Love's Fortress

by Jennifer Uhlarik

Overview

A Love Story from the Past Brings Closure to Dani’s Fractured Family

Walk through Doors to the Past via a series of historical stories of romance and adventure.
 
When Dani Sango’s art forger father passes away, Dani inherits his home. Among his effects is a book of Native American drawings, which leads her to seek the help of museum curator Brad Osgood to decipher the ledger art. Why would her father have this book? Is it just another forgery?
 
Brad Osgood’s four-year-old niece, Brynn, needs a safe home, and Brad longs to provide it. The last thing he needs is more drama, especially from a forger’s daughter. But when the two meet “accidentally” at St. Augustine’s 350-year-old Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos, he can’t refuse the intriguing woman.
 
Broken Bow is among seventy-three Plains Indians transported to Florida in 1875 for incarceration at ancient Fort Marion. Sally Jo Harris and Luke Worthing dream of serving God on a foreign mission field, but when the Indians arrive in St. Augustine, God changes their plans. Then when friendship develops between Sally Jo and Broken Bow and false accusations fly, it could cost them their lives.
 
Can Dani discover how Broken Bow and Sally Jo’s story ends and how it impacted her father’s life?

Don’t miss other great books in the Doors to the Past series:
The Lady in Residence by Allison Pittman
Hope Between the Pages by Pepper Basham
Bridge of Gold by Kimberley Woodhouse
Undercurrent of Secrets by Rachel Scott McDaniel
Behind Love’s Wall by Carrie Fancett Pagels
High Wire Heartbreak by Anna Schmidt

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781636091815
Publisher:	Barbour Fiction
Publication date:	03/01/2022
Series:	Doors to the Past
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,087,342
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a preteen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a BA in writing, she has won five writing competitions and was a finalist in two others. In addition to writing, she has held jobs as a private business owner, a schoolteacher, a marketing director, and her favorite—a full-time homemaker. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and is a lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenage son, and four fur children.

Editorial Reviews

02/14/2022

Uhlarik (Sand Creek Serenade) puts a triumphalist spin on colonization in this problematic dual-narrative historical. In 1875, young evangelists Sally Jo Harris and her intended, Luke Worthing, befriend Broken Bow and Painted Sky, two of the 73 Native Americans imprisoned at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida. In present-day St. Augustine, Dani Sango inherits her estranged, art-forger father’s home, where she finds a piece of Native American art dating back to the late 19th century. With the help of handsome art curator Brad Osgood and Matty Joie, co-owner of Dani’s father’s motorcycle ministry, Dani traces the artwork’s history and makes a life-changing discovery about her past. Uhlarik weaves providence into her story through the ostensibly chance meetings of characters uniquely suited to meet each other’s needs, such as when Dani first runs into Brad, who has the expertise to help her uncover the provenance of the art. However, the 19th-century story line fails to capture the complexity of Native American and colonist relations, providing an overly sympathetic portrait of colonizers. Though historical romance fans might enjoy this, its exaltation of proselytism will turn off some readers. Agent: Linda Glaz, Hartline Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Told in split time, Love's Fortress is a captivating story of love, loss, family, and faith. Readers will find this beautifully told and well-researched story difficult to put down, intrigued by the historical as much as by the contemporary. 

— Eva Marie Everson, president of Word Weavers International & bestselling author of Dust
 

Love’s Fortress is an engaging, heartfelt dual timeline story. Jennifer Uhlarik skillfully explores the wounds of our nation’s past alongside the wounds of her characters’ pasts. Romance, faith, and a satisfying ending complete this lovely novel.

 — Heidi Chiavaroli, Carol Award-winning author of Freedom’s Ring and The Orchard House


This dual-timeline just might be Uhlarik’s best yet! In the present day, an unexpected and unwanted inheritance leads to a journey of discovery and truth, and God’s grace and love. In the past, the revelation of dark secrets leads to a place of courage in the midst of self sacrifice. By turns heart-warming and heart-wrenching, this story touches some of the deepest places of the soul.
 
— Shannon McNear, 2014 RITA® nominee, 2021 SELAH winner, and author of Elinor and the upcoming Mary, books 1 and 2 of Daughters of the Lost Colony

Fans of dual-timeline fiction won’t want to miss Jennifer Uhlarik’s contribution to the multi-author Doors to the Past series. Uhlarik sheds light on a heartbreaking portion of American history and one woman’s search for the truth about her estranged father, weaving together the past and present to show that things are often not what they seem.  Readers will love the satisfying way these two timelines tie together.
—Amanda Cox, author of the 2021 Christy Book of the Year, The Edge of Belonging and The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery 
 

Love’s Fortress is a dual timeline that blends real history with a sweet romance, a clear faith element, and a contemporary mystery. I’ve read many of Jennifer Uhlarik’s books, always historicals, and was very pleased with how strong her contemporary writing is. Her historical storyline is thoroughly researched and compelling, as always. There’s something in this book for everyone!

—Pegg Thomas, award-winning author of Maggie’s Strength

 

“In Love’s Fortress, Jennifer Uhlarik unlocks a fascinating and tragic door into the past, escorting readers back to the journey of the Plains Indians and their treasured ledger art. As the present-day characters in this time-slip novel chase after God’s providence and the truth about the past, they uncover a number of surprises along the way. A beautiful portrait of hope in the hardest of circumstances!”
—Melanie Dobson, Carol Award-winning author of Catching the Wind and Hidden Among the Stars

From the Publisher