The Loyal Heart by Shelley Shephard Gray

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.

Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything. 

After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda’s home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip’s name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.

Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He’s mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.

He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn’t prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about

Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well.

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I have read one other book by Shelley and I have to be honest and say that I don't really connect with her writing. I hate to even say that but there is just something that I can't explain that keeps me from enjoying it fully. 

Basically the story is decent, the setting is nice and the characters are good but I just couldn't love it.

Bottom line is...

I liked the story. I enjoyed the setting and the era the story was set in. I also thought the characters were good. I just couldn't get into this story. I know that there are plenty of people who will very much enjoy it. It just wasn't my favorite. I received this book from the Fiction Guild for free. A positive review wasn't required. All opinions are my own.