An Awakened Heart by Jody Hedlund

About the Book
Trying to heal the ache she feels in her empty life, wealthy Christine Pendleton decides to volunteer at Centre Street Chapel. Ministering to one of the most deprived parts of New York City, the chapel aims at making a difference in the lives of the impoverished immigrants flooding the city. After seeing firsthand the hopelessness of the poor women and orphans, Christine is convinced more can be done to help them.
Guy Bedell has been serving at the chapel and pouring his heart out for the people he's grown to care about. When Christine begins to challenge his methods and offers a new vision for reaching out to the community, can he trust that perhaps God has bigger plans in store for him--plans that may include this feisty socialite?

My Thoughts
This was a great prequel novella and got me really excited for this new series. Guy and Christine weren’t your typical historical hero and heroine since they were both a little older. But to be honest I kept forgetting that fact. They both had a passion for helping the lost and the poor though they had slightly differing opinions on how to go about it. I loved how they worked together, blending their ideas to do the best they could for those they were trying to help. They really were the perfect pairing, their individual strengths complementing the other’s weaknesses. We also got to meet the Neumann sisters and I’m excited to get more of their stories!

Meet the Author
Winner of 2016 Christian Book Award for fiction and Christy Award for historical romance, best-selling author Jody Hedlund writes inspirational historical romances for both youth and adults.
Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).
When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.