St. Louis 1890 Lydia Bailey grew up with parents who provided housing for missionaries on leave. One summer a young boy named Adam Johnson and his parents stayed with them. Every bug and worm she showed him outside scared him to tears. Lydia had wondered what was wrong with him.
Years later, when Lydia’s father passed away and her mother fell ill for a year, it seemed God had abandoned them, so she signed up to get a teaching certificate to help cover household expenses. When she came home, her mother had cleaned the guest room. The boy who had come ten years ago needed a place to recover from malaria. Would Lydia have to put off getting her certificate to care for him?
Adam finds himself delivered to the home his parents had arranged for him to recover. To his horror, all he can see is the skinny girl with red braids who tormented him when the family stayed here years ago.
Will Lydia open her heart to God’s healing? Can Adam find it in his heart to forgive Lydia? Will both seek God’s plan for their lives?
Julie’s Review:
Linda Hoover and I have critiqued each other’s work for years. I look forward to hearing she has something new because I love reading a good historical, and Linda Hoover delivers. It’s not easy to write that genre, but she makes it look easy.
Heart of Grace is a beautiful historical that is a page-turner. The author transported me to the setting and era, and I was immediately drawn to the story. Heart of Grace is exactly as the title says. It’s full of heart and grace as two characters learn about themselves and each other. I highly recommend!
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