Longing For Home: Hope Springs (Book Two)

Longing For Home: Hope Springs (Book Two) by Sarah M. Eden

(Summary taken from amazon.com) "Katie Macauley gave up her lifelong dream of returning to Ireland in order to make a home for herself in Hope Springs, Wyoming, but her future has never been so uncertain.
Katie’s heart still remains sharply divided between playful Tavish and steady Joseph, though she feels ill-prepared to make a decision. Furthermore, the town is more divided than ever with both the Irish and the Reds stealing property, burning buildings, and endangering lives. In the midst of the growing unrest, tem­peratures drop quickly, too quickly, and Irish nightmares of famine and cold resurface as the little Wyoming town struggles to beat the harsh winter.
Katie makes one sacrifice after another to keep the peace and help see her loved ones through the difficult days ahead, but will her efforts be enough? Can the town make amends before their hatred consumes them all? And will Katie find the love she has been searching for as well as a home to call her own?"

I enjoyed the first book and thought it was a nice sweet love story, so I was excited to read book two and find out what would happen to Katie. The most pressing question, of course, was which man she would choose. Would she choose fun, happy, and cute Tavish, or would she choose stable, thoughtful, and handsome Joseph? I really couldn't decide which one I wanted her to choose because they were both men of integrity and had hard work ethics. They each held qualities she valued and needed in her life.  I had no idea which way it would go, and would have been happy either way. I wondered how Ms. Eden would bring about Katie's decision, and I thought it worked well.  It made sense and I was thrilled for Katie. Unfortunately, some not-so-good things happened along the way. Do you remember the feud? Well, lets just say that it is still there and escalating. A bunch of main characters die or are severely injured. I can't imagine living with such hatred. I can't imagine living my life specifically to hurt a whole group of people. I cried. Yes, I definitely cried during parts of this book. There were some tears of joy, but there were also tears of sadness and sorrow.  I love that Katie is a strong female character. I love that she works hard and has a positive outlook even when life brings her down. This book is fairly well written and is a fast, easy read. I enjoyed this book and did like the ending. I thought it was a good sequel.

Rating: PG -13 ( No language or intimacy; there is quite a bit of violence, and there is a death.)

Recommendation: 13 and up

Disclosure: I did receive this book in exchange for my honest review.