Orphaned Hearts

Heart of Africa #1

by Marion Ueckermann

When his wife dies in childbirth, Zambian conservationist Simon Hartley pours his life into raising his daughter and his orphan elephants. He has no time, or desire, to fall in love again. Or so he thinks.

Wanting to escape English society and postpone an arranged marriage, Lady Abigail Chadwick heads to Africa for a year to teach the children of the Good Shepherd Orphanage. Upon her arrival she is left stranded at Livingstone airport…until a reluctant Simon comes to her rescue.

Now only fears born of his loss, and secrets of the life she’s tried to leave behind, can stonewall their romance, budding in the heart of Africa.

Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Novella, Romance, Christian Fiction

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2015

About the author

USA Today bestselling author, MARION UECKERMANN’s passion for writing was sparked when she moved to Ireland with her family. Her love of travel has influenced her contemporary inspirational romances set in novel places.

Visit Marion at her website, www.marionueckermann.net

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The story takes place on an elephant reserve in Africa and it is a wonderful setting for another enjoyable romance from this author. I was pulled into the story line and the lives of the characters from the first pages, and loved the mixture of romance and faith that this author brings in this story. This is one I certainly recommend and I am definitely looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Lila Diller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but Disappointing

Maybe I had expectations that were too high going into this book. The blurb and comments from other readers in the author's Facebook group made me think that this would be an engrossing, clean, Christian Romance. But I was disappointed with the lack of realism and the focus on physical looks, especially the hero's focus on the heroine's body parts.

While there is a scene of spiritual redemption, it felt contrived and fake, seemingly changing his mind for no reason. And the romance felt quite fast, too, after only a week.

There were several wrong words used, punctuation errors, and overly dramatic descriptions (e.g., "the sun glared down with the vengeance of hell" because he forgot his shades).

I also didn't like the head-hopping, changing thoughts between the hero and heroine within the same chapter, and near the end even within the same scene.

I did like the secondary characters and the realistic way that Simon and his daughter Chloe dealt with their emotions. But I won't be rereading this anytime soon.

[Paula Shreckhise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review pending

[Shirley Corder]

This is one of my favourite Ueckermann books. I loved the African setting and the way the story brings two totally different characters together in a gripping story.

[Linda Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphaned Hearts by Marion Ueckermann, A christian romance will take you on a tour of an orphan elephant sanctuary in Zambia on the river Zambezi, below Victoria Falls. What a lush setting, at least part of the year.
A mixture of emotions crossed across Simon's face as he buried his wife beside that mighty river. Here in this spot he is left with a newborn and buried his faith in the same instant.
Five years later, Lady Abigail arrives to work at Good Shepherd's orphanage as a kindergarten teacher and meets Simon at the airport, who gives her a ride to her new home.
We find the two with a growing attraction, assisted by the precocious Chloe,now five years old.
Simon and Chloe find their way into Abigail's heart and she helps Simon find his way back to our Saviour.
I loved the setting, the characters and the showing of God's love in this book.
This book was in Splash, an anthology of summer novellas.
I look forward to more books by this author.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The problem with novellas is that sometimes I enjoy the story so much that I want the author to deepen and unfold the characters and their story. Orphaned Hearts was a well written story about widower and elephant rescue specialist, Simon, and his feisty daughter, Chloe. Simon has mourned the loss of his wife for five years and his life has revolved around his daughter and his elephants. An encounter with the elegant Abigail Chadwick, a kindergarten teacher for the local orphanage, leaves Simon longing for companionship. Can Simon overcome his anger with God, plus let go of his grief and guilt, to have a future with Abigail? Heartwarming story and romance. (Note to my clean read friends: there is mention of alcohol in this story, but it is brief and part of a scene where a meal is being served.)

[Tina at Mommynificent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story, its characters, and its setting. My only complaint was that I wanted so much more! This story, in my opinion, had the potential to be a nice long novel so that we could really get to know not only the main characters better but also the kids in the orphanage, the workers at the elephant sanctuary, and even some of the main characters’ extended families. I wanted to go so much deeper into the emotional and spiritual journeys of the two main characters. I so hope that this writer writes a whole lot more books and that they are long, satisfying reads!

[Cathy]

I read this book in the Splash anthology. It was my favorite story in that anthology. It is about a widower single father and an English teacher promised to marry another. The setting is in Africa. He lives and works at a farm for orphaned elephants. She is a teacher at an orphanage. Their love story is sweet with strong elements of faith. Recommend!

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent way to end this great set of stories used in the Splash boxed set.

Loved the story and the characters in this one. Excellent story one. Very romantic.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sweet, short, delightful story (13 chapters) brought a lot of smiles and memories to my life. I enjoyed reading about Lady Abigail's mission to Africa to work in an orphanage, and laughed when she thought 'where in an African orphanage would she meet someone to fall in love with'. Several facets of the story were very familiar to me. The developing friendship between little five year old Chloe and Miyanda was beautiful, the details on the caring and feeding of the baby elephants was lovely and, of course, the romance found under the beautiful, African sunset was expected - but would the romance be between the Marquis who followed her, a baby orphan elephant rescuer who appeared into her life, or perhaps a handsome local who fell for her beauty.

Read and enjoy a sweet, clean story set in Zambia near the Zambezi River, and learn a little about Mission work among orphan children and orphan elephants and also about the similarities between humans and elephants. Well done, Marion!

[J.E. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphaned Hearts was a wonderfully sweet romance set within the landscape of Africa. Reading the descriptions of the land, made me feel as though I was there with the characters.

The characters of Simon, Lady Abigail & Chloe were well developed and I enjoyed the playfulness between Simon and Abigail. Simon rescued orphan elephants and Abigail worked at a Children's Orphanage. The author matched up the two characters which were from opposite walks of life and created a very interesting storyline.

The references to God and how Abigail tried to help Simon find his faith again was heartwarming.

[Cindy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Orphaned Hearts. I love the setting, the premise, the story. Abigail comes to Africa to teach in an orphanage for a year. She's getting away from a controlling, seemingly uncaring father and an unfaithful fiancé. Simon, a widower with a 5 year old daughter that runs and orphanage for elephants. He gave up on God when his wife died during childbirth. His heart is cold towards God.

I enjoyed how author Marion Ueckermann wove the story of these two souls together. Loved the setting, I could see it in my head. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the Heart of Africa series. Read and be blessed.

[Joan Arning · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will enjoy your time at an African orphanage and at the Elephant Project International. I admired Abigail for leaving her nobility status behind in England and volunteering at the Good Shepherd Orphanage even though it means culture shock! I liked learning about caring for orphaned elephants. Widower Simon runs the Elephant Project and cares for his young daughter. I recommend Orphaned Hearts to others. I received a complimentary e-book from the author. This is my honest opinion.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphaned Hearts from Marion Ueckermann is one. clean romance. The book is a heartwarming story of a brave woman with a big heart who goes to work in an orphanage in Zambia for a year. It is a well written book based on Christian principles. The adventure takes you to this beautiful environment it is a story that will keep you captivated until the end.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a feel good Christian love story. Its setting is most intriguing. The orphans are both children and baby elephants and the owner of the elephant orphanage and the teacher from the orphanage connect and sparks fly,but as perfect as it sounds there’s problems that keep the reader enraptured!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that the setting of this story was Africa and an orphan elephant sanctuary in Zambia on the river Zambezi, below Victoria Falls. I thought it was a very sweet clean romance with faith threads through out the plot.

[Sherry Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphaned Hearts (Heart of Africa)
Another unputdownable book by Marion Ueckermann. This book had so many emotions, such a wonderful story. I love the characters and the the amazing ephelants.

[Terry Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orphaned Hearts was such a delightful story it had me captivated by the very first page. I loved learning about the elephants and Africa. The characters were amazing and very easy to fall in love with. The storyline was great and unique. This was another book of Marion Ueckermann's that I did not want to put down. She did an amazing job with this book and I hope that there is more in this series.