A Hopeful Heart

Kim Vogel Sawyer hits all the right notes in her latest historical romance, A HOPEFUL HEART, Bethany House. With her trademark heartwarming style, Sawyer treats readers to the story of Tressa Neill, a dowryless Easterner sent to the Wyatt Herdsman School in Barnett, Kansas, with the hope of finding a husband, a family, and a life of her own. Tressa's mistakes and misadventures and her valiant efforts to fit in to her new Western community will touch readers' hearts. Sawyer has a gift for transporting readers to another time and place, and they are sure to enjoy this trip to 1880s Kansas in her skillful hands.

***** This lovely prairie romance will satisfy even people who do not normally read prairie romances (like me). It is the story of a young woman--Tressa--who moves to Kansas from the east coast in the late nineteenth century in order to attend a school for prospective ranchers' wives, a school which trains young women in skills they will need on the prairie--riding a horse, driving a wagon, branding and birthing animals, cooking for a ranching crew, and other domestic and farming skills. The school is delightful--a training ground for young women to see if they have what it takes to make it on the prairie. When they finish the school, they are matched with a rancher and marry (with the consent of all involved, of course). Tressa learns to be not just a successful rancher's wife, but so much more. She learns how to stand up for herself, what love is and isn't, and what faith in God is and how to rely on Him. In the process of her learning these lessons, much goes on, including a mystery surrounding cattle rustling, interesting tales of the other character's pasts, friendships, and vivid portrayals of a simpler and in many ways, better time, in my opinion. The plot of this beautifully-written novel at first seems that it is going to be predictable, but it is not! Since this is a Christian novel as well, the characters profess faith in a non-preachy way that fits in beautifully with the plot. Faith in God was a big part of life on the midwest prairie, and seeing how He fit into the fabric of almost everyone's life was moving. I started this novel and found myself unable to put it down; it was an escape for me to an amazing time and place, and I am grateful to have read it. Highly recommended. *****

I very much enjoyed this book, A Hopeful Heart, which is the story of Tressa, an Eastern girl whose parents died a few years ago and left her to live with an aunt and uncle who didn't love her or want her. They send her west, to a school that will teach Tressa to be a good wife to a rancher, as there are lots of eligible ranchers in the area but few prospects for wives. I was drawn in by Tressa's plight. She's shy and rather incompetent at tasks she'd never had to learn while in her wealthy relatives' home. I could sympathize with her not wanting to be thrust upon some man she barely knew to be his wife, feeling almost like she was being auctioned off. But she had little choice. She had to marry because she had no family or means to support herself. Such was the plight of many women of that time. Kim Sawyer writes gentle love stories with tons of heart and true-to-life characters. I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it to fans of sweet historical romance.

When I first read the premise of this book, I knew I had to read it. I had never heard of a herdsman school, but what a wonderful idea! I love historical romance, and so many times I'd wondered what it would be like to travel back in time. Well, if I ever did, I would definitely make Aunt Hattie's school my first stop. Teaching ignorant town women like me how to cook on an iron stove, tend a garden, milk a cow, drive a wagon - all essentials for surviving and finding a mate in the world of Kansas ranchers. This sweet story is full of characters that are easy to relate to and ones who stir your heart...and your suspicions. The leisurely pace at the beginning picks up about halfway through, and the adventure really takes off. I flew through the second half of this book. I cheered for Tressa as she battled her insecurities to become a self-assured woman who depends on God for strength. And the reluctant Abel captured my heart as well. Try as he might to avoid it, love still comes knocking on his door. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend it to fans of Christian fiction who enjoy sweet romances.

I have always loved a good prairie romance. A HOPEFUL HEART goes beyond good and into great! A group of eastern girls being taught on the open prairie how to be good prairie wives-- that alone snagged my attention, but once getting into the book you are opened to a world beyond the setting. The characters are real and alive, worming their way into my heart. Tressa, the heroine is a young woman searching for her place in the world and through each circumstance she must learn to stand strong in God. I loved her journey on all counts. I can think of nothing I did not like about this book. I truly believe it is the best book by this author to date. The setting was vividly described, bringing me right there. The characters danced upon the screen of my imagination with a real life persona and the love story was sweet and complete with a lovely sigh from this reader when the book was closed. Even the secondary characters were vivid in their portrayal and I hope to someday rejoin a few of them in another book. Please? A HOPEFUL HEART will definitely be going on my best books list for a long time to come and is highly recommended!! Thanks the publishers through CFBA for my copy to review.