A Heart Sufficient

The Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir, Book 4

By: Nichole Van

Narrated by: Mhairi Morrison

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Tristan Gilbert, the autocratic Duke of Kendall, has a clear plan for his future—destroy his father's memory, obliterate his enemies, and become Prime Minister. Fortunately, he can accomplish all three goals by convincing Parliament to prosecute the Scottish Earl of Hadley. Once Hadley is vanquished, surely the Queen will recognize Kendall's readiness for the role of Prime Minister.

But in order to succeed, Kendall must first conquer his own unnerving attraction to Hadley's hoyden of a daughter—Lady Isolde Langston.

Lady Isolde Langston knows impulsivity will be her downfall. Case in point, her heedless actions triggered the Duke of Kendall's current vendetta against her father. Isolde needs to right the wrongs she caused and force the duke to surrender before Hadley ends up jailed. To do this, she decides to torment Kendall at every turn. The arrogant Sassenach will rue the day he crossed her.

But when an unfortunate accident fractures both their lives, Kendall and Isolde unexpectedly face a future neither of them wished. As their romance deepens, can Kendall change his heart sufficiently and Isolde forgive past hurts in order to form a love all their own?

©2024 Nichole Van Valkenburgh (P)2024 Tantor

Heart-breaking Redemption Story

Absolutely stunning story, characters, lessons of forgiveness, redemption, and the narration is perfectly done. Loved this one.

A new all time favorite book!

“A Heart Sufficient” has quickly become my new all-time favorite Historical Romance!

The Duke of Kendall has set a clear path for himself to erase the legacy and memory of his father and become Prime Minister. Part of his path means taking out his enemies, including the Scottish Earl of Hadley, who is Lady Isolde Langston’s father.

After watching the impact of the Duke’s goals on her family, Lady Isolde Langston takes it upon herself to convince the Duke to stop his vengeance towards her father.

The whit and banter of their verbal sparring and “gifts” left for one another had me laughing out loud!

When an unfortunate accident halts both of their efforts, it sends their lives in an unexpected and unwanted direction.

This is a beautiful story of redemption. It’s a story of forgiveness, of opening up your heart to love and learning how to be loved. It’s a story about learning to trust yourself and others.

I was stuck between not wanting to put this book down and not wanting it to ever end. It is pure perfection!!

Grab a cup of tea, cozy up by the fire, and get lost in the pages of “A Heart Sufficient”!

Before you read:
To get the most out of Tristan and Isolde’s story, I highly recommend reading the background of both families by reading the following books by Nichole Van:

Brotherhood of the Black Tartan Series:
Suffering the Scot
Romancing the Rake

The Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir:
Love Practically
Adjacent but only Just
One Kiss Alone

I listened to the books leading up to A Heart Sufficient on audio. The readers were fantastic!

Wonderful!

Captivating, emotional, and love the redemption story, from earlier books in the series. Very good narration with excellent accents.

Closed door Late Regency Early Victorian Era Romance

Edited to now include the audio review!
The audio has finally arrived. The super talented Mhairi Morrison did another fabulous job of narration! Listening to this was even better than reading it the first time! Please do yourself a favor and read this series! If you can't read the whole series, make sure to read these 4 books:
Suffering the Scot (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #1)
Romancing the Rake (Brotherhood of the Black Tartan #2)
One Heart Alone (Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir #3)
A Heart Sufficient (Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir #4)


I just want to start it over again! The audio cannot come soon enough! Favorite book of the year so far!


Book hangovers do exist.

I am not good with words and could ramble on incessantly about my love for this story. I'll try to be more succinct.

I am very much an audiobook lover, especially when accents are involved, and most ardently when those accents are Scottish. I just don't have the talent to hear them in my head. My goal was to wait patiently for this beloved book to be released in audio format. I went so far as to not request an ARC copy. The author then said it would be about 4 months before the audio came out. I still tried! I avoided all spoilers and didn't read reviews even the book blurb, but I couldn't avoid the huge outpouring of love this book was generating.

I spent part of my time relistening to The Brotherhood of the Black Tartan while introducing a new friend. I also relistened to the Penn-Leiths series. Once I got to the part in Making the Marquess that introduces the female main lead, I knew my resolve to wait for the audio was shot. Having just listened to all those Scottish stories helped me so much. Once I read the prologue, nae, the first page, I knew I'd made the correct choice.

Why am I failing to write a review of the book itself? Because I don't want to spoil one tiny part of it for anyone. Just know that if you've read those other books I mentioned, you will see familiar favorites in the most wonderful of roles. This book is perfection in every way. I wanted to start a reread as soon as I'd finished. And I cannot wait to listen to it in a few more months.

If you haven't read those other books (The Brotherhood of the Black Tartan and Penn-Leiths of Thistle Muir) my strong suggestion is to enjoy those first. They are all wonderful and will really add to the experience of reading this book.

Thank you so much Nichole Van for writing wonderful characters and gripping stories.


Trigger content: peppered with some mild swears, multiple conversations about martial intimacy, vague closed door event between married couple, mild description of prostitution/brothel activities, drinking of alcohol

Enthralling

I never tire of this author. It’s hard to imagine she can to a previous story but she continues to build on a storyline that is utterly absorbing. I’m so sad to see this epic tale end. I’ve already listened to previous stories many times over.

A Fantastic Redemption Romance

WHAT IT'S ABOUT
Tristan Gilbert, the determined Duke of Kendall, has three goals: erase his father's tarnished legacy, crush his enemies, and ascend to Prime Minister. His plan hinges on prosecuting the Scottish Earl of Hadley. But one obstacle stands in his way—Lady Isolde Langston, Hadley's spirited daughter who has invaded his thoughts and stirred his heart.

Lady Isolde knows her reckless actions gave Kendall's wrath ammunition. To protect her father, she decides to confront the duke at every turn, from grand balls to his private library. Her defiance enrages him, yet their encounters spark an undeniable chemistry.

When an unexpected accident upends their lives, Kendall and Isolde are forced into an uneasy truce. As passion ignites and old wounds heal, they must decide if love can triumph over ambition and revenge. Can Kendall and Isolde let go of the past to forge a future together?

MY TAKE
I knew Tristan would play a big part (and likely get his own book) when he took part in the Scottish airing of grievances in Adjacent But Only Just, book 2 in this series. He's such a horrible man, so his redemption story would be powerful. We get a lot more insight into him in his twin sister's love story, One Kiss Alone. Then I knew for sure he'd get his own book.

And, oh, my! What a book. I love the prologue that shows us their first meeting a decade before this book takes place. His fascination with Isolde, his search to discover her identity. The crushing blow when he discovers she's the daughter of the man responsible for nearly causing financial ruin on Tristan's family.

And talk about a complicated family! His half brother Rafe who is more the age a father would have been for Tristan gets his love story in another series, Brotherhood of the Black Tartan. If you haven't read those, you totally want to! Trust me.

But Tristan harbors so much animosity and his cruel and physically brutal father made sure he was isolated from friendship. The only kindness Tristan ever experienced was from his mother and his twin sister, both of whom left him (by force) when he was ten. He wants a loving, happy family but he has never been shown how to. Somehow he has to find a way to not be like his father despite his despotic behavior being the only one Tristan knows.

But enter Isolde into his life again. She actually comes from the kind of loving family Tristan would want, one his sister has hinted at. But he is determined to bring down her father, and she is just as determined to block him at every turn.

The forced proximity Van uses is great and allows Isolde especially to see inside of the protective mask Tristan lives behind. She sees the brutalized but tender heart inside. Isolde is just the stubborn woman to heal him and help him to gain his deepest dream.

*sigh*

I listened to the audiobook, and Mhairi Morrison was fab as always.

Toxic and Not Fun

This book is no where near the quality of the prior ones in this series. I loved every single one of the stories, except this one. I loved the poetic phrasing, the colorful imagery, each character was so special. This story is a painful labor. I dislike the main character very very much. He was a villain in the past books. Very disagreeable and just plain ugly. He is hateful, spiteful, vengeful, and is selfish, cruel and thinks only of himself. He’s not a rake because that would require him to share a little something of himself with someone else. It would risk letting loose his death grip on control. The man is a beast and I cannot feel warmth or sympathy for him. We see some beloved characters from the previous stories, but they are flat and empty like cardboard cutouts in this one. I cannot endorse this selection, unless of course, you enjoy standing under a bucket full of cold puke knowing it’s going to spill at any minute. Then, by all means..,