Marianne Neumann has one goal in life: to find her lost younger sister, Sophie. When Marianne takes a job as a placing agent with the Children’s Aid Society in 1858 New York, she not only hopes to give children a better life but seeks to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train.

Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children–firm but tender and funny. Underneath his handsome charm, though, seems to linger a grief that won’t go away–and a secret from his past that he keeps hidden. As the two team up placing orphans amid small railroad towns in Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever.

Published on May 1, 2018 by Bethany House

I know, I know I say this every time but it's completely true, Jody Hedlund seems to outdo her previous book with every new novel penned! There's no way I can pick a favorite from even this series alone because that's an impossible choice. When I pick up a new book by this author I know without a doubt that I'm going to love it. How so? With every chapter I am drawn further and further into the story. Once I start it takes an emergency, (pretty much house fire, broken bone type emergency) to pull me away. 

I wish I could explain why this book was so good! But the inability to express what I'm thinking into words is why I'm not a writer. All I know is that the chemistry between the two characters, the heart-compelling plot… it left me with a feeling of hope and inspiration for hours. I think that's when an author can know that they succeeded.

★★★★★

Thank you to Jody Hedlund and Bethany House for a copy of the book. All views expressed are my own.

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Check out my reviews of the previous books in this series!