Another powerful story about the Orphan Train! The author's descriptive account of the orphans and their caregivers make the reader feel apart of the story. Based on historical accounts, this novel will move reader's hearts. Looking forward to the next one in the series. Highly recommended!

I liked the author note to reader where she states that by putting Marianne Neumann in the role of being an agent would give readers a glimpse into the orphan train movement from the perspective of the agents on the train. I had never heard of the Children's Aid Society and the orphan trains. This was a tough job the author says ..."that consisted of weeks of demanding travel, difficulty in placing children, plus the logistical challenges in revisiting each child before returning to N.Y. and doing the job itself. The agent had to learn on the job and make up the rules as they went. In the early years, record-keeping was inconsistent, placements irregular and screening process non-existent."

Things have changed that's for sure. This was an eye opening read.

Jody Hedlund's exquisite and honest writing giving me goose-bumps again.
This series and these characters have completely stolen my heart!
Marianne and Drew were honest characters and very cute together. Both had baggage and the way they dealt with each trauma was realistic and inspiring. Jody brings the setting completely to life and I felt completely immersed in a world torn by hunger and famine, but with hope not far off.

I confess, when I started reading Together Forever I hadn't read the first one. During the first few pages, I felt like this was not right and took my time to read the first book of the series haha
I'm so glad I did. While there's enough background for you to understand the characters, their journey felt complete (at least to me) once you've followed the series. Because it's a continuation, a seeking, a longing not fulfilled that starts in the novella and the characters story continue on trough each one.

I started this book and then realized it was the second of a series. It was so good that I read it anyway. Planning on reading the first one soon. I could feel the spark between Drew and Marianne like I was in the room with them. Excellent writing!

A truly enthralling love story about 1 young lady trying to find her sister. She works for a Children's Aid Society in New York that helps to relocate impoverished and unwanted children from orphanges to the country hopefully to a better life. She is joined by another young man who has a troubled past and they soon fall in love. This book tells the story of the trials and tribulations that they had to go through getting the 30 children in their care to their future homes. You will be hooked from start to finish. I am hoping there will be more books to follow in this series

TOGETHER FOREVER by JODY HEDLUND is a historical romance novel that is both encouraging and eye opening. The story starts in 1858 at the Children's Aid Society in New York with Marianne Neumann and Andrew Brady preparing to set off on a placing out mission with thirty one children of varying ages. They are hoping to save the children from bad situations in the city by having them taken into families in farming communities.
It is a beautifully told story. The characters are very real. We see examples of unconditional love, great courage and strength in adversity.
It is heartwarming to see Marianne and Drew's loving interaction with the children who have such sad stories to tell, and who are also understandably anxious about what their future holds.
Marianne has to overcome the guilt she feels about losing her sister Sophie and Drew feels guilty about the drowning of a boy when he was swimming with a group of boys at the school where he used to teach. Marianne lost both her parents and knows what it is like to live on the streets of New York, and Drew has a bad relationship with his father who is embarrassed by him. It is interesting to see how the Lord deals with these issues.
I can highly recommend the book for the interesting and exciting story and the strong Christian message.

To be honest, I struggled to get through this one. I didn't feel very connected to the characters, though one would expect to in this situation. The writing was clear, but perhaps a bit too concise for my taste in a novel.

Imagine you are hired to board a train with 30 young orphans who have just lost their parents and then give them out to whatever families are willing to take them in. Imagine watching siblings ripped from each other as the families are only looking for a single child. Imagine a toddler clinging to you while being forced into the arms of more strangers. Although the orphan train started out with good intentions, it also came with a lot of heartache. There are several books out that share the heartache from the children’s perspectives, but rarely do you see one from the adults’. In Together Forever, Marianne and Drew are teamed up to take over 30 kids on a train to budding towns in the west in hopes of finding homes for them. Although many were orphans, some came into their care because their parents couldn’t support them or they were running from abusive homes. Either way, the heartache the children had suffered was immense, and their hope was for love.

Much like the author’s style between Elise and Thornton in the first book of the series, I enjoyed the witty humor between Marianne and Drew. I liked that the characters didn’t see each other, have instant attraction, and then have everything fueled by romance. The characters had fun with each other and the children, and it created an interesting dynamic that really made them come alive for me.

My heart broke for each of the children as they were handed off to the strangers who would become their parents. I actually shouted “NO!” at the book at one part, only able to relax once it was handled the way I was hoping. While this book is fiction, it was based on the untold stories of countless children and Aid Society workers who experienced the very real orphan trains that traveled for approximately 75 years. It is not to say that all stories ended badly. For one case in particular, Marianne struggled herself with the emotional attachment until she was able to see that the child she cared so deeply for was in the loving arms of a new mother who would truly love her for the rest of her life. Just as with many other events in history, there are both happy and sad stories to share.

I’m very glad that I started reading this series. My only regret is that I started before the whole series was published so that I now have to wait to continue. (According to Goodreads & Amazon the next book Searching for You is expected to be released in December of this year – 2018). This is the first series that I’ve read by Jody Hedlund, but I have quickly fallen in love with her writing style and plan to read more by her soon.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley in hopes of an honest review. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

I was 2/3 of the way through this before realizing that it's part of a series, which is a testament to how well it works as a stand-alone. The characters are lovable, with their issues and faults, they have good intentions and beautiful hearts. The children are adorable, and you'll want to adopt them all. Each of the main characters must overcome something from their past, accept themselves and their faults, and be willing to move forward...whether that ends up being together or not is something you'll discover. There are, however, a few questions that won't be answered...for that, we'll need book three!

Together Forever is Jody Hedlund's second full length novel in her orphan train series. With historical romance, I expect to be taken for a journey through some historical event or element and follow two characters as they fall in love. With Hedlund's story, Together Forever, she definitely does that.
The writing is clear and concise. I had no problem visualizing the settings and roaming around the countryside with the main characters and all the orphans. She does allow me to understand and see the character's different emotions and internal dialogue as they work through situations.
At the beginning of the story, Hedlund spends a little time giving backstory. She starts the story with action then explains the life of the orphans to lead them to their current situation, then she jumps back into a little action, then repeats the same backstory, a little action, more backstory before jumping into the forward moving story. This took me out of the story instantly. Delete the first couple of chapters and weave in the backstory as they story moves along. Only once.
As for the characters, Marianne and Drew, I really didn't empathize with either character. The characters you meet at the beginning of the novel are the same at the end of the novel. No transformation at all. They didn't learn anything or change at all. They were static characters. Marianne is a sweet, loving woman who desires to find her missing sister and tries to look for clues in the opening chapter. But after that, she really doesn't do anything in the rest of the novel to keep looking for her missing sister. Similarly, Drew knows how to put enough force to keep the orphans in line, but he also has a tender heart to show them he loves them.
The romance bothered me the most. Marianne and Drew got engaged pretty quickly in the book and the sparks fly all over the page, confusing me and probably Marianne and Drew too. I found their courtship really unrealistic even though there were a number of obstacles in their way throughout the rest of the novel.
The historical element of placing orphans outside the city to learn skills and to be educated is a neat idea. I have never heard of it. But the way the story was written, I wasn't really interested in what was going on with the orphans. They didn't appear to be the main part of the novel. The story centered around Marianne and Drew and their unbelievable romance.
Overall, Together Forever by Jody Hedlund surrounds a historical element I didn't know happened. While the synopsis gripped my attention, the plot, characters, and romance fell short for me. I really had a hard time paying attention and couldn't wait for the novel to be over with, so I could read something better.
I received a complimentary copy of Together Forever by Jody Hedlund from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

A look at a part of American history I never knew existed. Although fiction it was based a on facts. Two strong main characters and a host of small cute ones.