Where the Heart Leads by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Thomas Ollenburger appreciates the opportunity to live with his foster grandmother in Boston while he finishes his college education. His next step is to secure a job and find a wife. He has two very different girls on his mind: Belinda and Daphne.

Belinda knows all about his Mennonite roots and lives near his family on the Kansas prairie. Daphne, from a wealthy Boston family, has caught his heart up in a struggle against his conscience. How long can he ignore the values instilled in him by his father? How long can he be silent about his relationship with God? A relationship Daphne doesn’t understand.

Daphne wants to use her contacts to help him secure an acceptable job in Boston, but he can’t take a job he didn’t earn. His father wants him to find work in his home town. Belinda turns into a faithful pen pal at Thomas’ request. But Thomas has to decide for himself where he should live.

Woven into the romance and job questions are the historical facts of the time. This story covers the 1904 election with Theodore Roosevelt, whom history tells us won that election, competing against Thomas Watson, the Populist party’s nominee. Thomas Ollenburger is swept up in the Populist party’s campaign because of his friendship with Harry, Daphne’s brother.

This book by bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer was the first novel of hers I’ve read. It's the sequel to Waiting for Summer’s Return, but was lovely all on it’s own. I found the characters interesting and likable. The plot kept me turning pages as I journeyed with the characters and waited for questions to be answered. Sawyer’s style made me want to read more of her novels.

Her latest release from Bethany House Publishers is Fields of Grace. Look for Katy's New World, in the Katy Lambright Series, to be released in February 2010.