Review // A Torch in His Heart by Anna Belfrage

A Torch in His Heart Book Cover A Torch in His Heart
The Wanderer Series
Anna Bekfrage
Contemporary Romance
Troubador Publishing
September 1, 2018
Paperback
394
TLC Book Tours

In the long lost ancient past, two men fought over the girl with eyes like the Bosporus under a summer sky. It ended badly. She died. They died.

Since then, they have all tumbled through time, reborn over and over again. Now they are all here, in the same place, the same time and what began so long ago must finally come to an end.

Ask Helle Madsen what she thinks about reincarnation and she’ll laugh in your face. Besides, Helle has other stuff to handle, what with her new, exciting job in London and her drop-dead but seriously sinister boss, Sam Woolf. And then one day Jason Morris walks into her life and despite never having clapped eyes on him before, she recognizes him immediately. Very weird. Even more weird is the fact that Sam and Jason clearly hate each other’s guts. Helle’s life is about to become extremely complicated and far too exciting.


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I was, at first, unsure about reading A Torch in His Heart by Anna Belfrage as it didn’t quite fit within my usual mystery and suspense I typically read. I was skeptical when TLC Book Tours reached out, but I took a chance on the book as I stepped outside of my comfort zone. I’m glad TLC reached out. I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed reading Belfrage’s A Torch in His Heart and felt it to be a great read. I mean, I did read it in ONE day!

A contemporary romance, A Torch in His Heart is an untraditional love triangle between Helle, Jason, and Sam, seeking redemption and revenge. Thousands of years ago, Helle betrothed to Sam, was truly in love with Jason. Betrayal and revenge saw all three eventually dead and through reincarnation, their journey to redemption for one and revenge for another began.

There is such a great flow to reading the book that I could easily read from beginning to end without feeling lost, confused, or that I had missed something. There is a great use of flashbacks to their prior lives and they fall within areas of the chapter where reading is not interrupted. Belfrage went to great length to make sure her book was not choppy for readers.

I found the dynamic of the three characters, Helle, Jason, and Sam, to work well together. Each had a specific role which they fit nicely and all were developed well. Of course, no book would be complete without the supporting characters and those few that are thrown in again serve their purpose for the task at hand for them. However, I can say that I really wasn’t a fan of Alison. I found myself more and more frustrated with her character and the relationship between her and Helle.  

Of course, the story itself is interesting as this is a story of love, loss, and revenge happening through time as Helle, Jason, and Sam are reincarnated over and over again, over thousands of years with both Jason and Sam having one goal for each life – to find Helle. One seeks redemption and one seeks revenge. Belfrage really took the time to develop the path of reincarnation for her characters which led to a wonderful and successful story.

I do want to touch on the fact that this is a contemporary romance book and there is sexual content. There are scenes that may be a bit more graphic in detail than others, so move with caution while reading.

This was definitely not my typical read, and I approached reading A Torch in His Heart without much expectation. I thought I would be let down because similar books within the romance genre for me typically have just been bad reads. I was so pleased when this book did not fall into the same bucket. As this was the first book within The Wanderer series, I definitely want to continue the series and see what happens to the Wanderer next.


Stars: 4 out of 5





Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a professional time-traveler. As such a profession does not exist, she settled for second best and became a financial professional with two absorbing interests, namely history, and writing. These days, Anna combines an exciting day-job with a large family and her writing endeavors. Plus she always finds the time to try out new recipes, chase down obscure rose bushes and initiate a home renovation scheme or two.

Her most recent release, A Torch in His Heart, is a step out of her comfort zone. Having previously published historical fiction & historical romance, with this first book about Jason and Helle Anna offers a dark and titillating contemporary romance, complete with a time-slip angle and hot & steamy scenes.


Congratulations, Anna, on your release! I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!