Longing For Home by Sarah M. Eden + a GIVEAWAY!

Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher: Shadow Mountain (August 5, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1609074610

ISBN-13: 978-1609074616

Twenty-six-year-old Katie Macauley has placed all her hope in Hope Springs, a small town in the 1870 Wyoming Territory. But if she wants to return home to Ireland to make amends with her estranged family, she'll need to convince the influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his payroll as his housekeeper despite her Irish roots. The town is caught in an ongoing feud between the Irish and the "Reds" the frontiersmen who would rather see all the Irish run out of town and the Irish immigrants who are fighting to make a home for themselves in the New World. When Joseph agrees to keep Katie on as his housekeeper, the feud erupts anew, and Katie becomes the reluctant figurehead for the Irish townsfolk. As the violence escalates throughout the town, Katie must choose between the two men who have been vying for her love though only one might be able to restore hope to her heart.

Sarah Eden is one of my very favorite clean romance writers.  It was with glee I responded to the request from Shadow Mountain to review this book.  Seriously?  Uh, yes.  Yes, yes, yes.  Thank you Shadow Mountain for hooking me up with this book to review.  You made my day.

I love historical fiction and combining romance with historical fiction is like raspberries and chocolate to me.  Yummy.  I loved this book.  It was everything I was hoping for when I first laid eyes on it.

When we first meet Katie she is distrustful, prickly and carefully protecting herself.  I love how the Katie's story unfolds for us.  You get to know her and her story a bit at a time.  It's a tragic story and while I found myself filled with compassion and heartache for the young Katie and all she endured, I never felt bogged down and encompassed in negative feelings.  Katie has a real sense of loyalty and honor.  Her fighting Irish spirit has kept her reaching for her goals no matter how the odds seem stacked against her.  It was the moments of music that I really connected with Katie.  Loved those moments in the book.

Tavish.  I'd like to put an order in right now for a Tavish.  First of all, his name is lovely.  If I were to have another boy I would likely name him Tavish.  Honest.  But, alas, no more babies for me.  In the beginning of the story you think you have Tavish pegged right along with Katie.  Too handsome for his own good, flirty, never serious and up to mischief.  But, as the story goes along we get to see the deeper side of Tavish, his hopes and dreams.  I loved him.  He is the perfect compliment to Katie, even if she doesn't know or like it.  :)  Oh, and he grows berries.  I LOVE berries!  

The sense of community among the Irish immigrants really drew me in as well.  I loved their sense of family- how they take care of each other.  It's seriously embarrassing how we as people through time have been so prejudice and mean to groups of people different from us.  Shameful really.  Eden has captured the whole idea so well in this book.

This seriously has to be one of my very favorite Sarah Eden books.  I really fell in love with the characters, the setting and the story.  The romance is gentle and slow, growing more in trust and friendship than anything.  Have I said I love this book yet?  Well, I do.  You should read it.  I will anxiously awaiting the next book in this series.

You can buy this book on Amazon or Deseret Book.

I'm not normal. I'm an author. I spend enormous amounts of time avoiding responsible things like cooking dinner and doing laundry and making vital phone calls. Instead, I fill my days with making up stories, talking to voices in my head, and laughing hysterically at my own wit. Like I said, I'm not normal.

Sarah M. Eden read her first Jane Austen novel in elementary school and has been addicted to historical romance ever since. With a degree in research and a fascination with history, Eden loves delving deep into history. Eden is an award-winning author of short stories and has been a Whitney Award Finalist for her novels Seeking Persephone (Covenant Communications, 2008) and Courting Miss Lancaster (Covenant Communications, 2010). You can visit her at www.sarahmeden.com

I would like to thank Shadow Mountain for generously allowing for this giveaway.  The giveaway is for one physical copy of Longing For Home open to US entries only due to shipping.

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