Trial of the Heart By Sierra St. James Deseret Book, 1999. Softcover: 185 pages. ISBN: 1-57345-493-1 Suggested retail price: $12.95 (US)
Reviewed by: Katie Parker

I wanted to read this Deseret romance to see how it compares to Covenant's line of romances. My conclusion is that, while it's a pleasant read, it lacks the ingredients that have been crucial to Covenant's success.

The story begins with Jamie Young, a 21-year-old LDS college student, starting a job as a cleaning lady for the wealthy and disagreeable Mrs. Walden. After several run-ins with her, Jamie decides to try to become her friend. Mrs. Walden's initial response is chilly, but (of course) she soon warms up to Jamie and even confides in her. When Mrs. Walden dies unexpectedly, both her money-loving family and Jamie are shocked to learn that Mrs. Walden had recently changed her will to leave her vineyards to Jamie. The vineyards are essential to the family's wine business, which is the key to their wealth. The family had expected that one of them would inherit the vineyards and their business would continue as usual, but instead they now belong to Jamie, who is thinking that perhaps she should turn the vineyards into a park or something altruistic. Mrs. Walden's grandson Clay sets out to negotiate with Jamie to get the vineyards back. Clay is in his 20's, good-looking, and very charming. During the course of the "negotiations," Clay and Jamie fall in love. Jamie must then grapple with the fact that she's in love with a nonmember with a completely different lifestyle, as well as the problem of what to do with the vineyards since she believes that making and selling wine is immoral. Furthermore, as a result of Clay's different upbringing and lifestyle, he sees marriage as a trap and doesn't want to be tied down.

It's not a bad story, but it's nothing profound. The writing itself is decent, and the banter between Jamie and Clay is often reminiscent of Jack Weyland's style, which is amusing if not realistic. Sierra St. James has a good handle on dialogue and uses it quite a bit. The problem I found with the book was that it seemed too forced. For one thing, Clay and Jamie don't seem to have much basis for their relationship. They seem to have fun teasing each other, and they are physically attracted to each other and kiss a fair amount, but there isn't much to it other than that.

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(SPOILER ALERT -- IF YOU CAN'T ALREADY GUESS HOW IT ENDS)

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The ending also troubled me a little. Clay (of course) gets baptized, after he has a dream in which he's talking with Jamie in the future. The Jamie of the future is blissfully married to one of the Institute guys and raising lots of kids. Clay realizes that the kids were supposed to be his kids, but he lost his chance to have them. He decides that this is what he really wants and what will really make him happy.

This is all fine and well, but it's all solved too easily. I didn't see enough evidence that this one event would change everything for Clay. It's an interesting place to start, but I think it would take a lot more convincing than that for this man, content with his classy and free lifestyle, to feel happy with the idea of giving up his share in the family wine business, marrying his grandma's cleaning lady instead of dating someone within his social circuit, and raising a bunch of whiny kids. I'd like to see, realistically, how he's going to feel in a few months or a few years when reality sets in. I would guess that he'd have some regrets, flack from his family, and a much larger struggle ahead of him. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I could even see him abandoning his new life altogether. This, of course, is not hinted at in this book. I would hope that any sequel would address this struggle and not simply leave Clay and Jamie in perfect bliss.

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(END SPOILER ALERT)

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So how does this Deseret romance compare to Covenant romances? Well, it follows a different formula. Covenant's formula is to show an overwhelming need for the couple to get together. The man and the woman understand each other deeply and completely. Often the man "saves" the woman from some crisis. And the spiritual confirmations are strong. This is not necessarily realistic, but I would guess that this formula provides more of the emotional involvement that romance readers look for.

Trial of the Heart follows more of the Weyland formula: the hero and heroine meet, tease each other, have some fun times, touch on some serious ones, and everyone gets converted in the end and they live happily ever after. It lacks only the big preachy message, although there are some moments which could give food for thought. It's solved too easily for my taste, and I was left with some serious reservations on how happy they'd really be together. Still, it's a fun book and the writing itself flows well. It's apparently an adult novel, since the characters are in their twenties, but I don't see why youth couldn't enjoy it as well. For anyone who's looking for a fun, simple LDS romance, this is a fine one.