Together Forever

(Orphan Train, #2)

by Jody Hedlund

Description

Marianne Neumann has one goal in life: to find her lost younger sister, Sophie. When Marianne takes a job as a placing agent with the Children's Aid Society in 1858 New York, she not only hopes to give children a better life but seeks to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train.

Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children--firm but tender and funny. Underneath his handsome charm, though, seems to linger a grief that won't go away--and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden. As the two team up placing orphans amid small railroad towns in Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever.

Biography

Winner of 2016 Christian Book Award for fiction and Christy Award for historical romance, best-selling author Jody Hedlund writes inspirational historical romances for both youth and adults.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

My Perspective ~

Ms. Hedlund has a gift for transporting the reader to a different time and place in her writing. Together Forever is no exception. Beginning in New York City with several orphans in need of permanent loving homes, Marianne and Drew work together with children of various ages and backgrounds. In their quest for placing these children the two develop a strong attraction that cannot be denied. The trip is not without tragic circumstances, however. Drew has secrets, as does Marianne. Those past secrets haunt the two, and raise their ugly heads at the most inopportune times.

Hope, compassion, love and devotion are strong points in this novel. Character development is very well done, and the historical details pertaining to the Children's Aid Society placement program are accurate and educational. The children depicted in this book are easy to love. Marianne is the perfect caregiver in this novel. Her developing romance for Drew adds to the depth of the story, as the two seek to overcome past obstacles.  I look forward to the next installment in this interesting series of the Orphan Train. This book could easily be read as a stand alone novel, but reading the series makes it so much more enjoyable!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book with no expectations for a positive review. All expressed opinions are my own.