Hearts Made Whole by Jody Hedlund (Beacons of Hope, Book 2)


About the Book:
Can she forgive the hurting man who costs her the role she loves?
After her father’s death, Caroline Taylor has grown confident running the Windmill Point Lighthouse. But in 1865 Michigan, women aren’t supposed to have such roles, so it’s only a matter of time before the lighthouse inspector appoints a new keeper–even though Caroline has nowhere else to go and no other job available to her.
Ryan Chambers is a Civil War veteran still haunted by the horrors of battle. He’s secured the position of lighthouse keeper mostly for the isolation–the chance to hide from his past is appealing. He’s not expecting the current keeper to be a feisty and beautiful woman who’s angry with him for taking her job and for his inability to properly run the light. When his failings endanger others, he and Caroline realize he’s in no shape to run the lighthouse, but he’s unwilling to let anyone close enough to help. Caroline feels drawn to this wounded soul, but with both of them relying on that single position, can they look past their loss to a future             filled with hope…and possibly love?




About the Author:
Jody Hedlund is an award-winning and bestselling historical fiction author. She won the 2011 Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, the 2011 Award of Excellence from the Colorado Romance Writers and was a finalist for Best Debut Novel in the 2011 ACFW Carol Awards. Currently she makes her home in central Michigan, with her husband and five busy children. She loves hearing from readers on Facebook and on her blog.
Find out more about Jody at http://jodyhedlund.com/.

My Review: 
In this second book, Hearts Made Whole from Jody Hedlund's series Beacons of Hope, Jody has written another heart wrenching story of hope and love and redemption. The story is well written with  moments of sadness, joy, regret, fear, faith and hope. There is also some mystery and suspense added to the mix that kept me wondering who was behind the some that happened in the book.  
Caroline is a strong and beautiful woman, who is left in charge of her family after both parents have passed away.  Unfortunately, she and her siblings witnessed their father's death and, of course, it affected each of them differently.  Most of all, it affected their livelihood... how was Caroline going to provide for her siblings, especially sick Sarah?  Ryan is a Civil War vet who is suffering with PTSD and guilt from all the things that he and his peers did during war years.  Both are vying for the job of light keeper -- Caroline has her sanity and experience on her side, Ryan has his gender and war experience on his. Both have need for the job, but both are come against by the certain locals who desire to hide their misdeeds.  
I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and anyone else that I have any influence over. Obviously, historical/romance fiction is not everyone's cup of tea, but if you want to give it a try, this is a good place to start!! 

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