LONGING FOR HOME by Sarah M. Eden - Review

Picture and Description taken from GoodReads

Description:

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.

My Review / Thoughts

I don't even know where to start.   This book is so good.  I love the characters, the setting, the story line, everything!  I hope that I don't spoil anything for anyone in my review.

First the characters....There are so many great characters in this book.  I will say just a few things about the ones I love the most.

Katie Macauley - She is such a beautiful creature.  She is such a good person, but cannot see herself as one.  She is humble, and funny..but so obviously broken about her past.  She is plagued with the disappointment her horrible father put on her as a child.  (Needless to say her dad is not one of my favorite people!  I am glad he isn't in the book too much because regardless of circumstances a child should never feel as though they are a burden)!  She is such a loving, kind, hard working and best of all kind of snarky.  She is fabulous.  I love her quick whit.  I love her willingness to stand up to adversity and prejudice.

Tavish O'Connor - My heart melts at just the mention of his name.  Eden does a fantastic job of making him such a lovable character.  He is funny, kind, hard working, and (in my head) extremely handsome.  He is such a gentleman.  Makes me wish more men were like him.  Why can't men be like they were in the old days...hehehe!  Of course everything is better in a book.  I love the banter between Tavish and Katie.  It is so fantastic, and so funny.  I love how he never gives up on Katie, and does all he can to make her feel welcome in their little town.

Joseph Archer - I don't quite know what to say other than he is an amazing man.  I almost didn't like him at the beginning, but boy did he redeem himself.  He was quick to judge Katie at first because she was Irish, but soon found out how wonderful she was.  I love that he gives up the "corporate" life for farming.  He does what he loves.  He is a kind, patient, and a peace keeping man.  He does all he can in a town that is divided to be as neutral as possible.  He is a great father, and just an all around good guy.  

Ian & Biddy O'Connor - I love this couple.  They are so funny.  So sweet.  Biddy is such a funny character, and I love the relationship she has with Ian.  I love the friendship she shows to Katie, and willingness to help her whenever she can.

There are more, but I could go on and on and on.  Eden is such an amazing writer.  My heart aches for Katie as she struggles to make up for what she think she did when she was just a child.  I couldn't imagine being sent away and not thought of again.  In the beginning I was really rooting for Joseph and Katie, but in all honesty I cannot imagine her being with anyone but Tavish now.  He so obviously loves, and adores her. Is obvious that Joseph does as well.  I just wish he would have been strong enough to tell her how he felt in the beginning.

The hatred that is in this book between the Irish and the "Reds" is so sad.  I do not understand prejudice.  I cannot understand how people can hate each other because of race, or ANYTHING...It's just so not the way it should be.  Even though I cannot grasp the idea of such prejudice Eden does an amazing job of writing about it.  I could "feel" the tension in this book.  It made me feel tense.  Even when it wasn't about the feud  I could feel the underline tension everyone in the town had.  I love it when a book causes me to feel such emotions.

I cannot even tell you how fabulous Katie is when she goes to church and puts the preacher in his place.  I smiled from ear to ear.  She doesn't take anything from anyone.  I just love her.

I am quite anxious for the second book.  I don't know if I am a little biased towards this book because I had the amazing opportunity to meet Sarah M. Eden at a book signing a while back, and she is such a genuine person.  You could tell she loved what she does, and that she is kind.  I think her passion for writing comes through in her books.  

I loved everything about this book.  It was sweet, funny, full of such emotion.  Love, tension, humor.  Just an all around good read.

Source:  I purchased this book a while ago for myself and my daughter.  I was not compensated in anyway for this reviews.  These are my own PERSONAL thoughts on the book.

My Rating:

although I don't even think 5 is high enough for how much I loved this book.

Where to Buy:

AMAZON * BARNES & NOBLE

About the Author:

SARAH M. EDEN

Picture and Bio taken from her Blog

Sarah M. Eden is the author of multiple historical romances, including Whitney Award finalistsSeeking Persephone (2008, Covenant Communications) and Courting Miss Lancaster(2010, Covenant Communications). Combining her obsession with history and affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting witty characters and heartfelt romances. She holds a Bachelor's degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library. Sarah has twice served as the Master of Ceremonies for the LDStorymakers Writers Conference, acted as the Writer in Residence at the Northwest Writers Retreat and is one-third of the team at the AppendixPodcast.com. Sarah is represented by Pam van Hylckama Vlieg at Foreword Literary Agency.