Two things I know when I pick up a Jody Hedlund novel: I’m going to learn something about a real person or event from the past, and I’m going to read a sigh-worthy love story. Together Forever, the second in a series, taught me more about the orphan trains of the mid-1800s and the developing relationship between Marianne Neumann and Andrew Brady was what I’ve come to expect from Hedlund: charm, chemistry, conflict and curiosity (of the kind that keeps the pages turning so I find out how the whole thing will end!)
Part of my interest in this series is that the orphan trains head from New York City to Illinois, my home state, and I’m always interested in learning more about the real-life events that inspired these stories. That’s one of the strengths of Hedlund’s writing–a page-turning story based in history with evidence of extensive research wrapped in a romantic storyline. It’s a little bit of everything I love in a good book, consistently, which is why she is one of my go-to authors. (If you’ve regularly read my book reviews, you’ll know this is true. You can find my reviews for other books by Jody Hedlund here.)
I’d recommend reading book one first, although it isn’t strictly necessary for following along with this book, but it does provide some continuity.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher. Review reflects my honest opinion.
