Book Review: Heart of Gold by Robin Lee Hatcher

Shannon Adair leaves her confederate state of Virginia with her father, Rev. Delaney Adair as he accepts a call to preach in the gold rush town of LaCeour. Rev. Adair is determined to go where God has called him to go and to be used wherever that may be. However, Shannon isn't so sure that God can use her in this uncivilized area of the old West.
 
At the same time, Wells Fargo driver Matthew Dubois, has taken some time off from driving the stage coach to working in the office so that he can also nurse his ailing sister, Alice, back to health. Alice is a widow with a young son named Todd. Matthew soon finds that Alice is in worse shape than he thought. Will he be able to return to driving stage coach?
 
Without giving too much away from the plot, I enjoyed Robin Lee Hatcher's latest historical tale, Heart of Gold, set in the old west. I was immediately drawn into the character's lives and felt like I was in the midst of Grand Coeur. I especially appreciated her depiction of how sometimes first impressions aren't always accurate and how God used circumstances to change hearts on all sides. This well-spun tale made me smile and it made me cry. . .just what I want in a piece of historical fiction. While the outcome is predictable, the story had some twists and turns that held my interest to the end.

At the end of the book, there is a set of questions for book groups to use. I always like to use these to help myself apply the book to life today as well. Along with the questions, at the end of this particular book is a note to readers from Robin that I especially enjoyed reading. I knew from Robin's Facebook page and twitter feed that she faced some big challenges but I didn't realize she was writing this particular book during that time. I often prayed for her and I appreciated her sharing how God used those challenges to both better her and this story. It is an encouraging addition to the book for any Christian facing his/her own tough life challenges.


I received this book through Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.

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