The Samurai's Heart: The Heart Of The Samurai Book 1

I’ve become nicely acquainted with samurai culture through books and film over the years and have heard about Christianity in early (well, at least, earlier) Japan. So as soon as I learned of this ChristFic novel's existence, it went straight to my TBR list.I must say, the Prologue got me especially pumped. Although I didn’t get quite as pumped about the story again until the last third or fourth of it, it was worth reading and waiting for. I wasn’t exactly wild about the two leading characters at first, who seem to be a mutual mix of much blushing and shrinking away and bouts of naiveté, and I didn’t get a convincing sense of chemistry between them. But they do get their moments to stand up and show some fire, and in due time, they both grew on me.I found much of the narration to be somewhat stilted or simplistic, the development to be a bit choppy in places, and missing quotation marks occasionally disturb the flow between the narration and dialogue. But the story maintains a keen sense of its historical setting throughout the read, and the intrigue eventually took me from being interested to being enthralled.I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the next book in this series.

Okay, so Walt Mussell's THE SAMURAI'S HEART, is one of those novels that is super-hard to properly categorize. It is one part Christian historical, one part adventure, one part romance and one part Kurosawa movie. At the heart of it, the novel is Sen's story, but the battle scene between Nobuhiro and the archer was very gripping.Holy snapping boar snouts!!!I earned this book by nominating it as part of a Kindle Scout program. It was a bit of a no-brainer for me. I was really excited to see a Kindle Scout novel dealing with the samurai tradition. Besides that, I am cheap and when I saw this novel listed in a Kindle Scout campaign I was very certain that the author, Walt Mussell, had got himself a winning entry.As you see, I was not wrong.In fact, I am NEVER wrong, as I often tell my wife. Mind you, I am often somewhat incorrect, and occasionally misguided, and sometimes I am completely off the mark - but I am never rong.Err...I mean wrong. I received the opportunity to read this book through the always wonderful Kindle Scout program. The opinions expressed are my own.yours in storytelling,Steve Vernon

The Samurai's Heart is an excellent story that has two main characters, one apprentice swordsmith from a samurai family, and one Christian woman from a swordsmith family. There are a number of other important characters, both from their families and outside.Through the story, the character development is excellent. Most changes happen gradually and logically. Some changes felt sudden, but they were actually long-term changes that simply weren't obvious.There are so many great things about the story, I couldn't list one favourite. There are many layers that are all expertly woven together. It never seems too complex or too simple, and there's always multiple ways of thinking about the same thing. It helps if you have an idea about the way of the samurai before starting this story, else some concepts might not make sense (especially that of ritual suicide, and the 'death before dishonour' mindset).The pace of the story is great. It's steady, with moments of high action or high emotion. The story never felt boring; even when little was happening, we were still learning about the setting or the characters. The descriptions were good, without being too detailed.The story is emotional in places, and that's a strength of the writing. The story really made me feel for the characters and get to know them. Some events are foreshadowed, if you look closely enough. If you just want to be along for the ride, you won't be left behind. The plot twists make sense, and almost everything is tied up. One thing is left open, though I certainly won't spoil it for anyone!Overall, I highly recommend this story. It's one of the very best I've read in the last few years and I'll buy the next books as soon as they're out.Content warning: This story doesn't contain foul language. The only mild warning is about religion. As the blurb details, this is a book with samurai and Christianity. If you don't like reading about any religions, this story isn't for you.

I found myself able to connect to the character Sen quite quickly and as her story unfolded I couldn't help but to root for her throughout. I also loved how the author was able to weave in elements of Christianity and faith without sounding preachy and the use of religion and beliefs benefited the story in my opinion.With this being a historical piece I appreciated the attention to detail and the authors skillful way of explaining terminology in the story without oversimplifying and over explaining things. Nobohiro and his brothers were easy to connect with as well and the tension in the father son relationship was very believable.I also was not prepared for the betrayal that ended up happening and I am usually able to guess those types of things fairly quickly. If you like historical fiction then pick this book up or download it and enjoy.I did read this after I selected it and it was chosen for publication by kindle scout.

This book's rare setting alone is enough to tempt a horde of historical fiction fans. The story is saturated with the everyday culture and historical climate of late-sixteenth century Japan as well as a healthy dose of suspense and a dash of romance. After months of eager anticipation, I'm so pleased to share my experience of this intriguing literary journey.This book is first in a three part series and while Sen and Naobuhiro's story came to a satisfying conclusion, there seems to be a suspense thread that will continue throughout the series. Now onto the next order of business, eagerly anticipating the release of book 2! I received the opportunity to read this book through the Kindle Scout program. The opinions expressed are my own.

A wonderfully written story that immerses you into old Japan, with Samurai values and honour. The Christian religion is banned, and Sen needs to fine a way to fulfil her duty to her family and to her faith. It's dangerous to be open as Christians are being killed.

This was a good read due to the story line been inline with the history of the time in Japan when they tried to stop Christianity and the romance building between two of the characters,I just couldn't put the book down

very good book