Kimberly T. (HeartsongChica) reviewed on 8/23/2008

Adelaide Crum wants to have a family to love, so the orphan train that comes to town seems to be her chance. However the town committee turns her down because she is single, despite the fact that she runs her own millinery shop, is a church goer, has a trade to teach a little girl, and has a comfortable living.

Charles Graves, who runs the local newspaper, is on the committee that rejects Adelaides application, and the decision he was part of haunts him. Charles believes his past proves he cannot love anyone, but he is drawn to Addie. When one of the orphans needs a temporary home, Charles convinces the committee to let Addie help. Circumstances continue to bring Adelaide and Charles together, and they must come to grips with their feelings for each other. Their wounded hearts and pride keep them pushing each other away.

Adelaide is independent and headstrong at a time when men ruled their women with an iron fist. Adelaide and Charles both suffered different forms of child abuse, and those wounds influence their thoughts, actions, and interactions with each other. Having the orphan to care for changes Addie and Charles and begins to soften them. The story took a very unexpected suspenseful twist but had a satisfying ending. This authors first book kept me up late into the night to find out what happens next, and drew me into small-town life at the turn of the 20th century.

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