In May of 1864, Reverend Adair and his daughter, Shannon, moved from Virginia. The Reverend was called to the church in the small mining town of Grand Coeur, Idaho. Shannon’s fiancé was killed in the first year of the Civil War and Shannon grew to have strong opinions about the war. While her father preached equality for all, Shannon was a die-hard Southerner and she nursed the sick and wounded.

Matthew Debois, the stagecoach driver that brought the Adair's to town, gave up his driving job for Wells, Fargo & Company to sit behind a desk. His sister, Alice, wrote and asked to come and stay with him while she is sick.

Matthew liked Shannon right away. She was a woman who knew her own mind. However, Shannon felt disrespect from Matthew because he had no opinion nor took any side in the war.

Matthew did not know why his sister was sick but soon found out that she had cancer and a weak heart. Alice only had a few months to live. She did not want to be a bother to her friends anymore (her husband died in the war). She needed someone to take care of her son, Todd, and Matthew was the only family left.

Matthew asked the Reverend ie he knew of anyone who could be a nurse to Alice and keep an eye on Todd. He was surprised when Shannon offered her help. Maybe he misjudged her. But what was to happen to Todd? Alice knew that Matthew needed to go back to driving, that was his life. In order for Todd to be taken care of, she needed to find her brother a wife.  But who in Grand Coeur? Shannon Adair?

Alice already made Matthew promise to take care of Todd. She told him of her plan to get him a wife. While she did not mention Shannon's name, her image flashed into his mind. As Shannon sees how Matthew is to his sister, she fears she misjudged him too harshly. Over the next few weeks, the two began to feel things toward each other. However, neither having experience in love, they did not know what exactly they were feeling.

Matthew kissed Shannon for the first time during a horse ride. He thought he scared her off. When he kissed her for the second time after their date to the Fourth of July dance, Matthew's feelings were more intense then he thought. He asked the Reverend for his daughter's hand in marriage. The Reverend and Shannon said yes, but will Alice be able to see her brother wed.

I GIVE THIS BOOK:  ß ß ß ß out of 5ßs

I have never been a fan of historical romances but this book was good! This author wrote a story that weaved romance, the Civil War, mining for gold and Wells, Fargo & Company into a perfectly yummy piece of fiction (with some non-fiction thrown in as well). While the short amount of time between the arrival of the Adairs and the marriage proposal, a matter of weeks, seemed like something from a fairy tale, it coincided with the inexperience of the love both Matthew and Shannon felt. You wanted this relationship to bloom. You routed to see if Alice would see them wed before she died. You felt the pain the family felt when Alice finally passed. Your gut felt something was wrong before Shannon's gut caught on. I imagined this was my true love story.

Religion played a big role in this book but it was presented tastefully and appropriately. Grand Coeur was a small mining town when the Reverend and his daughter first arrived but it grow in the following weeks. Reverend Adair had such a passion for wanting people to be equal that you know, when you finish the book, Grand Coeur will become a much better town just to have him there.

If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself!

Until next time, take life one page at a time!

Heart of Gold © 2012, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Cover Design: studiogearbox.com, Original Package Design © 2010 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Cover Imagery of cowboy and woman: Steve Gardener/Pixelworks Studio, Image of stagecoach and background: Thinkstock, istockphoto and Veer