Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Together Forever On Tour With Celebrate Lit Plus A Sweet Giveaway!





About the Book

 Title: Together Forever, Orphan Train Book 2
Author: Jody Hedlund
Genre: Inspirational historical romance
Release Date: May, 2018
Determined to find her lost younger sister, Marianne Neumann takes a job as a placing agent with the Children’s Aid Society in 1858 New York. She not only hopes to offer children a better life, but prays she’ll be able to discover whether Sophie ended up leaving the city on an orphan train so they can finally be reunited.
Andrew Brady, her fellow agent on her first placing-out trip, is a former schoolteacher who has an easy way with the children, firm but tender and friendly. Underneath his charm and handsome looks, 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 in the small railroad towns of Illinois, they find themselves growing ever closer . . . until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend all their work and change one of their lives forever.


Click here to purchase your copy!

my thoughts....

I waited for nearly a year to read this book.  When I finished reading With You Always , book 1 in this series I knew there was more to the story.  The book is captivating enough that it has stayed with me for quite some time. Together Forever is Marianne Neumann's story.  A story of her courageous search for younger sister Sophie, who was last seen boarding one of the trains.  If only she could find Sophie, she would feel like she hadn't let her family down.  Along the way, she put her heart into working with the children under her charge, helping them adjust to starting a new life.  Along the way she couldn't help but get attached to them.

In a way, she, too was starting a new life.  She had never done anything remotely similar to guiding these children on the train.  It helped that she was assigned with handsome Drew Brady, who had more experience.  They worked well together and their friendship grew.  They both found their faith tested and a resilience beyond measure as a tragic situation occurred and they learned they could rely on one another.

I loved this book for the characters who were so well developed they transported this reader onto that clickety-clackety train full of eager, excited and frightened children.  It would be wonderful if the ride on the train was an easy trip but that is not how the real world works.  It is what we do with situations we are given that make up the difference in the end.  I give this book 5 well-deserved stars.
Thank you for stopping by. I received my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  My thoughts are entirely my own.

About the Author



Jody Hedlund is the author of over a dozen novels, including Love Unexpected, Captured by Love, Unending Devotion, The Preacher’s Bride, and A Noble Groom, winner of the 2014 Carol Award for historical romance. She received a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, both in social work. She lives in Michigan with her husband and five children. She loves hearing from readers on Facebook and on her blog at www.jodyhedlund.com.


Guest Post from Jody Hedlund


30,000 Abandoned Children
By Jody Hedlund
Imagine a city where 30,000 abandoned and homeless children live on the streets.
Sounds like something from a futuristic dystopian novel, doesn’t it? Or something that might happen after a war or apocalypse or major disaster, right?
This exact thing actually happened in the 1850’s. And the city was New York City.
It’s hard to believe, but an estimated 30,000 homeless children roamed the dirty city streets and alleys of New York City.
30,000. Children. Let that sink in for a minute. That’s the size of a town.
Historians look back on that time and try to make sense what led to such horrific conditions for children. Of course, the influx of immigrants was at an all time high. Jobs and housing were scarce. Diseases were rampant. Hunger and poverty became a norm. (Orphan Train Depot)


 As more and more people became aware of the enormous problem within the crowded slums, courageous heroes rose up and attempted to do their part to make a difference.
While we may not always agree with the methods that were used to save the thousands of homeless children, we can admire the men and women who could no longer sit idly by.
The Children’s Aid Society was started by Charles Loring Brace as one such attempt to help the hordes of homeless children. His “Emigration Plan” is better known today by the term “Orphan Trains.”


 My latest series tackles various elements of the orphan train movement. Together Forever, releasing in May, highlights the placing agents, those devoted people who rode the trains with the orphans. The agents spent weeks and months on the road caring for the children, all the while trying to place them in loving homes.
(If you’d like to try out the series, start with my FREE novella, An Awakened Heart.)
Like the brave men and women who came before us, may we always strive to do our part to make a difference!


Blog Stops

By The Book, May 22
Genesis 5020, May 23
Radiant Light, May 26
Mary Hake, May 27
Carpe Diem, May 27
Simple Harvest Reads, May 28 (Guest Post from Mindy Houng)
Bigreadersite, May 30
Vicky Sluiter, June 2

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Jody is giving away a grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
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2 comments:

  1. Tracy SylvesterMay 22, 2018 at 4:50 PM

    So sad that so many children were left as orphans and had to take such a rough journey to new homes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jody HedlundMay 23, 2018 at 8:18 AM

    Thank you for hosting me in the Celebrate Lit blog tour, Mardell! Appreciate all your help promoting the book!

    ReplyDelete

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