To Steal a Heart by Jen Turano

To Steal a Heart, by Jen Turano
Series Info: The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency, Book One
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (November 17, 2020)

Review by Kelly Goshorn

I was completely giddy about starting a new Jen Turano series and To Steal a Heart did not disappoint. The book grabbed me from the opening line:

“It was becoming evident that she, Miss Gabriella Goodhue, might very well be arrested in the not-too-distant future, and all because she’d convinced herself that sneaking into a high-society costume ball would be a relatively easy feat, given her past life as a street thief.”

Jen Turano, To Steal a Heart

Set in the Gilded Age amongst the glitterati of the New York Four Hundred, hilarity abounds as Gabriella and the other women of the boardinghouse where she resides open the Bleeker Street Inquiry Agency. Soon after, Gabriella is reunited with childhood friend Nicholas, the chemistry between the pair is immediately evident. Although the romantic tension is palpable, both resist the attraction due primarily to their different positions in society.

I love Gabriella. She is a smart, strong woman but learns that it’s okay to accept help on occasion. I think Nicholas maybe my favorite Turano hero yet. I loved how he used his wealth and position to help many of the people from Five Points. I gushed when he gut-punched one of the characters after he said disparaging things about Gabriella.

The cast of characters adds to the humor and shenanigans in this story. My favorite secondary character was Daphne Beekman. She’s an author of mysteries who seems afraid of her own shadow and is always taking notes and thinking about her next story. (BTW, Daphne is the heroine in book two, To Write a Wrong.) However, the people were nearly upstaged by lovesick Wilson the pirate dog and a kleptomaniac parrot who can’t resist the urge to swipe shiny, sparkling objects.

Although Turano is known for her hilarious jaunts through the Gilded Age, the faith message in Gabriella’s story was not lost on me. Her childhood was rough, and she lived on the streets eventually ending up in an orphanage. She came to believe that God had forgotten all about her. As the circumstances of the story unfold, she realizes that God had provided for her all along. What an excellent reminder of how our loving Father is always working behind the scenes for our good.

To Steal a Heart is filled with love, laughter, intrigue, faith, romance, and plenty of antics to keep you turning the pages. Without a doubt, this is my favorite Jen Turano book yet and I enthusiastically give it five hilarious fish!

I listened to this book on Audible. The narrator, Andrea Emmes, is fabulous. If you like listening to audiobooks, you’ll enjoy this rendition.