I was so drawn into this story. The heroine's personality and the psychology of her character was tremendously fascinating. I think Milburne nailed Natalie. Natalie was a ball of rage, and with good reason. She is a realistic product of toxic parents who have forced an innocent child to shoulder blame for something that never should have been her responsibility. And as the author showed, this damage doesn't just disappear overnight. Instead, a hurt child like Natalie takes that into her adulthood and every relationship she has as a grown woman.  I literally hurt for Natalie.

Some readers would be turned off by her comments to Angelo, which were often abusive. But to me, I could see them for what they were, a cry for help.  Natalie felt trapped by her family obligations and how they had damaged and poisoned her life and her very self-esteem. She wanted to break free, but that wasn't as easy as it seemed.  Honestly, I think she probably needs therapy, and I personally feel that an encounter with Jesus Christ would do a lot of good for her. He would take away those burdens and the anger and pain she carries.  It hurt to see her truly hating life and having trouble even enjoying one day in her life.  I was just glad she hadn't taken the suicidal route. I think she felt obligated to live because of what had happened to her when she was young.  So in real life, I would have expected something more interventionist for Natalie than just a love connection with the hero. Most of the time, that isn't going to fix what is broken, although being loved unconditionally is an important ingredient. But in the context of this story, I liked how the author dealt with her issues. Angelo has truly impressed me. He make a few miss-steps along the way, but overall he showed tremendous patience, even though Natalie did things that were hurtful to him.  I liked how he didn't give up on her, but kept showing her that she mattered to him and he wanted a life with her.   Considering how hurt Natalie was and how damaged her family was, and his ignorance of that, I think Angelo did a great job of connecting to her.   Other than one thing he does shortly after they get married, I found him to be a real hero. Just the man for this very wounded woman.  Maybe not truly realistic, but still I felt the power of their connection and how it put Natalie on the track to healing.

Man, this book blew me away. I found it very enthralling and emotionally involvinhg. It also involved me intellectually as I assembled the puzzles of Natalie's tormented psyche and came up with a picture of a woman who had been wronged so utterly by her parents. They had failed her in huge ways, and that kind of damage just sets an adult up for a lot of dysfunctional relationships as they get older. 

I don't normally read Harlequin Presents for a look at 'real life.' I'll be honest. But I love angst and passion and I love seeing hurting people find happiness, healing and love. And Ms. Milburne definitely delivers.

This book won't be for everyone.  But I was very impressed.  I just pimped it to my sister, who doesn't read a lot of Harlequin Presents. I can't wait to see what she thinks of it.

Overall rating:  4.5/5.0 stars.



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