As three friends who grew up in the same orphanage head off to college together, they each harbor a cherished dream. Libby wishes to become a famous journalist, Pete plans to study to become a minister, and Bennett wants to join a fraternity and have as much fun as possible. But as tensions rise around the world on the brink of World War I, the friends' differing aspirations and opinions begin to divide them, as well. And when Libby makes a shocking discovery about Pete's family, will it drive a final wedge between the friends or bond them in ways they never anticipated?
In Every Heartbeat
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
It’s 1914, on the brink of the Great War, when three longtime friends who grew up together in an orphanage are awarded scholarships to the University of Southern Missouri. But Petey, destined for the ministry, harbors revenge in his heart against the parents who cast him away when he was only seven years old, resulting in the loss of one foot and part of his leg. Libby’s impetuousness repeatedly lands her in trouble and hinders her ambition to become a top-notch reporter, and Bennett substitutes food and fighting for the respect, admiration, and sense of belonging he desperately craves. As the school year progresses and their beliefs are tested, their ambitions take them in different directions until they are brought together again by an impending execution. Sawyer’s stand-alone Christian historical is more judgmental than her usual fare, but there is still plenty of action, emotion, and background color to carry the story. --Lynne Welch
From the Inside Flap
Three best friends, three cherished dreams, three searching hearts... As three friends who grew up in the same orphanage head off to college together, they each harbor a special plan for the future. Libby Conley hopes to become a famous journalist. Pete Leidig believes God has called him to study to become a minister. And Bennett Martin plans to pledge a fraternity, find a place to belong, and have as much fun as possible. But as tensions rise around the world on the brink of World War I, the friends' differing aspirations and opinions begin to divide them, as well. When Libby makes a shocking discovery about Pete's family, will it drive a final wedge between the friends or bond them in ways they never anticipated? "Sawyer treats readers to love stories that speak to the heart."--Romantic Times
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Just OK,
This review is from: In Every Heartbeat (Paperback)
Normally, I finish historical fiction novels in two nights tops. However, I slowly made my way through this book. Perhaps I simply wanted to go westward in my mind. Ride a horse or participate in a gun fight (though one does happen a the end of this novel).
I suppose my struggle with this book lies in the fact that it confused me. There existed three main characters, Libby, Pete, and Bennett. All best friends joined at the hip due to their upbringing in an orphanage. Pete is in training to be a pastor and for a major assignment decides to write editorials condemning the writing of romantic story writing in women's periodicals. Libby, however, is quite enthralled with this subject and accomplishes the task of writing such stories with great ease. Yet, I wonder: why does author, Kim Sawyer, go to such great lengths at writing such a persuasive argument against romantic fiction . . . yet her book is that very thing which was so eloquently critiqued? I don't have an answer, but it was an issue I struggled with. So, my recommendation . . . borrow the book from a friend or check it out from your local library. My copy will be found on Paperbackswap. Thank you Bethany House for sending me this book to review for free. I did enjoy having some light reading to occupy my mind. I was not paid for this post, nor do I have to return the book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In God's Presence - Where we all should be.,
This review is from: In Every Heartbeat (Paperback)
Libby, Petey, and Bennet are three friends who have a common background. They were all raised in an orphanage. They all had the same feeling that no one truly loved them. Petey, the young man led to be a pastor, had contempt for his ma and pa who dismissed him after he lost his leg. He was ready to find them and tell them what awful, horrible people they were and how much they had hurt him. Bennet was a "class clown," the attention getter, who provoked others and didn't ever really feel loved by anyone. He felt everyone cast him aside. Libby is an aspiring reporter with a bit of a feisty character. Being rejected by several newspaper publishers she turns to magazines that seek stories of intimate bonds between a man and woman. The three of them head off to college to find a whole new world that none of them knew about.
They soon realize that God has always been present in their lives, but instead of letting Him guide them, they tried to guide Him. Now, with new revelations from their past they learn to let God lead the way. Choosing to set aside their desires and trusting that God will work everything out for those who believe. In God's presence summarizes this book soundly. I have not read My Heart Remembers which is the first book in this set, but it did not take away from the book at all!! I must admit, it took me awhile to get into this book. Not because of the quality of the book, I just had a lot going on. Once I got to about page 240 though, I couldn't put the book down! I truly enjoyed how Mrs. Sawyer gave background to every character and developed them completely, and then suddenly everything was switched up. My only dislike for the book was that I felt like some really big words were used that just seemed out of place and that was a little annoying to me. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, setting, and characters and would recommend it to anyone who loves the early 1900's. DISCLOSURE: I was graciously provided a copy of In Every Heartbeat by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to get into, and even a bit annoying,
This review is from: In Every Heartbeat (Paperback)
I've been putting off writing this review for ages because I just don't enjoy writing negative reviews. In Every Heartbeat, by Kim Vogel Sawyer is presented this way in the synopsis from the publisher:
"As three friends who grew up in the same orphanage head off to college together, they each harbor a special plan for the future. Libby Conley hopes to become a famous journalist. Pete Leidig believes God has called him to study to become a minister. And Bennett Martin plans to pledge a fraternity, find a place to belong and have as much fun as possible. But as tensions rise around the world on the brink of World War I, the friends' differing aspirations and opinions begin to divide them, as well. When Libby makes a shocking discovery about Pete's family, will it drive a final wedge between the friends or bond them in ways they never anticipated?" In reading the book, I found very little of WWI ever mentioned, and it certainly did not play as strong of a role in the plot as I had assumed and hoped. This was disappointing. I also found the story hard to get into, and I really had to force myself to finish it. The characters did not "feel" real. Libby especially was a bit unreal. Apparently we are supposed to believe that she grew up as more of a tomboy than a "girly-girl" (the type of girl she disdains on every other page in the beginning of the book); however, she is constantly on the brink of tears, rolls her eyes an awful lot, has stomach flutters as she reads a romance story, does some angry stomping off, has a few cute temper tantrums, and all in all behaves like a young, and pretty immature, girl. I may digress here a bit, but I really wonder about books like this with young women who are not happy being women and seem to think other women (who act "girly", which honestly is not great either if "girly" means silly and mindless) are somehow less than men. I'm not sure it sends a healthy message to the young ladies who might read this book and other books like this. It would be wonderful to have a female character who aspires to great heights but remains okay with her femininity at the same time. Anne of Green Gables comes to mind... in my opinion Libby is nothing like Anne, although I suppose she does mature a bit in the end, and perhaps we are meant to believe that she becomes more wholly herself, comfortable with both her ambition and her femininity. Let's hope so. Another problem I had with this book is that it gets a little "preachy" about romance stories - which is a bit strange, when you see that this is basically a romance novel - and, in the context of the story, opines that perhaps they aren't the best reading material for young minds. But then you have Libby "aware" of the nearby presence of one of the male characters; and there's a lot of "husky voices" and "senses thrumming", as well as embraces and long kisses. I mean, is this not the same kind of thing? Romance is in part these physical feelings... good grief, it has to be since we are human beings in physical bodies. I don't think gratuitous descriptions of romantic encounters is great - among other things, it usually makes for pretty bad writing - but pretending that the physical aspect of romance doesn't exist or isn't "right" is just... strange, in my opinion. Libby begins writing these kinds of stories, and from what I could tell her stories weren't much worse than the book itself in describing the romance between characters. For the record, the scenes were not gratuitous at all, in either the book or the stories Libby wrote. However, a little romance is a little romance is a little romance, and reading about it conjures up certain feelings, so why preach against them in the same book? That was very odd for me and something that I couldn't get past (obviously). This is the only book I've read by this author. I do plan to read others and, from what I've heard, look forward to a better reading experience than I had with this particular one. Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.
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