A Home for My Heart Review

A Home for My Heart by Anne Mateer
View Author's website HERE
Goodreads Summary: 

Sadie Sillsby works as the assistant to the matron at the Raystown Home for Orphan and Friendless Children and dreams of the day she’ll marry her beau, Blaine. But when the matron surprises everyone by announcing her own engagement, Sadie is suddenly next in line for the job. For a young woman who was once an orphan herself, a shot at such an esteemed position is a wish come true.
But the matron of the Home cannot be married. Is Sadie willing to give up her dreams of a life with Blaine and a family of her own? Is she prepared to forego daily involvement with the children as she manages the finances and logistics of the ministry? And when it’s revealed that the Home is spending a lot more money than it’s taking in, can Sadie turn things around before the place is forced to close forever?

 I recieved this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The Kindle edition is being offered for $10.09 (9/17/13).

My Thoughts:
 I am excited to share with you a new work from Anne Mateer: A Home for My Heart. I stumbled across At Every Turn and really enjoyed its originality and MC Alyce. I jumped at the chance to review this one for Mateer's launch.

A Home for My Heart is labeled as historical Christian romance, but I didn't experience as much romance as one might expect from that genre. Sadie, our MC, is with Blaine from page one, a misunderstanding breaks them up, we then spend the rest of the novel wondering if they will get back together, or if slick newcomer Earl will take Blaine's place in Sadie's heart.

The characters are well written and interesting, but not memorable. I feel that Mateer focuses all her time on Sadie and we never truly get to know the host of other characters. Not well enough to root for. However, secondary character Miranda, Sadie's assistant, intrigued me. I wanted to know more about her backstory and to throttle Sadie for being so obtuse!

Most exciting for me was the plot. Because of some of the actions of the characters (intentionally vague here to avoid any spoilers..), the reader begins to think perhaps they are linked and XYZ will happen. I was pleasantly surprised it turned out otherwise. Because Mateer didn't go down the 'obvious' plot path, I felt it was much more original than other historical/Christian romances (HCR).

I really enjoyed the foster home setting and Sadie's position as Matron. It would be really exciting if Mateer stayed on this path, perhaps continuing the story through Miranda's eyes next time. Maybe I am in the mood for a family series, and maybe its because I enjoy Mateer's writing style, but I would really love it if she wrote a connected series.

Mateer is still a new-er author (this is her third novel), but I'm already excited for her next work! Add this one to your Goodreads TBR pile right now! Also, I highly recommend At Every Turn as well. The scores tallied for a solid 3.5 stars, but it would still be the book I run to in the HCR genre!