Books

Prize of My Heart

Historical Inspirational Romance
Bethany House, March 2012

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Prize of My Heart on Bethany House Website

"Norato brings her characters to life." 4 Stars - Romantic Times Book Reviews

"Ms. Norato's attention to historic detail...will sweep you back in time and keep you there through the whole book. There's adventure, kidnapping, romance, and twists and turns that keep you guessing. All combine to make a worthwhile story that I highly recommend." - MaryLu Tyndall, author of Surrender the Dawn


An unsolved mystery separates ex-privateersman, Captain Brogan Talvis, from his lost son -- his only living relation. Shortly before her tragic demise, his wife abandoned their infant to strangers, refusing to reveal the child's whereabouts. Now, three years later, Brogan has discovered the boy at the home of shipbuilder's daughter Lorena Huntley.

Lorena guards a dark secret about her young charge. She finds herself falling for the heroic captain who has come to claim his newly-built ship, unaware that his motive for wooing her is to befriend the boy he plans on reclaiming as his own.

When Lorena is abducted, helplessly ship bound for England, the perfect opportunity for Brogan to reclaim his son unfolds.  Yet he is haunted by thoughts of Lorena in her dire circumstance, forced to make a heartrending choice between fleeing with his child or rescuing the woman who has begun to capture his heart.



Reviews for Prize of My Heart:

"This wholesome, exciting and thoroughly satisfying novel is a perfect escape.  It filled my mind with the sights and sounds of a harbor town, delicious food and, happy family life, and then it returned me to my own world, contented and enriched." - Tea Time with Annie Kate

 

"Rich language evokes such incredible images that I swear I can still smell the tangy scent of salt in the air!...Prize of My Heart is definitely a delight to read and not one that historical fans dare miss." - Best Reads (2010-2012)-Kav

 

"Her [Lisa's] compelling prose and stirring scenes swept me away into this novel and I found it hard to put down.  This is a captivating story full of all the elements to love in this genre...Prize of My Heart is a gem of a novel and I look forward to more from this promising author." - Mocha with Linda

 

"I don't typically enjoy books in this particular genre, but Norato has made me a believer!  She writes with the perfect blend of romance wrapped in a Christian worldview, suspense and nostalgia.  Her story reads like a beautifully written poem at times.  The description she provides of both the characters and scenery make you feel as if you are right there in the story yourself." - Mother of Three

 

"Prize of My Heart is a very heartwarming story set in the aftermath of The War of 1812.  I wasn't  sure what to expect, but I've ended up with another new favorite author. The characters were well thought about and created, and as we follow their lives through the story we grow to love them as our friends and family!" - SplashesOfJoy

 

"This is such a fun book!  Packed full of adventure with mystery and romance and plenty of twists and turns, all the way to the end I was not sure what would happen.  I loved the characters that Lisa brings to life in this book, people full of history and imperfection that make you feel for them in their present situations." - Cornhusker Academy

Excerpt

Duxboro, Massachusetts, 1815

Captain Brogan Talvis rounded the stern of his newly-constructed, square-rigged ship, when from across the shipyard the sight of a young woman took him aback.

He’d ventured out for an early, private inspection—his first sight of the 880-ton merchantman—and what a beauty she was!  Soon she would be christened the Yankee Heart.  Until then, she rested complete and ready to be launched on a pair of stocks that sloped down the bank into the Bluefish River.

All he’d wanted was a few, solitary moments alone with his precious ship.  An opportunity to reflect on all that had brought him to this seaside town on the south shore of Massachusetts and the mission that still lay ahead.

Brogan had fully expected the yard to be deserted at this early hour—only moments ago he’d caught his first glimmer of the sun behind a horizon of bay inlets and calm waters—but there, in the flat stretch of marshland beyond, among the tall, gently-swaying grass, sat the girl on a broad, flat rock.

He found it odd that she should be alone in such a place.  Her legs were drawn up, spine curved in a long, slim arc with her forehead resting on her knees, her face concealed from view.  Lengthy whorls of ginger brown hair escaped a white cotton kerchief knotted atop her head.  She wore a checked, gingham dress the color of mustard seed relish and Boston brown bread.  From beneath its ruffled hem, the toes of a pair of serviceable shoes pointed toward the river.

Brogan stepped forward, the soles of his black leather Hessians crackling over a clutter of wood chips—golden new chips scattered and heaped over faded, aged ones.  A summer breeze stirred the air, hinting of salt and carrying the fragrances of fresh lumber and pine tar.

As he looked more closely, he noticed the girl’s muslin apron stained with spots of a deep berry red.  A kitchen maid, no doubt, but what business had she, idling about a shipyard at this hour of the morning?  Her presence annoyed him.

Why should he feel so drawn, so curious about her, when a matter of far weightier import occupied his head and heart?

Where Eagles Fly
A Western Time Travel Romance

Now available as an ebook on Amazon for Kindle  --  Buy Now

Winner of the pre-published Maggie Award

Shelby McCoy is a 21st century woman soured on romance. Still single and having reached a milestone birthday, she's off to visit the ranch her sister and brother-in-law are resurrecting as a dude ranch. But instead of finding her sister at the ranch, she encounters the original settlers, the St. Clouds -- from 1886! They claim she's their new cook and that a relative has sent her. A relative? Turns out they are referring to her great-great-great grandmother. How could this be?

Naturally, they find her a bit eccentric, from her clothes to her feisty manner. And bewildered doesn't begin to describe her state of mind. Especially when it comes to one hunky cowboy, Ruckert St. Cloud. He avoids speaking to her and instead talks to her dog or his horse to make his point. Yet he watches her with a focus that seems to see right inside her. He's an enigma, and an arrogant one she's too darn attracted to.

She may be bewildered but no one is more befuddled than Ruckert St. Cloud. He's lived a lonely life, not by choice, but do to his lifelong inability to express himself without the humiliation of stuttering. Yet he craves a normal life, one where he could communicate all his hopes, his dreams, his feelings to a special someone -- a woman who could see past his stuttering to the man he is. Shelby attracts him like no other, perhaps because she's out of place, just like he is. But it's of no matter since he'll never risk her ridicule by speaking directly to her -- he's got too much pride for that. Shelby might say whatever is on her mind, but Ruckert has no such freedom. And as a result, he'll never be able to tell this unique woman what is in his heart.

Shelby, however, is trapped in the 19th century, a time she had only imagined, and adapting to the situation isn't easy -- but it has its comical moments. Still, she must protect her true identity as well as her heart from a frustrating man who is able to tell her more than he realizes by just a glance. Because even if they could break through each other's protective shields, how could either accept the truth of their circumstances or what the future undoubtedly holds.

Lisa Norato has written a funny, emotional and memorably romantic book that will be read again and again. It's the kind of special book with passages you share with others because they touch you, or make you laugh, or pleasantly surprise you. A well-plotted time travel that will keep you guessing right to the end and a tortured hero that will open your heart to the power of love. Well done!

--- Love Western Romance reviews

I Only Want To Be With You
A Sweet Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Now available as an ebook on Amazon for
Kindle -- Buy Now


Marcella Tartaglia is a diligent, ambitious young associate at Gracious Living magazine with top-of-the-masthead dreams. Sent on assignment to England to cover the wedding of the magazine's departing senior editor, Marcella has her heart set on filling the editor's position. Then she meets William Stafford, a "movie star" handsome, motorcycle-riding "bad boy" who also happens to be "the Honorable William John Anthony Grafton Stafford, son of Lord Wiltshire, the Eighteenth Viscount of Wiltshire" and a vicar as dedicated to his congregation as she is to her career. Not one for a weekend fling, William invites her to share his world permanently. Unsure of whether she is cut out to be a vicar's wife, Marcella returns to New York. But can she immerse herself in work so much that she forgets about William? Can any other man hold a candle to the smoldering hunk she left in the English countryside? Norato's debut is sweet and sincere, a defanged Prada by way of a more innocent Bridget Jones.

--- Publisher's Weekly Review