Book Recommendation - The Hope of Azure Springs

I've been blessed lately to be on several book launch teams. Recently, I was invited to participate in the launch of a debut for new author Rachel Fordham. Her first published novel, "The Hope of Azure Springs" releases July 3, 2018. As part of her launch team, I was able to get an advanced copy and it was fantastic! The story begins with a small, plain dirty girl who is nearly dead showing up in the town of Azure Springs. We find that many years prior, this girl, whose name is Em, came to Iowa from New York on the orphan train. Her guardian has been killed and she was wounded before she fled and found herself near death when some folks find her and bring her to Azure Springs for care. She is taken in by a family and nursed back to health, and she works closely with the sheriff, Caleb Reynolds, to find the men who attacked her and determine why. This book is a work of historical fiction, taking place in 1881, and has elements of great story across the board. There is definitely a romance going on, but it's not a quick and sappy romance (I don't care for those at all). There is action and adventure as Caleb goes after the "bad guys", and there is definitely some mystery about Em's past, as well as about the men who attacked her and their motive. The characters in the book are well developed and likeable. They grow throughout the book and bring hope to one another, hence the "Hope of Azure Springs".

Being part of the author's launch team gives me access to additional bits of inside information that I'm thrilled to be able to share with you!
1. Rachel never pictured herself as an author. She is a wife and mother of 6. While she has always loved to read and has enjoyed all things historical, she never thought she would be published. Her husband encouraged her to turn her passion into an actual book and here we are! The Hope of Azure Springs is actually her second written novel, but the first to be published. She hopes to go back to her first manuscript and edit and get it to print as well. But "The Hope of Azure Springs" was written with her heart.
2. During the writing of this book, her son got very ill. He was 4 at the time and they nearly lost him, but he survived, albeit with a daunting diagnosis. She took a break from writing for 5 months in that time. When she came back to it, she was a different person and took the book in a different direction. She became more emotionally connected to her characters, and I have no doubt that added to their depth.
3. One thing that I have in common with this author - Rachel and I both have a heart for adoption and foster children. Because of this passion, when she learned of orphan trains (previously called "mercy trains" as not all of the children were actually orphans), she knew she had to craft a story around that. She selected small town Iowa as Iowa was a pretty regular stop for those trains, and it worked with Caleb's back-story as well.
4. I mentioned that she has 6 kids - each of her kids' names are used in this book. The older kids have already read her author copy and have enjoyed getting to find their names (and their siblings' names) in print.
5. The main character of this book, Em, is described as being "plain". She is neither a beauty, nor is she ugly. However, throughout the book, as her light shines among those in Azure Springs and her beauty is found in that. Part of the author's motivation in this story was to advise her own daughter that true beauty comes from within.

6. When I asked the author what she hoped to convey through this novel, her response was "I hope that readers walk away from this story with a stronger sense of true beauty and belief in our capacity to define for ourselves what is beautiful. I also hope readers will be reminded that despite the difficulties of life we can find joy, we can carry on and we can be an influence for good. And of course I hope readers smile and maybe even sigh because it was an enjoyable read! "
7. Her next release will be in 2019. The book will begin in the "dead letter" office, and I can't wait to see what this story will bring!

If you enjoy a good heartfelt historical fiction, I would definitely recommend this one. My Goodreads review is below.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2349348013