Marianne Phillips would obey her father no matter what. Although, secretly she had no respect for her father, she knew that she truly loved him and would do as he asked. Her father, Weston Phillips, had big plans for Marianne which included her marrying a Spanish gentleman twice her age in order that he himself could gain even more wealth.

Not only was Marianne faced with the prospect of an unwanted marriage, she was also deeply troubled by her fathers cruel and terrible behavior towards the locals. Soon she learned that he was determined to take away their land, and vowed that someway, somehow she would have to stop him. Unfortunately before she could do that, the locals rebelled against her father and Marianne found herself caught in the middle of a war.

Armando Garcia, the leader of the locals, didn’t want all of the troubles to happen the way they did. He just wanted to make peace and hopefully settle things like gentlemen should. Unfortunately, Weston Phillips didn’t care about playing by the rules, so all of Armando’s people decided they wouldn’t either. However, that decision just may cost him and his people their lives.

AWAKEN MY HEART by Diann Mills was a terrific read. A great love story mixed with a true to life heartbreaking issue that still is prevalent in today’s society. I loved the main character and how she so easily stepped into a role of forgiveness and mercy.

Reviewed by Maisha Walker for The Road to Romance