A Home for My Heart by Anne Mateer

A sweet story of hope and love set against the poignant backdrop of a 1910 orphanage.

Aw, Sadie. So sweet and caring and compassionate and ambitious. With a nurturing mother-heart she cares for the children in her charge–and jumps at the chance to serve them in a greater capacity and leadership role as matron.

But then there’s Blaine. The boy who’s loved her since their growing-up years in the very orphanage that holds Sadie’s heart. How can she choose between the part of her heart committed to the children–and the part of her heart committed to the man?

But choose she does. And Anne Mateer‘s writing shines as Sadie rides the rollercoaster of learning a new job, jumping into her new responsibilities, balancing her strained relationship with her beau, and navigating the financial difficulties the orphanage faces…So much chaos begins to take a toll on Sadie’s entire life, and I couldn’t foresee how the happy ending was going to solve everything! (I do so love it when I’m stumped as to a satisfactory conclusion.)

I rolled my eyes at Sadie sometimes when her decisions got downright foolish or she couldn’t see what seemed obvious (she misunderstood poor Blaine often). But she grew throughout the story until at the end she had a new understanding of wisdom and humility (and of the man she had loved all along). That made me happy. 

I also wish the story hadn’t ended when it did–I would have happily gone on reading. But that’s a standard complaint of mine, I think.

This book was as sweet as Wings of A Dream and as conflict-filled as At Every Turn. I especially recommend it for those historical fiction lovers who are kid-people–sometimes children aren’t given great parts in romances…in this book, adorable and ornery get equal standing.

About the Author

Anne Mateer has loved reading and writing historical fiction since childhood. In 2000, she began studying and working to hone her craft, finally resulting in a publishing contract in May of 2010. Along the way she reached the finals of ACFW’s Genesis contest three times and saw her short essay, “Let it Snow”, published in A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts. Anne Mateer lives in Texas with her equally history-obsessed husband. They have three children, now in various stages of high school and college, who have spent many a family vacation touring historical sites.

Find Anne on her Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest

Disclosure: Bethany House sent me this book to review. This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.