Searching for You by Jody Hedlund

About the Book
Despite years on the run, Sophie Neumann is determined to care for two young children. She won't abandon them the way she thinks her older sisters abandoned her. But times are growing desperate, and when she falls in with the wrong crowd and witnesses a crime, she realizes fleeing 1850s New York is her only option.
Disappearing with her two young charges into a group of orphans heading west by train, Sophie hopes to find safety and a happy life. When the train stops in Illinois for the first placement of orphans, Sophie faces the most difficult choice of her life.

Reinhold Weiss has finally purchased his own small farm. With mounting debts, a harvest to bring in, and past scars that haunt him, he's in no position to give his heart away . . . but can he say no when his long-lost friend shows up on a nearby train pleading for his help?

My Thoughts
Finally we get to discover what happened to Sophie after she disappeared! The girl we meet as the book begins is not the same one we last saw. Not only is she older but life has hardened her. Beneath it all though her kind heart still shines through, in the way she cares for Olivia and Nicholas and in other little ways. She had a lot of past hurt and loss to work through and I enjoyed seeing the way she matured as the book went on.
Reinhold has appeared frequently in the previous books of this series and I’ve always liked him. He works hard without complaint and strives to be a better man than his father. He had some personal demons to wrestle with but he had a good heart that just wanted the best for those he cared about.
I wasn’t sure about them as a couple due to his history with Sophie’s sisters but you could see how well matched they were as the story unfolded and in the end they were just what each other needed.
I really loved the Duff family with their big personalities and bigger hearts!

The end of this book made me quite happy and I loved seeing everything come together! A wonderful conclusion to another fantastic series from Jody Hedlund!

Meet the Author
Jody Hedlund is the author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.
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.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.