Where the Heart is [Mass Market Paperback]

Robin Lee Hatcher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

Homestead, Idaho Territory, 1880, is the kind of place where families gather together for church picnics and barn dances, where neighbors help each other through good and bad, the kind of place where a woman with no home and no kin, like spinster Addie Sherwood, could make a fresh start. Within days of her arrival to become the town's first schoolteacher, Addie receives a marriage proposal from rancher Will Rider.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first in Robin Lee Hatcher's Americana series, Where the Heart Is introduces readers to the residents of 1880s Homestead, Idaho. Schoolteacher Addie Sherwood--recently released from a loveless marriage of convenience--is astonished to receive a proposal from handsome Homestead rancher Will Rider. While Will is everything that she desires in a man--strong, intelligent, and kind--Addie must be sure of Will's love for her if they are to have a real chance at happiness. Readers will enjoy Addie and Will's story so much they'll be anxious to read the subsequent books in the series: Remember When, Forever Rose, and Kiss Me, Katie. Hatcher writes lovingly of her home state and the endearing residents of Homestead will stay in the hearts of readers long after the last page is turned. --Maudeen Wachsmith

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843943343
• ISBN-13: 978-0843943344
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,711,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of 60+ novels and novellas. My home is in Idaho, where I spend my time writing stories of faith, courage, and love; pondering the things of God; and loving my family and friends. Please note that the list of my books on Amazon includes novels written for the general romance market from 1984 to 1999. My Christian fiction has been published from 1999 to present. I no longer recommend my older fiction. Purchase used books with caution. For more information, please visit my web site at http://robinleehatcher.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars READ IN ORDER, October 30, 2000

By 

Abbys (Moreno Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where the Heart is (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my second book of Robin Lee Hatcher. My first book of hers was the FOREVER,ROSE. I was deeply taken by that book so I bought the sequels. Had I known earlier that this is a series, I would have read the book in order. WHERE THE HEART IS, is a lovely beginning of the Americana series.

The Americana series is about a town called Homestead, Idaho. The creation of the town beginning with just few families in small farm houses, one main street and only few stores to it's booming times with railroads and big hotels. I have only read three of the series but so far, it makes me feel like I am in the town itselft. There are many characters aside from the two primary couples. It contains love stories as well as family and neighborly love scenes. People helping one another is heart warming. Like every small town, everyone knows everybody's business and gossips cannot be avoided. Though I find that flaw amusing in many ways. My favorite aside from the romance story is that each book contains many updates of the characters from the previous book. I also enjoy reading books about children and their growing up years especially if they become the couple or the main characters in the next book. It is like keeping track of a mini series in T.V.. This is what makes the series so interesting from the beginning to the end.

Will Rider and Addie Sherwood are both interesting couple. Sad to say that because I've read Forever ROSE first, it ruined this first book for me. I kindda know how the book will run and how it'll end. I even know the action twist, who would die and who would lived as most of the scenes here were given away in the FOREVER, ROSE. I suggest the reader to read the Americana Series in order. It'll make a huge difference... Had I not read Forever, Rose before this one, I am sure I would find WHERE THE HEART IS exciting and a page turner. That is why I decided it is fair to rate it a 5 star as I still thouroughly enjoyed this book despite me knowing what would happend next. There is so many heart warming scenes... I specially like reading about Will's affection for Lark. Lark & Rose (Who will both become the main characters in FOREVER, ROSE) are only 7 & 9 years old in this book but it shows details of the beginning of their friendship. Reading this book will make you appreciate their friendship more when you read FOREVER, ROSE. It will also make you understand Rose better.

Here's the series in sequence:

1st: WHERE THE HEART IS ------> 2nd: FOREVER,ROSE --------> 3rd: REMEMBER WHEN ------------> 4th: Kiss me, Katie.

Read it and ENJOY!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautifully written,heatwrenching story of love and kids., May 2, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Where the Heart Is (Paperback)

a wonderful book that just goes to show you are never to far gone that love can save you.a story that shows the extent a person will go to for the sake of a child,even one they only just met.a story that tells even love can conquer all,even in a small town like homestead.wonderful characters,and story lines that include not only one couple,but the whole town.two thumbs up for robin lee hatcher!put this one ony your keeper shelf and enjoy reading it for years to come

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable - has a "Little House on the Prairie" feeling to it!, July 8, 2005

By 

Donna K. "bookcrosser" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where the Heart Is (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this story, the first book of the Americana series by Robin Lee Hatcher, set in the Idaho Territory in the 1880's, and I am looking forward to reading the subsequent books.

Addie Sherwood is left homeless in coastal Connecticut when her father dies, and it appears her only option is enter into a marriage of convenience with his lawyer, a much older widower who needs a mother for his 6 children. But although Addie perceives herself as plain-looking and unattractive, she would rather live independently without a man if she can't marry for love. So, she turned down the lawyer's offer and takes a job as school-teacher in rural Idaho.

Confirmed bachelor Will Rider recently acquired custody of his orphaned niece but has no idea how to relate to her, although he really tries. Lark is an introspective half-Indian girl who is so afraid of being sent to the orphanage that she retreats into herself, trying to be the least amount of trouble as possible for her uncle, instead of forging a bond with him.

When Addie appears on the scene, the townspeople are taken aback because they thought they had hired a male school-teacher, but they can't help warming up to her, as she is so likable and relates to the children so well, handling the most difficult ones with a certain finesse. She and Lark develop a special bond, prompting Will to propose a marriage of convenience with Addie. Although there is a strong attraction between the two, Addie is still determined to marry for love and takes the proposal as an insult.

This story is about so much more than the blossoming romance between Will and Addie. Addie is a wonderful and warm role-model for the children she works with. It's also about the friendship between Lark and Rose, whose abusive father and brother object to her associating with a half-breed. The other townspeople feature very prominently in this story too, and the reader becomes absorbed in the small-town life style and feels a aprt of the community itself.