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Verna Cyril
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Heart of a Slave: A historical drama Kindle Edition

by Verna Cyril (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 281 ratings
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A warrior’s daughter should never show weakness even when the earth falls apart under her feet...




Siwhetta, an African girl, is captured and sold into the slave trade in 1814 and shipped to the West Indies. Despite her initial resistance, she is ensnared in a steamy love affair with the young, noble aristocrat, Dimitri. However, as the daughter of a tribal warrior, Siwhetta is defiant, passionate, and determined to return to her homeland.

Dimitri, on the other hand, enamored of this nubile, ebony beauty is possessive and takes what he wants, and thus far, his eyes are set on Siwhetta. Intent on possessing her, he will stop at nothing to get her into his arms even if it meant breaking every rule in the book.

TRIGGER WARNINGS : HEART OF A SLAVE INCLUDES SEXUAL, PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE


Excerpt



Siwhetta inhaled and looked into his cobalt eyes and pointed out calmly, “I am a slave and you are the slave master’s grandson.” Siwhetta repeated then began to sob. “This is not what I want. I would like to experience true love like my parents did. One day, I would like to live a normal life again. I don’t want this!” She began pushing at him again.
Defeated, Dimitri rolled on his back next to her on the ground. He looked at the canopy of trees hanging over their heads. There was no doubt that he cared for her. He wished he knew how he could make her trust him. “I will take you home with me.”
Horrified, Siwhetta gasped then turned to look at him. She searched his eyes curiously.
As if he knew that she doubted him, he repeated: “I will take you home with me.”
Siwhetta sat up with relief, heart palpitating. She finally felt like there was hope; that she could finally have a life of freedom again; a chance to fall in love; a chance to have a family; to start a new life somewhere new. Tears of joy finally ran down her cheeks. “I can finally be free again?” she placed her hand on her chest in disbelief. “Maybe,” she paused, biting on her lower lip then whispered in awe, “maybe someday go back home?”
Dimitri tensed, he scowled. “You will remain with me.”
As if wounded, Siwhetta grimaced then lowered her head in confusion. She lifted her chin proudly and with blazing eyes yelled, “I would never!”
Dimitri said, firmly,“You will remain with me.”

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  1. Print length
    217 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    March 10, 2020
  5. File size
    797 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Heart of a Slave" by Verna Cyril is a horrific tale of a young, Black female, Siwhetta's experience of being captured by assilants and sold into slavery.The author gives an evocative description of the horrendous and gruesome treatment Siwhetta endured during her journey on the slave ship.What I liked most about the story was how vividly Cyril was able to bring to life the deprivation and afflications Siwhetta faced as a slave. "Heart of a Slave," was a fast paced story filled with twist and turns and it left me wanting to read more

About the Author

Hi everyone, my name is Verna Cyril. I am a wife and a stay-at-home mom of two beautiful children who can be quite a handful. I am fascinated by history and nature. Also, in my quiet time, I enjoy listening to my favorite genre of music which, funnily, happens to be 80's music. Along the way, I make time to write. Please don't hesitate to share with me your thoughts and your favorite excerpts in my new book "Heart of a Slave". I will be happy to chat with you all day about Dimitri and Siwhetta. Thank you for the reads and continued support.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B084F8YQ8T
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon (March 10, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 10, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 797 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 217 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B087SCJYMV
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 281 ratings

About the author

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Verna Cyril

Verna Cyril

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From an early age, Verna was fascinated by the written word and she devoured anything in print that she could lay her hands on. As she progressed, her knowledge of the world and the intricacies of human behavior increased and fired her imagination to express herself in the fantasy of conjuring stories that were spellbinding much to the delight of family members and a growing circle of friends and admirers.

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Other than the hours she spends daily reading, writing and researching, Verna devotes time for her family, especially being outdoors with them and enjoying nature. Verna is amiable and loves meeting her readers and other people as there is so much she learns from others in an intimate one-to-one discourse.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
281 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Super Great
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2022
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this beautiful yet heart wrenching story. I am glad to see the happy ending instead of the usual tragic ones.
One person found this helpful
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A. Sykes
4.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably good!
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
The title tells you volumes. If you can not stomach forced sexual encounters, physical abuse, and mental mistreatment. Then this story is not for you. It has all those things.
Siwhetta has to endure being removed from her tribe as a member of royalty to slavery. She takes on the role of healer to other slaves on the plantation. Her beauty catches the eye of some undesirable men. It also catches the eye of Dimitri, the rebellious grandson of the plantation owner. Despite Dimitri's love for Siwhetta, he can not control his urges and treats her no better than the other men that wanted her. Dimitri is possessive, controlling, and does not think he is doing Siwhetta worse than other's would.
I downloaded this book through my kindle unlimited subscription. It sat in my library for a while. I thought about returning it unread. I am so glad I did not. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It did not paint a unicorn and rainbow version of slavery. It was as realistic as it could get.

I think anyone that likes historical fiction romance will enjoy reading this book. Again, it does not sugarcoat slavery. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Happy reading and happy writing! :)
One person found this helpful
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ELM
5.0 out of 5 stars Hot! But Not for Sensitive Readers
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
Dimitri is a forceful but typical and honest depiction of a man in this time period. His possesiveness, honorable reputation and conflicting morals are interesting to watch interact with each other. He is not a good guy per say, but so so hot!

Overall "Heart of a Slave" is exactly what romantic fiction should be--heroic, suspenseful and sexy! The story and power play will make you feel conflicted about finding it hot. But isn't that what we want anyway? I thouroughly enjoyed it and commend the author's unglamourous handling of slavery. She added texture & backdrop to the era without letting the differences between lovers overpower the story. Nice surprise!

BE AWARE: It might upset more sensitive readers or dissappoint someone wanting a light warm-and-fuzzy love story.
4 people found this helpful
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Becky
3.0 out of 5 stars Old school ripper style
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Siwetta is taken from her African homeland and sold into slavery. She arrives on a plantation in the West Indies where she is doing her best to survive each day and stay strong for the people around her. As she tries to learn her new life as a slave, she catches the eye of Dimitri. What happens next is whirlwind of action, pain, loss, and love.

I think people who adore the old school romances of the day that gave 'bodice ripper' the name they deserve should give this book a try. Stories that are heartbreaking, saga-like in all the characters endure. If you were a fan of Stormfire by Christine Monson, this might be your thing.

While the consent issues aren't a make or break it in a story for me, I need a lot of groveling from the hero to forgive those actions. I felt like there wasn't enough regret and turn around in the hero from his beginning behavior to the end of the book and that is ultimately why I give 3 stars.

Major safety issues with this book. (Possible spoilers)
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Rape by multiple characters of the heroine including the hero, murder, death, miscarriage
3 people found this helpful
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Stephanie Freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2020
Verified Purchase
As an admirer of historical romances, I’m always intrigued at how during some of the darkest times in history, love still manages to find a way. In Verna Cyril's book the same thing holds true. That spark… that connection between the characters, not just Dimitri and Siwhetta, but every character really resonated with this reader. From the Door of No Return to crossing the Middle Passage, Verna Cyril's attention to detail was amazing! Excellent read!
4 people found this helpful
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KristinElaine22
4.0 out of 5 stars Fast Read
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2020
Verified Purchase
Siwhetta and Dimitri- at first I was thinking slavery, she’s gonna die. And why does he care about her so much? I did get lost a few times in the story.
Mind you I finished this book in one night and I generally don’t read historical romance novels.

In the beginning, she’s 18 and by the time it ends she’s in her early to mid-20s. Dimitri is 21 when it begins and by the time it ends the mid to late 20s maybe he’s even 30.
So she gets kidnapped from Africa and is brought to St. Kits.
She has a very fiery spirit that won’t die-which is good. A small but mighty force to reckon with.
And Edgar is such a good character- she seemed like a more developed character than Siwhetta.
And Siwhetta cries a lot!!! 😭😭
Like stop 🛑 crying 😭.

Some of the parts seem to jump around a bit but it seems to come full circle.

His brother is a big jerk.
I’d like to know what happens to Dimitri’s friend Nathan when they get back to England.

The whole Dimitri is a spy kinda threw me for a loop.


Maybe we get to know more about their life in England and their babies and what other craziness Dimitri has up his sleeve
3 people found this helpful
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Cbear
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Indeed
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book was worth every bit of my time. I am usually a busy person but during this lockdown of covid-19, I embraced my romance novel reading once again. The different emotions while reading propelled me to read page after page. I am indeed impressed. This book was able to tap in my imagination almost as if I was the producer to a movie. Well put together. I hate that it ended
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

RANA
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!
Reviewed in Canada on April 13, 2020
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book, although I'm saddened by everything Siwhetta went through. I liked Dmitri in the beginning but by the time he met the heroine, I didn't like him. The book was well written and I can't wait for more by this author.
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