Longing for Home by Sarah M. Eden

Longing for Home: A Proper Romance by Sarah M. Eden

Summary from Goodreads:
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.

5 Stars

Read July 2013

Historical Romance, Received advanced copy for unbiased review from Publisher, Shadow Mountain.  Recently Released.

My Review:
This book is in the Proper Romance genre by Shadow Mountain.  There are 2 other books in this set at this time, Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson and Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson.  The books are unrelated in story, but they are clean romance.

I love this book.  The struggles of immigrants is an interesting topic to take on in a romance.  I like having that as a conflict as well as any inter-personal issues.  I like learning more about the Irish culture as well.

There are a lot of layers to the main character and Sarah M. Eden reveals them slowly.  And, the main character opens herself up to different people in the book so not all of them have the whole picture of this new woman in town.  It is interesting to get to know this woman and who she is becoming in this new environment with new friends.

The romance in this story is somewhat predictable in parts, but then Sarah M. Eden adds a twist.  This book ends somewhat in the middle of a larger tale and will have another book to continue the story and the romance.  I look forward to reading more about this cast of characters.

Warnings: Violence and bullying between different cultures, nothing graphic.

I would let my 15 year old read this story.