Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Reviewer's Bookshelf: Together Forever by Jody Hedlund


Book Summary (Goodreads): Marianne Neumann became a placing agent with the Children's Aid Society with one goal: to find her lost sister. Her fellow agent, Andrew Brady, is a former schoolteacher with a way with children and a hidden past. As they team up placing orphans in homes in Illinois, they grow ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy changes one of their lives forever.

My thoughts...Full disclosure: I've been a big Jody Hedlund fan for several years! I have read almost all of her books and have found that while the plot and characters change, the best elements of her books are always there. Jody does a wonderful job of creating romantic tension between her hero/heroine. The pace is steady and keeps me interested with plot twists and complex conflict. Her books also don't shy away from showing some grit and difficult circumstances.

In this series, you get all of these elements. Marianne and Andrew both have their reasons for traveling on an orphan train to place orphans in new homes. They both carry a heavy burden of guilt and shame from things that happened to them in the past, so this trip represents a path towards redemption. Particularly if Marianne is able to find her lost sister. The hardships on their journey were at times emotionally painful to read. Sometimes both character's stubbornness could get a little irritating...haha. But all of these elements come together to create a thoughtful novel that I would certainly recommend! I would definitely recommend starting with the first book in the series.

Personal takeaway...True redemption, and freedom from guilt and shame, can only come from the Redeemer. He offers it freely.

**I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in order to share my honest thoughts, which I did.**

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