What do you think?
Rate this book
Our Scorched Hearts
In the throes of war, love and secrets can shatter—or transform—life forever.
Arkansas, 1968. As the Vietnam War intensifies, Joel, Hazel, and Ruthie face futures shadowed by both danger and duty.
Joel is drafted, forced to leave Hazel and his small-town life behind for a brutal war he does not understand. In the jungles of Vietnam, he learns that relying on another's kindness can lead to a swift end, especially when trust itself becomes a dangerous gamble.
Hazel, meanwhile, finds her dream of motherhood slipping from reach. After Joel is drafted, she is determined to be strong for him, but a buried family secret surfaces and Hazel sets out on a journey of her own to uncover the truth. She realizes that her family’s past may shape her future.
Ruthie fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse, but she quickly realizes being a nurse in Waldron isn’t as fulfilling as she thought. When an opportunity arises to go to Vietnam, she jumps on the chance and joins the Army Nurse Corps. As an Army nurse, Ruthie steps into a new world where every moment is a test of resilience. Though her dreams soon veer into nightmares, an unexpected gift emerges from the chaos—an opportunity that will alter the course of her life forever and show her that hope can be found even in the darkest times.
Arkansas, 1968. As the Vietnam War intensifies, Joel, Hazel, and Ruthie face futures shadowed by both danger and duty.
Joel is drafted, forced to leave Hazel and his small-town life behind for a brutal war he does not understand. In the jungles of Vietnam, he learns that relying on another's kindness can lead to a swift end, especially when trust itself becomes a dangerous gamble.
Hazel, meanwhile, finds her dream of motherhood slipping from reach. After Joel is drafted, she is determined to be strong for him, but a buried family secret surfaces and Hazel sets out on a journey of her own to uncover the truth. She realizes that her family’s past may shape her future.
Ruthie fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse, but she quickly realizes being a nurse in Waldron isn’t as fulfilling as she thought. When an opportunity arises to go to Vietnam, she jumps on the chance and joins the Army Nurse Corps. As an Army nurse, Ruthie steps into a new world where every moment is a test of resilience. Though her dreams soon veer into nightmares, an unexpected gift emerges from the chaos—an opportunity that will alter the course of her life forever and show her that hope can be found even in the darkest times.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
383 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 2025
3 people are currently reading
3620 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 31, 2025
I was so excited to read this book! After reading the first book in the Walden Heart series, Our Kept Hearts, I was invested in finding out the future of these lovable characters; Joel, Hazel and Ruthie.
Our Scorched Hearts, did not disappoint! It picks up as the Vietnam War is beginning. This was particularly interesting to me because I was born around that time and my parents lived through it as young adults. It’s not a time in history that I have studied much so it was an eye opener and I’d like to learn more.
The chapters rotate between the three main characters point of view. Joel, Hazel and Ruthie are all separately affected by the war while dealing with the ups and downs of everyday life. In addition there are some shocking secrets revealed.
Tennille Marie did a wonderful job at making the characters come alive for me. I was able to imagine I was there experiencing things right along side them.
I think you would like this book if you like real to life stories and learning about history. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!
TW: miscarriage, war, suicide and cancer.
Many thanks to Tennille Marie for her wild imagination and the chance to read this ARC!
Our Scorched Hearts, did not disappoint! It picks up as the Vietnam War is beginning. This was particularly interesting to me because I was born around that time and my parents lived through it as young adults. It’s not a time in history that I have studied much so it was an eye opener and I’d like to learn more.
The chapters rotate between the three main characters point of view. Joel, Hazel and Ruthie are all separately affected by the war while dealing with the ups and downs of everyday life. In addition there are some shocking secrets revealed.
Tennille Marie did a wonderful job at making the characters come alive for me. I was able to imagine I was there experiencing things right along side them.
I think you would like this book if you like real to life stories and learning about history. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!
TW: miscarriage, war, suicide and cancer.
Many thanks to Tennille Marie for her wild imagination and the chance to read this ARC!
January 14, 2025
Wow, just wow! Tennille Marie has truly outdone herself with this one! I loved Our Kept Hearts so I knew I needed to continue on with these characters and I am so glad that I did! This book is a dazzling blend of raw emotion and poetic storytelling that grips you from the very first page. The characters are so vividly drawn that you feel like you’re right there with them, experiencing every joy and heartbreak.
I loved that we got to experience the hardships of war from three different viewpoints. One as a nurse, as a mother at home agonizing over the safety of her husband, but also her sister, and of course, a soldier himself. I felt for each of them and was so invested on how they must be feeling.
This isn’t just a book; it’s an experience that will leave your heart a little scorched but oh-so-full. I hope we get a third installment so we can sleep easier knowing that all three were able to conquer tragedy and heal from the effects of war.
Thank you NetGalley, Purple Iris Printing, and the author herself for my copy!
I loved that we got to experience the hardships of war from three different viewpoints. One as a nurse, as a mother at home agonizing over the safety of her husband, but also her sister, and of course, a soldier himself. I felt for each of them and was so invested on how they must be feeling.
This isn’t just a book; it’s an experience that will leave your heart a little scorched but oh-so-full. I hope we get a third installment so we can sleep easier knowing that all three were able to conquer tragedy and heal from the effects of war.
Thank you NetGalley, Purple Iris Printing, and the author herself for my copy!
February 24, 2025
Tennille has become a friend to me through this community and I am so thankful that she gave me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. But honestly? It makes reviews like this one easy when the book is so good! I am so immensely proud with what Tennille accomplished in this book! She developed our characters and progressed the story while keeping the same charm and impactful relationships that I loved so much about the first one.
What really stayed with me about the first book are a) the characters and b) the relationships between the characters, and this book elevated both of those factors in an unforgettable way. One of the things that makes this book such a triumph is the natural progression of themes from the first book to this one, as our characters mature, so do the challenges they face. Seeing Hazel, Ruthie, and Joel navigating their lives as adults and having to deal with the tragic consequences of the war was so compelling and heartbreaking, but in the best possible way.
And the ending?!? UGH! Give me the next book NOW please! I am anxiously awaiting for the next installment in this series and I am ready for my heart to be broken all over again when Book 3 comes out.
What really stayed with me about the first book are a) the characters and b) the relationships between the characters, and this book elevated both of those factors in an unforgettable way. One of the things that makes this book such a triumph is the natural progression of themes from the first book to this one, as our characters mature, so do the challenges they face. Seeing Hazel, Ruthie, and Joel navigating their lives as adults and having to deal with the tragic consequences of the war was so compelling and heartbreaking, but in the best possible way.
And the ending?!? UGH! Give me the next book NOW please! I am anxiously awaiting for the next installment in this series and I am ready for my heart to be broken all over again when Book 3 comes out.
March 4, 2025
WOW! Just WOW! This summarizes a heart-wrenching, well-written tale set during the tumultuous Vietnam War era.
A young housewife, a sister who becomes a nurse in Vietnam, and a husband drafted and sent to war grapple with the emotions and heartbreak that define this era in history.
The story binds this family to its local community as the war rips through their worlds like a hurricane. The stark reality impacts everyone, and as the story revs up, from the beginning pages to the ending, mysteries unravel, family bonds are tested, and families must find ways to soldier on.
Poignant and well-written, I couldn’t put the book down. The pain and agony tear through families and a community, bringing heartache and grief you’ll feel down to your bones. A reader can’t help but become caught up in the detailed characters, the intensity of the emotions, and the backdrop, with which these souls must find the strength and character to carry on.
The author, Tennille Marie, creates characters who walk beside you, characters who you feel are both friend and foe, family and community. So have the tissues handy, the kettle brewing, and curl up with one of the best stories I have read in some time.
I want to thank Book Sirens, the author, and the publisher, for the opportunity to read this beautiful, gut-wrenching story as a free ARC. This review is voluntary and is mine alone.
A young housewife, a sister who becomes a nurse in Vietnam, and a husband drafted and sent to war grapple with the emotions and heartbreak that define this era in history.
The story binds this family to its local community as the war rips through their worlds like a hurricane. The stark reality impacts everyone, and as the story revs up, from the beginning pages to the ending, mysteries unravel, family bonds are tested, and families must find ways to soldier on.
Poignant and well-written, I couldn’t put the book down. The pain and agony tear through families and a community, bringing heartache and grief you’ll feel down to your bones. A reader can’t help but become caught up in the detailed characters, the intensity of the emotions, and the backdrop, with which these souls must find the strength and character to carry on.
The author, Tennille Marie, creates characters who walk beside you, characters who you feel are both friend and foe, family and community. So have the tissues handy, the kettle brewing, and curl up with one of the best stories I have read in some time.
I want to thank Book Sirens, the author, and the publisher, for the opportunity to read this beautiful, gut-wrenching story as a free ARC. This review is voluntary and is mine alone.
November 5, 2024
This is the sequel to Our Kept Hearts, and once again, I am utterly captivated.
This part of the story takes place during the Vietnam War. Hazel and Joel were already weathering the storm from a personal loss when Joel received his draft letter in the mail. My heart sank with and for them. I shared in Hazel’s anxiety as she said goodbye to her husband, and I felt Joel’s daily fear of being killed in a war that his country forced him to fight in.
The author did an excellent job of incorporating historically-accurate battles into the story. The horrors that many young Americans, both men and women, endured during the war were palpable from the pages.
At first blush, this book is one heartbreak after another, both at home and abroad. But the author methodically places glimmers of hope in the story for both the characters and us, the readers, to hold on to.
This book is hard. It is hard because you are walking a difficult journey alongside characters who you have grown to love, and there is nothing you can do to protect them. But you are so invested in Hazel, Joel, and Ruthie that you would never dream of letting them walk this path alone.
February 18, 2025
What can I even say about this book? It hits hard in the first few chapters & it never lets up! The first book in the series was one of my favorite reads in recent years & this one dialed up the layers, the mystery, the heartache, the action, & the emotional weight multiple times over.
The story covers a family & their local community during the Vietnam War. As the war pulls the community in many directions, we get to see the impact on everyone & how they must fight to keep moving forward. The story is written so beautifully that you feel you're living these events in good times & often bad. The heartbreaks hit hard & you'll grieve as if it's your own life.
If you enjoy stories of family & love overcoming all the ups & downs of life set in a super realistic historical retelling of one of our nation's hardest eras, then this book needs to be next on your reading list. I can't wait for the next book & I bet almost all readers will feel the same. This author is such a master of crafting characters you want to know & you'll feel like you do. She's an auto buy author for me! Do yourself a favor & find out if she will be for you too.
The story covers a family & their local community during the Vietnam War. As the war pulls the community in many directions, we get to see the impact on everyone & how they must fight to keep moving forward. The story is written so beautifully that you feel you're living these events in good times & often bad. The heartbreaks hit hard & you'll grieve as if it's your own life.
If you enjoy stories of family & love overcoming all the ups & downs of life set in a super realistic historical retelling of one of our nation's hardest eras, then this book needs to be next on your reading list. I can't wait for the next book & I bet almost all readers will feel the same. This author is such a master of crafting characters you want to know & you'll feel like you do. She's an auto buy author for me! Do yourself a favor & find out if she will be for you too.
January 24, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to reads and review this book. This book focuses on Hazel, her husband Joel, and Hazel’s sister Ruthie during the tumultuous Vietnam War era. Hazel is a young wife in the south working at a Piggly Wiggly Market and her husband Joel who is an auto mechanic, who is ultimately drafted and sent to Vietnam. Hazel’s sister Ruthie is a young nurse who volunteers to go to Vietnam . The majority of the book focuses on each of their stories and experiences, as a stay at home anxious wife, a young soldier and as a young nurse. I thought that this was an excellent book, well written, well researched, at times so gut wrenching and difficult to read, but at times very heartwarming and shows the goodness of people. This book also had some sub plots that added to the background of the story, but in my opinion did not add to much to the progression of the story. I would highly recommend this story to anyone who is interested in the Vietnam era.
January 26, 2025
Our Scorched Hearts begins five years after the first book ended, and the heartache continues both at home and overseas. The Vietnam war is underway and many men are being drafted. The world is an uncertain place and the three beloved characters from Our Kept Hearts each experience the war in their own ways.
A soldier, a nurse, and a wife at home agonizing over the safety of the people she loves most; the war is shaping them all. The different perspectives help you see the war stripped down and show that no one was unaffected. Back home, though the war is never far from thought, the same difficulties of "normal life" go on and some loose ends are finally tied.
The incredible writing places you in the story; the anxiety, the agony, the suffering. It feels like you're experiencing the story right beside the characters you've grown to love. But even then, the author manages to break through the gloom with rays of hope and second chances.
I hugged the book to my chest when I was finished. It's not often a story pulls me in so completely, and Tennille managed to do that with both the first and second book of the series. Our Mending Hearts is set to be released next year, and I already know I'll be reading it in one sitting the moment it's placed in my mailbox.
5 Stars.
Thank you, Tennille Marie, for my copy of Our Scorched Hearts, and for writing books that I'll never stop thinking about!
A soldier, a nurse, and a wife at home agonizing over the safety of the people she loves most; the war is shaping them all. The different perspectives help you see the war stripped down and show that no one was unaffected. Back home, though the war is never far from thought, the same difficulties of "normal life" go on and some loose ends are finally tied.
The incredible writing places you in the story; the anxiety, the agony, the suffering. It feels like you're experiencing the story right beside the characters you've grown to love. But even then, the author manages to break through the gloom with rays of hope and second chances.
I hugged the book to my chest when I was finished. It's not often a story pulls me in so completely, and Tennille managed to do that with both the first and second book of the series. Our Mending Hearts is set to be released next year, and I already know I'll be reading it in one sitting the moment it's placed in my mailbox.
5 Stars.
Thank you, Tennille Marie, for my copy of Our Scorched Hearts, and for writing books that I'll never stop thinking about!
February 28, 2025
When I read Our Kept Hearts, the first book of The Waldron series I fell in love with the characters, so had to read the second one and I'm still in love with the characters. Loved everything about this book! Tennille Marie really brings the characters and story to life. I hated for the series to end. Hoping she'll write another one!😊
June 16, 2025
This book was phenomenal!! Once again beautifully written with wonderful characters and plot. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. Being a nurse It drew me in even more and there are just not enough historical fiction books involving Vietnam. Loved everything about this. If you want to support a phenomenal Indie writer then BUY this book!! It won’t disappoint. I would recommend this series to anyone. Can’t wait to read another one of Tennille’s books!
November 13, 2024
I must say there will be times where you can’t put it down. Love the characters and love the story.
February 18, 2025
Wonderful read
August 20, 2025
This book was so so good!! I loved all the characters, and the plot twist was perfect but sad. It’s well written, and a must read for anyone who likes historical fiction!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews