"Longing for Home"

I borrowed this book from my mom, who borrowed it from her niece, who borrowed it from her coworker. It is getting passed around because it is THAT good! Sarah M. Eden is the author of "Longing for Home", and it's sequel, "Longing for Home: Hope Springs". I am going to write about both books in this post.

Katie Macauley has just traveled to Hope Springs, Wyoming Territory, and before even getting off the wagon she loses the job that she traveled all the way out here for. She is alone in the world, having been abandoned by her parents in Ireland 18 years ago, she has been on her own since then. She came to America two years ago to try to earn enough money to buy her parents land, and hopefully their love, back. However, she isn't going to accomplish that without a job. So determination drives her to get off the wagon and follow her would-be-employer to convince him to give her the job he promised.

Joseph Archer is impressed with Katie's tenacity and decides to give her the job, even though he knows he will regret it. Hope Springs is filled with a nasty feud between 'the Irish' and 'the Reds' as the rest of the town calls themselves. By hiring Katie (an Irishwoman) he knows what kind of troubles that this will bring up. Katie, on the other hand, has no idea what she is getting herself into by staying in Hope Springs. The Irish welcome her with open arms, but everyone else is incredibly mean. Through her confusion and troubles two men come to her rescue and her heart is torn in a tug-a-war between them. Joseph, who is a calm and steady rock for her to lean on. Or Tavish, who always knows how to make her smile and laugh away her worries. She  feels ill-prepared to make a decision between the two, especially while the town is in such an up-roar. People are stealing, fighting, and burning each other's buildings. Is Katie strong enough to bring peace to the town as well as her own heart?

These two books are a fun twist on a traditional 'proper romance'. Katie's life is in total upheaval and it makes the reader feel for her and wonder how she keeps it all together. She is a strong character and you fall in love with her from the very first pages. She reminds me of Elizabeth from "Pride and Prejudice". They have a lot of the same strengths and personality traits. I also love a good love triangle. The love between Katie and Tavish, and then Katie and Joseph, are the same in all the good ways, but different in ways that really count. Does she want someone that pushes her to be strong or someone that tries to take her trials away so that she doesn't have to be strong?

These books are full of sacrifice, love, trials, and friendship. The characters are detailed and full of life. The storyline holds your interest the entire way through. I found myself smiling, laughing, holding my breath, and even crying while reading this story. I couldn't put it down. Plus, it's entirely clean. I can't think of a reason for you to not go pick these books up right now. Let me know what you think!