Well, that was a delight! I had no intention of reading this in one sitting, but I simply couldn’t help myself. This is such a beautiful romance, filled with secrets and heartache and misunderstandings and villains and joy. My heart was breaking for Miriam and other asylum patients in the late 1800s, at least in their situation. And Gideon truly is a wonderful man, as the townspeople keep pointing out at the start of the book. Sigh. Sarah M. Eden has done it again.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Whew, a little bit of suspense in this one! Or...a lot. Sarah Eden does a good job of tormenting her characters in general, but I think these go through some of the most impossible situations. I literally couldn't put this down as Gideon meets the woman he'd thought was coming out to marry him and instead is coming out for employment he desperately needs to provide (as a doctor without a nurse and treating an entire region) but doesn't have much in the way of money to achieve that with. But that's just the first of their troubles!

Miriam's secret can't be kept for long, and soon it's clear how much danger she really is running from. Okay, I didn't think it was going to be quite that tenacious. But Eden quickly convinced me of how desperate Miriam's situation actually is. And then sickness strikes the town and makes it even more dangerous! I loved how much character development took place during that crisis, especially with Gideon's folks.

A delight of a story!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy to read. A favorable review was not required.

A cute story with an interesting twist on marriage. Loved the slow development of feelings between the characters. Miriam's back story was amazing!

** ARC received from Netgalley **

Healing Hearts is the next tale, written by Sarah Edenset, set in Savage Wells. This tale is focused on Gideon MacNamara, the town doctor, who also provides services throughout many towns in the surrounding area. The bottom line is he needs help. Gideon decides he will set himself up with a mail-order bride, who is also a nurse. This plan fails when Miriam Bricks arrives thinking that she is responding to a need for a nurse, not that the entire town, including the doctor, are expecting a bride!

As Gideon and Miriam spend time adjusting to this awkward relationship, as doctor and nurse and not as husband and wife, you will learn that Miriam has a secret that has the power to destroy everything that Miriam and Gideon are attempting to build!

Hold on to see how the entire town will pitch in to help Miriam and Gideon maintain and grow this new relationship!

Sarah Eden has done it again! This story is breathtaking. I just couldn't put it down. She tackles some very tough subjects with grace and style. She always manages to add some humor too. Miriam and Gideon are both remarkable characters that I was cheering on all the way. I learned more about how mental or not so mental illness was treated in the 1800s. Many of the characters had lots of depth to them. I was particularly impressed with Gideon's family. They seemed so shallow to begin with but grew to mean so much more to me as the story went on. I am hoping there will soon be stories about Hawk and Mr Larsen, the attorney, too. Both characters seem to have more to them than meets the eye.

***ARC received in exchange of an honest opinion***

This book was a sweet, light read that I found to be enjoyable, butnot really impressive.
I was hoping for a bit more. The writing was good though, hence the 3 stars.

I loved this book.

It addresses the social stigma of mental illnesses, as well as the inequality of women, during the 19th century. The same light-heartedness that is prevalent in the first book is present, while still having the serious subjects.

Miriam just wants to be a nurse and to escape her past. So she runs to Savage Wells via an advertisement. However the advertisement was for a mail-order bride for Gideon McNamara. Hilarity ensues for all of the beloved Savage Wells characters, as well as the new ones introduced. Well written, and balanced between the humor that Eden is known for and the lesson she is trying to teach. Would re-read and recommend!

#HealingHearts #NetGalley


I loved this Book! The second book in the series, it could be read as a stand alone, but why would you want to miss reading,The Sheriff of Savage Wells?
Miriam, has such raw emotions, that will touch your heart, a young lady that is running from her past, finds herself in the small town of Savage Wells, where unbeknownst to her, she came as a mail order bride, and not a nurse. Miriam has a haunted past full of secrets. I really liked Gideon. The story is fresh and well written.
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Wow! I read straight through this book in three hours. Gripping, yet sweet. Some suspense, some romance, & a whole lot of country living. This book has a little of bit of it all. Other than the mention of the preacher and his wife, it's not an overly Christian book. More of a clean fiction. Yet the overwhelming theme is one of hope, & redemption when all seems lost. If you are looking for a clean story this one should make your list. Sarah Eden is an author whose works I hadn't heard of, but now that I have discovered her work there are more books on my to-be-read list!

This book was wonderful. Miriam arrives in town and is ready to work as a nurse. Gideon MacNamara is a doctor and is ready to take a bride. Gideon ordered a bride, but no one told the bride. When she finds out that she is supposed to marry Gideon, she turns around and runs out of the chapel. The whole town starts to scorn her and she does not know what to do. Gideon realizes the mistake and offers Miriam a job. As they learn about each other their hearts start to open. They learn to accept each other and will do anything to help each other.

Well thought out and likable characters in this proper romance set in the wild west. The heroine, Miriam, is tenacious and brave. Even though she has given up on finding her own happiness she deeply cares for the citizens of Savage Wells and does all she can to make their lives better. It is no surprise that the citizens, even after a very chilly start, come to care for her deeply too. Miss Eden could have written a straight forward story but decided to add a twist to her main character that reminds us that there are a lot of prejudices out there. It is very troubling to see the prejudices that Miriam faces. Makes you think about how some of the people with disabilities, even if they are not apparent, are treated today.

This book was fantastic! The themes of nursing, mental health and asylums in the 1800's are new ones for me. As a woman, it is easy to take for granted the rights and opportunities we have now. And it was horrifying to read and imagine what it would be like to have a medical condition that was unknown or misunderstood... and being at the mercy of male relatives.

The familial relationships were complex and well done. The villain was terrifying in his ability to manipulate and twist things. And the love story was sweet. The story over all was layered and while most of the subplots were intense and serious, there were moments of humor tucked in.

Highly recommend!

I really like Healing Hearts. It's an emotional story with a strong female character. The story line is engaging and interesting. The characters are well developed and I was intrigued from the very first sentence. Sarah Eden may have just become my new favorite author. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc. The opinions on this review ate my own.

I fell in love with Savage Wells with Eden's first book set in the sleepy western town. I had hoped Gideon would find himself someone to love & so was excited to read his story. I was expecting a straight forward romance-but was pleasantly surprised with the complexity of this story. Poor Miriam really was dealt a hard hand in life, so it was extra sweet to see her get her happily ever after.

Beautiful story with a strong heroine. Triumph of love. Power of friendship and partnership. I read it in two days because its have an interesting intrigue.

Leave it to Sarah M. Eden to have me dashing for a box of Kleenex.
“Miriam Bricks sat in the cramped and rancid interior of a rickety stagecoach and contemplated for the hundredth time how fortunate she was to be there.”

Miriam Bricks is sure she’s going to finally have a respite from all her troubles only to find out she’s been sent as a mail-ordered bride.

If signing up for a wife with a woman he doesn’t know wasn’t awkward enough, Gideon McNamara will find out that being left at the altar in front of the whole town is just embarrassment enough to keep the otherwise put together doctor scrambling for words.

With her usual astuteness to bring to life a historical setting, Sarah M Eden envelops you at this beginning with many walls to bring down in order to at least a true friendship be born. You’ll laugh with the fumbling and gest thrown here and there. But more than an easy read, this book touches a few of the dark sides of history and puts us into contemplation how different our actions and judgments have been in the face of someone with an impairment.
Have we come to the place of limiting all someone can conquer or are we ready to love and support? For deep down we are all broken, we just need to give someone a chance to be their full and the self.
Endearing and thought-provoking story!

An amazing story. My heart ached for Miriam as she was such a good kind person and had found nothing but cruelty, horrors, and heartache in her life until she came to Savage Wells. Yes, it is a love story, but so much more. The characters in this book became like real people to me. Gideon is the doctor everyone would like to have take care of them. One special little boy by the name of Rupert will steal your heart away. I loved the book from beginning to end and its hard to talk about it without giving parts of it away, which I won't do. The one thing I will say is that this is a story than should not be missed because of the things it teaches us about people. Thank you for a truly amazing story Sarah M. Eden, one I will never forget.

Gideon MacNamara has been unlucky in love, but as the doctor of Savage Wells and the surrounding areas, he needs help in his medical practice, so he has sent for a mail order bride who is a nurse. When she arrives, however, Miriam becomes the third woman to shy away from marrying him, insisting she was only told about the nursing position, not about the marriage part. His love for the people he serves prompts Gideon to swallow his pride and ask Miriam to stay--as his nurse only. Miriam is a good nurse but she's running from her past--and Savage Wells just might be a place where she can make a home, if she can convince the townspeople, who are fiercely loyal to their doctor, that she isn't a terrible person for not wanting to marry Gideon. As they work together, Gideon is drawn to Miriam, but he also realizes she's hiding something and has to figure out if he can really trust her to help him with his patients.

Gideon is a total sweetheart; I love seeing how he cares for his people and how they care about him in return. Miriam is a sort of prickly, but understandably so, but also really wants to help people, and her backstory is so interesting and opened up some really fascinating (and sad) insights into medical treatment for women in the 1800s. The secondary characters are great, too; I love how Sarah Eden always gives us so many people to care about.
If you've read the first book in the Savage Wells series (which you don't have to do before reading this one; it can stand alone), you might expect a lighter tone than this book has; the first book was funnier and had a lot of banter and stuff. This book still has funny moments but it has a darker tone (which is totally appropriate to the story).
Great plot, snappy dialogue, and realistic, well-developed characters are hallmarks of Sarah Eden's writing, and they're all here. Another great book from a terrific author.

I read an ARC via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was so excited that Sarah decided to write Gideon's story! He was one of my favorites from The Sheriffs of Savage Wells!
The book had me laughing right away from the first chapter. Miriam arrives to a new town, thinking she came to just be a nurse, but she steps right into her own wedding. A mix up with a "mail order bride" institution send Miriam running. She's convinced to remain as a nurse to the very man she rejected marrying.
There are a lot of awful things that this book deals with. Paisley's dad is slowly slipping into what we now know of as Alzheimer's, the kids in the town contract scarlet fever, and we eventually find out that Miriam-though actually a nurse- had been institutionalized for 2 years for having seizures and so thought as mad. She's been running from the institution's doctor after escaping. He eventually catches up to her. All things get resolved in a good way at the end.
I love Sarah's ability to weave heavy topics into her sweet romances.

I am going to start by saying I LOVED this book.  I laughed. I cried. I felt so many emotions as I was reading.  In fact,  I finished this book quickly, staying up most of last night to finish it. 

The   story begins  swiftly, establishing that Miriam is heading to a new life after accepting a job as a nurse in a remote western town. Right off the bat I liked our leading lady. She had some big worries, but she was obviously strong and determined. Not once was I disappointed.  Arriving in Savage Wells, eager towns folk meet her at the station and whisk her away to a wedding--which happens to be for her and the much loved town doctor, Gideon.

Gideon is in for a shock.  But he's a good guy, and decides to give Miriam a chance. We also start seeing Gideon's beliefs on being a doctor, which run contrary to what Miriam's experiences have been.

The supporting cast is filled with delightful characters and one dastardly villain.