The Lady and the Lionheart: What Makes Fiction Worth Reading

Virginia, 1890: Raised amid the fame and mystique of the Big Top, Charlie Lionheart holds the audience in the palm of his hand. But while his act captivates thousands, it’s away from the spotlight where his true heart lies. Here he humbly cares for his pride of lions as if they were his brothers, a skill of bravery and strength that has prepared him for his most challenging feat yet—freeing an orphaned infant from the dark bondage of a sideshow. A trade so costly, it requires his life in exchange for hers, leaving him tarnished by the price of that choice. As the circus tents are raised on the outskirts of Roanoke, nurse Ella Beckley arrives to tend to this Gypsy girl. All under the watchful eye of a guardian who not only bears a striking resemblance to the child, but who protects the baby with a love that wraps around Ella’s own tragic past, awakening a hope that goodness may yet reign. When their forbidden friendship deepens, Charlie dares to ask for her heart, bringing her behind the curtain of his secret world to reveal the sacrifice that gave hope to one little girl—boldly showing Ella that while her tattered faith is deeply scarred, the only marks that need be permanent are his own.

The Lady and the Lionheart

2017 INSPY Award winner

2017 Carol Award finalist

2017 RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award winner

2017 Christy Award Winner

I am in a book coma. I don’t know what to read anymore. This book is so good. It took me barely one day to finish it and to be honest it is so worth reading. This is actually a book that I want to get for my bookshelf. I have four more book reviews to write, some are actually written already, but once I finished this one I had to recommend it. Literally, right when I finished the book, I was disappointed that I read it so quickly. I looked at the other books I have sitting on my nightstand but could not get myself to start another because The Lady and the Lionheart was such a good read!

This book caught my eye a couple years ago and I was just now able to get a hold of a copy. Let me say, this book deserves every award it has. The story, the plot, and the characters were so well done. This is the first Joanne Bischof book I have read and to be honest, (Note for the author) Joanna you are going to have to work really hard to write a book better than this one. (:

Ella and Charlie were both amazing. Charlie is one of those characters that my younger sister would call swoon worthy and I cannot wait to see his name on her list of book boyfriends. Ella was the kind of character that the readers could feel for in a personal level. Her history was so sad and depressing that you had to like her. But during the sad parts and the happy parts, the whole book was good. I can honestly say that there isn’t one scene that annoyed me. Very few book have that.

So, if you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend it! If you have read it, tell me what you thought about it.

So to end this review, even though it is only February and there are ten more months in the year, this book is already on my favorite books that I have read in 2018! I don’t rate books (except on Goodreads) but I am going to rate this one. And yes this book deserves five bright and shining stars! Well done, Joanna Bischof!!!