The Emerald Heart of Courtenay

by Anita Stansfield

The moment her father takes his final breath, Sarah Courtenay becomes the sole heir of her family’s sprawling castle—and something far more unexpected. For on his deathbed, Lord Courtenay left his daughter a cryptic message: a dark curse will fall upon the house should Sarah fail to obtain and protect a priceless treasure. Sarah’s astonishment upon discovering the carefully hidden sword sparkling with jewels is nothing compared to the shock she feels when she learns the nature of her father’s death: he was poisoned. And now, Sarah herself might possess something worth killing for. Desperate to avoid her father’s fate, Sarah flees the only home she’s ever known, taking with her a loyal maid and a hired bodyguard, who will stop at nothing to protect the beautiful woman in his care. From the safety of a remote farm, Sarah finds a renewed measure of peace and hope for the future. But the sinister weapon that glitters amid her belongings in that small farmhouse beckons a shadowy enemy, one who will not be deterred from taking everything from Sarah—including her life

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Clean Romance

226 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2019

About the author

Anita Stansfield, the LDS market's #1 best-selling romance novelist, is an imaginative and prolific writer whose romantic stories have captivated her readers.

"With sales approaching a half million, Anita Stansfield has clearly found a niche in this market," said Nicole Martin, Publicist for Covenant Communications. "Her popularity stems from her ability to empathize with and write about the issues that LDS women deal with on a daily basis."

"I always write for women like me. It's through my interaction with other women that I've found there are some personal and emotional struggles that are typical," said Anita Stansfield. "I hope my writing makes women feel better about themselves and shows them these real problems can be solved through gospel principles."

Reviews

[Crystal (Books Are Sanity!!!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to start by saying that I loved the story...the intrigue, the slow budding romance, and the mystery surrounding this priceless treasure. Sarah and Darius were strong characters that I found easy to like. That said, I felt that a lot of the story was the author telling us what was happening or had happened, not showing us. There were parts that I could have skipped altogether because it was so slow moving and nothing was happening at all. Overall, I loved the story itself, I just felt like it could have been improved by showing us what was going on and editing out the parts where absolutely nothing happened. You will definitely find yourself rooting for Sarah and Darius in The Emerald Heart of Courtenay! I received a copy of this book for free. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were lots of things I liked about this book, like that the characters got to know each other before they got married 😂 and a couple of twists I didn't see coming...but I really wished that the narrator would have stepped back and let us have more direct interaction with the characters. It felt like things were usually being explained ( maybe to keep things shorter?), but I felt I like it made things repetitive ( the narrator explaining how the character was feeling, then the character actually explaining it themselves) and limited our opportunity to see the characters and situations for ourselves rather than the narrators perspective.

[Cassie Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so boring. There was a surprising lack of action/conflict for a book about murder.

[NaDell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to read a preview copy ahead of the July 1st release of this book.
I was hooked in with the story, but most of the book was very slow moving and even a little bit repetitive. The titles for the chapter headings gave away what was about to happen too (along with the blurb on that back that took about halfway through the book to get to something new).
Did the characters have personalities? Oh, yeah! I loved the characters and their very real qualities.
So while I liked the story itself, it wasn't a homerun to me.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is probably my favorite Anita Stansfield novel ever! The way she wrote her characters, plot, and setting just combined to make the perfect book. I didn’t want to put it down!

This whole book is written through the eyes of Sarah Courtenay. Sarah’s father dies in the first chapter. And it isn’t much after that that the reader learns that her father was killed. And there’s some concern that Sarah will be next. I loved the way the author did this. It just created enough suspense that the reader is entranced and wants to keep reading to find out what will happen to Sarah.

Sarah is a great character! She’s kind, compassionate, smart and willing to put herself in danger for her friends and family. But she’s an heiress, so she goes into hiding with Darius, the man hired to be her bodyguard. I loved the relationships that Sarah forms with those around her. Her aunt, is a great example of someone that Sarah cares for, even though she is a bit of a whiny woman. I loved the way Poppy and Sarah loved and cared for each other through the whole book.

The plot of this one is great! I loved the way the reader never quite knows who the killer is until the end, when it’s revealed by the author.

This is such a great book! Make sure to read it!

I was sent a copy of The Emerald Heart of Courtenay as a gift from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[Rachel DeVaughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several of the author's books (and loved them!) but this one wasn't one of my favorites unfortunately. It was pretty slow moving throughout most of book so I had a hard time staying interested.

I liked the main characters especially Sarah and the story line was fairly interesting. There was definitely some intrigue and suspense during the book as we as readers are left wondering who poisoned Lord Courtenay, why is the sword so important, and who is trying to harm Sarah??

I received a copy of this book complimentary for blog and social media review. All opinions are my own.

[Trish Pettingill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the story line but found the internal dialogue repetitive.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Slow, boring and predictable - very weak plot and repetitive dialogue. I couldn’t have finished it but was listening to the audio book while working my garden .

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so adored this story! With a handsome man as her protector and her best friend in tow, the maiden must flee for her life. But, when trouble follows her, she realizes she needs to face the killer and claim her rights as heir of Courtenay. You will be surprised at the twists in this story and where the "emerald heart" lays. AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL!

[Aleta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like Victorian novels but I just couldn’t get into this one. I don’t have much time to read but it was easy to put this one down and not care too much. Partly I had trouble believing in it with the dialog and language. Did they call law enforcement “police” back before there were cars, or “constables”?
I do appreciate a clean romance novel and mystery, suspense and action and this book had some of that. It was however fairly predictable. Still, I had to see it through for the happy ending.

[Tressa (Wishful Endings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE EMERALD HEART OF COURTENAY is a story of loss, danger, friendship, and romance while a young woman flees to safety after her father's death when she finds her life is in danger. Those who are fans of Stansfield's other books will enjoy this one.

The beginning of this story starts right in to when Sarah is losing her father and is trying to come to terms with a secret he shared with her that she finds quite unbelievable. Then she finds that what he shared may actually be true and that someone killed him. She is sent away with a bodyguard for safety. The story moves at a steady pace with some pivotal moments to this point, but then slows down quite a bit as Sarah and her companions wait to see what will happen and if the murderer will be found. The story picks up again towards a somewhat climatic ending.

For the most part, I liked these characters. They were fairly straight-forward, not as complex as I would have liked, but overall they were easy to cheer on. I did have issues with the story being told to me instead of experiencing it with the characters. It easily lost my interest in places and I didn't find a lot of the dialogue or actions of the characters to be terribly realistic (such as hardly any dialogue between two of the characters as well as them not spending much time together and then all of a sudden they're in love; also calling the "police" when it would have been the magistrate or the highest ranking lord in the vicinity during that time period). The ending was very sweet.

In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a quick and light read with some suspense and romance. I wanted more development to the characters, story, and historical period, but I think some of that is the author's style, which may not be for me. Fans of the author will be sure to enjoy it.

Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not require a positive review nor affect my review in any way.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Sarah's father dies from a sudden illness, she has no idea that he's been murdered. When she learns that he was poisoned and that it might be related to a family heirloom that her father just barely revealed to her, she's not sure what to do. When some of those closest to her insist on hiring a bodyguard for her, in case she to is a target, she's not happy about it. But another tragedy makes it clear that she is indeed at risk. She doesn't expect to fall in love with her new bodyguard or feel so at home in her hiding spot. As she faces the unknown she must decide what she really wants and what's she's willing to give up to get it. I quite enjoyed this new book by Anita Stansfield. The build-up and suspense is superbly done with the tension building from the very first page. I especially enjoyed Sarah as a character, she's rather an unusual lady in that she's not proud or greedy, her best friend is her personal maid. And she has no trouble accepting her growing feelings for her bodyguard, even though he's from a different class. The author also does an excellent job disguising the culprit. The guilty party isn't really obvious, which leads Sarah and Darius back to Castle Courtenay in search of answers when hiding doesn't get them any closer to answers. The love story between the two is sweet and gentle, but Darius has his past to deal with and Sarah of course must deal with the challenges of her present. If you enjoy historical suspense with great details and a sweet romance, I can easily recommend this one.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been a long time since I have read a book by Anita Stansfield, but I used to read her books religiously. First I will say that I was pulled in by the title. It's very intriguing. What's interesting, though, is that after having not read a book by her for awhile, I found that I was a little put off by the repetition. I felt like the story could have been a lot shorter if some things were taken out. I was bored by some of the middle part, as well as constantly being told how grateful Sarah was for everything. I had flashbacks to past books of Anita Stansfield's where the characters have all these inner monologues of how grateful they are for things. That's great and all, but I don't need to hear about it all the time. It just drags out the story and I was anxious to find out the mystery. That definitely says a good thing about the book, that I was interested in the mystery, and I was dead wrong about who the culprit was. I just wanted to get to the whodunnit a little more quickly.

[Charity Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anita Stansfield was once my favorite author but lately her books seem to be dragging and dull, but her latest had me intrigued from the very beginning. The Emerald Heart of Courtenay helped give me hope that her writing is getting good again, for I was glued to this book. It is different from anything I’ve seen her write. A romance with a subplot of mystery. In fact, I didn’t see the ending coming. It was brilliant.

Former Anita fans should give this book a try and any romance readers in general. You’ll come to love Darius yourself.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this kind of story, but I kept cringing throughout this book. I'm no writer, but the narrative was slow, repetitive, and kept stating the obvious. 80% of the book is Sarah worrying that they won't find the person who killed her father and Evan, and that she'll never feel safe. 15% of the book is about how comfortable Sarah and Poppy feel at the cottage in the woods. 5% goes to everything else.

[Luci Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good gothic mystery with secrets, murder and suspense.
The author did a great job of keeping the mystery alive, while developing the relationship between the hero and heroine.
I enjoyed this storyline and would recommend reading it. I did find that the plot did tend to drag a bit while the hero and heroine were getting to know each other. But I did not figure out the plot until the very end!

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

An idyllic existence except for the small problem of a murder and death threats. Maybe I'm just a fiction snob, but this one didn't capture my imagination.

Most of the book focuses on the pleasant visit with David and Daphne. It's restful in that sense and would probably make a great fluffy beach read.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beginning was slow going, then it picked up speed and interest about page 150 as the plot thickened with danger, mystery, and the mutual interest of the characters and their secrets.

Someone is trying to kill the courtenay family off, but why?

[Abbie Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out boring, took awhile to pick up, then just when it got exciting, it ended just like that. Could've easily had another 100 pages of build-up to the catching of the criminal, and a better fight scene. Would not read again.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book, and really liked the story and narrator.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the essence of story, but it dragged a bit in the middle

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great set of well developed characters, sweet budding romance and an interesting mystery to solve. Overall I loved the storyline but it moved along a little too slowly.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow start and rather predictable story line.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to this book.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clean romance mystery. Fun book!

[Christi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED the story line. Loved it! The writing style is not my favorite.

[Bartdl01 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Once again Anita has created a beautiful story that is full of surprises. There were so many twists and turns to keep me guessing throughout. Definitely a great read.